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US 6,287,023 B1Granted
Processing apparatus and method
AssigneeTokyo Electron Limited
InventorsHidetami Yaegashi, Qi Fan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A processing apparatus includes a housing, a plurality of process units arranged within the housing for subjecting an object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution, exposure and development, a transport mechanism for conveying the object to and from the process units, an air cleaning mechanism having a filter for removing impurity which is contained in air introduced into the housing and which lowers resolution, a concentration detection mechanism for detecting the concentration of the impurity in a region outside of the filter, and a life estimation section for estimating the life of the filter in accordance with the result of detection by the concentration detection mechanism.
Claims41
A processing apparatus comprising:
- a housing;
- a plurality of process units arranged within said housing and configured to subject an object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution and development following exposure;
- a transport mechanism configured to convey the object to and from said process units;
- an air cleaning mechanism having a filter configured to remove impurity which is contained in air introduced into said housing and which lowers resolution;
- a concentration detection section configured to detect impurity concentrations in regions outside and inside of the filter;
- and
- a life estimation section for estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection by said concentration detection section.
4 more elements
A processing apparatus comprising:
- a housing:
- a plurality of process units arranged within said housing, and configured to subject an object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution and development following exposure;
- a transport mechanism configured to remove the object to and from said process units;
- an air cleaning mechanism having a filter configured to remove impurity which is contained in air introduced into said housing and which lowers resolution;
- a concentration detection section configured to detect impurity concentrations in region outside of and inside the filter;
- and
- a life estimation section for estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection by said concentration detection section,
- wherein said life estimation section integrates the concentration detected by said concentration detection section for an operating time, and estimates the life of the filter based on the integrated value.
5 more elements
A processing apparatus comprising:
- a housing;
- a plurality of process units arranged within said housing and configured to subject an object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution and development following exposure;
- a transport mechanism configured to convey the object to and from said process units;
- an air cleaning mechanism having a filter configured to remove impurity which is contained in air introduced into said housing and which lowers resolution, said filter including a plurality of filter members arranged in layers;
- a concentration detection section configured to detect impurity concentrations in regions outside and inside of the filter;
- a life estimation section for estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection by said concentration detection section;
- one or more additional concentration detection sections arranged between corresponding adjacent two of the filter members and configured to detect impurity concentrations which lower the resolution.
4 more elements
A processing apparatus comprising:
- a housing;
- a plurality of process units arranged within said housing and configured to subject an object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution and development following exposure;
- a transport mechanism configured to convey the object to and from said process units;
- an air cleaning mechanism having a filter configured to remove impurity which is contained in air introduced into said housing and which lowers resolution;
- a concentration detection section configured to detect impurity concentrations in regions outside and inside of the filter;
- and
- a life estimation section for estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection by said concentration detection section,
- wherein at least one of said process units has a door which is closed while the object is under treatment, and said processing apparatus further comprises a control section for outputting a warning signal to warning means when the door of said at least one process unit is opened.
5 more elements
A processing apparatus comprising:
- a housing;
- a plurality of process units arranged within said housing, for subjecting an object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution and development following exposure;
- a transport mechanism for conveying the object to and from said process units;
- an air cleaning mechanism having a filter for removing impurity which is contained in air introduced into said housing and which lowers resolution;
- a first concentration detection section for detecting concentration of the impurity in a region outside of the filter;
- one or more second concentration detection section for detecting concentration of the impurity in a corresponding predetermined region of said processing apparatus inside of the filter;
- a life estimation section for estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection by said first concentration detection section;
- and
- a monitoring section for monitoring a detection signal from said second concentration detection section.
6 more elements
A processing apparatus comprising:
- a housing;
- a plurality of process units arranged within said housing, for subjecting an object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution and development following exposure;
- a transport mechanism for conveying the object to and from said process units;
- an air cleaning mechanism having a filter for removing impurity which is contained in air introduced into said housing and which lowers resolution;
- first concentration detection section for detecting concentration of the impurity in a region outside of the filter;
- one or more second concentration detection sections for detecting concentration of the impurity in a corresponding predetermined region of said processing apparatus inside of the filter;
- life estimation means for estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection by said first concentration detection section;
- arithmetic operation means for comparing a detection signal from said second concentration detection section with a preset threshold;
- a warning unit for issuing a warning;
- and
- a first control section for outputting a warning signal to said warning unit when it is judged by said arithmetic operation section that the detection signal shows a value greater than the preset threshold.
8 more elements
A processing method for processing an object, comprising the steps of:
- transferring an object selectively to and from a plurality of process units arranged within a housing;
- subjecting the object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution, exposure and development in said process units;
- removing, by means of a filter, impurity which is contained in air introduced into said housing and which lowers resolution;
- detecting impurity concentrations in regions inside and outside of said filter;
- and
- estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection in said concentration detection step.
