Patents by Inventor Zheng John Ye

Zheng John Ye 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: 9305749
    Abstract: A plasma source includes a plasma vessel that includes a dielectric material that encloses a cavity of a toroidal shape. The toroidal shape defines a toroidal axis therethrough. The vessel forms input and output connections, each of the input and output connections being in fluid communication with the cavity. One or more metal plates are disposed adjacent to the plasma vessel for cooling the plasma vessel. A magnetic core is disposed along the toroidal axis such that respective first and second ends of the magnetic core extend beyond axially opposed sides of the plasma vessel. First and second induction coils are wound about the respective first and second ends of the magnetic core. A plasma is generated in the cavity when an input gas is supplied through the input connection and an oscillating electrical current is supplied to the first and second induction coils.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Zheng John Ye, Jay D. Pinson, II, Hiroji Hanawa, Juan Carlos Rocha-Alvarez
  • Publication number: 20160064264
    Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for methods and apparatuses for increasing the breakdown voltage while substantially reducing the voltage leakage of an electrostatic chuck at temperatures exceeding about 300 degrees Celsius in a processing chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 26, 2014
    Publication date: March 3, 2016
    Inventors: Prashant KULSHRESHTHA, Kwangduk Douglas LEE, Bok Hoen KIM, Zheng John YE, Swayambhu Prasad BEHERA, Ganesh BALASUBRAMANIAN, Juan Carlos ROCHA-ALVAREZ, Jian J. CHEN
  • Publication number: 20160049323
    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: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2015
    Publication date: February 18, 2016
    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: 20150247237
    Abstract: Embodiments described herein relate to a faceplate for improving film uniformity. A semiconductor processing apparatus includes a pedestal, an edge ring and a faceplate having distinct regions with differing hole densities. The faceplate has an inner region and an outer region which surrounds the inner region. The inner region has a greater density of holes formed therethrough when compared to the outer region. The inner region is sized to correspond with a substrate being processed while the outer region is sized to correspond with the edge ring.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2015
    Publication date: September 3, 2015
    Inventors: Sungwon HA, Kwangduk Douglas LEE, Ganesh BALASUBRAMANIAN, Juan Carlos ROCHA-ALVAREZ, Martin Jay SEAMONS, Ziqing DUAN, Zheng John YE, Bok Hoen KIM, Lei JING, Ngoc LE, Ndanka MUKUTI
  • Publication number: 20150228456
    Abstract: A plasma source includes a plasma vessel that includes a dielectric material that encloses a cavity of a toroidal shape. The toroidal shape defines a toroidal axis therethrough. The vessel forms input and output connections, each of the input and output connections being in fluid communication with the cavity. One or more metal plates are disposed adjacent to the plasma vessel for cooling the plasma vessel. A magnetic core is disposed along the toroidal axis such that respective first and second ends of the magnetic core extend beyond axially opposed sides of the plasma vessel. First and second induction coils are wound about the respective first and second ends of the magnetic core. A plasma is generated in the cavity when an input gas is supplied through the input connection and an oscillating electrical current is supplied to the first and second induction coils.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 20, 2015
    Publication date: August 13, 2015
    Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: ZHENG JOHN YE, Jay D. Pinson, II, Hiroji Hanawa, Juan Carlos Rocha-Alvarez
  • Publication number: 20150136325
    Abstract: A system for modifying the uniformity pattern of a thin film deposited in a plasma processing chamber includes a single radio-frequency (RF) power source that is coupled to multiple points on the discharge electrode of the plasma processing chamber. Positioning of the multiple coupling points, a power distribution between the multiple coupling points, or a combination of both are selected to at least partially compensate for a consistent non-uniformity pattern of thin films produced by the chamber. The power distribution between the multiple coupling points may be produced by an appropriate RF phase difference between the RF power applied at each of the multiple coupling points.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2014
    Publication date: May 21, 2015
    Inventors: Zheng John YE, Ganesh BALASUBRAMANIAN, Thuy BRICHER, Jay D. PINSON, II, Hiroji HANAWA, Juan Carlos ROCHA-ALVAREZ, Kwangduk Douglas LEE, Martin Jay SEAMONS, Bok Hoen KIM, Sungwon HA
