Patents by Inventor Kaushik ALAYAVALLI
Kaushik ALAYAVALLI 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).
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Patent number: 11959174Abstract: Embodiments described herein relate to magnetic and electromagnetic systems and a method for controlling the density profile of plasma generated in a process volume of a PECVD chamber to affect deposition profile of a film on a substrate and/or facilitate chamber cleaning after processing. In one embodiment, a system is disclosed that includes a rotational magnetic housing disposed about an exterior sidewall of a chamber. The rotational magnetic housing includes a plurality of magnets coupled to a sleeve that are configured to travel in a circular path when the rotational magnetic housing is rotated around the chamber, and a plurality of shunt doors movably disposed between the chamber and the sleeve, wherein each of the shunt doors are configured to move relative to the magnets.Type: GrantFiled: December 22, 2020Date of Patent: April 16, 2024Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Kallol Bera, Sathya Swaroop Ganta, Timothy Joseph Franklin, Kaushik Alayavalli, Akshay Dhanakshirur, Stephen C. Garner, Bhaskar Kumar
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Publication number: 20230386823Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein include a method for cleaning a bevel area of a substrate support disposed within a plasma processing chamber. In one example the method begins by placing a cover substrate on a substrate support disposed in an interior volume of a processing chamber. A cleaning gas is provided into the interior volume of the processing chamber. A plasma is struck in the interior volume of the processing chamber. A cleaning gas is provided through the substrate support to a bevel edge area defined between an outer diameter of the cover substrate and an edge ring disposed on the substrate support.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 31, 2022Publication date: November 30, 2023Inventors: Kaushik ALAYAVALLI, Andrew NGUYEN, Edward HAYWOOD, Lu LIU, Malav KAPADIA
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Publication number: 20230343586Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to methods for cleaning a chamber comprising introducing a gas to a processing volume of the chamber, providing a first radiofrequency (RF) power having a first frequency of about 40 MHz or greater to a lid of the chamber, providing a second RF power having a second frequency to an electrode disposed in a substrate support within the processing volume, and removing at least a portion of a film disposed on a surface of a chamber component of the chamber. The second frequency is about 10 MHz to about 20 MHz.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 27, 2023Publication date: October 26, 2023Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Anup Kumar SINGH, Rick KUSTRA, Vinayak Vishwanath HASSAN, Bhaskar KUMAR, Krishna NITTALA, Pramit MANNA, Kaushik ALAYAVALLI, Ganesh BALASUBRAMANIAN
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Patent number: 11798820Abstract: A system may include a main line for delivering a first gas, and a sensor for measuring a concentration of a precursor in the first gas delivered through the main line. The system may further include first and second sublines for providing fluid access to first and second processing chambers, respectively. The first subline may include a first flow controller for controlling the first gas flowed through the first subline. The second subline may include a second flow controller for controlling the first gas flowed through the second subline. A delivery controller may be configured to control the first and second flow controllers based on the measured concentration of the precursor to deliver a first mixture of the first gas and a second gas and a second mixture of the first and second gases into the first and second semiconductor processing chambers, respectively.Type: GrantFiled: November 11, 2020Date of Patent: October 24, 2023Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Diwakar Kedlaya, Fang Ruan, Zubin Huang, Ganesh Balasubramanian, Kaushik Alayavalli, Martin Seamons, Kwangduk Lee, Rajaram Narayanan, Karthik Janakiraman
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Publication number: 20230069395Abstract: Exemplary methods of manufacturing a semiconductor cover wafer may include sintering aluminum nitride particles into a substrate characterized by a thickness and characterized by a disc shape. The methods may include grinding a surface of the substrate to reduce the thickness to less than or about 2 mm. The methods may include polishing the surface of the substrate to reduce a roughness. The methods may include annealing the substrate at a temperature of greater than or about 800° C. for a time period of greater than or about 60 minutes.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 30, 2021Publication date: March 2, 2023Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Vinayak Vishwanath Hassan, Bhaskar Kumar, Meng Cai, Sowjanya Musunuru, Kaushik Alayavalli, Andrew Nguyen
