Patents by Inventor Ren-Guan Duan

Ren-Guan Duan 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).

  • Patent number: 10840113
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a ceramic article or coating useful in semiconductor processing, which is resistant to erosion by halogen-containing plasmas. The ceramic article or coating is formed from a combination of yttrium oxide and zirconium oxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Jennifer Y. Sun, Ren-Guan Duan, Jie Yuan, Li Xu, Kenneth S. Collins
  • Patent number: 10840112
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a ceramic article or coating useful in semiconductor processing, which is resistant to erosion by halogen-containing plasmas. The ceramic article or coating is formed from a combination of yttrium oxide and zirconium oxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Jennifer Y. Sun, Ren-Guan Duan, Jie Yuan, Li Xu, Kenneth S. Collins
  • Publication number: 20200321197
    Abstract: A method of forming a radio frequency (RF) strap for use in a process chamber is provided. The method includes positioning a core strap including a first material that is electrically and thermally conductive in a first electrochemical bath. The first electrochemical bath includes a first solvent and a first plating precursor. The method further includes forming a first protective coating on an outer surface of the core strap, removing the first solvent and the first plating precursor from the core strap having the first protective coating formed thereon, post-treating the core strap having the first protective coating formed thereon, positioning the core strap having the first protective coating formed thereon in a second electrochemical bath, and forming a second protective coating on an outer surface of the first protective coating.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2020
    Publication date: October 8, 2020
    Inventors: Ren-Guan DUAN, Juan Carlos ROCHA-ALVAREZ, Bushra AFZAL
  • Patent number: 10711350
    Abstract: Implementations described herein generally relate to materials and coatings, and more specifically to materials and coatings for aluminum and aluminum-containing chamber components. In one implementation, a process is provided. The process comprises exposing an aluminum-containing component to a moisture thermal treatment process and exposing the aluminum-containing component to a thermal treatment process. The moisture thermal treatment process comprises exposing the aluminum-containing component to an environment having a moisture content from about 30% to about 100% at a first temperature from about 30 to about 100 degrees Celsius. The thermal treatment process comprises heating the aluminum-containing component to a second temperature from about 200 degrees Celsius to about 550 degrees Celsius to form an alumina layer on the at least one surface of the aluminum-containing component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERICAL, INC.
    Inventors: Ren-Guan Duan, Jianhua Zhou, Juan Carlos Rocha-Alvarez
  • Patent number: 10622194
    Abstract: A bulk, sintered solid solution-comprising ceramic article useful in semiconductor processing, which is resistant to erosion by halogen-containing plasmas and provides advantageous mechanical properties. The solid solution-comprising ceramic article is formed from a combination of yttrium oxide and zirconium oxide. The bulk, sintered solid solution-comprising article is formed from zirconium oxide at a molar concentration ranging from about 96 mole % to about 94 mole %, and yttrium oxide at a molar concentration ranging from about 4 mole % to about 6 mole %.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Jennifer Y. Sun, Ren-Guan Duan, Jie Yuan, Li Xu, Kenneth S. Collins
  • Patent number: 10612135
    Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to systems and methods to prevent free radical damage to sensitive components in a process chamber and optimizing flow profiles. The processing chamber utilizes a cover substrate on lift pins and an inert bottom purge flow to shield the substrate support from halogen reactants. During a clean process, the cover substrate and the purge flow restricts halogen reactants from contacting the substrate support. The method of cleaning includes placing a cover substrate on a plurality of lift pins that extend through a substrate support in a processing chamber, raising the cover substrate via the lift pins to expose a space between the cover substrate and the substrate support, supplying a halogen containing gas into the processing chamber, supplying a second gas through an opening in the processing chamber, and flowing the second gas through the space between the cover substrate and the substrate support.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Sanjeev Baluja, Kalyanjit Ghosh, Ren-Guan Duan, Mayur G. Kulkarni, Gregory Siu, Praket P. Jha, Deenesh Padhi, Lei Guo, Wei Min Chan, Ajit Balakrishna
  • Publication number: 20200080198
    Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to a chamber liner for the high temperature processing of substrates in a processing chamber. The processing chamber utilizes an inert bottom purge flow to shield the substrate support from halogen reactants such that the substrate support may be heated to temperatures greater than about 650 degrees Celsius. The chamber liner controls a flow profile such that during deposition the bottom purge flow restricts reactants and by-products from depositing below the substrate support. During a clean process, the bottom purge flow restricts halogen reactants from contacting the substrate support. As such, the chamber liner includes a conical inner surface angled inwardly to direct purge gases around an edge of the substrate support and to reduce deposition under the substrate support and the on the edge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2019
    Publication date: March 12, 2020
    Inventors: Sanjeev BALUJA, Ren-Guan DUAN, Kalyanjit GHOSH
  • Patent number: 10480068
    Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to a chamber liner for the high temperature processing of substrates in a processing chamber. The processing chamber utilizes an inert bottom purge flow to shield the substrate support from halogen reactants such that the substrate support may be heated to temperatures greater than about 650 degrees Celsius. The chamber liner controls a flow profile such that during deposition the bottom purge flow restricts reactants and by-products from depositing below the substrate support. During a clean process, the bottom purge flow restricts halogen reactants from contacting the substrate support. As such, the chamber liner includes a conical inner surface angled inwardly to direct purge gases around an edge of the substrate support and to reduce deposition under the substrate support and the on the edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Sanjeev Baluja, Ren-Guan Duan, Kalyanjit Ghosh
  • Patent number: 10403535
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an electrostatic chuck for maintaining a flatness of a substrate being processed in a plasma reactor at high temperatures. In one embodiment, the electrostatic chuck comprises a chuck body coupled to a support stem, the chuck body having a substrate supporting surface, and the chuck body has a volume resistivity value of about 1×107 ohm-cm to about 1×1015 ohm-cm in a temperature of about 250° C. to about 700° C., and an electrode embedded in the body, the electrode is coupled to a power supply. In one example, the chuck body is composed of an aluminum nitride material which has been observed to be able to optimize chucking performance around 600° C. or above during a deposition or etch process, or any other process that employ both high operating temperature and substrate clamping features.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Zheng John Ye, Jay D. Pinson, II, Hiroji Hanawa, Jianhua Zhou, Xing Lin, Ren-Guan Duan, Kwangduk Douglas Lee, Bok Hoen Kim, Swayambhu P. Behera, Sungwon Ha, Ganesh Balasubramanian, Juan Carlos Rocha-Alvarez, Prashant Kumar Kulshreshtha, Jason K. Foster, Mukund Srinivasan, Uwe P. Haller, Hari K. Ponnekanti
  • Publication number: 20190233343
    Abstract: A heat treated ceramic article includes a ceramic substrate and a ceramic coating on the ceramic substrate. The ceramic coating is a non-sintered ceramic coating that has a different composition than the ceramic substrate. The heat treated ceramic article further includes a transition layer between the ceramic substrate and the ceramic coating, the transition layer comprising first elements from the ceramic coating that have reacted with second elements from the ceramic substrate, wherein the transition layer has a thickness of about 0.1 microns to about 5 microns.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2019
    Publication date: August 1, 2019
    Inventors: Jennifer Y. Sun, Ren-Guan Duan, Biraja P. Kanungo, Dmitry Lubomirsky
  • Patent number: 10364197
    Abstract: A heat treated ceramic article includes a ceramic substrate and a ceramic coating on the ceramic substrate. The ceramic coating is a non-sintered ceramic coating that has a different composition than the ceramic substrate. The heat treated ceramic article further includes a transition layer between the ceramic substrate and the ceramic coating, the transition layer comprising first elements from the ceramic coating that have reacted with second elements from the ceramic substrate, wherein the transition layer has a thickness of about 0.1 microns to about 5 microns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Jennifer Y. Sun, Ren-Guan Duan, Biraja P. Kanungo, Dmitry Lubomirsky
  • Publication number: 20190203350
    Abstract: Implementations described herein protect a substrate support from corrosive cleaning gases used at high temperatures. In one embodiment, a substrate support has a shaft having an outer wall. The substrate support has a heater. The heater has a body having a top surface, a side surface and a bottom surface extending from the outer wall of the shaft. The top surface is configured to support a substrate during plasma processing of the substrate. A covering is provided for at least two of the top surface, side surface and bottom surface. The covering is selected to resist corrosion of the body at temperatures in excess of about 400 degrees Celsius. A sleeve circumscribing the shaft, the sleeve and the outer wall of the shaft forming a space therebetween, the space adapted to flow a purge gas therethrough in a direction toward the body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 8, 2019
    Publication date: July 4, 2019
    Inventors: Abdul Aziz KHAJA, Ren-Guan DUAN, Amit Kumar BANSAL, Jianhua ZHOU, Juan Carlos ROCHA-ALVAREZ
  • Patent number: 10336656
