Abstract: Methods of forming metallic tungsten films selectively on a conductive surface relative to a dielectric surface are described. A substrate is exposed to a first process condition to deposit a tungsten-containing film that is substrate free of tungsten metal. The tungsten-containing film is then converted to a metallic tungsten film by exposure to a second process condition.
Abstract: An ion source including a chamber housing defining an ion source chamber and including an extraction plate on a front side thereof, the extraction plate having an extraction aperture formed therein, and a tubular cathode disposed within the ion source chamber and having an opening formed in a front half thereof nearest the extraction aperture, wherein a rear half of the tubular cathode furthest from the extraction aperture is closed.
Type:
Application
Filed:
August 20, 2021
Publication date:
December 9, 2021
Applicant:
Applied Materials, Inc.
Inventors:
Bon-Woong Koo, Frank Sinclair, Alexandre Likhanskii, Svetlana Radovanov, Alexander Perel, Graham Wright, Jay T. Scheuer, Daniel Tieger, You Chia Li, Jay Johnson, Tseh-Jen Hsieh, Ronald Johnson
Abstract: Methods of forming metallic tungsten films selectively on a conductive surface relative to a dielectric surface are described. A substrate is exposed to a first process condition to deposit a fluorine-free metallic tungsten film. The fluorine-free metallic tungsten film is exposed to a second process condition to deposit a tungsten film on the fluorine-free metallic tungsten film.
Abstract: Apparatus and methods for supplying a vapor to a processing chamber are described. The vapor delivery apparatus comprises an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit, each with two valves, in fluid communication with an ampoule. A bypass conduit connects the inlet conduit and the outlet conduit. A flow restrictive device restricts flow through the outlet conduit.
Abstract: Apparatus, methods and are disclosed for measuring refractive index of a material film. The method and apparatus utilize a reference measurement and as series of reflectance measurements at a range of wavelengths and thickness values for the material film to determine the refractive index of the material film.
Abstract: Apparatus, methods and are disclosed for measuring refractive index of an absorber material used in EUV phase shift masks. The method and apparatus utilize a reference measurement and as series of reflectance measurements at a range of EUV wavelengths and thickness values for the absorber material to determine the refractive index of the absorber material.
Abstract: A method of automatically focusing a charted particle beam on a surface region of a sample is provided. The method includes acquiring a plurality of images for a corresponding plurality of focusing strength values; calculating a plurality of sharpness values based on the plurality of images, the plurality of sharpness values are calculated with a sharpness function provided as a sum in a frequency space based on the plurality of images; and determining subsequent focusing strength values of the plurality of focusing strength values with a golden ratio search algorithm based one the calculated sharpness values.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
April 12, 2019
Date of Patent:
December 7, 2021
Assignee:
Applied Materials, Inc.
Inventors:
Robert Trauner, Bernhard Schüler, Bernhard G. Mueller, Nikolai Knaub, Kulpreet Singh Virdi
Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure relate to systems and methods for forming devices on a substrate. For example, a method for forming devices on a substrate can include projecting one or more ion beams from one or more ion beam chambers to form one or more devices on a first surface of a substrate and projecting one or more ion beams from one or more ion beam chambers to form one or more devices on a second surface of a substrate. In these embodiments, the first surface and the second surface are on opposite sides of the substrate. Therefore, the ion beams can form the devices on both sides of the substrate.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
December 6, 2019
Date of Patent:
December 7, 2021
Assignee:
Applied Materials, Inc.
Inventors:
Joseph C. Olson, Ludovic Godet, Rutger Meyer Timmerman Thijssen, Morgan Evans, Jinxin Fu
Abstract: The present disclosure is a method of bonding an electrostatic chuck to a temperature control base. According to the embodiments, a bonding layer is formed between a dielectric body comprising the electrostatic chuck and a temperature control base. A flow aperture extends through the dielectric body and is aligned with a flow aperture in the temperature control base. The bonding layer is also configured with an opening that aligns with apertures in the dielectric body and the temperature control base. In one aspect, a porous plug may be disposed within the flow aperture to protect the bonding layer. In another aspect, a seal is disposed within the flow aperture to seal off the boding layer from gases in the flow aperture.
Abstract: Systems for prequalifying components for a processing chamber are described. The systems may be used to clean particulates from chamber parts and concurrently quantify the cleanliness. The systems may be used to qualify replacement parts before sending to a customer site for installation. The systems have three adjacent compartments separated by impermeable barriers. All three compartments are filled with liquid while cleaning a chamber component. The center compartment contains a submerged component for cleaning and qualifying. Two compartments on either side of the center compartment are configured with submerged ultrasonic transducers to deliver ultrasonic energy to either side of the component being cleaned and prequalified. A liquid pump is connected to the cleaning tub to recirculate water from the cleaning bath and another liquid pump is configured to remove a small amount of the cleaning bath to sample particulates.
Abstract: Various arrangements for performing vector-matrix multiplication are provided here. Digital input vectors that include binary-encoded values can be converted into a plurality of analog signals using a plurality of one-bit digital to analog converters (DACs). Using an analog vector matrix multiplier, a vector-matrix multiplication operation can be performed using a weighting matrix for each bit-order of the plurality of analog signals. For each performed vector-matrix multiplication operation, a bit-ordered indication of an output of the analog vector matrix multiplier may be stored. A bit-order weighted summation of the sequentially performed vector-matrix multiplication operation may be performed.
