Patents by Inventor Blake Erickson
Blake Erickson 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).
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Publication number: 20240096715Abstract: An article includes a device, a first layer deposited on a surface of the device, and a second layer deposited on the first layer. The first layer includes a first sense material deposited on a first portion of the surface and a second sense material deposited on a second portion of the surface. The second layer includes a first etch material deposited on the first sense material and a second etch material deposited on the second sense material. Responsive to the second layer being etched during an etch process performed at a processing chamber of an electronics processing system, at least one of the first sense material or the second sense material can be detected at the surface of the device.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 27, 2023Publication date: March 21, 2024Inventors: Keith Berding, Blake Erickson, Soumendra Barman, Zhaozhao Zhu
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Patent number: 11927543Abstract: A system includes a memory, and at least one processing device, operatively coupled to the memory, to facilitate an etch recipe development process by performing operations including obtaining, from an optical detector, first material thickness data for a first material and second material thickness data for a second material resulting from an iteration of an etch process using an etch recipe. The first material is located at a first reflectometry measurement point and the second material is located at a second reflectometry measurement point different from the first reflectometry measurement point. The operations further include determining one or more etch parameters based on at least the first material thickness data and the second material thickness data.Type: GrantFiled: January 26, 2023Date of Patent: March 12, 2024Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Blake Erickson, Keith Berding, Michael Kutney, Soumendra Barman, Zhaozhao Zhu, Michelle SanPedro, Suresh Polali Narayana Rao
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Patent number: 11830779Abstract: An article, apparatus, and method for detecting an etch material selectivity is provided. A device including a first layer and a second layer is placed in a processing chamber. The first layer includes a first sense material deposited on a first portion of the device and a second sense material deposited on a second portion of the device. The second layer deposited on the first layer includes an etch material. During an etch process based on an initial set of etch parameter settings, a first amount of time to etch the second layer at the first portion of the device and a second amount of time to etch the second layer at the second portion of the device are measured. A first etch rate and a second etch rate of the processing chamber is determined based on the measured first amount of time, the measured second amount of time, and a thickness of the second layer.Type: GrantFiled: August 10, 2021Date of Patent: November 28, 2023Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.Inventors: Keith Berding, Blake Erickson, Soumendra Barman, Zhaozhao Zhu
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Publication number: 20230345137Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein include a diagnostic substrate, comprising a baseplate, and a first plurality of image sensors on the baseplate, where the first plurality of image sensors are oriented horizontal to the baseplate. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a second plurality of image sensors on the baseplate, where the second plurality of image sensors are oriented at a non-orthogonal angle to the baseplate. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a printed circuit board (PCB) on the baseplate, and a controller on the baseplate, where the controller is communicatively coupled to the first plurality of image sensors and the second plurality of image sensors by the PCB. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a diffuser lid over the baseplate, the PCB, and the controller.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 26, 2023Publication date: October 26, 2023Inventors: Upendra Ummethala, Philip Kraus, Keith Berding, Blake Erickson, Patrick Tae, Devendra Channappa Holeyannavar, Shivaraj Manjunath Nara, Anandakumar Parameshwarappa, Sivasankar Nagarajan, Dhirendra Kumar
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Publication number: 20230326773Abstract: A process recipe associated with a substrate at a manufacturing system is identified. A first set of measurements for the substrate is obtained from a substrate measurement subsystem. A second set of measurements for the substrate is obtained from one or more sensors of a chamber of the manufacturing system. A determination is made based on the obtained first set of measurements and the obtained second set of measurements of whether to modify the process recipe by at least one of modifying an operation of the process recipe or generating an instruction to prevent completion of execution of one or more operations of the process recipe.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 15, 2023Publication date: October 12, 2023Inventors: Upendra V. Ummethala, Blake Erickson, Prashanth Kumar, Michael Kutney, Steven Trey Tindel, Zhaozhao Zhu
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Patent number: 11736818Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein include a diagnostic substrate, comprising a baseplate, and a first plurality of image sensors on the baseplate, where the first plurality of image sensors are oriented horizontal to the baseplate. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a second plurality of image sensors on the baseplate, where the second plurality of image sensors are oriented at a non-orthogonal angle to the baseplate. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a printed circuit board (PCB) on the baseplate, and a controller on the baseplate, where the controller is communicatively coupled to the first plurality of image sensors and the second plurality of image sensors by the PCB. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a diffuser lid over the baseplate, the PCB, and the controller.Type: GrantFiled: February 9, 2022Date of Patent: August 22, 2023Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Upendra Ummethala, Philip Kraus, Keith Berding, Blake Erickson, Patrick Tae, Devendra Channappa Holeyannavar, Shivaraj Manjunath Nara, Anandakumar Parameshwarappa, Sivasankar Nagarajan, Dhirendra Kumar
