Patents by Inventor Mikhail Shkolnikov

Mikhail Shkolnikov 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: 20020090464
    Abstract: Particulate contamination can occur in physical vapor deposition (PVD) systems when sputtered target material accumulates on the walls of the processing chamber and flakes off onto the workpiece. In a method for preparing a shield to reduce particulate contamination, sheet metal is formed to conform to the surfaces of the deposition chamber. The base metal is roughened, such as by sand blasting. A layer of coating material, whose coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) is similar to that of the target material, is applied to the roughened base metal surface by a thermal spraying process. The surface of the coating is very rough, more than five times rougher than the underlying base metal texture. When the coating CTE and surface roughness are chosen carefully, shield performance can be optimized, resulting in longer processing times between shield replacements, reduced PVD chamber maintenance and less down time in these systems.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2001
    Publication date: July 11, 2002
    Inventors: Mingwei Jiang, Mikhail Shkolnikov