Patents by Inventor Noel Abarra

Noel Abarra 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: 11939665
    Abstract: A film thickness measurement apparatus includes: a stage that places a substrate having a film formed thereon and measures a thickness of the film in-situ in a film forming apparatus; a film thickness meter including a light emitter that emits light toward the substrate disposed on the stage and a light receiving sensor that receives the light reflected by the substrate for measuring the thickness of the film in-situ; a moving mechanism including a multi-joint arm that moves an irradiation point of the light on the substrate; a distance meter that measures a distance between the light receiving sensor and the irradiation point on the substrate; and a distance adjustor that adjusts the distance between the light receiving sensor and the irradiation point on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMTED
    Inventors: Masato Shinada, Tamaki Takeyama, Kazunaga Ono, Naoyuki Suzuki, Hiroaki Chihaya, Einstein Noel Abarra
  • Patent number: 11851750
    Abstract: An apparatus for performing a sputtering process on a substrate is provided. The apparatus includes a processing chamber having a substrate support on which the substrate is placed, a target for emitting target particles to be adhered to the substrate by plasma formed in the processing chamber, a magnet, provided on a rear surface of the target, for adjusting a state of the plasma on the surface of the target, and a magnet moving mechanism for repeatedly moving the magnet between a position on one side and a position on the other side set across a center portion on the rear surface of the target. The apparatus further includes a collimator having two regulating plates for limiting an incident angle of the target particles to the substrate, and an arrangement position adjustment mechanism adjusting positions of the two regulating plates according to the movement of the magnet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Masato Shinada, Einstein Noel Abarra, Hiroyuki Toshima, Shota Ishibashi
  • Patent number: 11823880
    Abstract: A target structure includes a target, a cooling jacket having a flow path through which a heat exchange medium flows, and a backing plate. The target is bonded to one surface of the cooling jacket. A remaining surface of the cooling jacket and the backing plate are bonded in a peripheral portion, and are not bonded in a non-bonding region inside the peripheral portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Einstein Noel Abarra
  • Publication number: 20230304741
    Abstract: The disclosure describes equipment for magnetic annealing of a substrate, the equipment including: an anneal chamber configured to heat and cool a substrate held at a soak location along a first direction in the anneal chamber, the anneal chamber including: a heater, a cooler, and a substrate lifter including a substrate holder, where the substrate holder is configured to support a substrate oriented such that the first direction is perpendicular to a major surface of the substrate; and a magnet assembly configured to establish a homogeneous zone in the anneal chamber, the soak location being within the homogeneous zone, the homogeneous zone including a region of magnetic field.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2022
    Publication date: September 28, 2023
    Inventors: Ian Colgan, Ioan Domsa, George Eyres, Bartlomiej Burkowicz, Barry Clarke, David Hurley, Einstein Noel Abarra
  • Patent number: 11742190
    Abstract: A sputtering apparatus includes a first target and a second target that emit sputter particles, a substrate support configured to support a substrate, and a slit plate disposed between the first and the second targets and the substrate and having a slit unit through which the sputter particles pass. The slit unit includes a first slit to the first and the second target side and a second slit to the substrate side. The second slit has a first protrusion and a second protrusion protruding toward the center of the second slit. When the slit unit is viewed from the first target, the first protrusion is hidden. When the slit unit is viewed from the second target, the second protrusion is hidden.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Einstein Noel Abarra, Hiroyuki Toshima, Shota Ishibashi, Hiroyuki Iwashita, Tatsuo Hirasawa, Masato Shinada
  • Patent number: 11715671
    Abstract: A film forming system for forming a magnetic film is provided. The film forming system includes a processing module configured to form the magnetic film on a substrate, a magnetization characteristic measuring device configured to measure magnetization characteristics of the magnetic film formed on the substrate in the processing module, and a transfer unit configured to transfer the substrate between the processing module and the magnetization characteristic measuring device. The magnetization characteristic measuring device includes a magnetic field applying mechanism having a permanent magnet magnetic circuit configured to apply a magnetic field to the substrate and adjust the magnetic field to be applied to the substrate, and a detector configured to detect magnetization characteristics of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Hiroaki Chihaya, Einstein Noel Abarra, Shota Ishibashi
  • Publication number: 20230051311
    Abstract: A method of forming a metal superlattice structure includes depositing, on a substrate, a layer of a first metal with face-centered-cubic (fcc) crystal structure. The method further includes depositing a layer of ruthenium (Ru) metal with fcc crystal structure on the layer of the first metal. The layer of the first metal may cause the layer of ruthenium metal to have fcc crystal structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2022
