Patents by Inventor Biju Ninan

Biju Ninan 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).

  • Publication number: 20120024694
    Abstract: A sputtering chamber contains a plurality of substantially triangular targets supported by a top wall. The targets have narrow ends pointing toward a center of the top wall. Above each target is a relatively small substantially triangular magnet. Each magnet is connected to a single central actuator that scans all magnets back and forth through an arc across its associated target. Each magnet is also movably connected to an arm connected to the central scanning actuator. A linear actuator moves each magnet up and down the arm simultaneously with the angular scanning movement. The combination of the simultaneous angular movement and linear movement (perpendicular to the arc) of the magnet causes each magnet to move only over a substantially triangular area corresponding to an area of an associated target. In one embodiment, the linear speed of the magnets is varied to achieve uniform erosion of the target.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2010
    Publication date: February 2, 2012
    Applicant: TANGO SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Ravi Mullapudi, Srikanth Dasaradhi, Edward Sterpka, Biju Ninan
  • Publication number: 20100080928
    Abstract: A vacuum chamber has multiple wafer positions, and the wafers are positioned by a rotating pallet. Above a wafer position in the chamber there may be a sputtering target, a flat inductively coupled plasma (ICP) coil for etching the wafer and/or promoting sputtering, and a TEOS vapor outlet for forming an oxide film on the wafer. As the pallet rotates, a wafer may first have deposited a thin layer of oxide on walls of a via hole at the TEOS position. A metal layer may then be sputtered in the via hole at the sputtering position, and any pinch-off material may be etched away at an etching position. A magnet behind each target scans back and forth behind the target. Vertical magnet walls substantially surround a sputtering target for confining the sputtered material to an angle that is more normal to the wafer than prior art trajectories to fill narrower vias.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2008
    Publication date: April 1, 2010
    Applicant: TANGO SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Ravi Mullapudi, Biju Ninan
  • Publication number: 20100078312
    Abstract: A vacuum chamber has multiple wafer positions, and the wafers are positioned by a rotating pallet. Above a wafer position in the chamber there may be a sputtering target, a flat inductively coupled plasma (ICP) coil for etching the wafer and/or promoting sputtering, and a TEOS vapor outlet for forming an oxide film on the wafer. As the pallet rotates, a wafer may first have deposited a thin layer of oxide on walls of a via hole at the TEOS position. A metal layer may then be sputtered in the via hole at the sputtering position, and any pinch-off material may be etched away at an etching position. A magnet behind each target scans back and forth behind the target. Vertical magnet walls substantially surround a sputtering target for confining the sputtered material to an angle that is more normal to the wafer than prior art trajectories to fill narrower vias.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2008
    Publication date: April 1, 2010
    Applicant: Tango Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Ravi Mullapudi, Biju Ninan, Gabriel A. Calebotta