Patents by Inventor Michael Kutney

Michael Kutney 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: 20250218829
    Abstract: An identification feature of a substrate in a substrate measurement subsystem is identified. The identification feature is located at a predefined location relative to a reference location of the substrate. A position of the substrate within the substrate measurement subsystem is determined based on the identified identification feature. Based on the determined position of the substrate, one or more sensing components of the substrate measurement subsystem is caused to capture spectral data representing features of at least one of the reference location of the substrate or another location of the substrate. A determination is made of whether to update a process recipe associated with the substrate based on the captured spectral data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2025
    Publication date: July 3, 2025
    Inventors: Upendra V. Ummethala, Blake Erickson, Prashanth Kumar, Michael Kutney, Steven Trey Tindel, Zhaozhao Zhu
  • Patent number: 12283503
    Abstract: A method for a substrate measurement subsystem is provided. An indication is received that a substrate being processed at a manufacturing system has been loaded into a substrate measurement subsystem. First positional data of the substrate within the substrate measurement subsystem is determined. One or more portions of the substrate to be measured by one or more sensing components of the substrate measurement subsystem are determined based on the first positional data of the substrate and a process recipe for the substrate. Measurements of each of the determined portions of the substrate are obtained by one or more sensing components of the substrate measurement subsystem. The obtained measurements of each of the determined portions of the substrate are transmitted to a system controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Upendra V. Ummethala, Blake Erickson, Prashanth Kumar, Michael Kutney, Steven Trey Tindel, Zhaozhao Zhu
  • Patent number: 12216455
    Abstract: A substrate processing system includes a process chamber, one or more robot, a substrate measurement system, and a computing device. The process chamber may process a substrate that will comprise a film and/or feature after the processing. The one or more robot, to move the substrate from the process chamber to a substrate measurement system. The substrate measurement system may measure the film and/or feature on the substrate and generate a profile map of the film and/or feature. The computing device may process data from the profile map using a first trained machine learning model, wherein the first trained machine learning model outputs a first chamber component condition estimation for a first chamber component of the process chamber. The computing device may then determine whether to perform maintenance on the first chamber component of the process chamber based at least in part on the first chamber component condition estimation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2025
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Chunlei Zhang, Zhaozhao Zhu, Michael Kutney
  • Patent number: 12191176
    Abstract: A process recipe associated with a substrate at a manufacturing system is identified. A first set of measurements for the substrate is obtained from a substrate measurement subsystem. A second set of measurements for the substrate is obtained from one or more sensors of a chamber of the manufacturing system. A determination is made based on the obtained first set of measurements and the obtained second set of measurements of whether to modify the process recipe by at least one of modifying an operation of the process recipe or generating an instruction to prevent completion of execution of one or more operations of the process recipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Upendra V. Ummethala, Blake Erickson, Prashanth Kumar, Michael Kutney, Steven Trey Tindel, Zhaozhao Zhu
  • Publication number: 20240393761
    Abstract: A method includes receiving, by a processing device, position error data from one or more motors of a process chamber. The method further includes performing preprocessing of the position error data. The method further includes transforming the position error data to a frequency domain. The method further includes determining, based on the frequency domain position error data, that a vibration fault has occurred in connection with the process chamber. The method further includes performing a corrective action in view of the vibration fault.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2023
    Publication date: November 28, 2024
    Inventors: Zhi Wang, Tao Zhang, Punyabrahma Panda, Michael Kutney
  • Patent number: 12148647
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a substrate holder, a first actuator to rotate the substrate holder, a second actuator to move the substrate holder linearly, a first sensor to generate one or more first measurements or images of the substrate, a second sensor to generate one or more second measurements of target positions on the substrate, and a processing device. The processing device estimates a position of the substrate on the substrate holder and causes the first actuator to rotate the substrate holder about a first axis. The rotation causes an offset between a field of view of the second sensor and a target position on the substrate due to the substrate not being centered on the substrate holder. The processing device causes the second actuator to move the substrate holder linearly along a second axis to correct the offset. The processing device determines a profile across a surface of the substrate based on the one or more second measurements of the target positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Patricia Schulze, Gregory John Freeman, Michael Kutney, Arunkumar Ramachandraiah, Chih Chung Chou, Zhaozhao Zhu, Ozkan Celik
  • Patent number: 12136557
    Abstract: A process recipe associated with a substrate at a manufacturing system is identified. A first set of measurements for the substrate is obtained from a substrate measurement subsystem. A second set of measurements for the substrate is obtained from one or more sensors of a chamber of the manufacturing system. A determination is made based on the obtained first set of measurements and the obtained second set of measurements of whether to modify the process recipe by at least one of modifying an operation of the process recipe or generating an instruction to prevent completion of execution of one or more operations of the process recipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2024
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Upendra V. Ummethala, Blake Erickson, Prashanth Kumar, Michael Kutney, Steven Trey Tindel, Zhaozhao Zhu
