A method and apparatus for reducing as-deposited and metastable defects relative to amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin films, its alloys and devices fabricated therefrom that include heating an earth shield positioned around a cathode in a parallel plate plasma chemical vapor deposition chamber to control a temperature of a showerhead in the deposition chamber in the range of 350° C. to 600° C. An anode in the deposition chamber is cooled to maintain a temperature in the range of 50° C. to 450° C. at the substrate that is positioned at the anode. In the apparatus, a heater is embedded within the earth shield and a cooling system is embedded within the anode.

A substrate processing apparatus includes a holder configured to hold a combined substrate in which a first substrate and a second substrate are bonded to each other; a first detector configured to detect an outer end portion of the first substrate; a second detector configured to detect a boundary between a bonding region where the first substrate and a second substrate are bonded and a non-bonding region located at an outside of the bonding region; a periphery removing device configured to remove a peripheral portion of the first substrate as a removing target from the combined substrate held by the holder.

The present disclosure provides a flexible workpiece pedestal capable of tilting a workpiece support surface. The workpiece pedestal further includes a heater mounted on the workpiece support surface. The heater includes a plurality of heating sources such as heating coils. The plurality of heating sources in the heater allows heating the workpiece at different temperatures for different zones of the workpiece. For example, the workpiece can have a central zone heated by a first heating coil, a first outer ring zone that is outside of the central zone heated by a second heating coil, a second outer ring zone that is outside of the first outer ring zone heated by a third heating coil. By using the tunable heating feature and the tilting feature of the workpiece pedestal, the present disclosure can reduce or eliminate the shadowing effect problem of the related workpiece pedestal in the art.

Embodiments of a slip ring for use in a rotatable substrate support are provided herein. In some embodiments a slip ring includes a main body having a top wall, a bottom wall, and a sidewall extending between the top and bottom walls, wherein the top wall, bottom wall, and sidewall define an inner volume within the main body, wherein a central opening is formed through the top wall; a plurality of annular containers disposed within the inner volume and coaxially with the main body, wherein the plurality of annular containers are vertically spaced apart from one another, and wherein each of the plurality of annular containers contains a first volume of an electrically conductive liquid; an upper cylindrical body rotatably disposed in the central opening; a lower cylindrical body fixedly coupled to the lower wall of the main body.

Disclosed is a method for processing a substrate, comprising a liquid processing step of performing liquid processing on the substrate by supplying a processing liquid onto the substrate in a liquid processing chamber, a transfer step of transferring the substrate from the liquid processing chamber to a drying chamber, and a drying step of drying the substrate in the drying chamber. In the drying step, the substrate is dried while an edge region of the substrate other than a central region of the substrate is supported by a support unit, and in the liquid processing step, the liquid processing is performed on the substrate such that a height of the processing liquid remaining on the edge region of the substrate is greater than a height of the processing liquid remaining on the central region of the substrate when the liquid processing is completed in the liquid processing chamber.

A heating apparatus, a method and a system for producing semiconductor chips in a wafer assembly are disclosed. In an embodiment a method for producing semiconductor chips in a wafer composite includes providing a carrier having a wafer plane and a reference point, wherein the carrier is configured to accommodate at least one wafer composite in the wafer plane, providing a heating device comprising a heating plane and a first heating unit arranged laterally offset from the reference point in the heating plane, and arranging the heating device with its heating plane parallel to the wafer plane, arranging at least one wafer composite in the wafer plane of the carrier, rotating the carrier and the heating device relative to each other about an axis perpendicular to the heating plane and the wafer plane through the reference point, controlling the first heating unit such that a temperature of the carrier is influenced, providing a bending sensor for determining a bending characteristic value, the bending characteristic value being representative of a bending of the at least one wafer composite relative to the wafer plane and controlling the first heating unit based on the bending characteristic value.

There is provided a rotation detection jig used for an apparatus in which a substrate is processed inside a processing container by rotating a mounting stand for a substrate provided on one surface side of a rotary table while revolving the mounting stand with rotation of the rotary table, and supplying a processing gas to a region through which the mounting stand passes, including: a rotating element configured to rotate about a rotation shaft of the mounting stand; an encoder main body configured to detect a rotation angle of the rotating element and configured to constitute a rotary encoder together with the rotating element; a fixing member configured to fix the encoder main body to a rotating portion including the rotary table; and a signal processing part provided in the rotating portion and configured to process a detection signal detected by the encoder main body.

A substrate processing apparatus includes: a processing unit including a holder that holds a substrate and rotates the substrate, a nozzle that ejects a processing liquid, and a conductive piping unit that supplies the processing liquid to the nozzle; a controller that causes the processing unit to execute a liquid processing in which the substrate is processed by supplying the processing liquid from the nozzle to the substrate that is held and rotated by the holder, and a measuring unit that measures a flowing current generated by the processing liquid flowing through the piping unit. The controller monitors the liquid processing based on a measurement result by the measuring unit.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a process tool that includes a lithography apparatus arranged over a wafer chuck and an immersion hood apparatus laterally around the lithography apparatus. The lithography apparatus includes a photomask arranged between a light source and a lens. The immersion hood apparatus comprises input piping, output piping, and extractor piping. The input piping is arranged on a lower surface of the immersion hood apparatus and configured to distribute a liquid between the lens and the wafer chuck. The output piping is arranged on the lower surface of the immersion hood apparatus and configured to contain the liquid arranged between the lens and the wafer chuck. The extractor piping is arranged on an outer sidewall of the immersion hood apparatus and configured to remove any liquid above the wafer chuck that is outside of the immersion hood apparatus.

In a substrate processing apparatus for supplying a processing liquid onto a lower surface of a substrate being rotated, to thereby process the substrate, provided are an upper support body which is separably placed on a lower support body, a plurality of upper holding members protruding downward from the upper support body, for holding the substrate, and an upper hold-driving part for moving the upper holding members separably from and contactably with an outer edge portion of the substrate. Preferably, the upper hold-driving part moves the upper holding members by using a magnetic action between holding-side magnetic members and an annular driving-side magnetic member.