Patents Assigned to Veeco Instruments, Inc.
  • MOVABLE INJECTORS IN ROTATING DISC GAS REACTORS
    Publication number: 20120070916
    Abstract: A system and method for uniform deposition of material layers on wafers in a rotating disk chemical vapor deposition reaction system is provided, wherein one or more substrates are rotated on a carrier about an axis while maintaining surfaces of the one or more substrates substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation and facing in an upstream direction along the axis of rotation. During rotating a first gas is discharged in the downstream direction towards the one or more substrates from a first set of gas inlets. A second gas is discharged in the downstream direction towards the one or more substrates from at least one movable gas injector, and the at least one movable gas inlet is moved with a component of motion in a radial direction towards or away from the axis of rotation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2011
    Publication date: March 22, 2012
    Applicant: VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC.
    Inventors: Piero Sferlazzo, Alexander I. Gurary, Eric A. Armour, William E. Quinn, Steve Ting
  • Linear Cluster Deposition System
    Publication number: 20120058630
    Abstract: A linear cluster deposition system includes a plurality of reaction chambers positioned in a linear horizontal arrangement. First and second reactant gas manifolds are coupled to respective process gas input port of each of the reaction chambers. An exhaust gas manifold having a plurality of exhaust gas inputs is coupled to the exhaust gas output port of each of the plurality of reaction chambers. A substrate transport vehicle transports at least one of a substrate and a substrate carrier that supports at least one substrate into and out of substrate transfer ports of each of the reaction chambers. At least one of a flow rate of process gas into the process gas input port of each of the reaction chambers and a pressure in each of the reaction chambers being chosen so that process conditions are substantially the same in at least two of the reaction chambers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2010
    Publication date: March 8, 2012
    Applicant: Veeco Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: William E. Quinn, Alexander Gurary, Ajit Paranjpe, Maria D. Ferreira, Roger P. Fremgen, JR., Eric A. Armour
  • ENHANCED WAFER CARRIER
    Publication number: 20120040097
    Abstract: A wafer carrier used in wafer treatments such as chemical vapor deposition has pockets for holding the wafers and support surfaces for supporting the wafers above the floors of the pockets. The carrier is provided with locks for restraining wafers against upward movement away from the support surfaces. Constraining the wafers against upward movement limits the effect of wafer distortion on the spacing between the wafer and the floor surfaces, and thus limits the effects of wafer distortion on heat transfer. The carrier may include a main portion and minor portions having higher thermal conductivity than the main portion, the minor portions being disposed below the pockets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2010
    Publication date: February 16, 2012
    Applicant: VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC.
    Inventors: Boris Volf, Yuliy Rashkovsky
  • CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION WITH ELEVATED TEMPERATURE GAS INJECTION
    Publication number: 20120040514
    Abstract: A chemical vapor deposition reactor and method. Reactive gases, such as gases including a Group III metal source and a Group V metal source, are introduced into the chamber (10) of a rotating-disc reactor and directed downwardly onto a wafer carrier (32) and substrates (40) which are maintained at an elevated substrate temperature, typically above about 400° C. and normally about 700-1100° C. to deposit a compound such as a III-V semiconductor. The gases are introduced into the reactor at an inlet temperature desirably above about 75° C. and most preferably about 100°-350° C. The walls of the reactor may be at a temperature close to the inlet temperature. Use of an elevated inlet temperature allows the use of a lower rate of rotation of the wafer carrier, a higher operating pressure, lower flow rate, or some combination of these.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2009
    Publication date: February 16, 2012
    Applicant: VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC.
    Inventors: Alex Gurary, Mikhail Belousov, Bojan Mitrovic
  • EXHAUST FOR CVD REACTOR
    Publication number: 20120027936
    Abstract: A chemical vapor deposition reactor and a method of wafer processing are provided. The reactor includes a reaction chamber having an interior, a gas inlet manifold communicating with the interior of the chamber, an exhaust system including an exhaust manifold having a passage and one or more ports, and one or more cleaning elements mounted within the chamber. The gas inlet manifold can admit process gasses to form a deposit on substrates held within the interior. The passage can communicate with the interior of the chamber through the one or more ports. The one or more cleaning elements are movable between (i) a run position in which the cleaning elements are remote from the one or more ports and (ii) a cleaning position in which the one or more cleaning elements are engaged in the one or more ports.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2010
    Publication date: February 2, 2012
    Applicant: Veeco Instruments Inc.
