A system for processing a semiconductor wafer is provided. The system includes a processing tool. The system also includes gas handling housing having a gas inlet and a gas outlet. The system further includes an exhaust conduit fluidly communicating with the processing tool and the gas inlet of the gas handling housing. In addition, the system includes at least one first filtering assembly and at least one second filtering assembly. The first filtering assembly and the second filtering assembly are positioned in the gas handling housing and arranged in a series along a flowing path that extends from the gas inlet to the gas outlet of the gas handling housing. Each of the first filtering assembly and the second filtering assembly comprises a plurality of wire meshes stacked on top of another.

A substrate processing method arranges a plurality of substrates in a storage area of a chamber, supplies an organic solvent to the plurality of substrates, arranges the plurality of substrates in a drying area, supplies a vapor of a hydrophobizing agent from a hydrophobizing agent nozzle to the plurality of substrates, arranges the plurality of substrates in the storage area, supplies an organic solvent from a first organic solvent nozzle to the plurality of substrates, supplies a vapor of an organic solvent from a second organic solvent nozzle to the drying area in a state where a liquid is stored in the storage area and the plurality of substrates are dipped in a liquid.

An upper holding device holds a substrate in a horizontal attitude without rotating the substrate. A lower holding device rotates a substrate while holding the substrate by suction. A substrate held by the upper holding device is cleaned with use of a cleaning liquid, and a substrate held by the lower holding device is cleaned with use of a cleaning liquid. Gas in a processing space is exhausted by exhaust equipment of a factory through an exhaust system. When a substrate is held by the upper holding device, gas in the processing space is not exhausted or gas in the processing space is exhausted at a first flow rate. Gas in the processing space is exhausted at a second or third flow rate that is higher than the first flow rate when the substrate is held by the lower holding device.

A treatment apparatus including a chuck table, a table base, a servo motor that rotates the table base, and a determination unit that determines the kind of the chuck table mounted to the table base is provided. The determination unit includes a torque recording section in which a torque outputted by the servo motor when rotating the table base is recorded on the basis of the kind of the chuck table, and a determination section that collates the torque outputted by the servo motor with the torque recording section, to thereby determine the kind of the chuck table.

An ultrasonic/megasonic cleaning device includes a cleaning unit including an upper casing and a lower casing connected to form a hollow chamber, an ultrasonic/megasonic generator provided in the hollow chamber, and a bottom quartz component provided with a quartz rod array composed of a plurality of vertically arranged quartz rod-like structures; a spray arm connected to the upper casing; and an ultrasonic/megasonic frequency control unit connected between the at least one signal source and the ultrasonic/megasonic generator, for constantly varying a frequency of the electrical signal output from the at least one signal source and introducing the electrical signal into the ultrasonic/megasonic generator, so as to dynamically vary an oscillation frequency of the ultrasonic/megasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic/megasonic generator; wherein the ultrasonic/megasonic frequency control unit includes a frequency-switching timing control unit configured to trigger am ultrasonic/megasonic frequency switching control unit to switch the oscillation frequency of the ultrasonic/megasonic wave from a first frequency to a second frequency when the ultrasonic/megasonic wave has been generated at the first frequency for a time period, the time period being randomly selected within a time range.

A device includes a substrate, a semiconductor channel over the substrate, and a gate structure over and laterally surrounding the semiconductor channel. The gate structure includes a first dielectric layer over the semiconductor channel, a first work function metal layer over the first dielectric layer, a first protection layer over the first work function metal layer, a second protection layer over the first protection layer, and a metal fill layer over the second protection layer.

Wafer bonding apparatus and method are provided. A method includes performing a first plasma activation process on a first surface of a first wafer. The first plasma activation process forms a first high-activation region and a first low-activation region on the first surface of the first wafer. A first cleaning process is performed on the first surface of the first wafer. The first cleaning process forms a first plurality of silanol groups in the first high-activation region and the first low-activation region. The first high-activation region includes more silanol groups than the first low-activation region. The first wafer is bonded to a second wafer.

Exemplary integrated cluster tools may include a factory interface including a first transfer robot. The tools may include a wet clean system coupled with the factory interface at a first side of the wet clean system. The tools may include a load lock chamber coupled with the wet clean system at a second side of the wet clean system opposite the first side of the wet clean system. The tools may include a first transfer chamber coupled with the load lock chamber. The first transfer chamber may include a second transfer robot. The tools may include a dry etch chamber coupled with the first transfer chamber. The tools may include a second transfer chamber coupled with the first transfer chamber. The second transfer chamber may include a third transfer robot. The tools may include a process chamber coupled with the second transfer chamber.

A substrate cleaning system includes a cleaner module to clean a substrate after polishing of the substrate, a drier module to dry the substrate after cleaning by the cleaner module, a substrate support movable along a first axis from a first position in the drier module to a second position outside the drier module, and an in-line metrology station including a line-scan camera positioned to scan the substrate as the substrate is held by the substrate support and the substrate support is between the first position to the second position. The first axis is substantially parallel to a face of the substrate as held in by the substrate support.

A state detection device includes at least one chuck pin for holding a substrate, a photographing unit configured to photograph the chuck pin, and set at least one image to be obtained as a target image, a matching coordinate calculation unit configured to perform matching processing between the target image and a reference image which is at least one image showing the chuck pin, and calculate matching coordinates, which are coordinates indicating a position of the reference image in the target image when a matching score between the reference image and the target image is the highest, and a detection unit configured to detect an open/closed state of the chuck pin based on the matching coordinates. Therefore, the open/closed state of the chuck pin can be detected while detection accuracy is suppressed from lowering.