Abstract: The present invention generally relates to providing a controlled impedance connection between two PCBs. A connector may connect a first PCB to a second PCB. The connector may comprise of a body made from a dielectric material and a plurality of conductive lines defined in the dielectric material. One or more of the conductive lines may transfer one or more signals between the PCBs. A return path may be provided for each signal line. Furthermore, the width, length, and the proximity of a signal line and its associated return line may be selected to match the impedance of the connector to the impedance of the PCB. The connector may also contain one or more ferrite layers to suppress electromagnetic radiation caused by common mode currents.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for allocating multiple tags to multiple requesters in back to back clock cycles. A tag pool may be divided into a predetermined number of sections. Each requester may be associated with at least one of the sections in the tag pool. When multiple tag requests are received from multiple requesters each section containing available tags may provide a tag to a requester associated with the section per clock cycle. Therefore, multiple tags may be provided to multiple requesters in back to back clock cycles, thereby increasing efficiency and improving performance.

Abstract: A design structure embodied in a machine readable storage medium for designing, manufacturing, and/or testing a design for protection for the transmission of higher amplitude outputs required of differential amplifiers formed by thin oxide transistors with limited maximum voltage tolerance used where compliance with communication protocol standards requires handling voltages which may, in transition, exceed desirable levels is provided by limiting the voltage across any two device terminals under power down conditions.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for reading the internal address space of an adapter in a system during a dump are described. The adapter includes a control port and a data port used as channels for exchanging control messages and dump data between the adapter and the system. The system starts the dump by sending to the data port a specification of a block of the adapter's internal address space. In response, the adapter sends dump data portions to a system buffer via the data port.

Abstract: The present invention generally relates to memory controllers operating in a system containing a variable system clock. The memory controller may exchange data with a processor operating at a variable processor clock frequency. However the memory controller may perform memory accesses at a constant memory clock frequency. Asynchronous buffers may be provided to transfer data across the variable and constant clock domains. To prevent read buffer overflow while switching to a lower processor clock frequency, the memory controller may quiesce the memory sequencers and pace read data from the sequencers at a slower rate. To prevent write data under runs, the memory controller's data flow logic may perform handshaking to ensure that write data is completely received in the buffer before performing a write access.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide a system for testing and mounting a PCB in a device. A PCB may be placed on one or more standoffs so that a head portion of the standoff protrudes from one or more apertures of the PCB. A push-pin type standoff cap may then be placed on the protruding heads to mechanically restrain the PCB to the standoffs. Furthermore, one or more cables may be coupled with the standoff caps to provide power or test signals to one or more connector pads on the PCB. Therefore, the standoff caps provide a system for aligning, retaining, connecting, terminating, and testing printed circuit boards.

Abstract: Downhole apparatus for separation of oil from oily water or water from oil having an internal chamber continuously flooded with production fluids from a well, one or more hydrocyclonic separators for separating the production fluid into a stream enriched in oil and an stream depleted in oil. The clearance required between the apparatus and the well casing being the minimum required for running the apparatus into the casing, maximizing the size of the separator(s) and improving capacity. A range of artificial lift devices is included to bring the oil enriched stream to the surface if the natural pressure of the reservoir is insufficient. Substantial axial overlap of multiple separators is provided for better compactness and capacity of the apparatus. Pipes from separator overflow outlets connect to a common overflow manifold, and pipes from the separator underflow outlets connect to a common underflow manifold.

Abstract: The present invention relates generally to an improved apparatus and process for providing uniform step coverage on a substrate and planarization of conducting layers to form continuous, void-free interconnects in sub-half micron, high aspect ratio aperture width applications and highly oriented conducting layers. In one aspect of the invention, a dielectric layer is formed over a conducting or semiconducting layer and etched to form an aperture exposing the underlying conducting or semiconducting layer on the aperture floor. An ultra-thin nucleation layer is then deposited by physical vapor deposition onto the field of the dielectric layer. A CVD metal layer is then deposited onto the structure to achieve selective deposition on the floor of the aperture, while preferably also forming a highly oriented blanket layer on the field. The present apparatus and process reduce the number of steps necessary to fabricate CVD metal interconnects and layers that are substantially void-free and planarized.

Abstract: The present invention is a method for semi-selectively depositing a material on a substrate by chemical vapor deposition to form continuous, void-free contact holes or vias in sub-half micron applications. An insulating layer is preferentially deposited on the field of a substrate to delay or inhibit nucleation of metal on the field. A CVD metal is then deposited onto the substrate and grows selectively in the contact hole or via where a barrier layer serves as a nucleation layer. The process is preferably carried out in a multi-chamber system that includes both PVD and CVD processing chambers so that once the substrate is introduced into a vacuum environment, the filling of contact holes and vias occurs without the formation of an oxide layer on a patterned substrate.

Abstract: The present invention generally provides a portable system for maintaining aquatic life that require oxygenated water, such as fish, shrimp, other marine animals, microbial populations, plant life and combinations thereof. The system generally includes a container and a centrifugal pump adapted selectively operate in either an aerating mode to provide oxygen to the aquatic life or a pumping mode in which the water in the tank is replace with fresh water. The pump is designed to be self priming, thereby allowing a system that is substantially self regulating and operating without the necessity of electronic controls.

