Material Is An Electronic Semiconductor Device Patents (Class 219/444.1)
  • Publication number: 20080105669
    Abstract: A thermal plate of a heating unit is divided into a plurality of thermal plate regions, and a temperature can be set for each of the thermal plate regions. A temperature correction value for adjusting a temperature within the thermal plate can be set for each of the thermal plate regions of the thermal plate. The line widths within the substrate which has been subjected to a photolithography process are measured, and an in-plane tendency of the measured line widths is decomposed into a plurality of in-plane tendency components using a Zernike polynomial. From the calculated plurality of in-plane tendency components, in-plane tendency components improvable by changing the temperature correction values are extracted and added together to calculate an improvable in-plane tendency of the measured line widths within the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2007
    Publication date: May 8, 2008
    Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Megumi JYOUSAKA, Shinichi Shinozuka, Kunie Ogata
  • Patent number: 7361865
    Abstract: Provided is a heater capable of having a high uniform heating characteristic and substantially equally heating a wafer etc. mounted thereon, and a wafer heating device using the same, as well as a method thereof. The heater comprises a plate shaped body, a belt-like resistance heating element formed on the plate shaped body and having a channel for adjusting the resistance value, and a positioning mark formed on the plate shaped body, which serves as a reference for positioning the channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2008
    Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
    Inventors: Seiichirou Maki, Hiroshi Takenouchi, Hiroyuki Masuyama, Tsunehiko Nakamura
  • Patent number: 7361230
    Abstract: In the substrate processing apparatus, a ceramic module for mounting a substrate has a flat plate portion having an electric circuitry and a ceramic base body, and as at least a part of a surface of the flat plate portion other than the surface mounting the substrate is in contact with a chamber, it is supported by the chamber. Thus, a substrate processing apparatus can be provided which improves thermal uniformity, reduces cost, is suitable for size reduction of the apparatus and which can ease restrictions in mounting a power supply conductive member or the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2008
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masuhiro Natsuhara, Hirohiko Nakata, Akira Kuibira, Kenji Shinma
  • Patent number: 7357288
    Abstract: When a component, that has a connection portion to be connected to an electrode of a board and a weak heat-resistant portion of a lower heat-resisting property than a fusing point of a connection material for connecting the electrode of the board with the connection portion, is connected to the board with interposition of connection material between the electrode of the board and the connection portion, a cooling member is brought into contact with the weak heat-resistant portion or its neighborhood while heating the connection material by heating the board brought in contact with a placement member, and a quantity of heat conducted to the weak heat-resistant portion via the board is reduced by being conducted to the cooling member, thereby performing fusing of the connection material while preventing occurrence of thermal damage to the weak heat-resistant portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2008
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoto Hosotani, Kazuki Fukada, Keiichi Iwata, Daido Komyoji
  • Publication number: 20080083732
    Abstract: The present invention is a wafer holder including a heating plate 2 equipped with heating means such as a film-form/foil-form heat generating body 9 or the like, a cooling plate 3 equipped with cooling means such as a coolant passage 7 or the like, and temperature measurement means 4, wherein the heating plate 2 and cooling plate 3 are layered in a direction perpendicular to the wafer placement surface. The heating plate 2 is preferably disposed closer to the wafer placement surface than the cooling plate 3, and a heat conducting member 8 is disposed between the heating plate 2 and cooling plate 3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 10, 2006
    Publication date: April 10, 2008
    Applicant: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenji Shinma, Hirohiko Nakata, Masuhiro Natsuhara
  • Publication number: 20080083731
    Abstract: The post exposure bake cycle in a chemically amplified resist process is more precisely controlled by measuring the distance from multiple locations on the bottom of each processed wafer to a reference plane surface while the wafer is supported on a cool plate. Subsequent to measuring the distance, the wafers are transferred to the hot plate that has a series of controllable heating elements. The set temperature for the heating elements is established in response to the distances measured while the wafer is on the cooling plate. The measurements are taken by utilizing proximity sensors located within the cooling plate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2006
    Publication date: April 10, 2008
    Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: John M. Kulp
  • Patent number: 7348519
    Abstract: A multi-zone griddle with an upper substantially continuous layer of metal adapted for cooking a food product thereon. The upper substantially continuous layer of metal is positioned adjacent to a first lower layer of metal and is displaced a predetermined distance relative to the upper substantially continuous layer of metal to form a space therebetween. A second lower layer of metal is displaced a predetermined distance relative to the upper substantially continuous layer of metal to form a space therebetween. At least one serpentine passageway is formed in the space between the first lower layer of metal and the upper substantially continuous layer of metal. The at least one serpentine passageway may be connected to a source of heated fluid for providing heat to a portion of the upper substantially continuous layer of metal that corresponds to the position adjacent to the at least one serpentine passageway.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: Thermodyne Foodservice Products, Inc.