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Patent number: 11495454Abstract: Examples of the present technology include semiconductor processing methods to form boron-containing materials on substrates. Exemplary processing methods may include delivering a deposition precursor that includes a boron-containing precursor to a processing region of a semiconductor processing chamber. A plasma may be formed from the deposition precursor within the processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber. The methods may further include depositing a boron-containing material on a substrate disposed within the processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber, where the substrate is characterized by a temperature of less than or about 50° C. The as-deposited boron-containing material may be characterized by a surface roughness of less than or about 2 nm, and a stress level of less-than or about ?500 MPa. In some embodiments, a layer of the boron-containing material may function as a hardmask.Type: GrantFiled: August 7, 2020Date of Patent: November 8, 2022Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Huiyuan Wang, Rick Kustra, Bo Qi, Abhijit Basu Mallick, Kaushik Alayavalli, Jay D. Pinson
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Publication number: 20220319841Abstract: Examples of the present technology include semiconductor processing methods that provide a substrate in a substrate processing region of a substrate processing chamber, where the substrate is maintained at a temperature less than or about 50° C. A plasma may be generated from the hydrocarbon-containing precursor, and a carbon-containing material may be deposited from the plasma on the substrate. The carbon-containing material may include diamond-like-carbon, and may have greater than or about 60% of the carbon atoms with sp3 hybridized bonds.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 23, 2022Publication date: October 6, 2022Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Huiyuan Wang, Rick Kustra, Bo Qi, Abhijit Basu Mallick, Kaushik Alayavalli, Jay D. Pinson
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Patent number: 11404263Abstract: Examples of the present technology include semiconductor processing methods that provide a substrate in a substrate processing region of a substrate processing chamber, where the substrate is maintained at a temperature less than or about 50° C. An inert precursor and a hydrocarbon-containing precursor may be flowed into the substrate processing region of the substrate processing chamber, where a flow rate ratio of the inert precursor to the hydrocarbon-containing precursor may be greater than or about 10:1. A plasma may be generated from the inert precursor and the hydrocarbon-containing precursor, and a carbon-containing material may be deposited from the plasma on the substrate. The carbon-containing material may include diamond-like-carbon, and may have greater than or about 60% of the carbon atoms with sp3 hybridized bonds.Type: GrantFiled: August 7, 2020Date of Patent: August 2, 2022Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Huiyuan Wang, Rick Kustra, Bo Qi, Abhijit Basu Mallick, Kaushik Alayavalli, Jay D. Pinson
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Publication number: 20220044927Abstract: Examples of the present technology include semiconductor processing methods to form boron-containing materials on substrates. Exemplary processing methods may include delivering a deposition precursor that includes a boron-containing precursor to a processing region of a semiconductor processing chamber. A plasma may be formed from the deposition precursor within the processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber. The methods may further include depositing a boron-containing material on a substrate disposed within the processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber, where the substrate is characterized by a temperature of less than or about 50° C. The as-deposited boron-containing material may be characterized by a surface roughness of less than or about 2 nm, and a stress level of less-than or about ?500 MPa. In some embodiments, a layer of the boron-containing material may function as a hardmask.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 7, 2020Publication date: February 10, 2022Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Huiyuan Wang, Rick Kustra, Bo Qi, Abhijit Basu Mallick, Kaushik Alayavalli, Jay D. Pinson