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Publication number: 20230258500Abstract: An apparatus includes a base component and a plurality of collimators housed within the base component. Each collimator of the plurality of collimators corresponds to a respective location of a plurality of locations of a wafer in an etch chamber. The plurality of locations includes a center location of the wafer, a plurality of inner ring locations along an inner ring of the wafer associated with a first set of radially symmetric optical emission spectroscopy (OES) signal sampling paths, and a plurality of outer ring locations along an outer ring of the wafer associated with a second set of radially symmetric OES signal sampling paths.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 25, 2023Publication date: August 17, 2023Inventors: Blake Erickson, Keith Berding, Michael Kutney, Zhaozhao Zhu, Tsung Feng Wu, Michael D. Willwerth, Jeffrey Ludwig
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Patent number: 11688616Abstract: A method for determining whether to modify a manufacturing process recipe is provided. A substrate to be processed at a manufacturing system according to the first process recipe is identified. An instruction to transfer the substrate to a substrate measurement subsystem to obtain a first set of measurements for the substrate is generated. The first set of measurements for the substrate is received from the substrate measurement subsystem. An instruction to transfer the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem to a processing chamber is generated. A second set of measurements for the substrate is received from one or more sensors of the processing chamber. A first mapping between the first set of measurements and the second set of measurements for the substrate is generated. The first set of measurements mapped to the second set of measurements for the substrate is stored.Type: GrantFiled: July 19, 2021Date of Patent: June 27, 2023Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Upendra V. Ummethala, Blake Erickson, Prashanth Kumar, Michael Kutney, Steven Trey Tindel, Zhaozhao Zhu
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Patent number: 11668602Abstract: An apparatus includes a base component and collimators housed within the base component. The collimators correspond to collection cylinders for sampling optical emission spectroscopy (OES) signals with respect to locations of a wafer in an etch chamber. The apparatus further includes a guide, operatively coupled to the plurality of collimators, to guide the sampling of the OES signals along paths for sampling the OES signals.Type: GrantFiled: April 20, 2021Date of Patent: June 6, 2023Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Blake Erickson, Keith Berding, Michael Kutney, Zhaozhao Zhu, Tsung Feng Wu, Michael D. Willwerth, Jeffrey Ludwig
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Publication number: 20230168210Abstract: A system includes a memory, and at least one processing device, operatively coupled to the memory, to facilitate an etch recipe development process by performing operations including obtaining, from an optical detector, first material thickness data for a first material and second material thickness data for a second material resulting from an iteration of an etch process using an etch recipe. The first material is located at a first reflectometry measurement point and the second material is located at a second reflectometry measurement point different from the first reflectometry measurement point. The operations further include determining one or more etch parameters based on at least the first material thickness data and the second material thickness data.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 26, 2023Publication date: June 1, 2023Inventors: Blake Erickson, Keith Berding, Michael Kutney, Soumendra Barman, Zhaozhao Zhu, Michelle SanPedro, Suresh Polali Narayana Rao
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Patent number: 11619594Abstract: A system includes a memory and at least one processing device operatively coupled to the memory to facilitate an etch recipe development process by performing a number of operations. The operations include receiving a request to initiate an iteration of an etch process using an etch recipe to etch a plurality of materials each located at a respective one of a plurality of reflectometry measurement points, obtaining material thickness data for each of the plurality of materials resulting from the iteration of the etch process, and determining one or more etch parameters based on the material thickness data.Type: GrantFiled: April 28, 2021Date of Patent: April 4, 2023Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Blake Erickson, Keith Berding, Michael Kutney, Soumendra Barman, Zhaozhao Zhu, Michelle SanPedro, Suresh Polali Narayana Rao
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Publication number: 20230062206Abstract: Spectral data associated with a first prior substrate and/or a second prior substrate is obtained. A metrology measurement value associated with the first portion of the first prior substrate is determined based on one or more metrology measurement values measured for at least one of a second portion of the first prior substrate or a third portion of a second prior substrate. Training data for training a machine learning model to predict metrology measurement values of a current substrate is generated. Generating the training data includes generating a first training input including the spectral data associated with the first prior substrate and generating a first target output for the first training input, the first target output including the determined metrology measurement value associated with the first portion of the first prior substrate. The training data is provided to train the machine learning model.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 14, 2022Publication date: March 2, 2023Inventors: Thomas Li, Upendra V. Ummethala, Blake Erickson, Prashanth Kumar, Michael Kutney, Steven Trey Tindel, Zhaozhao Zhu
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Publication number: 20220349833Abstract: A system includes a memory and at least one processing device operatively coupled to the memory to facilitate an etch recipe development process by performing a number of operations. The operations include receiving a request to initiate an iteration of an etch process using an etch recipe to etch a plurality of materials each located at a respective one of a plurality of reflectometry measurement points, obtaining material thickness data for each of the plurality of materials resulting from the iteration of the etch process, and determining one or more etch parameters based on the material thickness data.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 28, 2021Publication date: November 3, 2022Inventors: Blake Erickson, Keith Berding, Michael Kutney, Soumendra Barman, Zhaozhao Zhu, Michelle SanPedro, Suresh Polali Narayana Rao