    Inventors: William Federspiel, Timothy Tippmann
  • Patent number: 7345259
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a circuit arrangement for preventing overheating of a cooking appliance. The arrangement includes a power circuit with a heating element and a control circuit with a coupling switch. The control circuit and the power circuit are coupled by the coupling switch. The arrangement further includes a safety switch to the control circuit. The coupling switch interrupts a power supply to the power circuit to the heating element when a limiting temperature in the cooking appliance is exceeded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2008
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Hans-Jürgen Bauer, Robert Hasslberger
  • Patent number: 7342204
    Abstract: A low-radiation-rate film, made of a material whose radiation rate is lower than that of a heater substrate, is formed at least entirely over the surface of a heat-subject-placing surface of a heater substrate. By applying patterning to the low-radiation-rate film, the exposure rate of the heater substrate is varied such that the radiation rate becomes smaller from the center part of the heat-subject-placing surface toward the outer peripheral part thereof, thereby enabling a uniform temperature across the surface. In addition, the power supply is reduced, thermal stress is eliminated, the wiring design flexibility is increased, and the reliability is increased by preventing short-circuit accidents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2008
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masuhiro Natsuhara, Hirohiko Nakata, Kenji Shinma
  • Patent number: 7332694
    Abstract: A heating resistance 1 comprises a shaped body of a band made of a conductive material obtained by bending the band in a shape of a wave. The heating resistance 1 is fixed to a substrate made of an insulating material to obtain a heater. Alternatively, the heating resistance comprises a wound body of a band made of a conductive material. According to the present invention, the heating value per a unit length can be easily designed and changed, and the reliability can be improved and abnormal heat generation can be prevented at the interface where the heating value per a unit length is changed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2008
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshinobu Goto
  • Patent number: 7329842
    Abstract: A ceramic heater including a plate member made of insulating ceramics in which one or more pair(s) of through-holes are formed, a rod member made of conductive ceramics with a power-supply terminal at one end. The rod member is inserted into the through hole in the plate member. A conductive layer made of conductive ceramics is formed on the plate member; and a coating layer made of insulating ceramics is formed on the conductive layer. One end face of the rod member has a same plane with a main surface of the plate member, the conductive layer has a heater pattern formed on the main surface of the plate member, and the rod members are electrically insulated not to be short-circuited to each other in the opposite main surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2008
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takuma Kushihashi, Noboru Kimura, Masaki Seki
  • Patent number: 7326886
    Abstract: A simple and practical wafer support member which holds vacuum tight comprises a plate-shaped ceramic body having one main surface of a mount surface on which a wafer is mounted and a penetrating via hole from one main surface to the other main surface, a conductive layer provided on the mount surface, a connection conductive layer provided on an inner surface of the via hole so as to be connected to the conductive layer, a buried conductive layer which is buried in the plate-shaped ceramic body so as to be connected to the connection conductive layer, and a conducting terminal having one end and the other end and arranged apart from the via hole Of the plate-shaped ceramic body so that it is connected to the buried conductive layer in the vicinity of its one end and the other end protrudes from the other main surface of the ceramic body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2008
    Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
    Inventor: Hironori Inoue
  • Patent number: 7326877
    Abstract: Chuck methods and apparatus for supporting a semiconductor substrate and maintaining it at a substantially constant background temperature even when subject to a spatially and temporally varying thermal load. Chuck includes a thermal compensating heater module having a sealed chamber containing heater elements, a wick, and an alkali metal liquid/vapor. The chamber employs heat pipe principles to equalize temperature differences in the module. The spatially varying thermal load is quickly made uniform by thermal conductivity of the heater module. Heatsinking a constant amount of heat from the bottom of the heater module accommodates large temporal variations in the thermal heat load. Constant heat loss is preferably made to be at least as large as the maximum variation in the input heat load, less heat lost through radiation and convection, thus requiring a heat input through electrical heating elements. This allows for temperature control of the chuck, and hence the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2008
    Assignee: Ultratech, Inc.
