Patents by Inventor Jim Kellogg ATKINSON

Jim Kellogg ATKINSON 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: 11710648
    Abstract: One or more embodiments described herein generally relate to drying environments within semiconductor processing systems. In these embodiments, substrates are cleaned and dried within a drying environment before returning to the factory interface. However, due to an opening between the factory interface and the drying environment, air flows from the factory interface into the drying environment, often reducing the effectiveness of the drying processes. In embodiments described herein, the air flow is blocked by a sliding door that raises up to the closed position when a substrate enters the drying portion of the dryer located within the drying environment. After the substrate exits the dryer and before the substrate enters the factory interface, the sliding door lowers to the opened position such that the substrate can enter the factory interface. As such, these processes allow for multiple substrates to dry quickly and consistently within the system, improving throughput.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Edwin Velazquez, Jim Kellogg Atkinson
  • Publication number: 20220375769
    Abstract: One or more embodiments described herein generally relate to drying environments within semiconductor processing systems. In these embodiments, substrates are cleaned and dried within a drying environment before returning to the factory interface. However, due to an opening between the factory interface and the drying environment, air flows from the factory interface into the drying environment, often reducing the effectiveness of the drying processes. In embodiments described herein, the air flow is blocked by a sliding door that raises up to the closed position when a substrate enters the drying portion of the dryer located within the drying environment. After the substrate exits the dryer and before the substrate enters the factory interface, the sliding door lowers to the opened position such that the substrate can enter the factory interface. As such, these processes allow for multiple substrates to dry quickly and consistently within the system, improving throughput.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2022
    Publication date: November 24, 2022
    Inventors: Edwin VELAZQUEZ, Jim Kellogg ATKINSON
  • Patent number: 11430672
    Abstract: One or more embodiments described herein generally relate to drying environments within semiconductor processing systems. In these embodiments, substrates are cleaned and dried within a drying environment before returning to the factory interface. However, due to an opening between the factory interface and the drying environment, air flows from the factory interface into the drying environment, often reducing the effectiveness of the drying processes. In embodiments described herein, the air flow is blocked by a sliding door that raises up to the closed position when a substrate enters the drying portion of the dryer located within the drying environment. After the substrate exits the dryer and before the substrate enters the factory interface, the sliding door lowers to the opened position such that the substrate can enter the factory interface. As such, these processes allow for multiple substrates to dry quickly and consistently within the system, improving throughput.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Edwin Velazquez, Jim Kellogg Atkinson
  • Publication number: 20200286753
    Abstract: One or more embodiments described herein generally relate to drying environments within semiconductor processing systems. In these embodiments, substrates are cleaned and dried within a drying environment before returning to the factory interface. However, due to an opening between the factory interface and the drying environment, air flows from the factory interface into the drying environment, often reducing the effectiveness of the drying processes. In embodiments described herein, the air flow is blocked by a sliding door that raises up to the closed position when a substrate enters the drying portion of the dryer located within the drying environment. After the substrate exits the dryer and before the substrate enters the factory interface, the sliding door lowers to the opened position such that the substrate can enter the factory interface. As such, these processes allow for multiple substrates to dry quickly and consistently within the system, improving throughput.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2019
    Publication date: September 10, 2020
    Inventors: Edwin VELAZQUEZ, Jim Kellogg ATKINSON