Abstract: A rotating microwave is established for any resonant mode TEmnl or TMmnl of a cavity, where the user is free to choose the values of the mode indices m, n and l. The fast rotation, the rotation frequency of which is equal to an operational microwave frequency, is accomplished by setting the temporal phase difference ?Ø and the azimuthal angle ?? between two microwave input ports P and Q as functions of m, n and l. The slow rotation of frequency ?a (typically 1-1000 Hz), is established by transforming dual field inputs ? cos ?at and ±? sin ?at in the orthogonal input system into an oblique system defined by the angle ?? between two microwave ports P and Q.
Abstract: Methods of and carriers for dicing semiconductor wafers, each wafer having a plurality of integrated circuits, are described. In an example, a cover ring for protecting a carrier and substrate assembly during an etch process includes an inner opening having a diameter smaller than the diameter of a substrate of the carrier and substrate assembly. An outer frame surrounds the inner opening. The outer frame has a bevel for accommodating an outermost portion of the substrate of the carrier and substrate assembly.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 19, 2014
Date of Patent:
December 7, 2021
Assignee:
Applied Materials, Inc.
Inventors:
James M. Holden, Alexander N. Lerner, Ajay Kumar, Aparna Iyer, Alan Hiroshi Ouye
Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a transistor and methods for forming a transistor. A transistor includes a gate electrode structure disposed over a channel region, a source/drain extension region disposed adjacent to the channel region, and a source/drain region disposed on the source/drain extension region. The source/drain region includes antimony (Sb). The method of forming a transistor includes forming the source/drain extension region and forming the source/drain region on the source/drain extension region. The antimony helps prevent unwanted migration of dopants from the source/drain region to the source/drain extension region.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 30, 2019
Date of Patent:
December 7, 2021
Assignee:
Applied Materials, Inc.
Inventors:
Patricia M. Liu, Flora Fong-Song Chang, Zhiyuan Ye
Abstract: Disclosed herein is a computerized system including scanning equipment configured to obtain multi-perspective scan data of a slice on a sample. The scanning equipment includes: (i) a light source configured to generate a light beam; (ii) an acousto-optic deflector (AOD) configured to focus the light beam such as to generate a beam train scanned along consecutive lines on the slice, in groups of n?2 successively scanned lines, along each of which the beam train forms at least one illumination spot, respectively; and (iii) one or more detectors configured to sense light returned from the slice. The n?2 lines are scanned different perspectives, respectively. The consecutive lines may be longitudinally displaced relative to one another, such as to overlap in 100·(n?1)/n % of widths thereof, so that the slice may be fully scanned in each of the perspectives.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
July 10, 2020
Date of Patent:
December 7, 2021
Assignee:
Applied Materials Israel Ltd.
Inventors:
Harel Ilan, Doron Korngut, Ori Golani, Ido Almog
Abstract: A chucking station comprises a chuck, a power supply, and one or more pumping elements. The chuck comprises a plurality of first vacuum ports configured to interface with a surface of a substrate and a plurality of second vacuum ports configured to interface with a surface of a carrier. The chuck further comprises a first electrical pin configured to be in electrical communication with a first electrode of the carrier, and a second electrical pin configured to be in electrical communication with a second electrode of the carrier. The power supply is configured to apply a chucking voltage and a de-chucking voltage to the first and second electrical pins. The one or more pumping elements is coupled to the first and second vacuum ports and configured to generate a vacuum between the substrate and the chuck and a vacuum between the carrier and the chuck.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
October 16, 2019
Date of Patent:
December 7, 2021
Assignee:
Applied Materials, Inc.
Inventors:
Alexander N. Lerner, Kim Ramkumar Vellore, Steven Trey Tindel
Abstract: Implementations of the present disclosure generally relate to methods for forming a transistor. More specifically, implementations described herein generally relate to methods for forming a source/drain contact. In one implementation, the method includes forming a trench in a dielectric material to expose a source/drain region of a transistor, performing a pre-clean process on the exposed source/drain region, forming a doped semiconductor layer on the source/drain region by an epitaxial deposition process, and fill the trench with a conductor. The doped semiconductor layer has a lower electrical resistance than the source/drain region due to a higher dopant concentration in the doped semiconductor layer. As a result, the contact resistance of the source/drain contact is reduced.
Abstract: A method for detecting a rare stochastic defect, the method may include searching for a rare stochastic defect in a dense pattern of a substrate, wherein the rare stochastic defect is (a) of nanometric scale, (b) appears in a functional pattern of the substrate with a defect density that is below 10?9, and (c) appears in the dense pattern with a defect density that is above 10?7; wherein the dense pattern is a dense representation of the functional pattern that differs from the functional pattern by at least one out of (a) a distance between features of the dense pattern, and (b) a width of the features of the dense pattern; and estimating the occurrence of the rare stochastic defect within the functional pattern based on an outcome of the searching.
Abstract: Examples disclosed herein generally relate to systems and methods for detecting the size of a particle in a fluid. In one example, a system for imaging a particle includes a first imaging device. The first imaging device includes a lens and a digital detector. The system further includes a laser source. He laser source is configured to emit a first laser beam and a second laser beam. The digital detector is configured to accumulate a metric of an intensity of an accumulated light that passes through the lens. The accumulated light is scattered from the particle. The accumulated light includes light from the first laser beam and the second laser beam.
Type:
Application
Filed:
May 27, 2020
Publication date:
December 2, 2021
Applicant:
Applied Materials, Inc.
Inventors:
Mehdi VAEZ-IRAVANI, Todd EGAN, Guoheng ZHAO
Inventors:
Jason M. Schaller, Benjamin Riordon, Mitchell DiSanto, Paul Forderhase, Gary Wyka, Jeffrey Hudgens, Paul Z. Wirth, Charles T. Carlson, Siva Chandrasekar, Michael Carrell, Venkata Raghavaiah Chowdhary Kode, Dmitry A. Dzilno, Juan Carlos Rocha-Alvarez