Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Micahaelson & Wallace
  • Patent number: 6270687
    Abstract: An RF plasma etch reactor having an etch chamber with electrically conductive walls and a protective layer forming the portion of the walls facing the interior of the chamber. The protective layer prevents sputtering of material from the chamber walls by a plasma formed within the chamber. The etch reactor also has an inductive coil antenna disposed within the etch chamber which is used to generate the plasma by inductive coupling. Like the chamber walls, the inductive coil antenna is constructed to prevent sputtering of the material making up the antenna by the plasma. The coil antenna can take on any configuration (e.g. location, shape, orientation) that is necessary to achieve a desired power deposition pattern within the chamber. Examples of potential coil antenna configurations for achieving the desired power deposition pattern include constructing the coil antenna with a unitary or a segmented structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2001
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Yan Ye, Donald Olgado, Avi Tepman, Diana Ma, Gerald Zheyao Yin, Peter Loewenhardt, Jeng Hwang, Steve S. Y. Mak