Patents by Inventor Jeffrey A. Tobin

Jeffrey A. Tobin 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: 20250003065
    Abstract: A gas delivery apparatus having a heating block assembly, a heating element, a gas line, and a temperature-sensing switch. The heating block assembly includes a pair of heating blocks. Individual ones of the pair of heating blocks comprise a planar surface. The planar surface comprises first and second grooves that are substantially parallel. The first and second grooves extend along a length of the heating block. The planar surfaces of the individual ones of the pair of heating blocks are in mechanical contact with each other. The heating element is within the first groove. The first groove and the heating element extend along a length of the heating block assembly. A gas line is within the second groove. The second groove is adjacent to the first groove within the heating block assembly. The temperature-sensing switch is mechanically coupled to the heating block assembly and electrically coupled to the heating element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2022
    Publication date: January 2, 2025
    Applicant: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Thanh X Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Tobin
  • Patent number: 11581408
    Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure provide an improved apparatus and methods for nitridation of stacks of materials. In one embodiment, a method for processing a substrate in a processing region of a process chamber is provided. The method includes generating and flowing plasma species from a remote plasma source to a delivery member having a longitudinal passageway, flowing plasma species from the longitudinal passageway to an inlet port formed in a sidewall of the process chamber, wherein the plasma species are flowed at an angle into the inlet port to promote collision of ions or reaction of ions with electrons or charged particles in the plasma species such that ions are substantially eliminated from the plasma species before entering the processing region of the process chamber, and selectively incorporating atomic radicals from the plasma species in silicon or polysilicon regions of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Scott Rogers, Roger Curtis, Lara Hawrylchak, Canfeng Lai, Bernard L. Hwang, Jeffrey A. Tobin, Christopher S. Olsen, Malcolm J. Bevan
  • Publication number: 20210202702
    Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure provide an improved apparatus and methods for nitridation of stacks of materials. In one embodiment, a method for processing a substrate in a processing region of a process chamber is provided. The method includes generating and flowing plasma species from a remote plasma source to a delivery member having a longitudinal passageway, flowing plasma species from the longitudinal passageway to an inlet port formed in a sidewall of the process chamber, wherein the plasma species are flowed at an angle into the inlet port to promote collision of ions or reaction of ions with electrons or charged particles in the plasma species such that ions are substantially eliminated from the plasma species before entering the processing region of the process chamber, and selectively incorporating atomic radicals from the plasma species in silicon or polysilicon regions of the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2021
    Publication date: July 1, 2021
    Inventors: Matthew Scott ROGERS, Roger CURTIS, Lara HAWRYLCHAK, Canfeng LAI, Bernard L. HWANG, Jeffrey A. TOBIN, Christopher S. OLSEN, Malcolm J. BEVAN
  • Publication number: 20210010160
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods for removing contaminants and native oxides from substrate surfaces. The methods generally include removing contaminants disposed on the substrate surface using a plasma process, and then cleaning the substrate surface by use of a remote plasma assisted dry etch process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2020
    Publication date: January 14, 2021
    Inventors: Christopher S. OLSEN, Theresa Kramer GUARINI, Jeffrey A. TOBIN, Lara HAWRYLCHAK, Peter STONE, Chi Wei LO, Saurabh CHOPRA
  • Patent number: 6613199
    Abstract: A hollow cathode magnetron comprises an open top target within a hollow cathode. The open top target can be biased to a negative potential so as to form an electric field within the cathode to generate a plasma. The magnetron uses at least one electromagnetic coil to shape and maintain a density of the plasma within the cathode. The magnetron also has an anode located beneath the cathode. The open top target can have one of several different geometries including flat annular, conical and cylindrical, etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2003
    Assignee: Novellus Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey A. Tobin, Jean Qing Lu, Thomas Mountsier, Hong Mei Zhang
  • Patent number: 6225744
    Abstract: An induction plasma source for integrated circuit fabrication includes an induction coil which defines a generally convex surface. The convex surface may be in the form of a spherical section less than a hemisphere, a paraboloid, or some other smooth convex surface. The windings of the induction coil may be spaced at different intervals in different sections of the coil and may be in multiple layers in at least a portion of the coil. Varying the shape of the coil and the distribution of the coil windings allows the plasma to be shaped in a desired manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2001
    Assignee: Novellus Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey A. Tobin, Jeffrey C. Benzing, Eliot K. Broadbent, J. Kirkwood H. Rough
  • Patent number: 6200412
    Abstract: A plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system includes a number of process gas injection tubes and at least one dedicated clean gas injection tube. A plasma is used to periodically clean the interior surfaces of the deposition chamber. The cleaning is made more rapid and effective by introducing the clean gas through the dedicated clean gas injection tube. In this manner the clean gas can be introduced at a relatively high flow rate without detracting from the cleaning of the interior surfaces of the process gas injection tubes. As a separate aspect of this invention, a high-frequency signal is applied to both terminals of the coil during the cleaning process. This produces a plasma, mainly by capacitive coupling, which has a shape and uniformity that are well-suited to cleaning the surfaces of the deposition chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2001
    Assignee: Novellus Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael D. Kilgore, Wilbert G. M. van den Hoek, Christopher J. Rau, Bart J. van Schravendijk, Jeffrey A. Tobin, Thomas W. Mountsier, James C. Oswalt
  • Patent number: 5619103
    Abstract: A broad area plasma lighting device in which a sealed gas envelope placed adjacent to a planar inductive coupling structure generates visible light. Representative planar inductive coupling structures include a planar spiral coil and a parallel conductor coupling structure. According to the invention, a parallel conductor coupling structure has two basic forms: separate parallel conductors each driven by its own generator/tuning circuit, or single conductor such as a flattened helix or series of square coils driven by one generator/tuning circuit. In addition, a plasma generating device having one or more parallel conductor inductive coupling structures is described. The resulting plasma generator can be used in such applications as plasma processing and inductive plasma lighting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 8, 1997
    Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
    Inventors: Jeffrey A. Tobin, Guifang Li
  • Patent number: 5511143
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for the deposition of plasma films in which the optical index of refraction of the deposited film can be varied continuously or discontinuously as the material is deposited. The change in refractive index is accomplished by changing the input power applied to the plasma chamber. The method can be used to create optical wave guides from material of a single input monomer vapor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 23, 1996
    Inventors: Denice D. Denton, Jeffrey A. Tobin
  • Patent number: 5304255
    Abstract: Plasma polymerized organic films deposited on a substrate exhibit broad bandwidth photoluminescence after excitation with blue, violet, or ultraviolet light. The photoluminescent properties of such organic films may be exploited by using such films as wavelength transformers for photovoltaic materials, as organic solid-state gain media, as process quality control tools, and as color-correcting coatings for fluorescent lamps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 19, 1994
    Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
    Inventors: Guifang Li, Jeffrey A. Tobin, Denice D. Denton
  • Patent number: 5217749
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for the deposition of plasma films in which the optical index of refraction of the deposited film can be varied continuously or discontinuously as the material is deposited. The change in refractive index is accomplished by changing the input power applied to the plasma chamber. The method can be used to create optical wave guides from material of a single input monomer vapor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1991
    Date of Patent: June 8, 1993
    Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
    Inventors: Denice D. Denton, Jeffrey A. Tobin