公开(公告)号：US20240087920A1

公开(公告)日：2024-03-14

申请号：US18451625

申请日：2023-08-17

Applicant: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Mao OMORI ,  Hiroshi MIYAKE

IPC: H01L21/67 ,  H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/687

CPC classification number: H01L21/67115 ,  H01J37/32449 ,  H01L21/67276 ,  H01L21/68742 ,  H01L21/68785

Abstract: A leak determination method includes: a heating step of heating a semiconductor wafer in a chamber; a transport step of transporting the semiconductor wafer from the chamber after the heating step; a temperature measurement step of measuring an ambient temperature in the chamber; and a leak determination step of performing leak determination processing of the chamber. After the semiconductor wafer is transported from the chamber, waiting is continued until the ambient temperature decreases to a predetermined waiting specified temperature, and the leak determination processing is started when the ambient temperature reaches the waiting specified temperature.

公开(公告)号：US20240258132A1

公开(公告)日：2024-08-01

申请号：US18529482

申请日：2023-12-05

Applicant: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Oma NAKAJIMA ,  Mao OMORI

IPC: H01L21/67

CPC classification number: H01L21/67115 ,  H01L21/67017

Abstract: A chamber in a heat treatment apparatus is made of stainless steel. After pressure in the chamber is reduced, ozone is introduced into the chamber, and is sealed in the chamber by stopping the supply and exhaust of gas to and from the chamber. The ozone is kept sealed in the chamber for a waiting time period that is not greater than the half-life of ozone. The ozone having an extremely strong oxidizing power acts on an inner surface of the chamber made of stainless steel, whereby an inert passive film is formed on the inner surface. This inert passive film suppresses the precipitation of manganese from the chamber made of stainless steel. This prevents metal contamination of a semiconductor wafer from the chamber even when the semiconductor wafer is subjected to heating treatment in the chamber.

公开(公告)号：US20190267261A1

公开(公告)日：2019-08-29

申请号：US16221112

申请日：2018-12-14

Applicant: SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.

Inventor： Katsuichi Akiyoshi ,  Mao OMORI ,  Shinichi IKEDA

IPC: H01L21/67

Abstract: A semiconductor wafer is preheated by halogen lamps; thereafter, the semiconductor wafer is heated by irradiation with flash of light from flash lamps. A radiation thermometer measures the temperature of the back surface of the semiconductor wafer at predetermined sampling intervals and acquires a plurality of temperature measurement values. Of the plurality of temperature measurement values, a temperature integrated value is calculated by integrating a set number of the temperature measurement values acquired from the start point of integration after a start time of irradiation of the flash light. When the calculated temperature integrated value falls out of the range between the upper limit value and the lower limit value, the semiconductor wafer is determined to be broken at the time of flash light irradiation.

公开(公告)号：US20180254224A1

公开(公告)日：2018-09-06

申请号：US15910163

申请日：2018-03-02

Applicant: SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.

Inventor： Takahiro KITAZAWA ,  Mao OMORI ,  Kazuhiko FUSE

IPC: H01L21/66 ,  H01L21/324 ,  H01L21/67

CPC classification number: H01L22/12 ,  H01L21/2686 ,  H01L21/324 ,  H01L21/67017 ,  H01L21/67115 ,  H01L21/67248 ,  H01L21/67288 ,  H01L21/67742 ,  H01L21/6875 ,  H01L21/68785

Abstract: A front surface of a semiconductor wafer is rapidly heated by irradiation of a flash of light. Temperature of the front surface of the semiconductor wafer is measured at predetermined intervals after the irradiation of the flash of light, and is sequentially accumulated to acquire a temperature profile. From the temperature profile, an average value and a standard deviation are each calculated as a characteristic value. It is determined that the semiconductor wafer is cracked when an average value of the temperature profile deviates from the range of ±5σ from a total average of temperature profiles of a plurality of semiconductor wafers or when a standard deviation of the temperature profile deviates from the range of 5σ from the total average thereof of the plurality of semiconductor wafers.

公开(公告)号：US20230343616A1

公开(公告)日：2023-10-26

申请号：US18194651

申请日：2023-04-03

Applicant: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Yukio ONO ,  Mao OMORI

IPC: G01J5/00 ,  G01J5/80 ,  H01L21/67

CPC classification number: H01L21/67248 ,  G01J5/0096 ,  G01J5/806 ,  H01L21/67115

Abstract: An edge radiation thermometer performs measurements before a semiconductor wafer is transported into a chamber. The edge radiation thermometer performs the measurements while the semiconductor wafer is supported by lift pins and while the semiconductor wafer is placed on a susceptor, after the semiconductor wafer is transported into the chamber. A controller calculates a reflectivity of the semiconductor wafer based on these measurement values. Then, the controller calculates an intensity of an ambient light receive by the edge radiation thermometer, based on the reflectivity and an intensity of synchrotron radiation radiated from a quartz window. Subsequently, the controller subtracts the intensity of the ambient light from an intensity of light received by of the edge radiation thermometer during heat treatment on the semiconductor wafer to calculate the temperature of the semiconductor wafer.

公开(公告)号：US20210151328A1

公开(公告)日：2021-05-20

申请号：US17152260

申请日：2021-01-19

Applicant: SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.