    Inventors: Iqbal A. Shareef, Igor Landau, David A. Markle, Somit Talwar, Michael O. Thompson, Ivelin A. Angelov, Senquan Zhou
  • Publication number: 20080006618
    Abstract: The present invention provides a heater unit which can improve temperature uniformity of a heated object at the time of heating the object. A second heat conductor 32 which is the radial internal part of shaft 22 has a lower heat transfer ratio than a first heat conductor 30 which is the radial external part of shaft 22. As a result, in the case where a heated state and a non heated state of the resistance heating element 18 are repeatedly switched, the movement of heat from the front part 22B of the shaft 22 to the base point part 22A is suppressed by the second heat conductor 32 compared to the first heat conductor 30. As a result, in the part which confronts the hollow part 42 of the shaft 22 in the heater plate 16, the time required to heat the heater plate 16 and the wafer 28 to be heated to a desired heating temperature is shortened when compared to a conventional heater unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 25, 2007
    Publication date: January 10, 2008
    Applicant: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jun Futakuchiya, Toshihiro Tachikawa
  • Patent number: 7306858
    Abstract: In an aluminum nitride sintered body, the bismuth and chlorine contents are restricted to be no more than fixed amounts. More specifically, in an aluminum nitride sintered body having aluminum nitride as its main component, the bismuth content in the aluminum nitride sintered body is no more than 30 ppm and the chlorine content is no more than 100 ppm. It would be preferable to form a resistance heating body on the aluminum nitride sintered body, and it would be preferable for the aluminum nitride sintered body to be used as a semiconductor heating part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2007
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masuhiro Natsuhara, Kenji Shinma, Hirohiko Nakata
  • Patent number: 7297906
    Abstract: An integrated thermal unit comprises a bake station comprising a bake plate configured to hold and heat a substrate; a chill station comprising a chill plate configured to hold and cool a substrate; and a substrate transfer shuttle configured to transfer substrates from the bake plate to the chill plate along a horizontally linear path within the thermal unit and raise and lower substrates along a vertical path within the integrated thermal unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2007
    Assignee: Sokudo Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: David H. Quach, Martin Jeff Salinas
  • Patent number: 7288746
    Abstract: An integrated thermal unit comprising a bake plate having a substrate holding surface configured to hold and heat a substrate in a baking position and a chill plate having a substrate holding surface configured to hold and cool a substrate in a cooling position where the substrate holding surface of the bake plate is positioned in a first substantially horizontal plane when the bake plate is in the baking position and the substrate holding surface of the chill plate is positioned in a second substantially horizontal plane that is below the first plane when the chill plate is in a cooling position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2007
    Assignee: Sokudo Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: David H. Quach, Tetsuya Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 7282675
    Abstract: An integrated thermal unit comprising a bake plate configured to heat a substrate supported on a surface of the bake plate; a chill plate configured to cool a substrate supported on a surface of the chill plate; and a substrate transfer shuttle configured to transfer substrates from the bake plate to the cool plate, wherein the substrate transfer shuttle has a temperature controlled substrate holding surface that is capable of cooling a substrate heated by the bake plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignee: Sokudo Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: David H. Quach, Martin Jeff Salinas
  • Patent number: 7279661
    Abstract: A heating apparatus for a semiconductor producing system is provided, including a heater having a mounting face, an opposed back face, a first resistance heating element, a second resistance heating element provided along substantially the same plane as the first heating element, a first terminal connected with the first heating element and a second terminal connected with the second heating element. A supporting member is fixed to the back face of the heater. First and second power supply means are respectively connected with the first and second terminals and contained in an inner space of the supporting member. A conductive connector connects the first heating element and the first terminal but not the second heating element. The first heating element is provided in a first zone, the second heating element is provided in a second zone, and the conductive connector is provided in the plane and the second zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2007
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisakazu Okajima, Yutaka Unno, Keiji Kawasaki
  • Patent number: 7276125
