With Infrared Generating Means Patents (Class 219/411)
  • Patent number: 6528767
    Abstract: An apparatus for supporting a glass substrate is provided. In one embodiment, a substrate support is provided having a base structural member and an upper top portion having a surface thereon adapted to minimize friction and/or chemical reactions between the substrate support and a glass substrate supported thereon. The substrate supports may be utilized in various chambers such as load locks chamber and chambers having thermal processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2003
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: William A. Bagley, Ericka M. Ramirez, Stephen C. Wolgast
  • Patent number: 6529686
    Abstract: Described are heating members and related methods, the heating members being usefully for processing substrates such as microelectronic devices, the heating members optionally and preferably comprising a thermal conductive layer prepared to a superior flatness and having thermal transfer properties that facilitate rapid, agile, and uniform heat transfer, with ceramic material being preferred for its construction, and the heating member optionally and preferably including a multi-layer heating element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2003
    Assignee: FSI International, Inc.
    Inventors: Natarajan Ramanan, James B. Sims
  • Publication number: 20030038128
    Abstract: A heating device of the light irradiation type in which uniform illuminance can be obtained without placing a single end lamp in the middle of the light source part is achieved providing a light source part in which circular lamps are arranged concentrically to one another with a mirror in the center of the circular lamps. The mirror is convex toward the workpiece and reflects the light emitted from the innermost circular lamp located closest to the center area so that, without placing a single end lamp in the middle area, the reduction of illuminance in the middle area of the irradiated surface is reduced. Furthermore, the reflector can be made conical, and in this way, the light from the lamps can be emitted with high efficiency onto the workpiece surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 19, 2002
    Publication date: February 27, 2003
    Applicant: Ushiodenki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shinji Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6521870
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an oven that includes, in an exemplary embodiment, a cooking cavity assembly, a controller, a halogen lamp and fan assembly, and a vent assembly. The halogen lamp and fan assembly, sometimes referred to herein as a convection module, includes one or more halogen lamps and a fan for circulating heat from the lamps into the cooking cavity. The oven can be operated in two modes, namely, thermal emulation and customized cooking. In the thermal emulation mode, the oven is pre-heated to a target temperature by lamps cycling on and off under the control of the controller. Once the target temperature is reached, the user places the food into the cooking cavity and the food is cooked for the same amount of time as in a conventional thermal oven. In the customized cooking mode, food is placed in cooking cavity for the entire cooking cycle, including pre-heat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Kevin Farrelly Nolan, Todd Vincent Graves, Don R. Wagner
  • Patent number: 6518547
    Abstract: A substrate heat treatment apparatus irradiating a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer with light and performing heat treatment is provided. 19 lamps 82 are arranged on a plane in the form of a honeycomb to form a lamp group 81. The lamp group 81 has 6-fold rotation symmetry about a symmetry axis XR. A substrate W is rotated about a rotation axis XW in a plane parallel to that formed by the lamp group 81. The symmetry axis XR of the lamp group 81 and the rotation axis XW of the substrate W are displaced for relaxing peaks and bottoms of illuminance distribution on the substrate W resulting from regularity of arrangement of the lamp group 81. Consequently, fluctuation of radial illuminance distribution on the substrate W is reduced and improving uniformity is improved. When the uniformity of radial illuminance distribution on the substrate W is improved, temperature uniformity of the substrate W in heat treatment can be ensured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2003
    Assignee: Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsukazu Takahashi, Hideo Nishihara, Yoshio Ito
  • Patent number: 6519417
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a semiconductor wafer baking apparatus comprising a heating plate, a wafer guide, and an exhaust heat compensator. The heating plate is loaded with a wafer and the wafer guide arranges the wafer on the heating plate. The exhaust heat compensator is placed on the wafer guide and compensates exhausted heat from an edge area of the wafer. The exhaust heat compensator comprises a penetration hole to expose a center portion of the wafer. Therefore, the semiconductor wafer baking apparatus according to the present invention compensates the heat loss occurring in the edge area of the wafer and keeps the edge area of the wafer from temperature drop, which results in a temperature uniformity on the wafer surface. By reducing the temperature deviation within a wafer, a uniform pattern size of an entire wafer in the semiconductor wafer manufacturing process is achieved so that the process reliability and the process yields can be improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2003
