Patents by Inventor Carlos Leal-Verdugo

Carlos Leal-Verdugo has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20230083737
    Abstract: A method for adjusting a height of an edge ring arranged around an outer portion of a substrate support includes receiving at least one input indicative of one or more erosion rates of the edge ring. The at least one input includes a plurality of erosion rates for respective usage periods of a substrate processing system. The method further includes determining at least one erosion rate of the edge ring using the plurality of erosion rates for the respective usage periods, monitoring an overall usage of the edge ring and storing the overall usage of the edge ring in a memory, calculating an amount of erosion of the edge ring based on the determined at least one erosion rate and the overall usage of the edge ring, and adjusting the height of the edge ring based on the calculated amount of erosion to compensate for the calculated amount of erosion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2022
    Publication date: March 16, 2023
    Inventors: Tom A. KAMP, Carlos Leal-Verdugo
  • Patent number: 11538713
    Abstract: A controller for adjusting a height of an edge ring in a substrate processing system includes an edge ring wear calculation module configured to receive at least one input indicative of one or more erosion rates of the edge ring, calculate at least one erosion rate of the edge ring based on the at least one input, and calculate an amount of erosion of the edge ring based on the at least one erosion rate. An actuator control module is configured to adjust the height of the edge ring based on the amount of erosion as calculated by the edge ring wear calculation module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Tom A. Kamp, Carlos Leal-Verdugo
  • Publication number: 20200373193
    Abstract: A controller for adjusting a height of an edge ring in a substrate processing system includes an edge ring wear calculation module configured to receive at least one input indicative of one or more erosion rates of the edge ring, calculate at least one erosion rate of the edge ring based on the at least one input, and calculate an amount of erosion of the edge ring based on the at least one erosion rate. An actuator control module is configured to adjust the height of the edge ring based on the amount of erosion as calculated by the edge ring wear calculation module.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2018
    Publication date: November 26, 2020
    Inventors: Tom A. KAMP, Carlos LEAL-VERDUGO
  • Patent number: 10437236
    Abstract: A method of determining thermal stability of an upper surface of a substrate support assembly in a plasma processing apparatus includes: before processing of at least one substrate in the plasma processing apparatus and while powering an array of thermal control elements of the substrate support assembly to achieve a desired spatial and temporal temperature of the upper surface of the substrate support assembly, recording pre-process temperature data of the substrate support assembly; after the processing of the at least one substrate in the plasma processing apparatus and while powering the array of thermal control elements to achieve the desired spatial and temporal temperature of the upper surface of the substrate support assembly, recording post-process temperature data; comparing the post-process temperature data to the pre-process temperature data; and determining whether the post-process temperature data is within a predetermined tolerance range of the pre-process temperature data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ole Waldmann, Eric A. Pape, Carlos Leal-Verdugo, Keith William Gaff
  • Publication number: 20170322546
    Abstract: A method of determining thermal stability of an upper surface of a substrate support assembly in a plasma processing apparatus includes: before processing of at least one substrate in the plasma processing apparatus and while powering an array of thermal control elements of the substrate support assembly to achieve a desired spatial and temporal temperature of the upper surface of the substrate support assembly, recording pre-process temperature data of the substrate support assembly; after the processing of the at least one substrate in the plasma processing apparatus and while powering the array of thermal control elements to achieve the desired spatial and temporal temperature of the upper surface of the substrate support assembly, recording post-process temperature data; comparing the post-process temperature data to the pre-process temperature data; and determining whether the post-process temperature data is within a predetermined tolerance range of the pre-process temperature data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2017
    Publication date: November 9, 2017
    Inventors: Ole Waldmann, Eric A. Pape, Carlos Leal-Verdugo, Keith William Gaff
  • Patent number: 9716022
    Abstract: A method of determining thermal stability of an upper surface of a substrate support assembly comprises recording time resolved pre-process temperature data of the substrate before performing a plasma processing process while powering an array of thermal control elements to achieve a desired spatial and temporal temperature of the upper surface. A substrate is processed while powering the array of thermal control elements to achieve a desired spatial and temporal temperature of the upper surface of the assembly, and time resolved post-process temperature data of the assembly is recorded after processing the substrate. The post-process temperature data is recorded while powering the thermal control elements to achieve a desired spatial and temporal temperature of the upper surface. The post-process temperature data is compared to the pre-process temperature data to determine whether the data is within a desired tolerance range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2017
    Assignee: LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ole Waldmann, Eric A. Pape, Carlos Leal-Verdugo, Keith William Gaff
  • Publication number: 20150168962
    Abstract: A method of determining thermal stability of an upper surface of a substrate support assembly comprises recording time resolved pre-process temperature data of the substrate before performing a plasma processing process while powering an array of thermal control elements to achieve a desired spatial and temporal temperature of the upper surface. A substrate is processed while powering the array of thermal control elements to achieve a desired spatial and temporal temperature of the upper surface of the assembly, and time resolved post-process temperature data of the assembly is recorded after processing the substrate. The post-process temperature data is recorded while powering the thermal control elements to achieve a desired spatial and temporal temperature of the upper surface. The post-process temperature data is compared to the pre-process temperature data to determine whether the data is within a desired tolerance range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Publication date: June 18, 2015
    Applicant: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Ole Waldmann, Eric A. Pape, Carlos Leal-Verdugo, Keith William Gaff