    Abstract: The barrel type susceptor for use in the semiconductor epitaxial growth is characterized in that a face plate 5 of a susceptor main body 2 having the shape of a truncated cone is partitioned into two or more in a longitudinal direction thereof, each partition being provided with a wafer mounting concave portion 6a, 6b, 6c on which a wafer is laid, and the inclination angle ?a, ?b, ?c of a bottom face 6a1, 6b1, 6c1 of the concave portion for each partition to the vertical line is gradually decreased in each partition from the upper part to the lower part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2007
    Assignees: Toshiba Ceramics Co., Ltd., Tokuyama Toshiba Ceramics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshikazu Miyamoto, Tadashi Ohashi
  • Patent number: 7275309
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing an electrical-resistance heating element includes forming sintered ceramics or calcined ceramics, forming an electrode on the sintered ceramics or the calcined ceramics, and forming a ceramic base material having mainly a high melting point metal on the electrode embedded therein, thereby forming a heating element with built-in electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2007
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroto Matsuda, Kazuhiro Nobori, Yutaka Mori
  • Patent number: 7274005
    Abstract: A bake station comprising a bake plate adapted to heat a substrate supported on an upper surface of the bake plate, the bake plate vertically moveable between an upper baking position and a lower cooling position; and a plurality of heat sinks adapted to be engageably coupled to a lower surface of the bake plate when the bake plate is in the lower cooling position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2007
    Assignee: Sokudo Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: David H. Quach, Tetsuya Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 7274004
    Abstract: A chuck for a plasma processor comprises a temperature-controlled base, a thermal insulator, a flat support, and a heater. The temperature-controlled base has a temperature below the desired temperature of a workpiece. The thermal insulator is disposed over the temperature-controlled base. The flat-support holds a workpiece and is disposed over the thermal insulator. A heater is embedded within the flat support and/or disposed on an underside of the flat support. The heater includes a plurality of heating elements that heat a plurality of corresponding heating zones. The power supplied and/or temperature of each heating element is controlled independently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2007
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Neil Benjamin, Robert Steger
  • Patent number: 7268322
    Abstract: A semiconductor heating apparatus, in which, when measuring the electrical properties of multiple chips formed on a large size wafer, only one or a several chips are heated uniformly, and the other chips are on standby at a low temperature. The semiconductor heating apparatus includes a heating part for mounting and heating the workpiece, a support part which supports the heating part, and a cooling module which contacts the support part. A plurality of heating parts and supporting parts are joined together. The workpiece mounting surfaces of the plurality of heating parts are preferably constructed in the same plane. In addition, there is preferably a thermal insulating material distributed underneath the support part. The heating part is preferably a ceramic heater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2007
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Kuibira, Hirohiko Nakata, Kenji Shinma
  • Patent number: 7268321
    Abstract: A wafer holder is provided in which local heat radiation in supporting and heating wafers is kept under control and temperature uniformity of the wafer retaining surface is enhanced, and by making use of the wafer holder a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus suitable for processing larger-diameter wafers is made available. In a wafer holder (1) including within a ceramic substrate (2) a resistive heating element (3) or the like and being furnished with a lead (4) penetrating a reaction chamber (6), the lead (4) is housed in a tubular guide member (5), and an interval between the guide member (5) and the reaction chamber (6) as well as the interior of the guide member (5) are hermetically sealed. The guide member (5) and the ceramic substrate (2) are not joined together, and in the interior of the guide member (5) in which the inside is hermetically sealed, the atmosphere toward the ceramic substrate (2) is preferably substantially the same as the atmosphere in the reaction chamber (6).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2007
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masuhiro Natsuhara, Hirohiko Nakata, Akira Kuibira, Manabu Hashikura
  • Patent number: 7259358
    Abstract: A graphite heater and method of forming a graphite heater comprising a graphite body configured to form an electrical heating circuit for at least one heating zone through the graphite encapsulated in a continuous overcoat layer comprising at least one of a nitride, carbide, carbonitride or oxynitride of elements selected from a group consisting of B, Al, Si, Ga, refractory hard metals, transition metals, and rare earth metals, or complexes and/or combinations thereof, wherein prior to being configured to form the electrical heating circuit path, the graphite body is coated with a layer comprising at least one of a nitride, carbide, carbonitride or oxynitride of elements selected from a group consisting of B, Al, Si, Ga, refractory hard metals, transition metals, and rare earth metals, or complexes and/or combinations thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2007