    Assignee: Unisem Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Byung Il Lee, Dae Woo Lee
  • Patent number: 6515264
    Abstract: A rod-shaped heater provided is composed of a carbon wire heating element 2 sealed in a small or large diameter quartz glass tube, a small diameter quartz glass tube portions 3a and 3b charged with compressed wire carbon members at opposite ends thereof; a sealed terminal section 10 having connection lines 11a and 11b for power supply held between the compressed wire carbon members charged in the small diameter quartz glass tube. The connection lines and the carbon wire heating element are electrically connected by way of the wire carbon members. This rod-shaped heater using the carbon wire heating element is suitable for readily raising the temperature of the agent in the storage tank of the wet etching agent or the grinding agent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2003
    Assignees: Toshiba Ceramics Co., Ltd., Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Eiichi Toya, Tomio Konn, Tomohiro Nagata, Norihiko Saito, Shigeru Yamamura, Ken Nakao, Takanori Saito, Hisaei Osanai, Toshiyuki Makiya
  • Patent number: 6515261
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for thermally processing a substrate employs lift pin for supporting or contacting the substrate while conveying radiation from the substrate to a detector and/or processor through a hollow member. The lift pin comprises a contact member flexibly mounted on the hollow member to adjust to the angle of the substrate. By conforming the orientation of the contact member to the angle of the substrate, accurate detection and processing of the substrate may be performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2003
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Eugene Smargiassi, Aaron Hunter
  • Patent number: 6506994
    Abstract: A heating chamber assembly for heating or maintaining the temperature of at least one wafer, employs thick film heater plates stacked at an appropriate distance to form a slot between each pair of adjacent heater plate surfaces. The heating chamber assembly may be employed adjacent one or more processing chambers to form a preheat station separate from the processing chambers, or may be incorporated in the load lock of one or more such processing chambers. The thick film heater plates are more efficient and have a better response time than conventional heat plates. A chamber surrounding the stack of heater plates is pressure sealable and nay include a purge gas inlet for supply purge gas thereto under pressure. A door to the chamber opens to allow wafers to be inserted or removed and forms a pressure seal upon closing. The slots in the stack are alignable with the door for loading and unloading of wafers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2003
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Yen-Kun Victor Wang, Mark Fodor, Chen-An Chen, Himanshu Pokharna, Son T. Nguyen, Kelly Fong, Inna Shmurun
  • Patent number: 6501051
    Abstract: A furnace for reflowing solder on a wafer having a heating chamber with an entrance, an exit, and top, bottom, side, and end walls formed of sheets of porous insulation. The furnace has a first belt, with first and second ends, extending from a loading position into the heating chamber. The furnace has a second belt, with first and second ends; the first end of the second belt is coupled to the second end of the first belt, the second belt extending through the heating chamber. The furnace has a third belt with first and second ends; the first end of the third belt is coupled to the second end of the second belt, the third belt extending through the exit of the heating chamber to an unloading position. The heating chamber also has infrared lamps positioned below the second belt, the infrared lamps heat the second belt, such that the second belt heats the wafer situated on the second belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2002
    Assignee: Radient Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Carson T. Richert, Luis Alejandro Rey Garcia, Dienhung D. Phan, Selina De Rose-Juarez, Andrei Szilagyi
  • Patent number: 6501191
    Abstract: A heat treatment apparatus for applying a predetermined heat treatment to a substrate includes: for example, a dielectric low oxygen controlled cure unit (DLC unit) for forming an interlayer insulating film on a semiconductor wafer W; a hot plate for supporting the wafer W a predetermined distance apart from the surface thereof; a chamber for housing the wafer W; a gas collecting port formed in that portion of the hot plate which corresponds to the lower side of the wafer W when the wafer W is disposed on the hot plate; and an oxygen sensor for measuring the oxygen concentration in the gas collected from the gas collecting port. Since the oxygen concentration can be measured during the heat treatment to the wafer W, the characteristics of the interlayer insulating film formed can be maintained constant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2002
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Takashi Tanaka, Shinji Nagashima, Hiroyuki Sakai
  • Publication number: 20020195437
    Abstract: A heat treating apparatus includes halogen lamps for preheating a semiconductor wafer to 400 to 600 degC., and xenon flash lamps for heating the substrate preheated by the halogen lamps, to 1,000 to 1,100 degC. in about 0.1 to 10 milliseconds by irradiating the wafer with flashes of light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2002
    Publication date: December 26, 2002
    Inventor: Tatsufumi Kusuda
  • Patent number: 6495800