Inventor： Mao OMORI ,  Masashi FURUKAWA

IPC: H01L21/324 ,  H01L21/687 ,  H01L21/66

Abstract: Heating treatment is performed on a semiconductor wafer in an ammonia atmosphere formed in a chamber by light irradiation from halogen lamps and flash lamps. For the formation of the ammonia atmosphere in the chamber, pressure in the chamber is once reduced. The pressure in the chamber is also reduced after the heating treatment of the semiconductor wafer. Light irradiation from the halogen lamps is performed to heat the atmosphere in the chamber before the pressure in the chamber is reduced by exhausting the atmosphere from the chamber. The heating of the atmosphere in the chamber before the pressure reduction activates the thermal motion of gas molecules in the atmosphere and decreases a gas density. As a result, the gas molecules in the chamber are discharged rapidly during the pressure reduction, so that the pressure in the chamber is reduced to a predetermined pressure in a short time.

公开(公告)号：US20190035645A1

公开(公告)日：2019-01-31

申请号：US16007088

申请日：2018-06-13

Applicant: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Oma NAKAJIMA ,  Mao OMORI

IPC: H01L21/67

CPC classification number: H01L21/67017 ,  H01L21/28185 ,  H01L21/67115 ,  H01L21/67248 ,  H01L21/67288 ,  H01L21/6875

Abstract: In a state where an ammonia atmosphere is formed in a chamber for housing a semiconductor wafer, heating treatment is applied to the semiconductor wafer by emitting a flash of light to a front surface of the substrate using a flash lamp. When the semiconductor wafer cracks during flash heating, supplying gas into the chamber as well as exhausting gas therefrom is temporarily stopped. Then, gas in the chamber is exhausted at an exhaust flow rate smaller than a steady exhaust flow rate. The steady exhaust flow rate is an exhaust flow rate when heating treatment is applied to a semiconductor wafer. This enables ammonia in the chamber to be discharged by exhausting gas in the chamber while preventing fragments of the semiconductor wafer from being caught in the vacuum pump.

公开(公告)号：US20210272823A1

公开(公告)日：2021-09-02

申请号：US17167217

申请日：2021-02-04

Applicant: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.

Inventor： Mao OMORI ,  Kazuhiko FUSE

IPC: H01L21/67

Abstract: A preceding wafer is transported from a chamber of a heat treatment apparatus after processing on the preceding wafer is completed. A temperature within the chamber at a time when the preceding wafer is transported from the chamber is defined as a transportation temperature, and a difference between a measurement temperature within the chamber measured after the preceding wafer is transported from the chamber and the transportation temperature is calculated as a decreasing temperature. The calculated decreasing temperature and a predetermined threshold value are compared with each other. When the decreasing temperature is larger than the threshold value, dummy processing of preheating an in-chamber structure such as a susceptor by light irradiation from halogen lamps and flash lamps is executed. In contrast, when the decreasing temperature is equal to or smaller than the threshold value, the dummy processing is not executed but processing on a subsequent substrate is started.

公开(公告)号：US20200098601A1

公开(公告)日：2020-03-26

申请号：US16519982

申请日：2019-07-23

Applicant: SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.

Inventor： Tomohiro Ueno ,  Kazuhiko FUSE ,  Mao OMORI

IPC: H01L21/67 ,  H01L21/66

Abstract: Dummy running is carried out which performs preheating treatment using halogen lamps and flash heating treatment using flash lamps on a dummy wafer to control the temperature of in-chamber structures including a susceptor and the like. In this process, a preheating counter or a flash heating counter is incremented each time the preheating treatment or the flash heating treatment is performed. An alarm is issued, if the preheating counter or the flash heating counter that is a wear-and-tear value of the dummy wafer is not less than a predetermined threshold value. This allows an operator of a heat treatment apparatus to recognize that the deterioration of the dummy wafer reaches a limit value, thereby preventing the erroneous treatment of a dummy wafer suffering advanced deterioration.

公开(公告)号：US20190267262A1

公开(公告)日：2019-08-29

申请号：US16256760

申请日：2019-01-24

Applicant: SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.

Inventor： Takayuki AOYAMA ,  Akitsugu UEDA ,  Mao OMORI ,  Kazunori AMAGO

IPC: H01L21/67 ,  H01L21/677 ,  C23C16/48 ,  C23C16/44 ,  C23C16/52

Abstract: When pressure in a chamber is brought to atmospheric pressure and the chamber is filled with an inert gas atmosphere, the atmosphere in the chamber is sucked into an oxygen concentration analyzer through a sampling line such that oxygen concentration in the chamber is measured by the oxygen concentration analyzer. When the pressure in the chamber is reduced to less than atmospheric pressure, nitrogen gas is supplied to the oxygen concentration analyzer through an inert gas supply line simultaneously with suspending the measurement of oxygen concentration in the chamber. Even when the measurement of oxygen concentration in the chamber is suspended, reverse flow to the oxygen concentration analyzer from a gas exhaust pipe can be prevented, and the oxygen concentration analyzer can be prevented from being exposed to exhaust from the chamber. The configuration results in maintaining measurement accuracy of the oxygen concentration analyzer in a low oxygen concentration range.