Patents Examined by Sylvia R. MacArthur
  • Patent number: 9754806
    Abstract: Provided are an apparatus and method for treating wafers using a supercritical fluid. The wafer treatment apparatus includes a plurality of chambers; a first supply supplying a first fluid in a supercritical state; a second supply supplying a mixture of the first fluid and a second fluid; a plurality of first and second valves; and a controller selecting a first chamber of the plurality of chambers for wafer treatment to control the open/closed state of each of the plurality of first valves so that the first fluid can be supplied only to the first chamber of the plurality of chambers and selecting a second chamber of the plurality of chambers to control the open/closed state of each of the plurality of second valves so that the mixture of the first fluid and a second fluid can be supplied only to the second chamber of the plurality of chambers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hyo-San Lee, Chang-ki Hong, Kun-tack Lee, Jeong-nam Han
  • Patent number: 9732416
    Abstract: A rotatable wafer chuck includes chuck arms and wafer holders that are aerodynamically shaped to reduce turbulence during rotation. A wafer holder may include a friction support and an independently rotatable vertical alignment member and clamping member that is shaped to reduce drag. The shape reduces turbulence during edge bevel etching to improve the uniformity of the edge exclusion and during high-speed rotation to improve particle performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: Novellus Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Craig P. Stephens, Matt Kanetomi, Joseph Richardson, Chris Veazey, Aaron LaBrie
  • Patent number: 9734992
    Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus performs a stable and accurate matching operation with high reproducibility in a power modulation process of modulating of a high frequency power to be supplied into a processing vessel in a pulse shape. In the plasma processing apparatus, an impedance sensor 96A provided in a matching device performs a dual sampling averaging process on a RF voltage measurement value and an electric current measurement value respectively obtained from a RF voltage detector 100A of a voltage sensor system and a RF electric current detector 108A of an electric current sensor system by sampling-average-value calculating circuits 104A and 112A and by moving-average-value calculating circuits 106A and 114A. Thus, an update speed of a load impedance measurement value outputted from the impedance sensor 96A can be matched well with a driving control speed of a motor in a matching controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignees: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED, DAIHEN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Norikazu Yamada, Toshifumi Tachikawa, Koichi Nagami, Satoru Hamaishi, Koji Itadani
  • Patent number: 9711375
    Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus is provided including a processing chamber disposed within a vacuum vessel to form plasma therein, a processing stage disposed in the processing chamber to mount a wafer thereon, a first power supply for outputting an electric field supplied to form the plasma and forming an electric field of a first frequency supplied with repetition of a high output and a low output during processing of the wafer, a second power supply for supplying power of a second frequency to an electrode disposed within the processing stage, and a control device for causing a first value between load impedance at time of the high output of the electric field and load impedance at time of the low output of the electric field to match with impedance of the first power supply.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Hiromitsu Terauchi, Tsutomu Iida, Koichi Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 9673092
    Abstract: A film forming apparatus includes a reactor chamber, a first electrode provided in the reactor chamber and receiving electrical power, a second electrode provided in the reactor chamber and facing the first electrode, a gas supply inlet for supplying material gas to a space between the first and second electrodes, and a gas exhaust outlet for discharging the material gas. Insulating material is not exposed to a flow path for the material gas in the reactor chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: ASM IP Holding B.V.