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Publication number: 20220333989Abstract: An apparatus includes a base component and collimators housed within the base component. The collimators correspond to collection cylinders for sampling optical emission spectroscopy (OES) signals with respect to locations of a wafer in an etch chamber. The apparatus further includes a guide, operatively coupled to the plurality of collimators, to guide the sampling of the OES signals along paths for sampling the OES signals.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 20, 2021Publication date: October 20, 2022Inventors: Blake Erickson, Keith Berding, Michael Kutney, Zhaozhao Zhu, Tsung Feng Wu, Michael D. Willwerth, Jeffrey Ludwig
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Publication number: 20220272278Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein include a diagnostic substrate, comprising a baseplate, and a first plurality of image sensors on the baseplate, where the first plurality of image sensors are oriented horizontal to the baseplate. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a second plurality of image sensors on the baseplate, where the second plurality of image sensors are oriented at a non-orthogonal angle to the baseplate. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a printed circuit board (PCB) on the baseplate, and a controller on the baseplate, where the controller is communicatively coupled to the first plurality of image sensors and the second plurality of image sensors by the PCB. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a diffuser lid over the baseplate, the PCB, and the controller.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 9, 2022Publication date: August 25, 2022Inventors: Upendra Ummethala, Philip Kraus, Keith Berding, Blake Erickson, Patrick Tae, Devendra Channappa Holeyannavar, Shivaral Manjunath Nara, Anandakumar Parameshwarappa, Sivasankar Nagarajan, Dhirendra Kumar
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Patent number: 11284018Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein include a diagnostic substrate, comprising a baseplate, and a first plurality of image sensors on the baseplate, where the first plurality of image sensors are oriented horizontal to the baseplate. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a second plurality of image sensors on the baseplate, where the second plurality of image sensors are oriented at a non-orthogonal angle to the baseplate. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a printed circuit board (PCB) on the baseplate, and a controller on the baseplate, where the controller is communicatively coupled to the first plurality of image sensors and the second plurality of image sensors by the PCB. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a diffuser lid over the baseplate, the PCB, and the controller.Type: GrantFiled: September 15, 2020Date of Patent: March 22, 2022Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Upendra Ummethala, Philip Kraus, Keith Berding, Blake Erickson, Patrick Tae, Devendra Channappa Holeyannavar, Shivaraj Manjunath Nara, Anandakumar Parameshwarappa, Sivasankar Nagarajan, Dhirendra Kumar
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Publication number: 20220086364Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein include a diagnostic substrate, comprising a baseplate, and a first plurality of image sensors on the baseplate, where the first plurality of image sensors are oriented horizontal to the baseplate. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a second plurality of image sensors on the baseplate, where the second plurality of image sensors are oriented at a non-orthogonal angle to the baseplate. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a printed circuit board (PCB) on the baseplate, and a controller on the baseplate, where the controller is communicatively coupled to the first plurality of image sensors and the second plurality of image sensors by the PCB. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a diffuser lid over the baseplate, the PCB, and the controller.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 15, 2020Publication date: March 17, 2022Inventors: Upendra Ummethala, Philip Kraus, Keith Berding, Blake Erickson, Patrick Tae, Devendra Channappa Holeyannavar, Shivaraj Manjunath Nara, Anandakumar Parameshwarappa, Sivasankar Nagarajan, Dhirendra Kumar
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Publication number: 20220066411Abstract: Methods and systems for detecting and correcting substrate process drift using machine learning are provided. Data associated with processing each of a first set of substrates at a manufacturing system according to a process recipe is provided as input to a trained machine learning model. One or more outputs are obtained from the trained machine learning model. An amount of drift of a first set of metrology measurement values for the first set of substrates from a target metrology measurement value is determined from the one or more outputs. Process recipe modification identifying one or more modifications to the process recipe is also determined. For each modification, an indication of a level of confidence that a respective modification to the process recipe satisfies a drift criterion for a second set of substrates is determined.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 19, 2021Publication date: March 3, 2022Inventors: Upendra V. Ummethala, Blake Erickson, Prashanth Kumar, Michael Kutney, Steven Trey Tindel, Zhaozhao Zhu
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Publication number: 20220051953Abstract: An article, apparatus, and method for detecting an etch rate uniformity in a processing chamber of an electronics processing system is provided. A device is placed in a processing chamber of an electronics processing system. The device includes a first layer deposited on a surface of the device and a second layer deposited on the first layer. The first layer is composed of a first sense material and the second layer is composed of an etch material. During an etch process at the processing chamber, a first amount of time from an initiation of the etch process to a detection of a first indication of completion of etching of the second layer at a first portion of the surface of the device is measured. The etch process etches the second layer of the device based on an initial set of etch parameter settings. A first etch rate of the processing chamber is determined based on the measured first amount of time and a thickness of the second layer.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 10, 2021Publication date: February 17, 2022Inventors: Keith Berding, Blake Erickson, Soumendra Barman, Zhaozhao Zhu
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Patent number: D977504Type: GrantFiled: July 22, 2020Date of Patent: February 7, 2023Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Upendra V. Ummethala, Blake Erickson, Prashanth Kumar, Michael Kutney, Steven Trey Tindel, Zhaozhao Zhu