    Publication date: February 16, 2023
    Inventors: Hiroaki Niimi, Gerrit Leusink, Hiroki Maehara, Einstein Noel Abarra, Naoki Watanabe
  • Patent number: 11581171
    Abstract: A cathode unit for performing a sputtering film formation includes: a target that emits sputtering particles; a target cooler that includes a cooling plate to which the target is bonded; and a power supply that supplies a power to the target. The target has a high-temperature region that has a higher temperature than other regions of the target during a film formation. The cooling plate includes a coolant flow space through which a coolant flows, and a first wall and a second wall that define the coolant flow space in a thickness direction. In the coolant flow space, a flow path of the coolant is formed by a first partition plate and a second partition plate. The first partition plate does not exist at a portion of the coolant flow space that corresponds to the high-temperature region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Masato Shinada, Einstein Noel Abarra
  • Patent number: 11495446
    Abstract: A film formation device includes a target holder configured to hold a target for emitting sputtering particles in a processing space inside a processing chamber, a sputtering particle emitting part configured to emit the sputtering particles from the target, a sputtering particle shielding plate having a passage hole through which the emitted sputtering particles pass, a shielding member provided to shield the passage hole, a movement mechanism configured to move the shielding member in the horizontal direction, and a controller. The controller controls the shielding member, which has the placement portion on which a substrate is placed, to be moved in one direction of the horizontal direction, and controls the sputtering particles to be emitted from the target. The sputtering particles passed through the passage hole are deposited on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Masato Shinada, Hiroyuki Toshima, Einstein Noel Abarra
  • Publication number: 20220285197
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes: a stage including an electrostatic chuck configured to attract a substrate; a heater configured to heat the stage; a heating drive part configured to supply power to the heater so that a temperature of the stage becomes a target value; and a detector configured to detect an abnormality in attraction of the substrate by the electrostatic chuck, wherein the detector is further configured to detect the abnormality based on fluctuation of the power supplied to the heater, the fluctuation being generated by the attraction of the substrate by the electrostatic chuck.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2022
    Publication date: September 8, 2022
    Inventors: Hiroaki CHIHAYA, Yasuhiko KOJIMA, Einstein Noel ABARRA, Tetsuya MIYASHITA
  • Publication number: 20220285182
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes: a stage having an electrostatic chuck configured to attract a substrate; a measurement part configured to measure a temperature of the stage; and a detection part configured to detect an abnormality caused by attraction of the substrate by the electrostatic chuck, based on a fluctuation of the temperature of the stage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2022
    Publication date: September 8, 2022
    Inventors: Hiroaki CHIHAYA, Tetsuya MIYASHITA, Einstein Noel ABARRA, Yasuhiko KOJIMA
  • Publication number: 20220236202
    Abstract: A holder temperature detection method which measures a temperature of a rotatable holder that holds a substrate is provided. The method comprises a step of irradiating a fluorescent body thermally mounted on the holder with a light pulse having a first wavelength, a step of detecting fluorescence having a second wavelength emitted from the fluorescent body due to the light pulse and a step of estimating the temperature of the holder based on the detected fluorescence.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2022
    Publication date: July 28, 2022
    Inventors: Einstein Noel ABARRA, Hiroaki CHIHAYA
  • Publication number: 20220208534
    Abstract: There is provided a sputtering apparatus comprising: a target from which sputtered particles are emitted; a substrate support configured to support a substrate; a substrate moving mechanism configured to move the substrate in one direction; and a shielding member disposed between the target and the substrate support and having an opening through which the sputtered particles pass. The shielding member includes a first shielding member and a second shielding member disposed in a vertical direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2021
    Publication date: June 30, 2022
    Inventors: Masato SHINADA, Tetsuya MIYASHITA, Einstein Noel ABARRA
  • Publication number: 20220081757
    Abstract: A film forming apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises a processing chamber accommodating a plurality of substrates; a plurality of substrate supporting units disposed in the processing chamber and configured to place the substrates thereon; a substrate moving mechanism configured to linearly move the substrate supporting units in a first direction; sputter particle emitting units, each having a target for emitting sputter particles into the processing chamber; and a controller configured to control the sputter particle emitting units and the substrate moving mechanism. The controller controls the substrate moving mechanism to linearly move the substrate supporting units on which the substrates are placed in the first direction and controls the sputter particle emitting units to emit sputter particles to be deposited on the substrates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2021
