Patents Examined by Sylvia MacArthur
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Patent number: 11972925Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus includes: a plasma processing chamber; a substrate support disposed in the plasma processing chamber and including a lower electrode; a source RF generator coupled to the plasma processing chamber and configured to generate a source RF signal including high states and low states in alternate manner; and a bias DC generator coupled to the lower electrode and configured to generate a bias DC signal including ON states and OFF states in alternate manner. Each ON state includes a plurality of cycles, each cycle including a first sequence of first pulses and a second sequence of second pulses, each first pulse having a first voltage level, and each second pulse having a second voltage level different from the first voltage level.Type: GrantFiled: May 7, 2021Date of Patent: April 30, 2024Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Bong seong Kim, Ken Kobayashi, Mitsunori Ohata, Yoon Ho Bae
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Patent number: 11967492Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a thin film manufacturing apparatus including a chamber having an inner process space of a substrate, a substrate support unit connected to the chamber to support the substrate in the chamber, a heat source unit connected to the chamber and disposed opposite to the substrate support unit, a plasma generation unit connected to one side of the chamber to supply radicals between the substrate support unit and the heat source unit, and a baffle connected to the chamber and including a movement passage of the radicals therein and a plurality of first exhaust holes communicating with the movement passage, which are formed in a top surface thereof. The thin film manufacturing apparatus may improve uniformity of the thin film formed on the substrate.Type: GrantFiled: October 6, 2021Date of Patent: April 23, 2024Assignee: AP SYSTEMS INC.Inventors: Byoung Il Lee, Chang Kyo Kim, Chang Min Kwon, Seung Won Yu
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Patent number: 11964357Abstract: A conditioner of a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus includes a disk to polish a polishing pad of the CMP apparatus, a driver to rotate the disk, a lifter to lift the driver, an arm to rotate the lifter, and a connector to connect the driver to the lifter, the driver being tiltable with respect to the lifter.Type: GrantFiled: July 5, 2022Date of Patent: April 23, 2024Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.Inventors: Seungchul Han, Yonghee Lee, Taemin Earmme, Byoungho Kwon, Kuntack Lee
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Patent number: 11961710Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus includes a balun having a first unbalanced terminal, a second unbalanced terminal, a first balanced terminal, and a second balanced terminal, a grounded vacuum container, a first electrode electrically connected to the first balanced terminal, a second electrode electrically connected to the second balanced terminal, an impedance matching circuit, a first power supply connected to the balun via the impedance matching circuit, and configured to supply a high frequency to the first electrode via the impedance matching circuit and the balun, a low-pass filter, and a second power supply configured to supply a voltage to the first electrode via the low-pass filter.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2019Date of Patent: April 16, 2024Assignee: CANON ANELVA CORPORATIONInventors: Tadashi Inoue, Masaharu Tanabe, Kazunari Sekiya, Hiroshi Sasamoto, Tatsunori Sato, Nobuaki Tsuchiya
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Patent number: 11961748Abstract: A support unit for supporting a substrate includes a heating member and a reflector, and the reflector includes a curved surface that reflects thermal energy generated by the heating member toward an edge region of the substrate.Type: GrantFiled: July 20, 2021Date of Patent: April 16, 2024Assignee: Semes Co., LTD.Inventors: Kangseop Yun, Youngil Lee, Jungbong Choi
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Patent number: 11961718Abstract: A plasma processing method of processing a substrate with plasma in a plasma processing apparatus. The plasma processing apparatus includes: a chamber configured to accommodate a substrate; an upper electrode structure forming an upper portion of the chamber and including a temperature-controlled plate, an electrode plate disposed below the temperature-controlled plate, and an electrostatic attractor, the electrostatic attractor including a contact surface, an attraction surface, a first electrode, and a second electrode; a power supply configured to apply a voltage to the first and second electrodes; and a temperature obtaining portion configured to acquire a temperature distribution of the electrode plate.Type: GrantFiled: February 26, 2021Date of Patent: April 16, 2024Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Shojiro Yahata, Tetsuji Sato
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Patent number: 11955314Abstract: An apparatus for plasma processing includes a chamber, a substrate support having a lower electrode and an electrostatic chuck disposed on the lower electrode and configured to support a substrate mounted on the electrostatic chuck in the chamber, and a radio frequency power supply configured to supply a radio frequency power to generate plasma in the chamber. Further, in the apparatus, a bias power supply supplies a bias power. A first electrical path electrically connects the bias power supply and the lower electrode, and a second electrical path that is different from the first electrical path and the lower electrode is configured to supply the bias power from the lower electrode or the first electrical path to an edge ring disposed to surround an edge of the substrate. Further, an impedance adjuster provides a variable impedance to the second electrical path.Type: GrantFiled: January 8, 2020Date of Patent: April 9, 2024Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventor: Chishio Koshimizu