    Inventors: Ryu Nakano, Noboru Takamure, Hiroki Arai
  • Patent number: 9623434
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes substrate holding unit that holds wafer W horizontally, rotation driving unit that rotates the substrate holding unit, first chemical liquid nozzle that discharges first chemical liquid toward the peripheral portion of wafer W, second chemical liquid nozzle that discharges second chemical liquid, which is different from the first chemical liquid, toward the peripheral portion of wafer, and first nozzle driving unit and second nozzle driving unit each moves the first chemical liquid nozzle and the second chemical liquid nozzle, respectively. Each chemical liquid nozzle is moved by each nozzle driving unit between processing position disposed when a chemical liquid is discharged toward the peripheral portion of wafer W, and stand-by position disposed when the chemical liquid is not discharged. Each stand-by position is disposed in the center side of wafer W compared to the processing position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventor: Yoshifumi Amano
  • Patent number: 9576808
    Abstract: In a substrate processing apparatus, with an internal space of a chamber brought into a pressurized atmosphere, an etching process is performed by continuously supplying a first processing liquid onto an upper surface of a substrate while rotating the substrate. It is thereby possible to suppress vaporization of the first processing liquid on the substrate and further suppress a decrease in the temperature of the substrate due to the heat of vaporization as it goes from a center portion of the substrate toward a peripheral portion thereof as compared with under normal pressure. As a result, it is possible to improve the uniformity in the temperature of the upper surface of the substrate during the etching process using the first processing liquid and improve the uniformity of etching over the entire upper surface of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hirofumi Masuhara, Kenichiro Arai, Masahiro Miyagi, Toru Endo
  • Patent number: 9564377
    Abstract: A polishing system receives one or more target parameters for a selected peak in a spectrum of light, polishes a substrate, measures a current spectrum of light reflected from the substrate while the substrate is being polished, identifies the selected peak in the current spectrum, measures one or more current parameters of the selected peak in the current spectrum, compares the current parameters of the selected peak to the target parameters, and ceases to polish the substrate when the current parameters and the target parameters have a pre defined relationship.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Dominic J. Benvegnu, Boguslaw A. Swedek, David J. Lischka
  • Patent number: 9524847
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes a chamber accommodating a wafer, a susceptor disposed inside the chamber and on which the wafer is held, an upper electrode facing the susceptor, and a second high frequency power source connected to the susceptor, wherein the upper electrode is electrically connected to a ground and is moveable with respect to the susceptor. The substrate processing apparatus divides a potential difference between plasma generated in a processing space and the ground into a potential difference between the plasma and a dielectric and a potential difference between the dielectric and the ground by burying the dielectric in the upper electrode, and changes a gap between the upper electrode and the susceptor. Accordingly, plasma density between the upper electrode and the susceptor is changed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2016
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Nobuhiro Wada, Makoto Kobayashi, Hiroshi Tsujimoto, Jun Tamura, Mamoru Naoi, Jun Oyabu
  • Patent number: 9524887
    Abstract: An etching apparatus includes a receiving container which receives a substrate, and a first spraying unit which supplies etchant into the receiving container. The receiving container includes a bottom plate, a plurality of bottom through holes defined in the bottom plate and through which the etchant is drained from the receiving container; and a plurality of side walls extended from the bottom plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2016
    Assignee: SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hae-Young Yoo, Pyoung-Kyu Park, Woo-Youl Park, Min-Kyu Shin, Jung-Kun Shin
  • Patent number: 9520276
    Abstract: An electrode assembly of a plasma processing apparatus that enables damage to an electrode plate to be prevented, and enables an increase in the number of parts to be prevented, so that the ability to carry out maintenance can be easily maintained. An upper electrode assembly has an upper electrode plate, a cooling plate (C/P) and a spacer interposed between the upper electrode plate and the C/P. The upper electrode plate has therein electrode plate gas-passing holes that penetrate through the upper electrode plate. The C/P has therein C/P gas-passing holes that penetrate through the C/P. The spacer has therein spacer gas-passing holes that penetrate through the spacer. The electrode plate gas-passing holes, the C/P gas-passing holes and the spacer gas-passing holes are not disposed collinearly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Chikako Takahashi, Takashi Suzuki, Masato Horiguchi, Takashi Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 9478387
    Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus capable of optimizing a plasma process is provided. The plasma processing apparatus includes a control unit for controlling a minimum energy and a maximum energy of ions incident onto a substrate independently of each other such that ion energy of the ions are concentrated at a first energy band and a second energy band respectively. In the plasma processing apparatus, the oxide film is etched to form a hole within the oxide film, the first energy band is lower than a first energy value at which the oxide film is etched while the organic film is not etched, and the second energy band is higher than a second energy value at which an etching yield at an inclined surface of the hole is higher than an etching yield of an upper surface of the organic film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2016