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: John T. Mariner, Timothy Hejl
  • Patent number: 7247818
    Abstract: A substrate heating apparatus includes a ceramic base having a concave heating surface on which a substrate is placed, and a resistance heating element buried in the ceramic base. The central part of the concave heating surface defines the lowest point of the heating surface and the peripheral part of the concave heating surface defines the highest point of the heating surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2007
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Kondou, Hideyoshi Tsuruta
  • Patent number: 7247819
    Abstract: A substrate heating apparatus is provided, including a base group including a plurality of bases, which are arranged substantially into a plate with a gap interposed between the bases, and which form a substrate mounting surface. A resistance heating element provided for at least one of the bases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2007
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Goto, Hideyoshi Tsuruta
  • Patent number: 7247817
    Abstract: A heater is provided including a plate having a heating surface for heating an object to be heated and a resistance heater element provided in the plate. This resistance heater element includes a continuous wiring pattern including a plurality of flexures and a thermal uniform pattern part which improves thermal uniformity. The continuous wiring pattern includes a plurality of folding parts as the flexures. A first distance between the wirings in a first region of the wiring pattern other than a second region proximate the folding parts is substantially constant, and a second distance between the wirings in the second region is greater than the first distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2007
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hisakazu Okajima
  • Patent number: 7241346
    Abstract: A stage has a plate, a first seal surface, a stem, a second seal surface, a cover, a conductor and a flow path. A heater is embedded in the plate. A terminal for supplying power to the heater is exposed at one surface of the plate. The first seal surface is provided on the plate, shaped like a ring and surrounds the terminal. The stem is shaped like a hollow cylinder, surrounds the terminal and supports the plate. The second seal surface is provided on that end of the stem which supports the plate, and is shaped like a ring. The cover closes an open end of the stem, which is opposite to the end which supports the plate. The conductor passes through the cover into the stem and is connected to the terminal. The flow path is provided in the cover, for supplying inert gas into the stem at a pressure equal to or higher than the pressure of process gas present outside the stem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: NHK Spring Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshihiko Hanamachi, Toshihiro Tachikawa
  • Patent number: 7227103
    Abstract: An induction hot plate including a plurality of heating regions with a reconfigurable structure. The hot plate includes at least two power modules, each supplying electrical power to at least one first and one second induction heating element. The maximum power to each of the regions can be increased by supplying electrical power from both power modules to only the first or the second induction heating element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2007
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Ignacio Esteras Duce, Fernando Monterde Aznar, Julio Rivera Pemán
  • Patent number: 7211153
    Abstract: A substrate holding structure having excellent corrosion resistance and airtightness, excellent dimensional accuracy and sufficient durability when mechanical or thermal stress is applied thereto is obtained. A holder (1) serving as the substrate holding structure includes a ceramic base (2) for holding a substrate, a protective cylinder (7) joined to the ceramic base (2) and a joining layer (8) positioned therebetween for joining the ceramic base (2) and the protective cylinder (7) to each other. The joining layer (8) contains at least 2 mass % and not more than 70 mass % of a rare earth oxide, at least 10 mass % and not more than 78 mass % of aluminum oxide, and at least 2 mass % and not more than 50 mass % of aluminum nitride. The rare earth oxide or the aluminum oxide has the largest proportional content among the aforementioned three types of components in the joining layer (8).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2007
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Kuibira, Masuhiro Natsuhara, Hirohiko Nakata
  • Patent number: 7204887