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Patent number: 11935724Abstract: The disclosure pertains to a capacitively coupled plasma source in which VHF power is applied through an impedance-matching coaxial resonator having a symmetrical power distribution.Type: GrantFiled: February 13, 2023Date of Patent: March 19, 2024Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Kartik Ramaswamy, Igor Markovsky, Zhigang Chen, James D. Carducci, Kenneth S. Collins, Shahid Rauf, Nipun Misra, Leonid Dorf, Zheng John Ye
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Patent number: 11935763Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes: a circulation pipe which defines a circulation passage through which a chemical liquid within a chemical-liquid tank is circulated; a supply pipe which guides the chemical liquid from the circulation pipe to a chemical-liquid nozzle; a supply valve which is switched between an open state in which the chemical liquid flowing through the supply pipe toward the chemical-liquid nozzle is passed and a closed state in which the supply of the chemical liquid from the supply pipe to the chemical-liquid nozzle is stopped; a recovery pipe which guides the chemical liquid from a cup to the chemical-liquid tank; and a branch pipe which guides the chemical liquid within the circulation pipe to the recovery pipe.Type: GrantFiled: April 6, 2021Date of Patent: March 19, 2024Assignee: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.Inventor: Michinori Iwao
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Patent number: 11919126Abstract: In an embodiment, a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) system includes: a monolithic platen within a platen housing, wherein the monolithic platen is formed of a single piece of material, wherein the monolithic platen includes: a first portion within a first opening, and a second portion within a second opening, wherein the first portion has a different diameter than the second portion; and a polishing fluid delivery module above the monolithic platen, wherein the polishing fluid delivery module is configured to deliver slurry to the monolithic platen during performance of CMP.Type: GrantFiled: May 12, 2021Date of Patent: March 5, 2024Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.Inventors: Tsung-Lung Lai, Cheng-Ping Chen, Shih-Chung Chen, Sheng-Tai Peng
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Patent number: 11915947Abstract: Substrates can be suppressed from being separated from supporting grooves. A substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate holding unit and a processing tub. The substrate holding unit is configured to hold multiple substrates. The processing tub is configured to store a processing liquid therein. The substrate holding unit comprises a supporting body, an elevating device and a restriction unit. The supporting body has multiple supporting grooves and is configured to support the multiple substrates with a vertically standing posture from below in the multiple supporting grooves, respectively. The elevating device is configured to move the supporting body between a standby position above the processing tub and a processing position within the processing tub. The restriction unit is configured to be moved up and down along with the supporting body by the elevating device and configured to restrict an upward movement of the substrates with respect to the supporting body.Type: GrantFiled: December 15, 2021Date of Patent: February 27, 2024Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Takumi Honda, Koji Yamashita, Shinji Tahara, Hironobu Hyakutake
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Patent number: 11911871Abstract: A method of manufacturing a composite article includes providing a polishing pad; rubbing over the polishing pad to produce a polishing pad debris; collecting the polishing pad debris; providing a wood material; and applying a force over the wood material and the polishing pad debris to form the composite article, wherein the composite article includes the wood material and the polishing pad debris, and the rubbing of the polishing pad includes removing a portion of the polishing pad to produce the polishing pad debris.Type: GrantFiled: February 26, 2019Date of Patent: February 27, 2024Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.Inventors: Hua-Chou Chiang, Chandler Ying Lai See, Chung-Chieh Ko
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Patent number: 11906898Abstract: In a method of manufacturing a photo mask, a resist layer is formed over a mask blank, which includes a mask substrate, a phase shift layer disposed on the mask substrate and a light blocking layer disposed on the phase shift layer. A resist pattern is formed by using a lithographic operation. The light blocking layer is patterned by using the resist pattern as an etching mask. The phase shift layer is patterned by using the patterned light blocking layer as an etching mask. A border region of the mask substrate is covered with an etching hard cover, while a pattern region of the mask substrate is opened. The patterned light blocking layer in the pattern region is patterned through the opening of the etching hard cover. A photo-etching operation is performed on the pattern region to remove residues of the light blocking layer.Type: GrantFiled: August 10, 2020Date of Patent: February 20, 2024Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.Inventors: Chun-Chieh Tien, Cheng-Hsuen Chiang, Chih-Ming Chen, Cheng-Ming Lin, Yen-Wei Huang, Hao-Ming Chang, Kuo-Chin Lin, Kuan-Shien Lee
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Patent number: 11905603Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes: a mixer configured to mix sulfuric acid as a first component and a second component different from the first component to prepare an etchant; a nozzle configured to eject the etchant to a substrate; a first component supplier including a first flow path that supplies the first component to the mixer, a first instantaneous flowmeter and a first flow rate controller provided in the first flow path; a second component supplier including a second flow path different from the first flow path and configured to supply the second component to the mixer, a second instantaneous flowmeter and a second flow rate controller provided in the second flow path; and a controller configured to control the first and second flow rate controllers using average flow rates of the first component and the second component during the ejection of the etchant to the substrate.Type: GrantFiled: December 17, 2021Date of Patent: February 20, 2024Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITEDInventors: Takashi Nakazawa, Isamu Miyamoto, Keigo Satake, Kenji Nakamizo
