A characteristic thickness value of an edge of a wafer is determined, including at a notch position. The wafer is placed in a placement area, surrounded by a boundary, of susceptor for depositing an epitaxial layer. The characteristic thickness value at the notch position is checked to see if it differs by more than a percentage limit from the characteristic thickness value at an edge position having the greatest characteristic thickness value. The placing of the substrate wafer on the placement area is executed in such a way that a distance of the wafer from the boundary of the placement area is smaller at the edge position having the greatest characteristic thickness value or at the notch position than at other edge positions.

A polishing inspection system for semiconductor wafers, which is characterized by comprising a polishing head with a motor to drive the polishing head to rotate, a retaining ring fixed at a bottom of the polishing head, wherein the retaining ring comprises a plurality of grooves, a polishing pad positioned below the polishing head, and a laser sensor positioned beside the retaining ring, wherein the laser sensor is used for measuring the depth of the grooves on the retaining ring. The invention is helpful to monitor the groove depth of the retaining ring in real time and improve the reliability of the manufacturing process.

A method includes receiving a first notification that a process chamber of a baking apparatus entered an idle state, determining that a low-flow-rate (LFR) mode can be started, and providing an incoming gas to the process chamber. The incoming gas includes a first portion of a supply gas. The method further includes setting a flow rate of the incoming gas to an idle incoming flow rate, receiving a second notification that the process chamber entered an active state, determining that a high-flow-rate (HFR) mode can be started, and setting the flow rate of the incoming gas to a process incoming flow rate. The process incoming flow rate is greater than the idle incoming flow rate.

A method and device for producing contact metallizations on terminal faces of wafers by a manipulator unit for handling the wafers and a plurality of work stations each having a processing space for receiving the wafers, the plurality of work stations including a depositing station, which has a processing space for receiving a solution of contact metal dissolved in a carrier liquid for deposition on the terminal faces of the wafers, detecting a measured value of an object property of a wafer or of a work station by a sensor, and determining a prioritization of equipping the processing spaces or a dwell time of the wafers in a processing space by querying the measured value in a databank or by means of inference using a statistic model while entering the measured value, generating a control dataset for the manipulator unit; and handling the wafers according to the control dataset.

Substrates are immersed in a treatment fluid stored in a treatment chamber, and subjected to a surface treatment. A first lid and a second lid cover an upper opening of the treatment chamber. The first lid and the second lid each include sloped surfaces. At least a part of the first lid and the second lid is immersed in the treatment fluid. During the treatment on the substrates, a plurality of bubble supply pipes eject bubbles into the treatment fluid. The sloped surfaces formed on the first lid and the second lid guide the bubbles reaching an interface between the treatment fluid, the first lid, and the second lid diagonally upward. Thus, the bubbles are smoothly released outside the treatment chamber. This can eliminate retention of the bubbles, avoid contacts between the bubbles and the substrates, and suppress a decrease in the treatment uniformity.

There is provided a technique that includes a processor configured to be capable of executing a process recipe to process a substrate; and a pressure controller configured to be capable of controlling a pressure of a process chamber, in which the substrate is processed, by adjusting an opening degree of a pressure regulating valve provided to an exhaust line of the process chamber, wherein when controlling the pressure of the process chamber, the pressure controller adjusts the opening degree of the pressure regulating valve and outputs information of the opening degree, and wherein while receiving the information of the opening degree from the pressure controller and monitoring an open/close state of the pressure regulating valve, the processor is configured to, when the information of the opening degree is a preset value, be capable of determining whether or not opening/closing of the pressure regulating valve happens.

A method of cleaning a process chamber is provided including supplying a plasma from a remote plasma source to an interior volume of a rapid thermal processing chamber during a first time period, the rapid thermal processing chamber including a plurality of lamps configured to heat an interior volume of the rapid thermal processing chamber; and providing heat from the plurality of lamps to heat the interior volume of the rapid thermal processing chamber during the first time period when the plasma from the remote plasma source is provided to the interior volume of the rapid thermal processing chamber.

A substrate processing system comprises an edge computing device including processor that executes instructions stored in a memory to process an image or video captured by camera(s) of at least one of a substrate and a component of the substrate processing system. The component is associated with a robot transporting the substrate between processing chambers of the substrate processing system or between the substrate processing system and a second substrate processing system. The cameras are located along a travel path of the substrate. The instructions configure the processor to transmit first data from the image to a remote server via a network and to receive second data from the remote server via the network in response to transmitting the first data to the remote server. The instructions configure the processor to operate the substrate processing system according to the second data in an automated or autonomous manner.

A raw material feeding device includes: a raw material container that accommodates a solid or liquid raw material; an upstream path connected to the raw material container; a downstream path connected to the raw material container; a bypass path that connects the upstream path and the downstream path to each other without passing through the raw material container; a downstream side valve; a pressure gauge provided in at least one of the upstream path and the downstream path; and a remaining amount estimation unit that acquires a pressure detection value from the pressure gauge, and estimates a remaining amount of the raw material within the raw material container based on the pressure detection value decreased when the downstream side valve is opened at start of flowing of the raw material gas from the raw material container to the downstream path.

A gas detection device for detecting a processing gas leaking into a gas box includes: a suctioner having a plurality of suction holes for sucking the processing gas at different positions in a cross section perpendicular to a central axis of an exhaust duct that evacuates an interior of the gas box; and a gas detector configured to detect the processing gas sucked by the suctioner.