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Ooya, Akira Tanabe, Yoshinori Yasuta
  • Patent number: 9449796
    Abstract: A remote plasma source is enclosed by a pair of counter electrodes of conical or similar shape that are mirror images of one another and connected across a plasma power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Ankur Agarwal, Ajit Balakrishna, Rajinder Dhindsa
  • Patent number: 9368371
    Abstract: A retaining ring comprises a generally annular body. The body comprises a top surface, a bottom surface, an outer surface connected to the top surface at an outer top perimeter and the bottom surface at an outer bottom perimeter, and an inner surface connected to the top surface at an inner top perimeter and the bottom surface at an inner bottom perimeter. The inner surface comprises seven or more planar facets. Adjacent planar facets are connected at corners. The inner bottom perimeter comprises straight edges of the planar facets connected at the corners.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeonghoon Oh, Steven M. Zuniga, Andrew J. Nagengast, Samuel Chu-Chiang Hsu, Gautam Shashank Dandavate
  • Patent number: 9362147
    Abstract: A substrate treatment method employs a substrate holding unit, a gas ejection nozzle, and a gas supply unit. The substrate holding unit is configured to hold a substrate. The gas supply unit is configured to supply a gas to the gas ejection nozzle. The gas ejection nozzle is disposed to be positioned adjacent a center portion of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit. The gas ejection nozzle has a gas ejection port. The gas ejection nozzle is configured to eject the gas radially from the gas ejection port over the substrate held by the substrate holding unit to form a gas-flow for covering the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashi Izuta, Hiroaki Ishii, Asuka Yoshizumi
  • Patent number: 9339914
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to a substrate polishing and slurry recycling system. The system includes an extendable gutter that may be positioned to collect processing slurry from the polishing pad during processing and deliver the consumed slurry to a reclamation tank. The reclaimed slurry may be treated and mixed with fresh slurry for delivery to the polishing pad during subsequent substrate polishing. The extendable gutter may be positioned in a second position during rinsing of the polishing pad so that rinsing fluid passes underneath the gutter and is removed from the system without mixing with the reclaimed slurry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventor: Simon Yavelberg
  • Patent number: 9333619
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) system. The CMP system includes a pad designed for wafer polishing, a motor driver coupled with the pad and designed to drive the pad during the wafer polishing, and a controller coupled with the motor driver and designed to control the motor driver. The CMP system further includes an in-situ rate monitor designed to collect polishing data from a wafer on the pad, determine CMP endpoint based on a life stage of the pad, and provide the CMP endpoint to the controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Chu-An Lee, Hui-Chi Huang, Peng-Chung Jangjian
  • Patent number: 9318358
    Abstract: An etching device is provided, the etching device including a process chamber including an etchant, a structure configured to provide a laminar flow of the etchant, and a workpiece handler configured to move a workpiece through the laminar flow of the etchant along a predefined track.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
    Inventors: Thomas Fischer, Raimund Foerg, Sebastian Bernrieder, Michael Larisch
  • Patent number: 9259805
    Abstract: Provided is a mask for an evaporation apparatus, which includes a first division mask and a second division mask. The first and second division masks are directly bonded to each other by welding, thereby forming welding portion between the first and the second division masks. A method and apparatus for manufacturing a mask for evaporation are also provided. The division masks according to the embodiment do not use subframes, and are directly bonded to one another by welding, so that a shadow effect does not occur. The apparatus for manufacturing a mask for evaporation includes a work stage, a clamp fixing a first division mask and a second division mask to the work stage, and a laser welding part welding the first division mask to the second division mask. The apparatus may further include a first roller leading the laser welding part and a second roller following the laser welding part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignee: Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Joon-Hyung Kim, Young-Geun Cho, Eui-Shin Shin, Jong-Heon Kim, Seung-Ho Choi, Cheol-Lae Roh, Chang-Mog Jo, Jae-Seok Park
  • Patent number: 9257292
    Abstract: Provided is a method and system for increasing etch rate and etch selectivity of a masking layer on a substrate in an etch treatment system, the etch treatment system configured for single substrate processing. The method comprises obtaining a supply of steam water vapor mixture at elevated pressure, obtaining a supply of treatment liquid for selectively etching the masking layer over the silicon or silicon oxide at a set etch selectivity ratio, placing the substrate into the etch processing chamber, combining the treatment liquid and the steam water vapor mixture, and injecting the combined treatment liquid and the steam water vapor mixture into the etch processing chamber, wherein the flow of the combined treatment liquid and the steam water vapor mixture is controlled to maintain a set etch rate and a set etch selectivity ratio of the masking layer to silicon or silicon oxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Ian J Brown, Wallace P Printz