    Abstract: A furnace for reflowing solder on a wafer having a heating chamber with an entrance, an exit, and top, bottom, side, and end walls formed of sheets of porous insulation. The furnace has a first belt extending from a loading position into and through. the heating chamber. The furnace has a second belt coupled to the first belt, the second belt extending through the exit of the heating chamber to an unloading position. The heating chamber also has infrared lamps positioned below the first belt, the infrared lamps heat the first belt, such that the first belt heats the wafer situated on the first belt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2002
    Inventors: Carson T. Richert, Luis Alejandro Rey Garcia, Dienhung D. Phan, Selina De Rose-Juarez, Andrei Szilagyi
  • Patent number: 6496648
    Abstract: An apparatus for rapid thermal processing is described and includes a cylindrical lamp array structure (13) surrounding a cylindrical process tube (16). The cylindrical process tube (16) has a lengthwise central axis (22). The cylindrical lamp array structure (13) includes heat sources or lamps (26). The lamps (26) are positioned with respect to the cylindrical process tube (16) so that the sides of the lamps (26) focus light energy in the direction of the lengthwise central axis (22). Substrates (12) are oriented within the cylindrical process tube (16) so that the major surfaces (14) of the substrates (12) are substantially normal to the lengthwise central axis (22). In an alternative embodiment, a magnetic field source (19) is included for processing storage devices such as non-volatile memory devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2002
    Assignee: Prodeo Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian J. Mack, John K. Shriver, Charles L. Vaughan
  • Patent number: 6495802
    Abstract: The present invention generally relates to a method for controlling the temperature of a substantially flat object and to a temperature-controlled chuck comprising a chuck body (20) having an object support side (21) and a back side (22). Said object support side (21) holds a substantially flat object (1) having a front side (2) and a back side (3) on said back side (3) of said object (1). A plurality of temperature sensing elements (4) is distributed on said object support side (1) to measure the temperature distribution of said flat object (1). A plurality of individual temperature influencing elements (6; 8; 9) is distributed on said object support side (21) to face said back side (3) of said flat object (1), each of said temperature influencing elements (6; 8; 9) being arranged to influence the temperature of a partial area of said object's back side (3) as desired.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2002
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: John G. Maltabes, Alain B. Charles, Karl E. Mautz
  • Patent number: 6491757
    Abstract: An apparatus for processing a substrate comprises a susceptor for supporting the substrate, an upper heat source spaced above the susceptor, a lower heat source spaced below the susceptor, and a controller. The controller provides power to the heat sources at a selected ratio between the sources. The controller is configured to vary the ratio during a high temperature processing cycle of a substrate to thereby vary the ratio of the heat provided by the heat sources during the cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2002
    Assignee: ASM America, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael W. Halpin, Mark R. Hawkins, Derrick W. Foster, Robert M. Vyne, John F. Wengert, Cornelius A. van der Jeugd, Loren R. Jacobs, Frank B. M. Van Bilsen, Matthew Goodman, Hartmann Glenn, Jason M. Layton
  • Patent number: 6492621
    Abstract: An apparatus for heat treatment of a wafer is disclosed. The apparatus includes a heating chamber having a heat source. A cooling chamber is positioned adjacent to the heating chamber and includes a cooling source. A wafer holder is configured to move between the cooling chamber and the heating chamber through a passageway and one or more shutters defines the size of the passageway. The one or more shutters are movable between an open position where the wafer holder can pass through the passageway and an obstructing position which defines a passageway which is smaller than the passageway defined when the shutter is in the open position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2002
    Assignee: ASML US, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Ratliff, Taiqing Qiu, Jeff Kowalski, Morteza Yadollahi, Saeed Sedehi
  • Publication number: 20020179589
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an improvement in lamp-annealing devices for annealing a semiconductor film formed on a transparent substrate. In the present invention, a lamp-annealing device is provided with a means for selectively heating a semiconductor film, and a rise in temperature in the substrate during annealing is inhibited. Furthermore, feedback control of the annealing process is carried out based on the light reflected or the light transmitted by the annealed semiconductor film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 5, 2001
    Publication date: December 5, 2002
    Inventors: Yukihiro Morita, Mikihiko Nishitani, Munehiro Shibuya
  • Patent number: 6486444