3 more elements
A processing method for processing an object comprising the steps of:
- transferring an object selectively to and from a plurality of process units arranged within a housing;
- subjecting the object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution exposure and development in said process units;
- removing, by means of a filter, impurity which is contained in air introduced into said housing and which lowers resolution;
- detecting impurity concentrations in regions outside and inside of said filter;
- and
- estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection in said concentration detection step,
- wherein said step of estimating a life of the filter comprises integrating impurity the concentrations detected in the region outside of the filter for an operating time, and estimating the life of the filter based on the integrated value.
4 more elements
A processing method for processing an object, comprising the steps of:
- transferring an object selectively to and from a plurality of process units arranged within a housing;
- subjecting the object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution, exposure and development in said process units;
- removing, by means of a filter, impurity which is contained in air introduced into said housing and which lowers resolution;
- detecting impurity concentrations in regions outside and inside of said filter;
- and
- estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection in said concentration detection step,
- wherein at least one of the process units has a door which is closed while the object is under treatment, and said processing method further comprises the step of issuing a warning when the door of said at least one process unit is opened.
4 more elements
A processing method for processing an object, comprising the steps of:
- transferring an object selectively to and from a plurality of process units arranged within a housing;
- subjecting the object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution, exposure and development in said process units;
- removing, by means of a filter, impurity which is contained in air introduced into said housing and which lowers resolution;
- detecting impurity concentrations in region outside and inside of said filter;
- and
- estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection in said concentration detection step,
- wherein said filter includes a plurality of filter members arranged in layers, said processing method further comprises the step of detecting impurity concentrations in a region between adjacent two of the filter members, and said step of estimating a life of the filter comprises detecting the impurity concentrations in the region outside of the filter and the impurity concentrations in the region between adjacent two of the filters members.
4 more elements
A processing method for processing an object, comprising the steps of:
- transferring an object selectively to and from a plurality of process units arranged within a housing;
- subjecting the object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution, exposure and development in said process units;
- removing, by means of a filter, impurity which is contained in air introduced into the housing and which lowers resolution;
- detecting impurity concentrations in a region outside of said filter;
- detecting impurity concentrations in one or more regions inside of the filter;
- estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection of the impurity concentration in regions inside and outside of the filter;
- and
- monitoring the impurity concentration in said one or more regions inside of the filter.
5 more elements
A processing method for processing an object, comprising the steps of:
- transferring an object selectively to and from a plurality of process units arranged within a housing;
- subjecting the object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution, exposure and development in said process units;
- removing, by means of a filter, impurity which is contained in air introduced into the housing and which lowers resolution;
- detecting impurity concentration in a region outside of said filter;
- detecting impurity concentrations in one or more regions inside of the filter;
- estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection of the impurity concentration in the region outside of the filter;
- and
- monitoring the impurity concentration in said one or more regions inside of the filter,
- wherein said step of estimating a life of the filter comprises integrating the impurity concentrations detected in the region outside of the filter for an operating time, and estimating the life of the filter based on the integrated value.
6 more elements
A processing method for processing an object, comprising the steps of:
- transferring an object selectively to and from a plurality of process units arranged within a housing;
- subjecting the object to a series of processes including, coating of processing solution, exposure and development in said process units;
- removing, by means of a filter, impurity which is contained in air introduced into the housing and which lowers resolution;
- detecting impurity concentration in a region outside of said filter;
- detecting impurity concentration in one or more regions inside of the filter;
- estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection of the impurity concentration in the region outside the filter;
- and
- monitoring the impurity concentration in said one or more regions inside of the filter,
- wherein at least one of the process units has a door which is closed while the object is under treatment, and said processing method further comprises the step of issuing a warning when the door of said at least one process unit is opened.
6 more elements
A processing method for processing an object comprising the steps of:
- transferring an object selectively to and from a plurality of process units arranged within a housing;
- subjecting the object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution, exposure and development in said process units;
- removing, by means of a filter, impurity which is contained in air introduced into the housing and which lowers resolution;
- detecting impurity concentration in a region outside of said filter;
- detecting impurity concentration in one or more regions of the processing apparatus inside of the filter;
- estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection of the impurity concentration in the region outside of the filter;
- and
- monitoring the impurity concentration in said one or more regions inside of the filter,
- monitoring the impurity concentration in said one or more regions inside of the filter,
- wherein the filter includes a plurality of filter members arranged in layers, said processing method further comprises the step of detecting impurity concentrations in a region between adjacent two of said filter, and said step of estimating a life of the filter comprises detecting the impurity concentrations in the region outside of the layers of the filters and the impurity concentrations in the region between adjacent two of said filter members.
7 more elements
A processing method of processing an object, comprising the steps of:
- transferring an object selectively to and from a plurality of process units arranged within a housing;
- subjecting the object to a series of processes including coating of processing solution, exposure and development in said process units;
- removing, by means of a filter, impurity which is contained in air introduced into the housing and which lowers resolution;
- detecting concentration of the impurity in a region outside of the filter;
- detecting concentration of the impurity in one or more regions inside of the filter;
- estimating a life of the filter in accordance with a result of detection of the impurity concentration in the region outside of the filter;
- comparing the impurity concentration in said one or more regions inside of the filter with a preset threshold;
- and
- issuing a warning if the impurity concentration detected in said one or more regions inside of the filter is higher than the preset threshold.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.