Patents by Inventor Geraldine M. Vasquez

Geraldine M. Vasquez 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: 11955381
    Abstract: Methods for pre-cleaning substrates having metal and dielectric surfaces are described. A temperature of a pedestal comprising a cooling feature on which a substrate is located is set to less than or equal to 100° C. The substrate is exposed to a plasma treatment to remove chemical residual and/or impurities from features of the substrate including a metal bottom, dielectric sidewalls, and/or a field of dielectric and/or repair surface defects in the dielectric sidewalls and/or the field of the dielectric. The plasma treatment may be an oxygen plasma, for example, a direct oxygen plasma. Processing tools and computer readable media for practicing the method are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Yi Xu, Yufei Hu, Kazuya Daito, Geraldine M. Vasquez, Da He, Jallepally Ravi, Yu Lei, Dien-Yeh Wu
  • Publication number: 20210398850
    Abstract: Methods for pre-cleaning substrates having metal and dielectric surfaces are described. A temperature of a pedestal comprising a cooling feature on which a substrate is located is set to less than or equal to 100° C. The substrate is exposed to a plasma treatment to remove chemical residual and/or impurities from features of the substrate including a metal bottom, dielectric sidewalls, and/or a field of dielectric and/or repair surface defects in the dielectric sidewalls and/or the field of the dielectric. The plasma treatment may be an oxygen plasma, for example, a direct oxygen plasma. Processing tools and computer readable media for practicing the method are also described.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2020
    Publication date: December 23, 2021
    Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Yi Xu, Yufei Hu, Kazuya Daito, Geraldine M. Vasquez, Da He, Jallepally Ravi, Yu Lei, Dien-Yeh Wu