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Publication number: 20220044926Abstract: Examples of the present technology include semiconductor processing methods that provide a substrate in a substrate processing region of a substrate processing chamber, where the substrate is maintained at a temperature less than or about 50° C. An inert precursor and a hydrocarbon-containing precursor may be flowed into the substrate processing region of the substrate processing chamber, where a flow rate ratio of the inert precursor to the hydrocarbon-containing precursor may be greater than or about 10:1. A plasma may be generated from the inert precursor and the hydrocarbon-containing precursor, and a carbon-containing material may be deposited from the plasma on the substrate. The carbon-containing material may include diamond-like-carbon, and may have greater than or about 60% of the carbon atoms with sp3 hybridized bonds.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 7, 2020Publication date: February 10, 2022Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Huiyuan Wang, Rick Kustra, Bo Qi, Abhijit Basu Mallick, Kaushik Alayavalli, Jay D. Pinson
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Publication number: 20210384015Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to clean methods for processing chambers, and more specifically relate to plasma clean methods for removing carbon films from surfaces within the processing chamber. A method for cleaning includes introducing a cleaning gas into a processing region within a processing chamber, where interior surfaces of the processing chamber have a coating containing amorphous carbon. The cleaning gas contains oxygen gas and a noble gas. The method also includes generating an ion coupled plasma (ICP) from the cleaning gas within an upper portion of the processing region and generating a bias across a substrate support in a lower portion of the processing region. The method further includes exposing the amorphous carbon to atomic oxygen ions produced from the oxygen gas and the ICP and removing the amorphous carbon from the interior surfaces with the atomic oxygen ions during a cleaning process.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 9, 2020Publication date: December 9, 2021Inventors: Huiyuan WANG, Rick KUSTRA, Kaushik ALAYAVALLI, Eswaranand VENKATASUBRAMANIAN, Jay D. PINSON, II, Abhijit B. MALLICK
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Publication number: 20210269919Abstract: Embodiments described herein relate to magnetic and electromagnetic systems and a method for controlling the density profile of plasma generated in a process volume of a PECVD chamber to affect deposition profile of a film on a substrate and/or facilitate chamber cleaning after processing. In one embodiment, a system is disclosed that includes a rotational magnetic housing disposed about an exterior sidewall of a chamber. The rotational magnetic housing includes a plurality of magnets coupled to a sleeve that are configured to travel in a circular path when the rotational magnetic housing is rotated around the chamber, and a plurality of shunt doors movably disposed between the chamber and the sleeve, wherein each of the shunt doors are configured to move relative to the magnets.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 22, 2020Publication date: September 2, 2021Inventors: Kallol BERA, Sathya Swaroop GANTA, Timothy Joseph FRANKLIN, Kaushik ALAYAVALLI, Akshay DHANAKSHIRUR, Stephen C. GARNER, Bhaskar KUMAR
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Publication number: 20210143029Abstract: A system may include a main line for delivering a first gas, and a sensor for measuring a concentration of a precursor in the first gas delivered through the main line. The system may further include first and second sublines for providing fluid access to first and second processing chambers, respectively. The first subline may include a first flow controller for controlling the first gas flowed through the first subline. The second subline may include a second flow controller for controlling the first gas flowed through the second subline. A delivery controller may be configured to control the first and second flow controllers based on the measured concentration of the precursor to deliver a first mixture of the first gas and a second gas and a second mixture of the first and second gases into the first and second semiconductor processing chambers, respectively.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 11, 2020Publication date: May 13, 2021Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Diwakar Kedlaya, Fang Ruan, Zubin Huang, Ganesh Balasubramanian, Kaushik Alayavalli, Martin Seamons, Kwangduk Lee, Rajaram Narayanan, Karthik Janakiraman
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Patent number: 10907252Abstract: Embodiments herein relate to gas distribution apparatuses. In one aspect, the disclosure herein relates to a showerhead including a body having an upper surface and a lower surface. A thermal choke is disposed adjacent a perimeter of the body. The thermal choke includes a plurality of interleaved channels. One or more apertures are disposed between the upper surface and the lower surface of the body.Type: GrantFiled: October 23, 2018Date of Patent: February 2, 2021Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.Inventors: Yuxing Zhang, Daniel Hwung, Ashutosh Agarwal, Kaushik Alayavalli, Kalyanjit Ghosh
