A semiconductor processing station includes first and second chambers, and a cooling stage. The second chamber includes a cooling pipe disposed inside the second chamber, and an external pipe. The cooling pipe includes a first segment disposed along a sidewall of the second chamber, and a second segment disposed perpendicular to the first segment and located above a wafer carrier in the second chamber. An end of the second segment is connected to an end of the first segment. The external pipe is connected to the second segment distal from the end of the second segment to provide a fluid to flow through the cooling pipe from an exterior to an interior of the second chamber. The fluid discharges toward the wafer carrier through the first segment. The first chamber is surrounded by the second chamber and the cooling stage, and communicates between the cooling stage and the second chamber.

A holder temperature detection method which measures a temperature of a rotatable holder that holds a substrate is provided. The method comprises a step of irradiating a fluorescent body thermally mounted on the holder with a light pulse having a first wavelength, a step of detecting fluorescence having a second wavelength emitted from the fluorescent body due to the light pulse and a step of estimating the temperature of the holder based on the detected fluorescence.

A substrate processing apparatus includes a loading and unloading unit having a first side surface through which a container accommodating a substrate is loaded and unloaded, and a second side surface opposite to the first side surface, a substrate transport unit extending along a first horizontal direction perpendicular to the second side surface, and a plurality of batch processing units adjacent to one another along a longitudinal direction of the substrate transport unit. Each of the plurality of batch processing units includes a processing container configured to accommodate and process a plurality of substrates, a gas supply unit configured to supply a gas into the processing container, and an exhaust unit configured to exhaust the gas inside the processing container. A first maintenance area, used for attending to a maintenance of the plurality of batch processing units, is provided above the exhaust unit.

A disclosed gas supply system includes a gas supply line and a gas recovery line. The gas supply line supplies a heat transfer gas to a gap between a substrate support and a back surface of a substrate. The gas supply line includes first to third portions and a pressure controller. The second portion extends downstream of the first portion. The pressure controller regulates a pressure of the heat transfer gas and is connected between the first portion and the second portion. The third portion connects the second portion and the gap. The gas recovery line is connected to the first and second portions. The gas recovery line includes a pump connected between the first and the second portions. The gas recovery line shares the third portion with the gas supply line. The gas recovery line returns the heat transfer gas from the second portion to the first portion.

An electrostatic chuck includes a base plate and a ceramic dielectric substrate. The ceramic dielectric substrate has a first major surface. The first major surface includes at least a first region and a second region. At least one first gas introduction hole connected to at least one of multiple first grooves. The first grooves include a first boundary groove, and at least one first in-region groove. Multiple second grooves and at least one second gas introduction hole are provided in the second region. The second grooves are include a second boundary groove extending along the first boundary and are provided to be most proximal to the first boundary. A groove end portion-end portion distance between the first boundary groove and the second boundary groove is smaller than a groove end portion-end portion distance between the first boundary groove and the first in-region groove.

An apparatus for plasma processing comprises: a support configured to support a substrate and an edge ring disposed around the substrate; a lifting mechanism configured to vertically move the edge ring; and a controller. The support includes a convex portion which protrudes upward and on which the substrate is mounted, a ring mounting portion on which the edge ring is mounted in a state in which the convex portion is inserted into the hole of the edge ring, and a temperature adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a temperature of the convex portion. The lifting mechanism and the temperature adjustment mechanism are configured to move the edge ring to a predetermined position at which the convex portion is in a state of being inserted into the hole of the edge ring and heat the convex portion of the support to expand it in a diametric direction thereof.

A method and apparatus for performing post-exposure bake cooling operations is described herein. The method begins by post exposure baking a substrate disposed on heated substrate support in a process chamber, the process chamber having a showerhead. The heated substrate support is moved to increase a distance between the heated substrate support and a cooled plate of the showerhead. The substrate is separated from the heated substrate support using a substrate lifting device. The substrate is moved into a close proximity to the cooled showerhead. The substrate is cooled until the substrate is less than about 70 degrees Celsius. The substrate is spaced away from the cooled showerhead using the substrate lifting device and aligning the substrate with a substrate transfer passage of the processing chamber for removal by a robot.

An electrostatic chuck (ESC) for holding a workpiece in a plasma processing chamber, where the ESC includes a monolithic insulating substrate with a top surface; a plurality of electrodes embedded in the insulating substrate, the plurality of electrodes being in a multipolar configuration to receive multiple DC bias signals from a first power supply circuit; and a radio frequency (RF) electrode embedded in the insulating substrate, the plurality of electrodes being located between the top surface and the RF electrode, the RF electrode including a contact node configured to be coupled to a second power supply circuit configured to generate an RF signal.

A semiconductor wafer mass metrology method comprising: controlling the temperature of a semiconductor wafer by: detecting information relating to the temperature of the semiconductor wafer; and controlling cooling or heating of the semiconductor wafer based on the detected information relating to the temperature of the semiconductor wafer; wherein controlling the cooling or heating of the semiconductor wafer comprises controlling a duration of the cooling or heating of the semiconductor wafer; and subsequently loading the semiconductor wafer onto a measurement area of a semiconductor wafer mass metrology apparatus.

A method for etching features in a stack below a patterned mask in an etch chamber is provided. The stack is cooled with a coolant with a coolant temperature below 20 C. An etch gas is flowed into the etch chamber. A plasma is generated from the etch gas. Features are selectively etched into the stack with respect to the patterned mask.