    Publication date: March 17, 2022
    Inventors: Masato Shinada, Naoki Watanabe, Tetsuya Miyashita, Hiroyuki Toshima, Einstein Noel Abarra, Shota Ishibashi
  • Publication number: 20220044920
    Abstract: A sputtering apparatus includes a first target and a second target that emit sputter particles, a substrate support configured to support a substrate, and a slit plate disposed between the first and the second targets and the substrate and having a slit unit through which the sputter particles pass. The slit unit includes a first slit to the first and the second target side and a second slit to the substrate side. The second slit has a first protrusion and a second protrusion protruding toward the center of the second slit. When the slit unit is viewed from the first target, the first protrusion is hidden. When the slit unit is viewed from the second target, the second protrusion is hidden.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2021
    Publication date: February 10, 2022
    Inventors: Einstein Noel ABARRA, Hiroyuki TOSHIMA, Shota ISHIBASHI, Hiroyuki IWASHITA, Tatsuo HIRASAWA, Masato SHINADA
  • Publication number: 20220025511
    Abstract: An apparatus for performing a sputtering process on a substrate is provided. The apparatus includes a processing chamber having a substrate support on which the substrate is placed, a target for emitting target particles to be adhered to the substrate by plasma formed in the processing chamber, a magnet, provided on a rear surface of the target, for adjusting a state of the plasma on the surface of the target, and a magnet moving mechanism for repeatedly moving the magnet between a position on one side and a position on the other side set across a center portion on the rear surface of the target. The apparatus further includes a collimator having two regulating plates for limiting an incident angle of the target particles to the substrate, and an arrangement position adjustment mechanism adjusting positions of the two regulating plates according to the movement of the magnet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2021
    Publication date: January 27, 2022
    Inventors: Masato SHINADA, Einstein Noel ABARRA, Hiroyuki TOSHIMA, Shota ISHIBASHI
  • Patent number: 11220741
    Abstract: A film forming apparatus includes: a processing chamber; a sputtered particle emitter; a substrate mounting unit; and a sputtered particle shielding plate that is provided between the sputtered particle emitter and the substrate mounting unit and has a passage hole that allows the sputtered particles emitted from the sputtered particle emitter to pass through and allows the sputtered particles to be obliquely incident on a substrate mounted on the substrate mounting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Einstein Noel Abarra
  • Patent number: 11174547
    Abstract: A film forming apparatus includes: a processing chamber; a sputtered particle emitter; a substrate mounting unit; and a sputtered particle shielding plate that is provided between the sputtered particle emitter and the substrate mounting unit and has a passage hole that allows the sputtered particles emitted from the sputtered particle emitter to pass through and allows the sputtered particles to be obliquely incident on a substrate mounted on the substrate mounting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Einstein Noel Abarra
  • Publication number: 20210285096
    Abstract: A film thickness measurement apparatus includes: a stage that places a substrate having a film formed thereon and measures a thickness of the film in-situ in a film forming apparatus; a film thickness meter including a light emitter that emits light toward the substrate disposed on the stage and a light receiving sensor that receives the light reflected by the substrate for measuring the thickness of the film in-situ; a moving mechanism including a multi-joint arm that moves an irradiation point of the light on the substrate; a distance meter that measures a distance between the light receiving sensor and the irradiation point on the substrate; and a distance adjustor that adjusts the distance between the light receiving sensor and the irradiation point on the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2021
    Publication date: September 16, 2021
    Inventors: Masato SHINADA, Tamaki TAKEYAMA, Kazunaga ONO, Naoyuki SUZUKI, Hiroaki CHIHAYA, Einstein Noel ABARRA
  • Publication number: 20210257198
    Abstract: A cathode unit for performing a sputtering film formation includes: a target that emits sputtering particles; a target cooler that includes a cooling plate to which the target is bonded; and a power supply that supplies a power to the target. The target has a high-temperature region that has a higher temperature than other regions of the target during a film formation. The cooling plate includes a coolant flow space through which a coolant flows, and a first wall and a second wall that define the coolant flow space in a thickness direction. In the coolant flow space, a flow path of the coolant is formed by a first partition plate and a second partition plate. The first partition plate does not exist at a portion of the coolant flow space that corresponds to the high-temperature region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2021
    Publication date: August 19, 2021
    Inventors: Masato SHINADA, Einstein Noel ABARRA