  • Publication number: 20150075719
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2014
    Publication date: March 19, 2015
    Inventors: Kartik Ramaswamy, Igor Markovsky, Zhigang Chen, James D. Carducci, Kenneth S. Collins, Shahid Rauf, Nipun Misra, Leonid Dorf, Zheng John Ye
  • Patent number: 8920597
    Abstract: The disclosure pertains to a capactively coupled plasma source in which VHF power is applied through an impedance-matching coaxial resonator having a folded structure and symmetrical power distribution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: 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
  • Patent number: 8878926
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and apparatus for analyzing thermal properties of bonding materials within a composite structure. One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for analyzing thermal property of a bonding material within a structure. The apparatus comprises a structure support having a supporting surface configured to support the structure, a heat source configured to direct a heat flux to the structure supported by the supporting surface of the structure support, and a camera facing the structure supported on the structure support and configured to capture thermal images of the structure supported on the structure support.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2014
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Zheng John Ye, Kartik Ramaswamy, Troy S. Detrick, Kenneth S. Collins
  • Publication number: 20140302256
    Abstract: Embodiments provide a plasma processing apparatus, substrate support assembly, and method of controlling a plasma process. The apparatus and substrate support assembly include a substrate support pedestal, a tuning assembly that includes a tuning electrode that is disposed in the pedestal and electrically coupled to a radio frequency (RF) tuner, and a heating assembly that includes one or more heating elements disposed within the pedestal for controlling a temperature profile of the substrate, where at least one of the heating elements is electrically coupled to an RF filter circuit that includes a first inductor configured in parallel with a formed capacitance of the first inductor to ground. The high impedance of the RF filters can be achieved by tuning the resonance of the RF filter circuit, which results in less RF leakage and better substrate processing results.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2014
    Publication date: October 9, 2014
    Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Jian J. CHEN, Mohamad A. AYOUB, Juan Carlos ROCHA-ALVAREZ, Zheng John YE, Ramprakash SANKARAKRISHNAN, Jianhua ZHOU
  • Publication number: 20140209027
    Abstract: Embodiments of showerheads having a detachable gas distribution plate are provided herein. In some embodiments, a showerhead for use in a semiconductor processing chamber may include a base having a first side and a second side; a gas distribution plate disposed proximate the second side of the base; a clamp disposed about a peripheral edge of the gas distribution plate to removably couple the gas distribution plate to the base; and a thermal gasket disposed between the base and gas distribution plate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Publication date: July 31, 2014
    Inventors: DMITRY LUBOMIRSKY, VLADIMIR KNYAZIK, HAMID NOORBAKHSH, JASON DELLA ROSA, ZHENG JOHN YE, JENNIFER Y. SUN, SUMANTH BANDA
  • Publication number: 20120069174
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and apparatus for analyzing thermal properties of bonding materials within a composite structure. One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for analyzing thermal property of a bonding material within a structure. The apparatus comprises a structure support having a supporting surface configured to support the structure, a heat source configured to direct a heat flux to the structure supported by the supporting surface of the structure support, and a camera facing the structure supported on the structure support and configured to capture thermal images of the structure supported on the structure support.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 19, 2011
    Publication date: March 22, 2012
    Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Zheng John Ye, Kartik Ramaswamy, Troy S. Detrick, Kenneth S. Collins
  • Publication number: 20120043023
    Abstract: The disclosure pertains to a capactively coupled plasma source in which VHF power is applied through an impedance-matching coaxial resonator having a folded structure and symmetrical power distribution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2011
    Publication date: February 23, 2012
    Applicant: 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