Patents by Inventor Steven L. Fortner

Steven L. Fortner 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: 20240141541
    Abstract: An apparatus for electroplating a metal on a semiconductor substrate with high control over plated thickness on a die-level includes an ionically resistive ionically permeable element (e.g., a plate with channels), where the element allows for flow of ionic current through the element towards the substrate during electroplating, where the element includes a plurality of regions, each region having a pattern of varied local resistance, and where the pattern of varied local resistance repeats in at least two regions. An electroplating method includes providing a semiconductor substrate to an electroplating apparatus having an ionically resistive ionically permeable element or a grid-like shield having a pattern correlating with a pattern of features on the substrate, and plating metal, while the pattern on the substrate remains spatially aligned with the pattern of the element or the grid-like shield for at least a portion of the total electroplating time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2022
    Publication date: May 2, 2024
    Inventors: Lee Peng Chua, Gabriel Hay Graham, Bryan L. Buckalew, Stephen J. Banik, II, Santosh Kumar, James Isaac Fortner, Robert Rash, Steven T. Mayer
  • Patent number: D484639
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Inventor: Steven L. Fortner