    Abstract: The present invention generally provides a vacuum system having a small-volume load-lock chamber for supporting a substrate set of only two rows of substrates, which provides for quick evacuation and venting of the load-lock chamber to provide a continuous feed load-lock chamber. More particularly, the present invention provides a transfer chamber; one or more processing chambers connected to the transfer chamber; a substrate handling robot disposed in the transfer chamber; and at least one load-lock chamber connected to the transfer chamber, and having one or more substrate support members for supporting one or more stacks of only two substrates per stack. Another aspect of the invention provides a staging, or storage rack associated with or integrated with the load-lock chamber. More particularly, the staging, or storage rack may be located outside the transfer chamber and accessible by a staging robot serving the load-lock chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2002
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Kevin Fairbairn, Howard E. Grunes, Christopher Lane, Kelly A. Colborne
  • Patent number: 6483081
    Abstract: A system and method for thermal curing of substrates are provided. In one example, a pair of vertical furnace tubes are configured with a hot plate positioned between the lower regions of the furnace tubes and connected to each tube by a passageway. A cooling chamber is positioned between the furnace tubes in an upper region and connected to both tubes by an upper passageway. A wafer transport is configured within each furnace tube to transition wafers from the lower region of each tube, through a middle region of each tube, and to the upper region of each tube. A method is provided in which substrates are pre-heated on the hot plate and then transitioned to a slot in the wafer transport in the vertical furnace tube. The wafer transport is indexed one position as additional substrates are pre-heated and transitioned. The substrates are thermally cured and are then transitioned from the wafer transport to the cooling chamber employing a first in/first out process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2002
    Assignee: Novellus Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: William Tom Batchelder
  • Patent number: 6483083
    Abstract: A substrate to be processed on which a thin film is formed is supported by a support member. The substrate to be processed is heated by a heating section. The surface temperature is measured by a radiation thermometer, and the heating temperature of the heating section is controlled by a control section, in response to the temperature measured by the radiation thermometer. Further, a blackbody is provided at a position optically symmetrical to the radiation thermometer with respect to the surface of the thin film. The blackbody is set at a constant temperature. The blackbody cuts stray light (noise light) which enters into the radiation thermometer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Hideaki Sakurai, Akitoshi Kumagae, Iwao Higashikawa, Shinichi Ito, Tsunetoshi Arikado, Katsuya Okumura
  • Publication number: 20020162832
    Abstract: With reference to a device for heating a meltable material, such as plastic, upstream from equipment for further processing, such as casting or extrusion equipment, which device includes a conveyor channel for the material and a heating means located outside the conveyor channel, the heating means being designed as a radiant heating means and the thermal radiation being directed onto the conveyor channel, the invention proposes that the conveyor channel consist of a material which completely or partially absorbs the thermal radiation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 21, 2002
    Publication date: November 7, 2002
    Inventor: Christian Boehnke
  • Patent number: 6476362
    Abstract: A lamp array for a thermal processing chamber. The lamp array includes a plurality of lamps arranged in a generally circular array. The plurality of lamps can be arranged in one or more concentric rings to form a generally circular array. Additional lamp arrays can be provided adjacent the circumference of the circular array or outermost concentric ring to provide a generally rectangular heating pattern. At least one row of lamps can be provided tangentially to the circular portion of the lamp array to provide preheating or postheating of process gases in the flow direction of a rectangular processing chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2002
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas E. Deacon, Roger N. Anderson, David K. Carlson, Paul Comita
  • Patent number: 6472639
    Abstract: Uniformity of temperature is established within a wafer, and a higher throughput is achieved while the wafer heating time is dramatically reduced by combining lamp heating with hot-wall heating. Lamps 10 are provided outside the furnace body 3 of a hot-wall CVD apparatus. The hot-wall reactor furnace body 3 is preheated to a prescribed temperature. Wafers W are loaded into the furnace body 3, and these wafers W are rapidly heated mediately thereafter to the desired temperature by light emitted by the lamps 10. The lamps 10 are switched off following heating, and the wafer temperature is allowed to reach a uniform state as a result of heat diffusion in the wafers in the hot-wall reactor furnace body 3. It is also possible to adopt an arrangement in which preheating commensurate with the cooling occurring during the transport period is performed before the wafers W are loaded into the furnace body 3. the wafers W are then loaded into the reactor furnace body 3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2002
    Assignee: Kokusai Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Eisuke Nishitani, Katsuhisa Kasanami, Naoko Matsuyama, Shinya Sasaki
  • Patent number: 6472641
    Abstract: There is provided a lamp unit for light radiating type heating device which allows efficient cooling of the lamps, and the temperature increase of a semiconductor wafer irradiated with the lamp unit is faster than in the prior art without the need of a complicated and large cooling structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2002
