Patents by Inventor Ralf-Peter Brinkmann

Ralf-Peter Brinkmann 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: 20120097641
    Abstract: Method and device for the plasma treatment of a substrate in a plasma device, wherein—the substrate (110) is arranged between an electrode (112) and a counter-electrode (108) having a distance d between a surface area of the substrate to be treated and the electrode, —a capacitively coupled plasma discharge is excited, forming a DC self-bias between the electrode (112) and the counter-electrode (108), —in an area of the plasma discharge between the surface area to be treated and the electrode having a quasineutral plasma bulk (114), a quantity of at least one activatable gas species, to which a surface area of the substrate to be treated is subjected, is present —it is provided that a plasma discharge is excited, —wherein the distance d has a value comparable to s=se+sg, where se denotes a thickness of a plasma boundary layer (119) in front of the electrode, and sg denotes a thickness of a plasma boundary layer (118) in front of the substrate surface to be treated or —wherein the quasineutral plasma bulk (114
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2009
    Publication date: April 26, 2012
    Applicants: FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANGWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V., RUHR-UNIVERSITAT BOCHUM, LEYBOLD OPTICS GMBH
    Inventors: Rudolf Beckmann, Michael Geisler, Arndt Zeuner, Marks Fiedler, Gunter Grabosch, Andreas Pflug, Uwe Czarnetzki, Ralf-Peter Brinkmann, Michael Siemers
  • Patent number: 7878045
    Abstract: Device for determining the density of a plasma, with of a probe (1) which can be immersed into the plasma, with a probe head (2) in form of a three-axis ellipsoid, and a handle (3) connected to the probe head (2), wherein the probe head (2) has a sheath (4) and a probe core (5, 5a) surrounded by the sheath (4), wherein the surface (8) of the probe core (5, 5a) has electrode areas (9, 10) of opposite polarity which are insulated from each other. The probe core consists of electrodes (6, 7), to which a signal is applied. The absorption of that signal is measured and evaluated as a function of the frequency. Based on a multipole expansion, a mathematical model is constructed with which the absorption spectrum of the probe can be unambiguously evaluated. For a particular design of the probe, the response can be restricted to a single resonance, from which the electron density of the plasma (to be inferred from the resonance frequency) can be found by an unambiguous evaluation algorithm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Inventor: Ralf-Peter Brinkmann
  • Publication number: 20090133471
    Abstract: Device for determining the density of a plasma, with of a probe (1) which can be immersed into the plasma, with a probe head (2) in form of a three-axis ellipsoid, and a handle (3) connected to the probe head (2), wherein the probe head (2) has a sheath (4) and a probe core (5, 5a) surrounded by the sheath (4), wherein the surface (8) of the probe core (5, 5a) has electrode areas (9, 10) of opposite polarity which are insulated from each other. The probe core consists of electrodes (6, 7), to which a signal is applied. The absorption of that signal is measured and evaluated as a function of the frequency. Based on a multipole expansion, a mathematical model is constructed with which the absorption spectrum of the probe can be unambiguously evaluated. For a particular design of the probe, the response can be restricted to a single resonance, from which the electron density of the plasma (to be inferred from the resonance frequency) can be found by an unambiguous evaluation algorithm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2007
    Publication date: May 28, 2009
    Inventor: Ralf-Peter Brinkmann
  • Patent number: 6524448
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a system for executing a plasma-based sputtering method, such as for example a PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) method. In a process chamber (1), a plasma (2) is produced in order to accelerate ionized particles, carried away from a sputter target (21), through the plasma (2) towards a substrate (3), using an electrical field. In the process chamber (1), between the plasma (2) and the substrate (3) a magnetic field component (6) is produced by that is situated parallel to a substrate surface (5). Through the magnetic field component (6), the angular distribution of the ionized particles is deflected from its flight path perpendicular to the substrate surface, so that impact angles are produced that have a greater angular scattering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2003
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Ralf-Peter Brinkmann, Alfred Kersch
  • Publication number: 20020036132
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a system for executing a plasma-based sputtering method, such as for example a PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) method. In a process chamber (1), a plasma (2) is produced in order to accelerate ionized particles, carried away from a sputter target (21), through the plasma (2) towards a substrate (3), using an electrical field. In the process chamber (1), between the plasma (2) and the substrate (3) a magnetic field component (6) is produced that is situated parallel to a substrate surface (5). Through the magnetic field component (6), the angular distribution of the ionized particles is deflected from its flight path perpendicular to the substrate surface, so that impact angles are produced that have a greater angular scattering.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2001
    Publication date: March 28, 2002
    Inventors: Ralf-Peter Brinkmann, Alfred Kersch