A substrate treating apparatus is provided. The substrate treating apparatus includes an atmospheric pressure transfer module provided with a first transfer robot having a first hand with a substrate placed thereon; a vacuum transfer module provided with a second transfer robot having a second hand with a substrate placed thereon; a load-lock chamber positioned between the atmospheric pressure transfer module and the vacuum transfer module, and having an inner space convertible between an atmospheric pressure and a vacuum atmosphere; a process chamber coupled to the vacuum transfer module and treating the substrate; and a ring carrier supported by the first transfer robot or the second transfer robot for a transfer of a ring member. The ring carrier comprises a plate having the ring member placed thereon and at least one leg protruding from a bottom surface of the plate and placed at the first hand or the second hand.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a plasma processing system, comprising: a transfer chamber, the transfer chamber including a plurality of sidewalls, each sidewall being connected with a plurality of process chambers; each process chamber including a base therein, the base including a central point; wherein at least two process chambers connected to a same sidewall form one process chamber group, wherein a first distance is provided between the central points of two bases in a first process chamber group, and a second distance is provided between the central points of two bases in a second process chamber group, the first distance being greater than the second distance; and the transfer chamber comprises a mechanical transfer device; a rotating pedestal includes two independently movable robot arms thereon, the two robot arms; and the two robot arms both include a plurality of rotating shafts and a plurality of rotating arms, wherein a remote rotating arm of each robot arm further includes an end effector for holding a substrate. The mechanical transfer device according to the present disclosure may simultaneously retrieve and place the substrate in the process chamber group with the first distance and the substrate in the process chamber group with the second distance.

A substrate processing apparatus includes a frame and a transport apparatus connected to the frame. The transport apparatus has an upper arm link, a forearm link rotatably coupled to the upper arm link about an elbow axis, at least a third arm link rotatably coupled to the forearm about a wrist axis, and an end effector rotatably coupled to the third arm link about a knuckle axis. A two degree of freedom drive system is operably connected to at least one of the upper arm link, the forearm link, and the third arm link for effecting extension and retraction of the end effector wherein a height of the end effector is within the stack height profile of the wrist axis so that a total stack height of the end effector and wrist axis is sized to conform within a pass through of a slot valve.

An ion beam deposition apparatus includes a substrate assembly to secure a substrate, a target assembly slanted with respect to the substrate assembly, the target assembly including a target with deposition materials, an ion gun to inject ion beams onto the target, such that ions of the deposition materials are discharged toward the substrate assembly to form a thin layer on the substrate, and a substrate heater to heat the substrate to a deposition temperature higher than a room temperature.

Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate is provided herein. For example, a method for processing a substrate comprises depositing a silicide layer within a feature defined in a layer on a substrate, forming one of a metal liner layer or a metal seed layer atop the silicide layer within the feature via depositing at least one of molybdenum (Mo) or tungsten (W) using physical vapor deposition, and depositing Mo using at least one of chemical vapor deposition or atomic layer deposition atop the at least one of the metal liner layer or the metal seed layer, without vacuum break.

Reactor systems and methods for forming a layer comprising indium gallium zinc oxide are disclosed. The layer comprising indium gallium zinc oxide can be formed using one or more reaction chambers of a process module.

Semiconductor processing apparatuses and methods are provided in which an electrostatic discharge (ESD) prevention layer is utilized to prevent or reduce ESD events from occurring between a semiconductor wafer and one or more components of the apparatuses. In some embodiments, a semiconductor processing apparatus includes a wafer handling structure that is configured to support a semiconductor wafer during processing of the semiconductor wafer. The apparatus further includes an ESD prevention layer on the wafer handling structure. The ESD prevention layer includes a first material and a second material, and the second material has an electrical conductivity that is greater than an electrical conductivity of the first material.

Methods and systems for detection of an endpoint of a substrate process are provided. A set of machine learning models are trained to provide a metrology measurement value associated with a particular type of metrology measurement for a substrate based on spectral data collected for the substrate. A respective machine learning model is selected to be applied to future spectral data collected during a future substrate process for a future substrate in view of a performance rating associated with the particular type of metrology measurement. Current spectral data is collected during a current process for a current substrate and provided as input to the respective machine learning model. An indication of a respective metrology measurement value corresponding to the current substrate is extracted from one or more outputs of the trained machine learning model. In response to a determination that the respective metrology measurement satisfies a metrology measurement criterion, an instruction including a command to terminate the current process is generated.

A high-pressure processing system for processing a layer on a substrate includes a first chamber, a support to hold the substrate in the first chamber, a second chamber adjacent the first chamber, a foreline to remove gas from the second chamber, a vacuum processing system configured to lower a pressure within the second chamber to near vacuum, a valve assembly between the first chamber and the second chamber to isolate the pressure within the first chamber from the pressure within the second chamber, a gas delivery system configured to increase the pressure within the first chamber to at least 10 atmospheres while the first chamber is isolated from the second chamber, an exhaust system comprising an exhaust line to remove gas from the first chamber, and a common housing surrounding both the first gas delivery module and the second gas delivery module.

A particle removed from a substrate is suppressed from adhering to the substrate again. A substrate cleaning apparatus includes a substrate holder configured to hold the substrate; a gas nozzle configured to jet a cleaning gas to the substrate on the substrate holder; and a nozzle cover provided to surround the gas nozzle. The cleaning gas is jetted to a decompression chamber of the nozzle cover from the gas nozzle, and a gas cluster configured to remove the particle on the substrate in the decompression chamber is generated. A gas for a gas curtain is jetted from a holder support of the substrate holder toward the nozzle cover, and the gas curtain is formed between the nozzle cover and the holder support.