  • Publication number: 20240339347
    Abstract: An optical measurement device comprises a substrate holder to secure a substrate, a plurality of actuators to move the substrate holder relative to a plurality of axes, a first sensor to generate one or more first measurements or images of a first plurality of target positions on the substrate, and a second sensor to generate one or more second measurements of a second plurality of target positions on the substrate. The optical measurement device further comprises a plate, wherein the substrate holder, the plurality of actuators, the first sensor and the second sensor are each mounted to the plate, and wherein the plate provides vibration isolation from a factory interface to which the optical measurement device mounts. The optical measurement device further comprises a processing device that executes instructions to control the plurality of actuators and process the first measurements or images and the second measurements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2024
    Publication date: October 10, 2024
    Inventors: Patricia Schulze, Gregory John Freeman, Michael Kutney, Arunkumar Ramachandraiah, Chih Chung Chou, Zhaozhao Zhu, Ozkan Celik
  • Publication number: 20240321649
    Abstract: A method includes determining a plurality of measurement targets of a substrate. The substrate includes a plurality of structures. Each measurement target is associated with a structure of the plurality of structures. The method further includes operating one or more motors to cause motion of a substrate support to dispose a first measurement target within a field of view of a measurement instrument. The method further includes causing the measurement instrument to take a first measurement of the first measurement target as the first measurement target passes through the field of view of the measurement instrument. The method further includes operating the one or more motors of the substrate support to dispose a second measurement target of the substrate within the field of view of the measurement instrument.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2024
    Publication date: September 26, 2024
    Inventors: Amikam Sade, Michael Kutney
  • Patent number: 12066639
    Abstract: Implementations disclosed describe a collimator assembly having a collimator housing that includes an interface configured to optically couple to a process chamber that has a target surface, and a port to receive an optical fiber to deliver, to an enclosure formed by the collimator housing, a first (second) plurality of spectral components of light belonging to a first (second) range of wavelengths, and an achromatic lens located, at least partially, within the enclosure formed by the collimator housing, the achromatic lens to direct the first (second) plurality of spectral components of light onto the target surface to illuminate a first (second) region on the target surface, wherein the second region is substantially the same as the first region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2023
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2024
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Pengyu Han, John Anthony O'Malley, Michael N. Grimbergen, Lei Lian, Upendra Ummethala, Michael Kutney
  • Publication number: 20240128100
    Abstract: Spectral data associated with one or more regions of a surface of a substrate is identified. The substrate has been processed according to one or more first operations of a process recipe that is unknown to a system controller for the manufacturing system. The spectral data is provided as input to a machine learning model that is trained to predict, based on given spectral data, a respective process recipe associated with the substrate and one or more operations of the respective process recipe that have already been performed. A determination is made, based on one or more outputs of the machine learning model, that the substrate is associated with the process recipe and that one or more second operations are yet to be performed. The substrate is caused to be processed according to the one or more second operations of the process recipe.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 11, 2023
    Publication date: April 18, 2024
    Inventors: Hsinyi Tsai, Thomas Li, Zhaozhao Zhu, Michael Kutney, Upendra V. Ummethala
  • Patent number: 11927543
    Abstract: A system includes a memory, and at least one processing device, operatively coupled to the memory, to facilitate an etch recipe development process by performing operations including obtaining, from an optical detector, first material thickness data for a first material and second material thickness data for a second material resulting from an iteration of an etch process using an etch recipe. The first material is located at a first reflectometry measurement point and the second material is located at a second reflectometry measurement point different from the first reflectometry measurement point. The operations further include determining one or more etch parameters based on at least the first material thickness data and the second material thickness data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Blake Erickson, Keith Berding, Michael Kutney, Soumendra Barman, Zhaozhao Zhu, Michelle SanPedro, Suresh Polali Narayana Rao
  • Publication number: 20230341699
    Abstract: Implementations disclosed describe a collimator assembly having a collimator housing that includes an interface configured to optically couple to a process chamber that has a target surface, and a port to receive an optical fiber to deliver, to an enclosure formed by the collimator housing, a first (second) plurality of spectral components of light belonging to a first (second) range of wavelengths, and an achromatic lens located, at least partially, within the enclosure formed by the collimator housing, the achromatic lens to direct the first (second) plurality of spectral components of light onto the target surface to illuminate a first (second) region on the target surface, wherein the second region is substantially the same as the first region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2023
    Publication date: October 26, 2023
    Inventors: Pengyu Han, John John O’Malley, Michael N. Grimbergen, Lei Lian, Upendra Ummethala, Michael Kutney
  • Publication number: 20230326773
    Abstract: A process recipe associated with a substrate at a manufacturing system is identified. A first set of measurements for the substrate is obtained from a substrate measurement subsystem. A second set of measurements for the substrate is obtained from one or more sensors of a chamber of the manufacturing system. A determination is made based on the obtained first set of measurements and the obtained second set of measurements of whether to modify the process recipe by at least one of modifying an operation of the process recipe or generating an instruction to prevent completion of execution of one or more operations of the process recipe.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 15, 2023
