Patents by Inventor Dan Lester Cossentine

Dan Lester Cossentine 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).

  • Method and apparatus for surface preparation prior to epitaxial deposition
    Patent number: 10544519
    Abstract: During a pre-treat process, hydrogen plasma is used to remove contaminants (e.g., oxygen, carbon) from a surface of a wafer. The hydrogen plasma may be injected into the plasma chamber via an elongated injector nozzle. Using such elongated injector nozzle, a flow of hydrogen plasma with a significant radial velocity flows over the wafer surface, and transports volatile compounds and other contaminant away from the wafer surface to an exhaust manifold. A protective liner made from crystalline silicon or polysilicon may be disposed on an inner surface of the plasma chamber to prevent contaminants from being released from the surface of the plasma chamber. To further decrease the sources of contaminants, an exhaust restrictor made from silicon may be employed to prevent hydrogen plasma from flowing into the exhaust manifold and prevent volatile compounds and other contaminants from flowing from the exhaust manifold back into the plasma chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2020
    Assignee: AIXTRON SE
    Inventors: Stephen Edward Savas, Miguel Angel Saldana, Dan Lester Cossentine, Hae Young Kim, Subramanian Tamilmani, Niloy Mukherjee, M Ziaul Karim
  • METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SURFACE PREPARATION PRIOR TO EPITAXIAL DEPOSITION
    Publication number: 20190062947
    Abstract: During a pre-treat process, hydrogen plasma is used to remove contaminants (e.g., oxygen, carbon) from a surface of a wafer. The hydrogen plasma may be injected into the plasma chamber via an elongated injector nozzle. Using such elongated injector nozzle, a flow of hydrogen plasma with a significant radial velocity flows over the wafer surface, and transports volatile compounds and other contaminant away from the wafer surface to an exhaust manifold. A protective liner made from crystalline silicon or polysilicon may be disposed on an inner surface of the plasma chamber to prevent contaminants from being released from the surface of the plasma chamber. To further decrease the sources of contaminants, an exhaust restrictor made from silicon may be employed to prevent hydrogen plasma from flowing into the exhaust manifold and prevent volatile compounds and other contaminants from flowing from the exhaust manifold back into the plasma chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2017
    Publication date: February 28, 2019
    Inventors: Stephen Edward Savas, Miquel Angel Saldana, Dan Lester Cossentine, Hae Young Kim, Subramanian Tamilmani, Niloy Mukherjee, M. Ziaul Karim