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Patent number: 10910238Abstract: Implementations of the disclosure generally relate to a semiconductor processing chamber and, more specifically, a heated support pedestal for a semiconductor processing chamber. In one implementation, a pedestal assembly is disclosed and includes a substrate support comprising a dielectric material and having a support surface for receiving a substrate, a resistive heater encapsulated within the substrate support, a hollow shaft coupled to a support member of the substrate support at a first end of the shaft, and a thermally conductive material disposed at an interface between the support member and the first end of the shaft.Type: GrantFiled: September 13, 2017Date of Patent: February 2, 2021Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.Inventors: Kaushik Alayavalli, Ajit Balakrishna, Sanjeev Baluja, Amit Kumar Bansal, Matthew James Busche, Juan Carlos Rocha-Alvarez, Swaminathan T. Srinivasan, Tejas Ulavi, Jianhua Zhou
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Patent number: 10889894Abstract: A faceplate for a processing chamber is disclosed. The faceplate has a body with a plurality of apertures formed therethrough. A flexure is formed in the body partially circumscribing the plurality of apertures. A cutout is formed through the body on a common radius with the flexure. One or more bores extend from a radially inner surface of the cutout to an outer surface of the body. A heater is disposed between flexure and the plurality of apertures. The flexure and the cutout are thermal chokes which limit heat transfer thereacross from the heater.Type: GrantFiled: July 12, 2019Date of Patent: January 12, 2021Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Daniel Hwung, Yuxing Zhang, Kalyanjit Ghosh, Kaushik Alayavalli, Amit Kumar Bansal
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Publication number: 20200098547Abstract: Systems and methods for a process chamber that decreases the severity and occurrence of substrate defects due to loosened scale is discussed herein. A gas distribution assembly is disposed in a process chamber and includes a faceplate with a plurality of apertures formed therethrough and a second member. The faceplate is coupled to the second member which is configured to couple to the faceplate to reduce an exposed area of the faceplate and minimize an available area for material buildup during the release of gas into the process chamber. The second member is further configured to improve the glow of precursors into the process chamber. The gas distribution assembly can be heated before and during process chamber operations, and can remain heated between process chamber operations.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 25, 2019Publication date: March 26, 2020Inventors: Priyanka DASH, Zhijun JIANG, Ganesh BALASUBRAMANIAN, Qiang MA, Kalyanjit GHOSH, Kaushik ALAYAVALLI, Yuxing ZHANG, Daniel HWUNG, Shawyon JAFARI
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Patent number: 10600624Abstract: Systems and methods for depositing a film in a PECVD chamber while reducing residue buildup in the chamber. In some embodiments disclosed herein, a processing chamber includes a chamber body, a substrate support, a showerhead, and one or more heaters configured to heat the showerhead. In some embodiments, the processing chamber includes a controller.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2018Date of Patent: March 24, 2020Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.Inventors: Kalyanjit Ghosh, Sanjeev Baluja, Mayur G. Kulkarni, Shailendra Srivastava, Tejas Ulavi, Yusheng Alvin Zhou, Amit Kumar Bansal, Priyanka Dash, Zhijun Jiang, Ganesh Balasubramanian, Qiang Ma, Kaushik Alayavalli, Yuxing Zhang, Daniel Hwung, Shawyon Jafari
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Publication number: 20200040452Abstract: A faceplate for a processing chamber is disclosed. The faceplate has a body with a plurality of apertures formed therethrough. A flexure is formed in the body partially circumscribing the plurality of apertures. A cutout is formed through the body on a common radius with the flexure. One or more bores extend from a radially inner surface of the cutout to an outer surface of the body. A heater is disposed between flexure and the plurality of apertures. The flexure and the cutout are thermal chokes which limit heat transfer thereacross from the heater.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 12, 2019Publication date: February 6, 2020Inventors: Daniel HWUNG, Yuxing ZHANG, Kalyanjit GHOSH, Kaushik ALAYAVALLI, Amit Kumar BANSAL
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Publication number: 20190226089Abstract: Embodiments herein relate to an apparatus for use in a substrate processing chamber is disclosed herein. The apparatus has a faceplate, a support member, and a spacer. A plurality of apertures is formed through the faceplate. The faceplate is coupled to and supported by the support member. The spacer is further coupled to the support member.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 23, 2019Publication date: July 25, 2019Inventors: Yuxing ZHANG, Sanjeev BALUJA, Kaushik ALAYAVALLI, Kalyanjit GHOSH, Daniel HWUNG