    Abstract: A machined ceramic article having an initial surface defect density and an initial surface roughness is provided. The machined ceramic article is heated to a temperature range between about 1000° C. and about 1800° C. at a ramping rate of about 0.1° C. per minute to about 20° C. per minute. The machined ceramic article is heat-treated in air atmosphere. The machined ceramic article is heat treated at one or more temperatures within the temperature range for a duration of up to about 24 hours. The machined ceramic article is then cooled at the ramping rate, wherein after the heat treatment the machined ceramic article has a reduced surface defect density and a reduced surface roughness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2019
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Ren-Guan Duan, Thorsten Lill, Jennifer Y. Sun, Benjamin Schwarz
  • Publication number: 20190157114
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a ceramic article or coating useful in semiconductor processing, which is resistant to erosion by halogen-containing plasmas. The ceramic article or coating is formed from a combination of yttrium oxide and zirconium oxide.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2019
    Publication date: May 23, 2019
    Inventors: Jennifer Y. Sun, Ren-Guan Duan, Jie Yuan, Li Xu, Kenneth S. Collins
  • Publication number: 20190157115
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a ceramic article or coating useful in semiconductor processing, which is resistant to erosion by halogen-containing plasmas. The ceramic article or coating is formed from a combination of yttrium oxide and zirconium oxide.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2019
    Publication date: May 23, 2019
    Inventors: Jennifer Y. Sun, Ren-Guan Duan, Jie Yuan, Li Xu, Kenneth S. Collins
  • Publication number: 20190157113
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a ceramic article or coating useful in semiconductor processing, which is resistant to erosion by halogen-containing plasmas. The ceramic article or coating is formed from a combination of yttrium oxide and zirconium oxide.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2019
    Publication date: May 23, 2019
    Inventors: Jennifer Y. Sun, Ren-Guan Duan, Jie Yuan, Li Xu, Kenneth S. Collins
  • Patent number: 10266943
    Abstract: Implementations described herein protect a substrate support from corrosive cleaning gases used at high temperatures. In one embodiment, a substrate support has a shaft and a heater. The heater has a body. The body has a top surface, a side surface and a bottom surface. The top surface is configured to support a substrate during plasma processing of the substrate. A covering is provided for at least two of the top surface, side surface and bottom surface. The covering is selected to resist corrosion of the body at temperatures in excess of about 400 degrees Celsius.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Abdul Aziz Khaja, Ren-Guan Duan, Amit Kumar Bansal, Jianhua Zhou, Juan Carlos Rocha-Alvarez
  • Patent number: 10242888
    Abstract: A solid solution-comprising ceramic article useful in semiconductor processing, which article may be in the form of a solid, bulk ceramic, or may be in the form of a substrate having a ceramic coating of the same composition as the bulk ceramic material on at least one outer surface. The ceramic article is resistant to erosion by halogen-containing plasmas and provides advantageous mechanical properties. The solid solution-comprising ceramic article is formed from a combination of yttrium oxide and zirconium oxide. The ceramic-comprising article includes ceramic which is formed from zirconium oxide at a molar concentration ranging from about 96 mole % to about 91 mole %, and yttrium oxide at a molar concentration ranging from about 4 mole % to about 9 mole %.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Jennifer Y. Sun, Ren-Guan Duan, Jie Yuan, Li Xu, Kenneth S. Collins
  • Publication number: 20190019655
    Abstract: Described herein are components of a semiconductor processing apparatus, where at least one surface of the component is resistant to a halogen-containing reactive plasma. The component includes a solid structure having a composition containing crystal grains of yttrium oxide, yttrium fluoride or yttrium oxyfluoride and at least one additional compound selected from an oxide, fluoride, or oxyfluoride of neodymium, cerium, samarium, erbium, aluminum, scandium, lanthanum, hafnium, niobium, zirconium, ytterbium, hafnium, and combinations thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2018
    Publication date: January 17, 2019
    Inventors: Jennifer Y. Sun, Ren-Guan Duan, Kenneth S. Collins
  • Patent number: 10157731
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention relate to compositions including a yttrium-based fluoride crystal phase, or a yttrium-based oxyfluoride crystal base, or an oxyfluoride amorphous phase, or a combination of those materials. The compositions may be used to form a solid substrate for use as a semiconductor processing apparatus, or the compositions may be used to form a coating which is present upon a surface of substrates having a melting point which is higher than about 1600°, substrates such as aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, quartz, silicon carbide and silicon nitride, by way of example.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Jennifer Y Sun, Ren-Guan Duan, Kenneth S Collins