    Abstract: The present invention provides a wafer holder, a wafer support member, a wafer boat and a heat treatment furnace, which are capable of sufficiently suppressing slip dislocations, without lowering productivity and at low cost, in the high temperature heat treatment of silicon wafers, and said wafer holder is characterized in that: the wafer holder is composed of a wafer support plate and three or more wafer support members mounted on said wafer support plate, each of the wafer support members having a wafer support portion or more; at least one of said wafer support members is a tilting wafer support member which has a plurality of upward-convex wafer support portions on the upper surface and is tiltable with respect to said wafer support plate; and the wafer is supported by at least four wafer support portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: Nippon Steel Corporation
    Inventors: Keisuke Kawamura, Tsutomu Sasaki, Atsuki Matsumura, Atsushi Ikari, Isao Hamaguchi, Yoshiharu Inoue, Koki Tanaka, Shunichi Hayashi
  • Patent number: 7203565
    Abstract: A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes: a hot plate that heats an article to be processed; a temperature control section that controls temperature of the hot plate; a main body control section that controls the entirety of the apparatus based on a process recipe; and an elevating mechanism that elevates the article to be processed above the hot plate. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus further includes: a storage section that stores temperature data of the hot plate; an elevation control section that controls the elevating mechanism and sends elevation timing data to the storage section; a management range calculation section that calculates a management range corresponding to parameter behavior in a transient gradient state based on the temperature data, process recipe data, and the elevation timing data; and an abnormality detection section that detects apparatus abnormality with the use of the management range calculated by the management range calculation section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Naoaki Sato
  • Patent number: 7189946
    Abstract: A substrate heating device is provided, including a ceramic base plate having a heating surface on which a substrate is placed, resistance heating elements buried in the ceramic base plate corresponding to a plurality of zones into which the heating surface is divided, terminals respectively connected to the resistance heating elements, and lead wires respectively connected to the terminals and wired on an outer surface of the ceramic base plate other than the heating surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2007
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Goto, Hideyoshi Tsuruta
  • Patent number: 7186298
    Abstract: A wafer support system comprising a segmented susceptor having top and bottom sections and gas flow passages therethrough. A plurality of spacers projecting from a recess formed in the top section of the susceptor support a wafer in spaced relationship with respect to the recess. A sweep gas is introduced to the bottom section of the segmented susceptor and travels through the gas flow passages to exit in at least one circular array of outlets in the recess and underneath the spaced wafer. The sweep gas travels radially outward between the susceptor and wafer to prevent back-side contamination of the wafer. The gas is delivered through a hollow drive shaft and into a multi-armed susceptor support underneath the susceptor. The support arms conduct the sweep gas from the drive shaft to the gas passages in the segmented susceptor. The gas passages are arranged to heat the sweep gas prior to delivery underneath the wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    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
  • Patent number: 7176417
    Abstract: A resistive heater having a doped ceramic heating element embedded either partially or completely within a matrix of undoped ceramic material. The ceramic may be silicon carbide, and the dopant may be nitrogen. Many of the advantages of the present heater stern from the fact that the materials used for the heating elements and the matrix material surrounding those elements have substantially the same coefficient of thermal expansion. In one embodiment, the heater is a monolithic plate that is compact, strong, robust, and low in thermal mass, allowing it to respond quickly to power input variations. The resistive heater may be used in many of the reactors and processing chambers used to fabricate integrated circuits, such as those that deposit epitaxial films, and carry out rapid thermal processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Mattson Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Kristian E. Johnsgard, Daniel L. Messineo, David E. Sallows
  • Patent number: 7173220
    Abstract: A heating device comprises a substrate having a heating surface, a heating element buried in the substrate, a cylindrical member joined to the substrate, and lead wires for supplying current to the heating element. In addition, the thermal conductivity of the substrate is about 1.0 to about 2.0 times the thermal conductivity of the cylindrical member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2007
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yutaka Unno, Yoshinobu Goto
  • Patent number: 7173219
