A substrate processing apparatus includes: a processing module including a process container in which at least one substrate is processed and a substrate loading port installed at a front side of the processing module, a utility system including a supply system which supplies a processing gas into the first process container and a surface of the first utility system is connected or arranged close to a rear surface of the processing module; a vacuum-exhauster behind the processing module and configured to exhaust an inside of the process container; an exhaust pipe that brings the process container into fluid communication with the vacuum-exhauster; a pipe housing which supports the exhaust pipe; and a first vibration-damping fastener connecting the vacuum-exhauster and the pipe housing. The exhaust pipe includes a first flexible portion that allows displacement of the exhaust pipe's end, and the vacuum-exhauster and pipe housing are installed at a floor.

A pressure adjustment apparatus includes a storage tank storing a gas for the chamber with an outlet, a first supply line supplying the gas from an external line to the storage tank, a second supply line supplying the gas from the storage tank to the chamber, a discharge line discharging the gas from the chamber using the outlet of the chamber, and a controller controlling valves at the first, second, and discharge lines. The discharge line includes first and second valves connected to each other in parallel at an end portion of the outlet of the chamber, and a third valve connected to the end portion of the outlet of the chamber. The controller opens the first and second valves to discharge the gas from the chamber, and opens the third valve after a predetermined amount of time after the opening of the first and second valves.

A semiconductor wafer transport apparatus includes a frame, a transport arm movably mounted to the frame and having at least one end effector movably mounted to the arm so the at least one end effector traverses, with the arm as a unit, in a first direction relative to the frame, and traverses linearly, relative to the transport arm, in a second direction, and an edge detection sensor mounted to the transport arm so the edge detection sensor moves with the transport arm as a unit relative to the frame, the edge detection sensor being a common sensor effecting edge detection of each wafer simultaneously supported by the end effector, wherein the edge detection sensor is configured so the edge detection of each wafer is effected by and coincident with the traverse in the second direction of each end effector on the transport arm.

A bonding tool includes a gas supply line that may extend directly between valves associated with one or more gas supply tanks and a processing chamber such that gas supply line is uninterrupted without any intervening valves or other types of structures that might otherwise cause a pressure buildup in the gas supply line between the processing chamber and the valves associated with the one or more gas supply tanks. The pressure in the gas supply line may be maintained at or near the pressure in the processing chamber so that gas provided to the processing chamber through the gas supply line does not cause a pressure imbalance in the processing chamber, which might otherwise cause early or premature contact between semiconductor substrates that are to be bonded in the processing chamber.

Described herein is a technique capable of improving the controllability of a thickness of a film formed on a large surface area substrate having a surface area greater than a surface area of a bare substrate and improving the thickness uniformity between films formed on a plurality of large surface area substrates accommodated in a substrate loading region by reducing the influence of the surface area of the large surface area substrate and the number of the large surface area substrates due to a loading effect even when the plurality of large surface area substrates are batch-processed using a batch type processing furnace.

A method of curing or otherwise processing semiconductor wafers in an environmentally controlled process chamber includes: loading a plurality of semiconductor wafers into the process chamber such that pairs of adjacent semiconductor wafers are spaced apart from one another by gaps therebetween; introducing a process gas into the process chamber containing the plurality of semiconductor wafers; and drawing gas from the process chamber through one or more exhaust manifolds. Suitably, each exhaust manifold includes a plurality of inlet orifices through which gas is drawn into the exhaust manifold, at least one of the inlet orifices facing and aligning with each of the gaps.

A heat treatment apparatus and a heat treatment method are provided, in which at least a semiconductor device is disposed in the heat treatment apparatus, and a waste heat generated during a heat treatment process is exhausted through a heat exhaust pipe of the heat treatment apparatus, and a thermal energy of the waste heat is converted into an electrical energy using a thermoelectric conversion device disposed on the heat exhaust pipe. By using a gas pipe connecting the heat exhaust pipe of the heat treatment apparatus and a machine of the heat treatment apparatus, a gas is preheated using the waste heat and then supplied to the machine of the heat treatment apparatus, thereby reusing the waste heat.

A pick-and-place apparatus includes a filter assembly configured to supply vacuum pressure and air pressure from a vacuum ejector to at least one picker nozzle. The filter assembly includes a first pneumatic line connecting a first port connected to the vacuum ejector and a second port connected to the at least one picker nozzle, a filter in the first pneumatic line and filtering gas flowing from the second port to the first port, a second pneumatic line branched from the first pneumatic line in a front-end portion and in a rear-end portion of the filter to allow gas to bypass the filter, a first shut-off valve in the first pneumatic line to block flow of gas from the first port to the second port, and a second shut-off valve in the second pneumatic line to block flow of gas from the second port to the first port.

A method includes providing initial process conditions to a model associated with a process chamber. The method further includes providing an indication of one or more adjustments to the process chamber resulting in final process conditions to the model. The method further includes obtaining an indication of first gas backflow to a substrate support of the process chamber from the model. The method further includes generating updated one or more adjustments to the process chamber. The method further includes providing an indication of the updated one or more adjustments to the model. The method further includes obtaining from the model an indication of second gas backflow to the substrate support. The method further includes performing a corrective action based on the updated one or more adjustments.

Described are methods and apparatuses that are useful for removing contaminants from substrate containers that are used to hold, store, or transport semiconductor substrates.