# US 2018/0025920 A1 · Substrate processing apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2018/0025920 A1 - Document ID: US20180025920A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/270,419 - Filed: 2016-09-20 - Published: 2018-01-25 - Earliest claimed: 2016-07-21 - Assignees: Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc. - Applicants: Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc. - Inventors: Yasuhiro MIZUGUCHI - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180025920A1 ## CPC - H10P 72/0462: {characterised by the construction of the processing chambers, e.g. modular processing chambers} - C23C 16/4412: {Details relating to the exhausts, e.g. pumps, filters, scrubbers, particle traps} - C23C 16/455: characterised by the method used for introducing gases into reaction chamber or for modifying gas flows in reaction chamber - C23C 16/4583: {the substrate being supported substantially horizontally} - C23C 16/52: Controlling or regulating the coating process {(C23C16/45557, C23C16/279 take precedence)} - C23C 16/54: Apparatus specially adapted for continuous coating - H10P 72/0402: {Apparatus for fluid treatment (H10P72/0441, H10P72/0448 take precedence)} - H10P 72/0454: {surrounding a central transfer chamber} - H10P 72/0464: {characterised by the construction of the transfer chamber} - H10P 72/0604: {Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring} - H10P 72/0611: {Sorting devices} - H10P 72/0616: {Monitoring of warpages, curvatures, damages, defects or the like} - H10P 72/3302: {Mechanical parts of transfer devices} - H10P 72/3304: {characterised by movements or sequence of movements of transfer devices} - H10P 72/3306: {Horizontal transfer of a single workpiece} - H10P 72/3311: {Horizontal transfer of a batch of workpieces} - H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 - C23C: COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL (making metal-coated products by extrusion B21C23/22; covering with metal by connecting pre-existing layers to articles, see the relevant places, e.g. B21D39/00, B23K; metallising of glass C03C; metallising mortars, concrete, artificial stone, ceramics or natural stone C04B41/00; enamelling of, or applying a vitreous layer to, metals C23D; treating metal surfaces or coating of metals by electrolysis or electrophoresis C25D; single-crystal film growth C30B; by metallising textiles D06M11/83; decorating textiles by locally metallising D06Q1/04) ## Abstract A substrate processing apparatus includes: a plurality of modules configured to process a substrate; a transfer chamber adjoining the modules; a transfer part configured to transfer the substrate to one of the modules; a reception part configured to receive process information of the substrate; a detection part configured to detect quality information of the respective modules; a table in which the process information corresponds to the quality information; a memory part configured to store the table; and a controller configured to compare the process information received by the reception part with the quality information detected by the detection part using the table, configured to select one of the modules corresponding to the process information, and configured to instruct the transfer part to transfer the substrate to the selected module. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of modules configured to process a substrate; a transfer chamber adjoining the modules; a transfer part configured to transfer the substrate to one of the modules; a reception part configured to receive process information of the substrate; a plurality of sensors, which is attached to the modules, configured to detect quality information of the respective modules, the quality information including quality information of components of the respective modules; a table in which a plurality of predetermined process information items are associated with a plurality of predetermined quality information items; a memory part configured to store the table; and a controller configured to select, from the plurality of the predetermined quality information items in the table, a quality information item based on the received process information, configured to compare the selected quality information item with the detected quality information, configured to select one of the modules corresponding to the received process information based on a result of the comparison, and configured to instruct the transfer part to transfer the substrate to the selected module. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the modules includes a plurality of reactors, and the predetermined quality information items include common component quality information items, which are quality information items for common components of the reactors, and reactor quality information items, which are quality information items for components of each of the reactors. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the memory part is configured to further store a plurality of process recipes, and the controller is configured to select one of the process recipes according to the selected quality information item. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the predetermined quality information items have a plurality of levels, and the controller is configured to, when selecting one of the modules, determine whether the selected quality information item meets a level required in the received process information. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the plurality of sensors is configured to detect, as the quality information, an operation time of a component constituting each of the modules or a cumulative processed wafer number in each of the modules. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each of the modules includes a gas supply system configured to supply a gas to the reactors and an exhaust system configured to exhaust the gas from the reactors, and the plurality of sensors is configured to, when detecting an operation time of each of the modules, detect an operation time of the gas supply system or the exhaust system. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory part is configured to further store a plurality of process recipes, and the controller is configured to select one of the process recipes according to the selected quality information item. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the predetermined quality information items have a plurality of levels, and the controller is configured to, when selecting one of the modules, determine whether the selected quality information item meets a level required in the received process information. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the plurality of sensors is configured to detect, as the quality information, an operation time of a component constituting each of the modules or a cumulative processed wafer number in each of the modules. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined quality information items have a plurality of levels, and the controller is configured to, when selecting one of the modules, determine whether the selected quality information item meets a level required in the received process information. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the plurality of sensors is configured to detect, as the quality information, an operation time of a component constituting each of the modules or a cumulative processed wafer number in each of the modules. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors is configured to detect, as the quality information, an operation time of a component constituting each of the modules or a cumulative processed wafer number in each of the modules. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the modules includes a plurality of reactors configured to process the substrate, a gas supply system configured to supply a gas to the reactors and an exhaust system configured to exhaust the gas from the reactors, and the plurality of sensors is configured to, when detecting an operation time of each of the modules, detect an operation time of the gas supply system or the exhaust system. ### Claim 14 (depends on 2) The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the common components includes a component shared by the plurality of reactors. ### Claim 15 (depends on 3) The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to, if the substrate is loaded into and processed in each of the plurality of reactors, select one of the process recipes to set the plurality of reactors to be under a same condition. ### Claim 16 (depends on 3) The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to, if the substrate is loaded into at least one first reactor of the plurality of reactors and is not loaded into at least one second reactor of the plurality of reactors, select different process recipes, from the stored process recipes, for the at least one first reactor and the at least one second reactor.