    Assignee: Ushiodenki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shinji Suzuki
  • Publication number: 20020150395
    Abstract: A heat treatment apparatus enables a rapid temperature rise of an object to be processed while giving an excellent economical efficiency. A heating unit heats an object to be heated by irradiating a light onto the object. A plurality of lamps are provided in a lamp house. The lamps include at least one first lamp and a plurality of second lamps each having an irradiation area smaller than that of the first lamp. The lamp house has a first lamp accommodation part at a center thereof and a second lamp accommodation part surrounding the first lamp accommodation part so that the first lamp accommodation part accommodates the first lamp and the second lamp accommodation part accommodates the second lamps.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2002
    Publication date: October 17, 2002
    Inventors: Masahiro Shimizu, Minoru Yazawa
  • Publication number: 20020148824
    Abstract: In a rapid thermal processing system an array of heat lamps generate radiant heat for heating the surfaces of a semiconductor substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer, to a selected temperature or set of temperatures while held within an enclosed chamber. The heat lamps are surrounded individually or in groups by one or more optically transparent enclosures that isolate the heat lamps from the chamber environment and the wafer or wafers therein. The optically transparent enclosures may include associated reflectors and/or lenses to direct a higher proportion of emitted radiant heat energy from the lamps toward the semiconductor wafer(s). Thin planar quartz liners may also be interposed between the lamps and the substrate. By controlling radiant energy distribution within the chamber, and eliminating thick planar quartz windows commonly used to isolate the lamps in prior art RTP systems, higher processing rates and improved reliability are obtained.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 17, 2001
    Publication date: October 17, 2002
    Inventors: Markus Hauf, Sing-Pin Tay, Yao Zhi Hu
  • Patent number: 6465761
    Abstract: A reactor chamber is positioned between a top array of heat lamps and a bottom array of heat lamps. At least one of the heat lamps forming the top and bottom arrays features a segmented filament such that power output along the length of the heat lamp differs. In one configuration, the heat lamp has a pair of high energy output regions spaced from each other by a lower energy output region. In some configurations, at least one of the heat lamps forming the top and bottom arrays is non-linear, such as U-shaped. In further configurations, a non-linear heat lamp has a segmented filament with segments or areas of different winding density.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2002
    Assignee: ASM America, Inc.
    Inventors: Ronald R. Stevens, Eric Shero, Ravinder K. Aggarwal, Michael W. Halpin
  • Patent number: 6462310
    Abstract: An apparatus for heat treatment of a wafer is disclosed. The apparatus includes a heating chamber having a heat source. A cooling chamber is positioned adjacent to the heating chamber and includes a cooling source. A wafer holder is. configured to move between the cooling chamber and the heating chamber through a passageway and one or more shutters defines the size of the passageway. The one or more shutters are movable between an open position where the wafer holder can pass through the passageway and an obstructing position which defines a passageway which is smaller than the passageway defined when the shutter is in the open position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2002
    Assignee: ASML US, INC
    Inventors: Christopher T. Ratliff, Jeffrey M. Kowalski, Taiqing Qiu
  • Publication number: 20020139790
    Abstract: A temperature sensor for measuring a temperature of a substrate in a thermal processing chamber is described. The chamber includes a reflector forming a reflecting cavity with a substrate when the substrate is positioned in the chamber. The temperature sensor includes a probe having an input end positioned to receive radiation from the reflecting cavity, and a detector optically coupled to an output end of the probe. The radiation entering the probe includes reflected radiation and non-reflected radiation. The detector measures an intensity of a first portion of the radiation entering the probe to generate a first intensity signal and measures an intensity of a second portion of the radiation entering the probe to generate a second intensity signal. The detector is configured so that a ratio of the reflected radiation to the non-reflected radiation is higher in the first portion than the second portion. The two intensity signals are used to calculate the temperature and emissivity of the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2002
    Publication date: October 3, 2002
    Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce Adams, Aaron Hunter, Alex Rubinchik, Mark Yam, Paul A. O'Brien
  • Patent number: 6455814
    Abstract: An apparatus that includes a reflector having a mirrored surface facing down, a glass structure located beneath the reflector, a susceptor within the glass structure having a surface facing up that is capable of holding a part to be processed, and one or more radiant heat sources directed at and located beneath the glass structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2002
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Arkadii V. Samoilov, Dale R. DuBois, Lance A. Scudder, Paul B. Comita, Lori D. Washington, David K. Carlson, Roger N. Anderson