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Patent number: 11908679Abstract: Embodiments described herein relate to oxygen cleaning chambers and a method of atomic oxygen cleaning a substrate. The oxygen cleaning chambers and method of atomic oxygen cleaning a substrate provide for generation of atomic oxygen in situ to oxidize materials on the surfaces of the substrate. The atomic oxygen cleaning chamber includes a chamber body, a chamber lid, a processing volume defined by the chamber body and the chamber lid, an UV radiation generator including one or more UV radiation sources, a pedestal disposed in the processing volume, and a gas distribution assembly. The pedestal has a processing position corresponding to a distance from the UV radiation generator to an upper surface of the pedestal. The gas distribution assembly is configured to be connected to an ozone generator to distribute ozone over the upper surface of the pedestal.Type: GrantFiled: August 30, 2019Date of Patent: February 20, 2024Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Banqiu Wu, Eli Dagan
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Patent number: 11904431Abstract: A method and apparatus for insitu adjustment of wafer slip detection during work piece polishing are disclosure. In one aspect, a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) system, includes: a carrier configured to retain a substrate, a platen supporting a polishing pad, and a slip sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a characteristic of a surface of the polishing pad. The system further includes a processor configured to: receive the signal from the slip sensor, calibrate a steady-state value of the signal when the CMP system is in a steady-state condition, compare the signal received from the slip sensor to the calibrated steady-state value during CMP polishing, and detect wafer slip in response to the signal received from the slip sensor during the CMP polishing differing from the calibrated steady-state value by more than a threshold value.Type: GrantFiled: July 29, 2020Date of Patent: February 20, 2024Assignee: Axus Technology, LLCInventor: Daniel Ray Trojan
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Patent number: 11901198Abstract: A workpiece processing system has a cooling chamber enclosing a chamber volume. A workpiece support within the cooling chamber supports a workpiece having a material with an outgassing temperature, above which, the material outgases an outgas material at an outgassing rate that is toxic to personnel. A cooling apparatus selectively cools the workpiece to a predetermined temperature. A vacuum source and purge gas source selectively evacuates and selectively provides a purge gas to the chamber volume. A controller controls the cooling apparatus to cool the workpiece to the predetermined temperature, where the one or more materials are cooled below the outgassing temperature. The vacuum source and purge gas source are controlled to provide a predetermined heat transfer rate while removing the respective outgas material from the chamber volume.Type: GrantFiled: July 12, 2019Date of Patent: February 13, 2024Assignee: Axcelis Technologies, Inc.Inventor: John F. Baggett
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Patent number: 11890718Abstract: The present disclosure provides a tray assembly having a dual-structure. The tray assembly comprises an upper tray and a lower tray. The lower tray is capable of being easily disengaged from the upper tray by use of a dovetail joint that allows the lower tray to slidably move relative to the upper tray. The tray assembly also utilizes magnets to reduce the use of mechanical joints. The combination of the magnets together with the dovetail joint provides a quick and efficient way of sliding the lower tray in and out from the upper tray. The lower tray having a collection region collects any external, foreign materials generated during a chemical mechanical polishing/planarizing process. After the cleaning process, the lower tray can be slid back into the upper tray for use.Type: GrantFiled: January 17, 2020Date of Patent: February 6, 2024Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.Inventors: Yu-Feng Han, A. S. Chen
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Patent number: 11883926Abstract: A polishing pad is described. The polishing pad includes a surface having plural recess portions, and a substrate is polished by the surface. In the pad, an average width of the recess portions at one area of the surface in a direction parallel to the surface is 20 ?m or less, and an average density of the recess portions at one area of the surface is 1,300/mm2 or more.Type: GrantFiled: May 13, 2021Date of Patent: January 30, 2024Assignee: KIOXIA CORPORATIONInventors: Takahiko Kawasaki, Yukiteru Matsui, Akifumi Gawase
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Patent number: 11875970Abstract: Disclosed are a radio frequency electrode assembly for a plasma processing apparatus, and a plasma processing apparatus, wherein the radio frequency electrode assembly for a plasma processing apparatus comprises: a base in which a first fluid passage is provided, the first fluid passage being configured for connecting to a first fluid source; an electrostatic chuck disposed on the base; a focus ring disposed peripheral to the electrostatic chuck; a heat conducting ring disposed around the base, the heat conducting ring enclosing at least part of the base, the heat conducting ring being disposed below the focus ring, a second fluid passage being provided in the heat conducting ring, the second fluid passage being connected to a second fluid source, heat conduction being enabled between the heat conducting ring and the focus ring. The plasma processing apparatus can adjust polymers distribution in the edge area of the to-be-processed substrate.Type: GrantFiled: December 17, 2019Date of Patent: January 16, 2024Assignee: ADVANCED MICRO-FABRICATION EQUIPMENT INC. CHINAInventors: Longbao Chen, Jie Liang, Weina Wang, Leyi Tu