Abstract: A functional load lock apparatus having two or more load lock chambers mounted on a central chamber which can be mounted on a single opening in a vacuum chamber such as a substrate processing platform for making integrated circuits on silicon wafers. Each load lock chamber preferably has a semi-cylindrical valve which remains sealed when the load lock chamber is open to atmospheric pressure. A wafer cassette holder positioned within each load lock chamber can be loaded and unloaded while the semi-cylindrical valves seal the vacuum chamber from atmospheric pressure. The semi-cylindrical valve pivots to an open position when the load lock chamber is under vacuum and the entire wafer cassette moves from the load lock chamber to the central chamber.

Abstract: The present invention generally provides a robot that can transfer a workpiece, such as a silicon wafer, at increased speeds and accelerations/decelerations. More particularly, the present invention provides a robot wrist for mechanically clamping a workpiece to a workpiece handling member of an extendable robot arm. The wafer clamp selectively applies sufficient force to center the workpiece and prevent slippage and damage to the workpiece during rapid rotation and radial movement of the handling member. In one embodiment, a clamp for securing silicon wafers uses two independent clamp fingers to position and hold the wafer with minimal particle generation and wafer damage. The clamp is designed so that wafers are normally clamped except during full extension of the wafer handling member to deliver or pickup a wafer.

Abstract: A readily removable deposition shield for processing chambers such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), ion implantation, or physical vapor deposition (PVD) or sputtering chambers, is disclosed. The deposition shield includes a shield of cylindrical configuration (or other configuration conformed to the internal shape of the substrate and the chamber) which is mounted to the chamber for easy removal, such as by screws, and defines a space along the periphery of the substrate support. A shield ring is inserted into the peripheral space and is thus mounted in removable fashion and is automatically centered about the substrate. The shield ring overlaps the cylindrical shield and the substrate support. Collectively, these components prevent deposition on the chamber and hardware outside the processing region. Also, the cylindrical shield and the shield ring may be removed as a unit. Locating means such as pins may be mounted or formed in the support about the periphery of the substrate for centering the substrate.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for an inductively coupled plasma within a reactor for processing semiconductor wafers or workpieces. A gas distribution system having an annular passage formed between the chamber walls and quartz dome uniformly inlet gases over the wafer. The system of the present invention provides an increased etch rate with high selectively and anistropy.

Abstract: A plasma system is disclosed for processing a substrate and includes a chamber body defining a plasma cavity therein and having a centrally located gas inlet, and a top antenna configured in position relative to the plasma cavity to produce a center-peaked plasma density profile above the substrate during operation. The top antenna has a central passage which surrounds the centrally located gas inlet. A side antenna is preferably configured and positioned relative to the plasma chamber to produce a hollow-center plasma density profile above the substrate during operation. Together, the top and side antennas and the centrally located gas inlet provide a uniform plasma directly over the surface of the substrate to be processed.

Abstract: The present invention generally provides a system for maintaining aquatic life that require oxygenated water, such as fish, shrimp, other marine animals, microbial populations, plant life and combinations thereof. The system generally includes a container and a centrifugal pump adapted selectively operate in either an aerating mode to provide oxygen to the aquatic life or a pumping mode in which the water in the tank is replace with fresh water. The pump is designed to be self priming, thereby allowing a system that is substantially self regulating and operating without the necessity of electronic controls.

Abstract: Vacuum CVD chambers are disclosed which provide a more uniformly deposited thin film on a substrate. The chamber susceptor mount for the substrate is heated resistively with a single coil firmly contacting the metal of the susceptor on all sides, providing uniform temperatures across the susceptor mount for a substrate. A purge gas line is connected to openings in the susceptor outside of the periphery of the substrate to prevent edge and backside contamination of the substrate. A vacuum feed line mounts the substrate to the susceptor plate during processing. A refractory purge guide, or a plurality of placement pins, maintain a fixed gap passage for the purge gases to pass alongside the edge of the wafer and into the processing area of the chamber. An exhaust pumping plate improves the uniformity of exhaustion of spent gases from the chamber.

Abstract: A high voltage feed through supplies power to a device through a passage in a wall of a vacuum chamber. The feed through includes a ceramic body comprising a first brazing surface, a second brazing surface, and a central passage for a conductor, a power source connector brazed to the first brazing surface, and a mounting flange brazed to the second brazing surface, wherein the first and second brazing surfaces are positioned to reduce tensile forces on brazed connections. The brazing surfaces are preferably coplanar to reduce the tensile forces, or angled to place residual compressive forces on the brazed connections. The tensile forces on co-planar surfaces are further reduced by brazing ceramic rings to the power source connector and the mounting flange opposite brazed connections to the ceramic body of the feed through.

Abstract: An method and apparatus for filling packed cylinders with acetylene. The apparatus includes a variable speed compressor which delivers the gas to a manifold. The compressor is operated continuously to maintain a continuous flow of acetylene to the manifold and maintain either a substantially constant manifold pressure or a gradually increasing manifold pressure. The method and apparatus of the invention fills a large number of packed cylinders in less than half the time required by operation of conventional two-speed compressors. Furthermore, the method and apparatus of the invention simplifies the production and bottling of acetylene and enables complete automation of the bottling process after the packed cylinders are connected to the manifold.

Abstract: A sputtering chamber includes a substrate support member, for positioning a substrate thereon, and a sputtering target therein. At least a portion of the sputtering surface of the target is located non-parallel to the substrate. In one aspect of the invention, the sputtering surface of the target is conical, and it tapers as it approaches the substrate.