To provide a highly productive, compact, and inexpensive film deposition apparatus while ensuring the stability of the film deposition quality, the apparatus includes a rotating body configured to be rotatable and provided with a holding unit that holds an object to be transferred in an attachable and detachable manner, the holding unit being provided along an outer peripheral portion of the rotating body; and a transfer mechanism having a gripping mechanism capable of gripping and releasing the object, the transfer mechanism transferring the object held by a predetermined device to the holding unit of the rotating body and transferring another object held by the rotating body to the predetermined device.

A rotational indexer is provided that may be rotated to move semiconductor wafers or other items between various stations arranged in a circular array; the items being moved may be supported by arms of the indexer during such movement. The rotational indexer may be further configured to also cause the items being moved to rotate about other rotational axes to cause rotation of the items relative to the arms supporting them.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, and provide a carrier device. The carrier device includes a carrier 11 and a carrying plate 12 rotatably provided on the carrier 11, where in a non-working state, the carrying plate 12 is in an inclined position; in a working state, the carrying plate 12 is in a horizontal position. The present disclosure makes it hard for impurities such as dust to accumulate on the carrier, so as to prevent a photomask from being contaminated and improve the product yield.

A modified technology of spin coating which is named Two-Axis spin coating is disclosed. The innovative Two-Axis spin coating apparatus is a rotary device that spins the substrate horizontally the same as conventional spin coaters while the whole horizontal spinning system can be rotated vertically. The vertical rotation of the substrate generates a vertical centrifugal force perpendicular to the surface of the substrate which allows the coating face with an elevated artificial gravity acceleration. The elevation of gravity acceleration adjusts and normalizes the local high and low surface tension stresses on the surface of the coated film. This elevation of gravity also increases the weight of coating elements artificially and obliges the wavy surface convex regions to flow toward the concave areas. The elevation of gravity also obliges the lighter probable air bubbles inside the layer, immediately before the coating surface skinning process, move toward the surface and drain out from the layer. The invention provides a method to level the layer's edge beads, level the coated surface, drain out probable micro sized air bubbles inside the layer and form denser film simultaneously.

There is provided a technique capable of preventing a diffusion of a film-forming gas through a through-hole. According to one aspect thereof, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a substrate mounting table; through-holes at the substrate mounting table; lift pins; an elevator capable of elevating or lowering the substrate mounting table or the lift pins or both; and a controller capable of controlling the elevator so as to perform: (a) placing a substrate on the lift pins protruding from a surface of the substrate mounting table through the through-holes; (b) placing the substrate on the surface of the substrate mounting table by moving the substrate mounting table or the lift pins or both; (c) stopping the substrate mounting table at a substrate processing position; and (d) moving the lift pins to positions in the through-holes at which the lift pins are out of contact with the substrate.

Methods of depositing a metal film are discussed. A metal film is formed on the bottom of feature having a metal bottom and dielectric sidewalls. Formation of the metal film comprises exposure to a metal precursor and an alkyl halide catalyst while the substrate is maintained at a deposition temperature. The metal precursor has a decomposition temperature above the deposition temperature. The alkyl halide comprises carbon and halogen, and the halogen comprises bromine or iodine.

The present disclosure relates to methods of processing a semiconductor substrate in a processing chamber, such as a chemical vapor deposition chamber. The chemical vapor deposition chamber includes a spindle mechanism that cooperates with one or more carrier ring forks to move the semiconductor substrate from one station to another station. The methods include monitoring one or more spindle operation parameters and carrying out one or more maintenance steps on the spindle mechanism based on the results of monitoring the one or more spindle operation parameters. The monitored spindle operation parameters provide an indication of undesirable vibration of the semiconductor substrates in the processing chamber. The vibration of the semiconductor substrates in the processing chamber is undesirable because it promotes generation of unwanted particles that deposit onto a surface of the semiconductor substrate.

The present invention relates to a substrate support assembly for a substrate treatment apparatus, including: a chuck base disposed opposite to a substrate when the substrate is installed, rotatable around a rotating shaft, and having an installation accommodation portion formed in the lower portion near the outer peripheral surface thereof in a circumferential direction thereof; chuck pins disposed on top of the chuck base and movable along directions away from and approaching the substrate; a mechanism unit disposed in the installation accommodation portion and connected to the chuck pins to move the chuck pins; and a driving unit for transmitting power to the mechanism unit.

The present invention relates to a substrate treatment apparatus including: a substrate support assembly having a spin head onto which a substrate is seated; a fluid supply unit for supplying a fluid to the substrate; a bowl assembly having a plurality of bowls overlaid one another outwardly in a radial direction thereof to surround the substrate support assembly; and an ascending and descending unit for moving up and down the bowl assembly, wherein the bowls constituting the bowl assembly move up and down independently of one another.

An apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a spinner configured to hold a wafer, a nozzle configured to supply a liquid chemical onto an upper surface of the wafer, and a laser module configured to heat the wafer by radiating a laser beam to a lower surface of the wafer while the nozzle supplies the liquid chemical onto the upper surface of the wafer.