  • Patent number: 6448536
    Abstract: A single-substrate-heat-processing apparatus includes an airtight process chamber, the interior of which is partitioned into a process space and a lower space by a mount plate and a shield frame. Heating lamps are disposed at a position outside the process chamber and below the mount plate. The mount plate is supported by a shield frame via an isolator, which has a thermal conductivity lower than that of the mount plate. The isolator is formed of a lower member and an upper member. The upper member has outer and inner cover portions, which cover the inner edge of the shield frame and the outer edge of the mount plate, respectively, in a non-contacting state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2002
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Yicheng Li, Toshio Takagi
  • Patent number: 6448537
    Abstract: A thermal processing chamber configured to enclose and heat treat a single electronic substrate at an exposed surface, such as a wafer or electronic circuit board being re-melted, includes an enclosed gas tight and particle free heat insulated chamber. An electronic substrate support is placed within the enclosed gas tight and particle free heat insulated chamber. A convection gas inlet distribution manifold adjustable in spatial relation towards and away from the surface to be treated provides a flow of heated gas over and onto the exposed surface of the electronic substrate to be treated. A heated convection gas outlet is placed below the electronic substrate for the collection of heated gas after flowing over, around and below the exposed surface of the electronic substrate to be treated. A door is movable between and open and closed position. The door opens a path to move the electronic substrate into and out of the chamber to and from the electronic substrate support in an open position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2002
    Inventor: Eric Anton Nering
  • Patent number: 6449428
    Abstract: Air bearings support a rotating wafer carrying base in an RTP system. The base in proximity to the air bearing is protected from warping due to absorption of radiation from the hot wafer being treated. The most preferred embodiment splits the base into an inner disk carrying the wafer and an outer ring, where the inner ring which absorbs the most energy contacts and is supported at three points by the outer disk which is supported by the air bearing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2002
    Assignee: Mattson Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Helmut Aschner, Andreas Hauke, Karsten Weber, Dieter Zernickel
  • Patent number: 6444940
    Abstract: The heat treatment apparatus has the reaction vessel and the holding tool contained in the reaction vessel for holding a plurality of objects to be processed. The lower end of the reaction vessel is closed by the cover and the insulating unit is installed between the cover and the holding tool. On the top of the insulating unit, the heating unit having a heating resistor composed of a carbon material of high-purity sealed in a quartz plate is installed. Heat insulators are installed under the heating unit. The insulating unit is fixed to the cover, and the revolving shaft for rotating the holding tool passes in the center of the insulating unit, and the electric feeding line member for feeding electric power to the heating unit is arranged outside of the insulating unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Takanori Saito, Hisaei Osanai, Toshiyuki Makiya
  • Patent number: 6444954
    Abstract: A toaster oven has a sheet metal chassis and plastic, cool-wall support walls which support the chassis. Both a pivotally-mounted bottom panel and a slidable crumb tray may be provided. Parts of the chassis are connected together without the use of fasteners or welds by twist tabs. A sheet metal top panel and, optionally, a plastic top panel extend over the top of the chassis. One of the support walls has a pair of locking pins and the plastic top wall has a forwardly-facing hook engaged with one of said locking pins and a rearwardly-facing hook engaged with the other of said locking pins. Support pads on the inner faces of the plastic support walls may cooperate with mounting members for supporting the toaster oven on the bottom of a kitchen cabinet. A control compartment beside the oven chamber houses electrical controls including a heat sensing thermistor mounted in a porcelain tube held against the wall that separates the control compartment from the oven chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex, Inc.
    Inventor: Paul M. Blankenship
  • Patent number: 6441346
    Abstract: A burn-out furnace having heating system configured in a series or plurality of radiating sleeves aligned on top of one another against at least one wall of the burn-out furnace. At least one heating element is disposed in the radiating sleeves. The heating element is preferably a single piece of wire which is coiled or wound along its entire length and curved after it exits each radiating sleeve to continue into the next tube, and “zig-zag” through the plurality of tubes. The heating element is stretched to a point whereby during operation of the furnace, when the heating element is heated, there is little or no creeping of the wire occurring. Moreover, the heating element contains very tight turns between the sleeves as the direction of the element reverses and it continues the zig-zag configuration through the plurality of radiating sleeves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2002
    Assignee: Jeneric/Pentron, Inc.