    Publication date: October 12, 2023
    Inventors: Upendra V. Ummethala, Blake Erickson, Prashanth Kumar, Michael Kutney, Steven Trey Tindel, Zhaozhao Zhu
  • Publication number: 20230258500
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a base component and a plurality of collimators housed within the base component. Each collimator of the plurality of collimators corresponds to a respective location of a plurality of locations of a wafer in an etch chamber. The plurality of locations includes a center location of the wafer, a plurality of inner ring locations along an inner ring of the wafer associated with a first set of radially symmetric optical emission spectroscopy (OES) signal sampling paths, and a plurality of outer ring locations along an outer ring of the wafer associated with a second set of radially symmetric OES signal sampling paths.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2023
    Publication date: August 17, 2023
    Inventors: Blake Erickson, Keith Berding, Michael Kutney, Zhaozhao Zhu, Tsung Feng Wu, Michael D. Willwerth, Jeffrey Ludwig
  • Patent number: 11719952
    Abstract: Implementations disclosed describe a collimator assembly having a collimator housing that includes an interface configured to optically couple to a process chamber that has a target surface, and a port to receive an optical fiber to deliver, to an enclosure formed by the collimator housing, a first (second) plurality of spectral components of light belonging to a first (second) range of wavelengths, and an achromatic lens located, at least partially, within the enclosure formed by the collimator housing, the achromatic lens to direct the first (second) plurality of spectral components of light onto the target surface to illuminate a first (second) region on the target surface, wherein the second region is substantially the same as the first region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Pengyu Han, John Anthony O'Malley, Michael N. Grimbergen, Lei Lian, Upendra Ummethala, Michael Kutney
  • Publication number: 20230238266
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a substrate holder, a first actuator to rotate the substrate holder, a second actuator to move the substrate holder linearly, a first sensor to generate one or more first measurements or images of the substrate, a second sensor to generate one or more second measurements of target positions on the substrate, and a processing device. The processing device estimates a position of the substrate on the substrate holder and causes the first actuator to rotate the substrate holder about a first axis. The rotation causes an offset between a field of view of the second sensor and a target position on the substrate due to the substrate not being centered on the substrate holder. The processing device causes the second actuator to move the substrate holder linearly along a second axis to correct the offset. The processing device determines a profile across a surface of the substrate based on the one or more second measurements of the target positions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2022
    Publication date: July 27, 2023
    Inventors: Patricia Schulze, Gregory John Freeman, Michael Kutney, Arunkumar Ramachandraiah, Chih Chung Chou, Zhaozhao Zhu, Ozkan Celik
  • Publication number: 20230236583
    Abstract: A substrate processing system includes a process chamber, one or more robot, a substrate measurement system, and a computing device. The process chamber may process a substrate that will comprise a film and/or feature after the processing. The one or more robot, to move the substrate from the process chamber to a substrate measurement system. The substrate measurement system may measure the film and/or feature on the substrate and generate a profile map of the film and/or feature. The computing device may process data from the profile map using a first trained machine learning model, wherein the first trained machine learning model outputs a first chamber component condition estimation for a first chamber component of the process chamber. The computing device may then determine whether to perform maintenance on the first chamber component of the process chamber based at least in part on the first chamber component condition estimation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2022
    Publication date: July 27, 2023
    Inventors: Chunlei Zhang, Zhaozhao Zhu, Michael Kutney
  • Publication number: 20230236569
    Abstract: A method includes processing a substrate in a process chamber according to a recipe, wherein the substrate comprises at least one of a film or a feature after the processing. The method further includes generating a profile map of the first substrate. The method further includes processing data from the profile map using a first model, wherein the first model outputs at least one of an estimated mesa condition of a substrate support for the process chamber, an estimated lift pin location condition of the substrate support an estimated seal band condition of the substrate support, or an estimated process kit ring condition for a process kit ring for the process chamber. The method further includes outputting a notice as a result of the processing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 5, 2022
    Publication date: July 27, 2023
    Inventors: Chunlei Zhang, Zhaozhao Zhu, Michael Kutney
  • Patent number: 11688616
    Abstract: A method for determining whether to modify a manufacturing process recipe is provided. A substrate to be processed at a manufacturing system according to the first process recipe is identified. An instruction to transfer the substrate to a substrate measurement subsystem to obtain a first set of measurements for the substrate is generated. The first set of measurements for the substrate is received from the substrate measurement subsystem. An instruction to transfer the substrate from the substrate measurement subsystem to a processing chamber is generated. A second set of measurements for the substrate is received from one or more sensors of the processing chamber. A first mapping between the first set of measurements and the second set of measurements for the substrate is generated. The first set of measurements mapped to the second set of measurements for the substrate is stored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Upendra V. Ummethala, Blake Erickson, Prashanth Kumar, Michael Kutney, Steven Trey Tindel, Zhaozhao Zhu