Patents by Inventor An Andrew Zeng

An Andrew Zeng 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: 12072176
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present application provide a measuring apparatus and method of a wafer geometry. The measuring apparatus of the wafer geometry includes: an air-bearing chuck, configured to generate an air cushion to keep a wafer to be measured floating up on a top surface of the air-bearing chuck; and an interferometer, disposed on one side, away from the air-bearing chuck, of the wafer, and configured to obtain an interference fringe image of a front surface of the wafer to measure a geometry of the wafer based on the interference fringe image. An air cushion is generated by utilizing an air-bearing chuck to keep a wafer to be measured floating up on a top surface of the air-bearing chuck, thereby avoiding damage of the original shape of the wafer or contamination of the wafer by a clamping tool, and further reducing errors during measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2024
    Assignee: Nanjing ZhongAn Semiconductor Equipment Ltd
    Inventor: An Andrew Zeng
  • Publication number: 20220118587
    Abstract: An air-bearing chuck includes a nozzle portion and a gas channel portion. The nozzle portion is provided with a plurality of support force nozzles for generating an air cushion on a top surface of the nozzle portion. The gas channel portion includes a first gas channel configured to transmit a first gas to the plurality of support force nozzles to provide support force. Embodiments of the present application can implement that the first gas channel transmits the first gas to the plurality of support force nozzles to provide support force, and an air cushion is generated on the top surface of the nozzle portion by regulating gas flow of the first gas in the first gas channel, thereby keeping a supported object supported by the air cushion stably floating up on one side, away from the top surface of the nozzle portion, of the air cushion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 24, 2021
    Publication date: April 21, 2022
    Applicant: NANJING LIAN SEMICONDUCTOR LIMITED
    Inventor: An Andrew ZENG
  • Publication number: 20220120559
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present application provide a measuring apparatus and method of a wafer geometry. The measuring apparatus of the wafer geometry includes: an air-bearing chuck, configured to generate an air cushion to keep a wafer to be measured floating up on a top surface of the air-bearing chuck; and an interferometer, disposed on one side, away from the air-bearing chuck, of the wafer, and configured to obtain an interference fringe image of a front surface of the wafer to measure a geometry of the wafer based on the interference fringe image. An air cushion is generated by utilizing an air-bearing chuck to keep a wafer to be measured floating up on a top surface of the air-bearing chuck, thereby avoiding damage of the original shape of the wafer or contamination of the wafer by a clamping tool, and further reducing errors during measurement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 24, 2021
    Publication date: April 21, 2022
    Applicant: NANJING LIAN SEMICONDUCTOR LIMITED
    Inventor: An Andrew ZENG
  • Patent number: 11105753
    Abstract: A semiconductor equipment architecture WGT for wafer shape and flatness measurement is disclosed. The semiconductor equipment architecture WGT includes a reflective air-bearing chuck and a hybrid wafer thickness gauge. Also disclosed are the corresponding methods of measuring wafer shape and flatness using the architecture, the air-bearing chuck and the hybrid wafer thickness gauge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: Nanjing LiAn Semiconductor Limited
    Inventor: An Andrew Zeng
  • Publication number: 20210247178
    Abstract: A semiconductor equipment architecture WGT for wafer shape and flatness measurement is disclosed. The semiconductor equipment architecture WGT includes a reflective air-bearing chuck and a hybrid wafer thickness gauge. Also disclosed are the corresponding methods of measuring wafer shape and flatness using the architecture, the air-bearing chuck and the hybrid wafer thickness gauge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 2, 2020
    Publication date: August 12, 2021
    Applicants: Nanjing LiAn Semiconductor Limited, Nanjing LiAn Semiconductor Limited
    Inventor: An Andrew ZENG
  • Publication number: 20210199597
    Abstract: A semiconductor equipment architecture WGT for wafer shape and flatness measurement is disclosed. The semiconductor equipment architecture WGT includes a reflective air-bearing chuck and a hybrid wafer thickness gauge. Also disclosed are the corresponding methods of measuring wafer shape and flatness using the architecture, the air-bearing chuck and the hybrid wafer thickness gauge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2021
    Publication date: July 1, 2021
    Inventor: An Andrew ZENG
  • Patent number: 8621945
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method and system for providing environmental control for a vibration sensitive system such as an interferometric measurement system, while minimizing acoustic noise during data acquisition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2014
    Assignee: KLA Tencor
    Inventors: An Andrew Zeng, Shouhong Tang, Steve Cui
  • Publication number: 20120118061
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method and system for providing environmental control for a vibration sensitive system such as an interferometric measurement system, while minimizing acoustic noise during data acquisition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2011
    Publication date: May 17, 2012
    Inventors: An Andrew Zeng, Shouhong Tang, Steve Cui
  • Patent number: 6836588
    Abstract: Optical signal interleaver/deinterleavers with reduced chromatic dispersion are described. In one embodiment, the interleaver/deinterleavers include two optical filters and an optical isolator coupled to receive the output of each of the optical filters. The optical isolators feed the filtered signals back to the filters. Passing the filtered signals back through the filters in the opposite direction as the first pass allows the filters to cancel, or nearly cancel, the chromatic dispersion caused by the filters on the first pass. Thus, the interleaver/deinterleavers provide reduced chromatic dispersion as compared to use of a single filter or of cascaded filters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2004
    Assignee: Wavesplitter Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: An Andrew Zeng
  • Patent number: 6829410
    Abstract: Optical signal interleaver/deinterleavers with reduced chromatic dispersion are described. In one embodiment, the interleaver/deinterleavers include two optical filters and an optical isolator coupled to receive the output of each of the optical filters. The optical isolators feed the filtered signals back to the filters. Passing the filtered signals back through the filters in the opposite direction as the first pass allows the filters to cancel, or nearly cancel, the chromatic dispersion caused by the filters on the first pass. Thus, the interleaver/deinterleavers provide reduced chromatic dispersion as compared to use of a single filter or of cascaded filters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Assignee: Wavesplitter Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: An Andrew Zeng
  • Patent number: 6636661
    Abstract: Optical signal interleaver/deinterleavers with reduced chromatic dispersion are described. In one embodiment, the interleaver/deinterleavers include two optical filters and an optical isolator coupled to receive the output of each of the optical filters. The optical isolators feed the filtered signals back to the filters. Passing the filtered signals back through the filters in the opposite direction as the first pass allows the filters to cancel, or nearly cancel, the chromatic dispersion caused by the filters on the first pass. Thus, the interleaver/deinterleavers provide reduced chromatic dispersion as compared to use of a single filter or of cascaded filters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2003
    Assignee: Wavesplitter Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: An Andrew Zeng