    Inventor: George Zychek
  • Publication number: 20020113054
    Abstract: A vertical toaster comprising a housing, heating elements, a food support and a drive. The heating elements are connected to the housing and comprise at least one calrod. The calrod comprises an electric wire surrounded by heat conductive electrical insulation and a metal cover. The food support is movably mounted to the housing for up and down motion. The drive is for moving the food support relative to the housing. The drive comprises a motor and a linkage between the motor and the food support for moving the food support both down and up such that food on the food support passes by the calrod. The calrod prevents an electrical shock to a user if the user accidentally contacts the calrod with an electrically conductive member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 16, 2001
    Publication date: August 22, 2002
    Inventors: Robert W. Arel, Joseph Gelb, Charles Z. Krasznai, James A. Sandor
  • Patent number: 6437292
    Abstract: High energy flux infrared heaters are used to treat an object having a surface section and a base section such that a desired characteristic of the surface section is physically, chemically, or phasically changed while the base section remains unchanged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2002
    Assignee: U.T. Battelle, LLC
    Inventors: Vinod K. Sikka, Craig A. Blue, Evan Keith Ohriner
  • Publication number: 20020108941
    Abstract: A thermal reflow processing system has a rotatable structure to which articles having a reflowable surface are attached. The structure is coupled to a drive motor which causes the structure to rotate at speeds which generate centripetal forces in excess of that of gravity. The system is equipped with at least one radiant heat source. As the articles are being subjected to a centripetal force, the surface is heated by the radiant heat source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2002
    Publication date: August 15, 2002
    Inventors: Karl M. Robinson, David L. Chapek
  • Patent number: 6433314
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method of regulating temperature of a component of a processing chamber is provided. The apparatus comprises a first thermal conductor thermally connected to the component, wherein the first thermal conductor is a resistive heating element disposed adjacent the component, a second thermal conductor thermally connected to the component, wherein the second thermal conductor is a fluid channel disposed adjacent the component, the fluid channel having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, a controller connected to the first and second thermal conductors, providing at least one temperature sensor connected to the component to supply temperature readings to the controller. Radiative heaters in thermal communication with the component may be used in place of a resistive heating element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2002
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Tushar Mandrekar, Anish Tolia, Nitin Khurana
  • Patent number: 6434327
    Abstract: A rapid thermal heating apparatus including a plurality of radiant energy sources and reflectors associated with the radiant energy sources. The radiant energy sources and reflectors direct radiation through a window of an envacuable chamber to radiate regions of a substrate in the chamber with a pattern of radiation intensity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2002
    Assignees: Applied Materials, Inc., 3-Squared Semiconductor Corp.
    Inventors: Christian M. Gronet, James F. Gibbons
  • Publication number: 20020102098
    Abstract: Methods and systems for heat-treating a workpiece are disclosed. One such method involves pre-heating the workpiece to an intermediate temperature, heating a surface of the workpiece to a desired temperature greater than the intermediate temperature, and enhancing cooling of the workpiece. Enhancing cooling may involve absorbing radiation thermally emitted by the workpiece. Semiconductor heating methods and apparatuses are also disclosed. One such apparatus includes a first heating source for heating a first surface of a semiconductor wafer, a second heating source for heating a second surface of the semiconductor wafer, and a first cooled window disposed between the first heating source and the semiconductor wafer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2001
    Publication date: August 1, 2002
    Inventors: David Malcolm Camm, J. Kiefer Elliott
  • Publication number: 20020096507
    Abstract: Uniformity of temperature is established within a wafer, and a higher throughput is achieved while the wafer heating time is dramatically reduced by combining lamp heating with hot-wall heating. Lamps 10 are provided outside the furnace body 3 of a hot-wall CVD apparatus. The hot-wall reactor furnace body 3 is preheated to a prescribed temperature. Wafers W are loaded into the furnace body 3, and these wafers W are rapidly heated immediately thereafter to the desired temperature by light emitted by the lamps 10. The lamps 10 are switched off following heating, and the wafer temperature is allowed to reach a uniform state as a result of heat diffusion in the wafers in the hot-wall reactor furnace body 3. It is also possible to adopt an arrangement in which preheating commensurate with the cooling occurring during the transport period is performed before the wafers W are loaded into the furnace body 3, the wafers W are then loaded Into the reactor furnace body 3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2002
    Publication date: July 25, 2002
    Applicant: Kokusai Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Eisuke Nishitani, Katsuhisa Kasanami, Naoko Matsuyama, Shinya Sasaki
  • Patent number: 6423947
