Patents by Inventor Gary R. Rickords

Gary R. Rickords 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: 4984902
    Abstract: The present invention is an apparatus for calibrating a temperature feedback value in a water processing chamber to automatically compensate for variations in infrared emissions from a heated semiconductor wafer due to variations in composition and coatings from wafer to wafer. A calibration wafer with an imbedded thermocouple is used to generate a table relating actual wafer temperatures to power supplied to the heating chamber and infrared emissions detected by a pyrometer. A sample wafer of a batch to be processed is subsequently placed in the chamber at a known power level, and any difference between the detected infrared emission value and the value in the table is used to adjust the entire table according to a first predetermined formula or table. Before each wafer is processed, a known source of infrared light is reflected off the wafer and detected. The reflected light value is compared to a reflection measurement for the sample wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 15, 1991
    Assignee: Peak Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: John L. Crowley, Ahmad Kermani, Stephan E. Lassig, Noel H. Johnson, Gary R. Rickords
  • Patent number: 4969748
    Abstract: The present invention is a method and apparatus for calibrating a temperature feedback value in a wafer processing chamber to automatically compensate for variations in infrared emissions from a heated semiconductor wafer due to variations in composition and coatings from wafer to wafer. A calibration wafer with an imbedded thermocouple is used to generate a table relating actual wafer temperatures to power supplied to the heating chamber and infrared emissions detected by a pyrometer. A sample wafer of a batch to be processed is subsequently placed in the chamber at a known power level, and any difference between the detected infrared emission value and the value in the table is used to adjust the entire table according to a first predetermined formula or table. Before each wafer is processed, a known source of infrared light is reflected off the wafer and detected. The reflected light value is compared to a reflection measurement for the sample wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1989
    Date of Patent: November 13, 1990
    Assignee: Peak Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: John L. Crowley, Ahmad Kermani, Stephan E. Lassig, Noel H. Johnson, Gary R. Rickords