    Inventor: Alex Gurary
  • Movable injectors in rotating disc gas reactors
    Patent number: 8092599
    Abstract: A system and method for uniform deposition of material layers on wafers in a rotating disk chemical vapor deposition reaction system is provided, wherein one or more substrates are rotated on a carrier about an axis while maintaining surfaces of the one or more substrates substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation and facing in an upstream direction along the axis of rotation. During rotating a first gas is discharged in the downstream direction towards the one or more substrates from a first set of gas inlets. A second gas is discharged in the downstream direction towards the one or more substrates from at least one movable gas injector, and the at least one movable gas inlet is moved with a component of motion in a radial direction towards or away from the axis of rotation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignee: Veeco Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Piero Sferlazzo, Alexander I. Gurary, Eric A. Armour, William E. Quinn, Steve Ting
  • MULTI-WAFER ROTATING DISC REACTOR WITH INERTIAL PLANETARY DRIVE
    Publication number: 20110300297
    Abstract: Wafer carriers and methods for moving wafers in a reactor. The wafer carrier may include a platen with a plurality of compartments and a plurality of wafer platforms. The platen is configured to rotate about a first axis. Each of the wafer platforms is associated with one of the compartments and is configured to rotate about a respective second axis relative to the respective compartment. The platen and the wafer platforms rotate with different angular velocities to create planetary motion therebetween. The method may include rotating a platen about a first axis of rotation. The method further includes rotating each of a plurality of wafer platforms carried on the platen and carrying the wafers about a respective second axis of rotation and with a different angular velocity than the platen to create planetary motion therebetween.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2011
    Publication date: December 8, 2011
    Applicant: VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC.
    Inventors: Adrian Celaru, Todd A. Luse, Ajit P. Paranjpe, Joseph Scandariato, Quinfu Tang
  • APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR BATCH NON-CONTACT MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION
    Publication number: 20110300645
    Abstract: An apparatus for performing non-contact material characterization includes a wafer carrier adapted to hold a plurality of substrates and a material characterization device, such as a device for performing photoluminescence spectroscopy. The apparatus is adapted to perform non-contact material characterization on at least a portion of the wafer carrier, including the substrates disposed thereon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2011
    Publication date: December 8, 2011
    Applicant: VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC.
    Inventors: Dong Seung Lee, Mikhail Belousov, Eric A. Armour, William E. Quinn
  • APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR BATCH NON-CONTACT MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION
    Publication number: 20110297076
    Abstract: An apparatus for performing non-contact material characterization includes a wafer carrier adapted to hold a plurality of substrates and a material characterization device, such as a device for performing photoluminescence spectroscopy. The apparatus is adapted to perform non-contact material characterization on at least a portion of the wafer carrier, including the substrates disposed thereon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2011
    Publication date: December 8, 2011
    Applicant: VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC.
    Inventors: Dong Seung Lee, Mikhail Belousov, Eric A. Armour, William E. Quinn
  • Multi-Chamber CVD Processing System
    Publication number: 20110290175
    Abstract: A multi-chamber CVD system includes a plurality of substrate carriers where each substrate carrier is adapted to support at least one substrate. A plurality of enclosures are each configured to form a deposition chamber enclosing one of the plurality of substrate carriers to maintain an independent chemical vapor deposition process chemistry for performing a processing step. A transport mechanism transports each of the plurality of substrate carriers to each of the plurality of enclosures in discrete steps that allow processing steps to be performed in the plurality of enclosures for a predetermined time. In some embodiments, the substrate carrier can be rotatable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 18, 2011
    Publication date: December 1, 2011
    Applicant: VEECO INSTRUMENTS, INC.
    Inventors: Ajit Paranjpe, Eric A. Armour, William E. Quinn
  • Bridge row tool
    Patent number: 8066547
    Abstract: A lapping row tool comprising a plurality of bending nodes having a space between adjacent ones of said nodes and each of which has an end surface to manipulate a row of magnetic heads during lapping. A bridge extends along the end surfaces of the bending nodes and across the space between the adjacent bending nodes. The bridge provides a surface for holding the row of magnetic heads that prevents the flexing of the row into the space between the bending nodes during lapping while allowing the bending nodes to manipulate the row during lapping.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2011
    Assignee: Veeco Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory W. Schuh, Tracy Lytle
  • WAFER CARRIER WITH HUB
    Publication number: 20110287635
    Abstract: A wafer carrier for a rotating disc CVD reactor includes a unitary plate of a ceramic such as silicon carbide defining wafer-holding features such as pockets on its upstream surface and also includes a hub removably mounted to the plate in a central region of the plate. The hub provides a secure connection to the spindle of the reactor without imposing concentrated stresses on the ceramic plate. The hub can be removed during cleaning of the plate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2011
    Publication date: November 24, 2011
    Applicant: VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC.
    Inventors: Vadim Boguslavskiy, Alexander I. Gurary
  • SPLIT LASER SCRIBE
    Publication number: 20110233176
    Abstract: A dual-beam laser cutting system uses laser beam polarization to output two identical laser beams. The dual identical laser beams are spaced appropriately to simultaneously cut a water thus increasing the laser cutting system's throughput as compared to a single-laser cutting system. In one implementation, the dual-beam laser cutting system 100 utilizes a beam expander 220, two half-wave plates 224, 238, a polarizing beam splitter 228, a mirror 236, and two lenses 234, 242 to provide two identical laser beams 202, 204 from a single laser source 214. The identical laser beams 202, 204 are tuned to have the same power, cross-sectional diameter, and polarization direction. One of the half-wave plates 224 is rotated to yield laser beams with the same power. The other half-wave plate 238 is rotated to yield laser beams with the same polarization direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2010
    Publication date: September 29, 2011
    Applicant: Veeco Instruments, Inc.