    Abstract: A processing chamber and methods for employing this processing chamber to thermally treat wafer-like objects. The chamber comprises a double walled shell, a pedestal style heater, internal passages for the transport of cooling gases and removal of exhaust gases, independently variable gas introduction patterns, and a movable door for sealing the chamber. The chamber is designed to permit in situ cooling of wafer-like objects and to provide means for precise optimization of this cooling. The methods provide for the processing of the wafer-like object in an environment where the temperature, rate of change of the temperature, composition of gases and the relative timings of changes to these variables may be controlled to achieve the desired material properties in the wafer-like object or in films contained on this wafer-like object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2002
    Assignee: FSI International, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey D. Womack, Vuong P. Nguyen, Devendra Kumar, Jack S. Kasahara, Sokol Ibrani
  • Publication number: 20020092842
    Abstract: A thermally efficient, low voltage, portable convection/conduction cooking oven that is an improvement of combination conduction/convection/radiant ovens, portable or permanently affixed in place. The oven contains a low thermal mass conductive cooking slab 6 heated by lower elements 17. The oven utilizes convective cooking by moving air with fan 10 across infrared bulbs 9A. The oven successfully utilizes 110-volt service, infrared bulb(s) 9A and lower elements 17 with a cumulative draw of no more than 1550 watts and 13.5 steady state amps while cooking foods in one fourth to one third the time of conventional ovens. The low thermal mass conductive cooking slab temperature is maintained optimally stable by means of lower heating elements 17 remaining energized throughout the conductive cooking process. The oven utilizes a unique grouping of thermally efficient improvements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2002
    Publication date: July 18, 2002
    Inventor: Jerry Loveless
  • Publication number: 20020092841
    Abstract: A system and method for quickly heating a shrinkable casing around a relatively non-shrinkable object. The system may be referred to as a sleeve shrinking quick dip heat system. As one example, the present invention may be used to shrink a sleeve around a strand, such as fiber or copper. In the electrical and electronic fields, the present invention may be used to shrink sleeves or tubing around, for example, copper strands, wires, connectors, or components. A contact approach to heating the a loaded sleeve is used wherein a predetermined temperature profile is applied to prevent the trapping of air during shrinking. Ramp-up time is eliminated by use of a heater block that remains near or at heat shrinking temperatures, while selectively transferring heat to the sleeve according to the desired temperature profile.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 26, 2001
    Publication date: July 18, 2002
    Inventor: Carmine J. Vetrano
  • Publication number: 20020092839
    Abstract: A heating apparatus has an upper heating element and a lower hotplate. As part of the process of making integrated circuits, the heating apparatus is preheated using both the upper heating element and the hotplate. A substrate, which may be a semiconductor substrate or a photolithography mask, is then inserted into the preheated heating apparatus. Typically, the purpose of the heating is to cure the photoresist that is on the substrate and has already been exposed to a desired pattern. By having both the top heating element and the hotplate active during the preheating and during the curing, the photoresist is cured uniformly, which improves the pattern in the photoresist that occurs after a solvent has been applied to perform the selective removal of the photoresist in accordance with the exposed pattern. Subsequent use of the substrate results in integrated circuits made from semiconductor substrates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2001
    Publication date: July 18, 2002
    Inventors: Bing Lu, Eric Weisbrod, Doug J. Resnick, Kevin J. Nordquist
  • Publication number: 20020088790
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an oven that includes, in an exemplary embodiment, a cooking cavity assembly, a controller, a halogen lamp and fan assembly, and a vent assembly. The halogen lamp and fan assembly, sometimes referred to herein as a convection module, includes one or more halogen lamps and a fan for circulating heat from the lamps into the cooking cavity. The oven can be operated in two modes, namely, thermal emulation and customized cooking. In the thermal emulation mode, the oven is pre-heated to a target temperature by lamps cycling on and off under the control of the controller. Once the target temperature is reached, the user places the food into the cooking cavity and the food is cooked for the same amount of time as in a conventional thermal oven. In the customized cooking mode, food is placed in cooking cavity for the entire cooking cycle, including pre-heat.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 11, 2001
    Publication date: July 11, 2002
    Inventors: Kevin Farrelly Nolan, Todd Vincent Graves, Don R. Wagner
  • Patent number: 6417494
    Abstract: The present invention is a lightwave oven that includes an oven chamber, a food support within the oven chamber, and a lightwave cooking lamp moveably mounted within the oven chamber between a first position in which the lamp is positioned to direct radiant energy onto a first area of the food support and a second position in which the lamp is positioned to direct radiant energy onto a second, separate, area of the food support. The lamp is illuminated and made to scan, preferably multiple times, across the food so as to cook the food.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Assignee: Quadlux, Inc.
    Inventors: Eugene R. Westerberg, William H. Schestedt, William P. Minnear, Jay G. Romiti