    Inventors: Jianmin Wang, Craig Metzner, Gregory W. Schuh
  • Apparatus and method for batch non-contact material characterization
    Patent number: 8022372
    Abstract: An apparatus for performing non-contact material characterization includes a wafer carrier adapted to hold a plurality of substrates and a material characterization device, such as a device for performing photoluminescence spectroscopy. The apparatus is adapted to perform non-contact material characterization on at least a portion of the wafer carrier, including the substrates disposed thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2011
    Assignee: Veeco Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Dong Seung Lee, Mikhail Belousov, Eric A. Armour, William E. Quinn
  • Wafer carrier with hub
    Patent number: 8021487
    Abstract: A wafer carrier for a rotating disc CVD reactor includes a unitary plate of a ceramic such as silicon carbide defining wafer-holding features such as pockets on its upstream surface and also includes a hub removably mounted to the plate in a central region of the plate. The hub provides a secure connection to the spindle of the reactor without imposing concentrated stresses on the ceramic plate. The hub can be removed during cleaning of the plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2011
    Assignee: Veeco Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Vadim Boguslavskiy, Alexander I. Gurary
  • WAFER CARRIER WITH SLOPED EDGE
    Publication number: 20110215071
    Abstract: A wafer carrier includes a body defining a central axis, a generally planar top surface perpendicular to the central axis, and pockets recessed below the top surface for receiving wafers. The body can include a lip projecting upwardly around the periphery of the top surface. The lip can define a lip surface sloping upwardly from the planar top surface in a radially outward direction away from the central axis. The body can be adapted for mounting on a spindle of a processing apparatus so that the central axis of the body is coaxial with the spindle. The lip can improve the pattern of gas flow over the top surface of the wafer carrier.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2011
    Publication date: September 8, 2011
    Applicant: VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC.
    Inventors: Bojan Mitrovic, Joshua Mangum, William E. Quinn
  • PROCESSING METHODS AND APPARATUS WITH TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION CONTROL
    Publication number: 20110206843
    Abstract: Wafer treatment process and apparatus is provided with a wafer carrier arranged to hold wafers and to inject a fill gas into gaps between the wafers and the wafer carrier. The apparatus is arranged to vary the composition, flow rate, or both of the fill gas so as to counteract undesired patterns of temperature non-uniformity of the wafers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2010
    Publication date: August 25, 2011
    Applicant: VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC.
    Inventors: Alex Gurary, Mikhail Belousov, Vadim Boguslavskiy, Bojan Mitrovic
  • METHOD AND APPARATUS OF OPERATING A SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPE
    Publication number: 20110167524
    Abstract: An improved mode of AFM imaging (Peak Force Tapping (PFT) Mode) uses force as the feedback variable to reduce tip-sample interaction forces while maintaining scan speeds achievable by all existing AFM operating modes. Sample imaging and mechanical property mapping are achieved with improved resolution and high sample throughput, with the mode being workable across varying environments, including gaseous, fluidic and vacuum. Ease of use is facilitated by eliminating the need for an expert user to monitor imaging.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2010
    Publication date: July 7, 2011
    Applicants: BRUKER NANO, INC., Veeco Instruments Inc.
    Inventors: Yan Hu, Shuiqing Hu, Chanmin Su, Jian Shi, Ji Ma
  • Real-time effective-wavelength error correction for HDVSI
    Patent number: 7956630
    Abstract: An error correction for effective-wavelength variations is implemented by adjusting the filter parameters of the quadrature demodulation algorithm of a high definition vertical scanning process using a phase step that accounts for phase-step changes associated with variations in the effective wavelength irradiating the sample when the surface is curved. The nominal phase step is replaced in the filter with an actual phase step size that includes a phase parameter generated for each pixel by calibration or modeling of a specific type of surface. This substitution eliminates all errors produced by surface-dependent variations in the effective wavelength of the irradiating light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignee: Veeco Instruments, Inc.
    Inventor: Dong Chen
  • Method For Improving Performance Of A Substrate Carrier
    Publication number: 20110129947
    Abstract: A method of modifying a substrate carrier to improve process performance includes depositing material or fabricating devices on a substrate supported by a substrate carrier. A parameter of layers deposited on the substrate is then measured as a function of their corresponding positions on the substrate carrier. The measured parameter of at least some devices fabricated on the substrate or a property of the deposited layers is related to a physical characteristic of substrate carrier to obtain a plurality of physical characteristics of the substrate carrier corresponding to a plurality of positions on the substrate carrier. The physical characteristic of the substrate carrier is then modified at one or more of the plurality of corresponding positions on the substrate carrier to obtain desired parameters of the deposited layers or fabricated devices as a function of position on the substrate carrier.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 2, 2009
    Publication date: June 2, 2011
    Applicant: VEECO INSTRUMENTS, INC.
    Inventors: Joshua Mangum, William E. Quinn