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a heater having a ceramic substrate with a through hole formed therein so that the uniformity of temperature on the heating face of the substrate can be improved and the use life of the ceramic substrate can be improved upon thermal cycles. A ceramic heater comprises a substrate made of a ceramic material and having a heating face where three or more zones 3C, 3F are allocated, heating resistances corresponding to the zones, respectively, and terminals 5C electrically connected to the heating resistances, respectively. Three or more holes 4 are formed in the substrate. Distances of the terminals 5C and the wall surfaces facing the holes 4 are 8 mm or more, respectively. The heating resistance 15 intersects a straight line 16 connecting the center of the terminal and the center 4a of the hole in a plan view.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2007
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisakazu Okajima, Mitsuru Ohta
  • Patent number: 7166187
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to a semiconductor thermal processing system and an apparatus for thermally cooling a semiconductor substrate. According to one aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor thermal processing system and associated apparatus and method are disclosed which provides a segmented cold plate situated within a process chamber, wherein a plurality of segments of the cold plate are operable to radially translate between an engaged position and a disengaged position, wherein a substrate holder may pass between the plurality of segments when the segments are in the disengaged position. According to another aspect, an elevator is operable to linearly translate a substrate residing on a substrate holder between a heating position proximate to a heater assembly and a cooling position proximate to the segmented cold plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2007
    Assignee: Axcelis Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Ali Shajii, David Tao, Mathias Koch, Douglas Brown, Hossein Zarrin
  • Patent number: 7154070
    Abstract: A heater plate manufactured by receiving a sheath heater within a groove portion formed in a base member made of aluminum or aluminum alloy, placing a joint member made of aluminum or aluminum alloy into said groove portion so as to fix said sheath heater in the groove portion, and press-forging said base member and said joint member to be metal-bonded with said sheath heater fixed in place therebetween, wherein a cross section of said joint member comprises a rectangle, and a width of said rectangle is same as or a little larger than a width of a cross section of the groove portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2006
    Assignee: Furukawa-Sky Aluminum Corp.
    Inventors: Katsumi Watanabe, Akira Fukuchi
  • Patent number: 7151239
    Abstract: A heat treating apparatus is provided to apply a heat treatment on a substrate. Prior to the heat treatment, an exclusive transfer mechanism transfers the substrate from a cooling plate onto a heating plate for heating the substrate. Before mounting the substrate on the heating plate, the control mode for heater modules for heating the heating plate on power supply module is switched from a PID control by a regulating part in a controller of the apparatus to a MV control by a fixed-pattern output part in the controller. Next, at a predetermined timing since the substrate has been mounted on the heating plate, the MV control is switched to the PID control. Consequently, it becomes possible to quickly restore a reduce temperature of the heating plate prior to the mounting of substrate on the heating plate and also possible to quickly stabilize a so-raised temperature of the heating plate, accomplishing a heating process with high accuracy and shirt time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2006
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Toshichika Takei, Masatoshi Kaneda
  • Patent number: 7145106
    Abstract: Heater module, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment in which the heater module is utilized, for raising the cooling speed of a post-heating heater markedly more than conventional, and that can contribute toward bettering and improving productivity, without accompanying scaling-up of and cost increases in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The heater module is furnished with heater part 1a for controlled heating of a wafer placed on its top face, and block part 3a provided to be shiftable relative to said heater part, for varying heat capacity in total with heater part 1a by abutting on or separating from the reverse surface of heater part 1a. By having the heat capacity of block part 3a be 20% or more of the total heat capacity of heater part 1a and block part 3a, the heater cooling speed can be made 10° C./min or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2006
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akira Kuibira, Hirohiko Nakata
  • Patent number: 7141763
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method for controlling the temperature of a substrate during substrate processing. The apparatus comprises a substrate table having a thermal surface supporting the substrate. The apparatus also comprises a first thermal assembly arranged in the substrate table and comprising a plurality of thermoelectric modules, each of the plurality of thermoelectric modules having a thermoelectric surfaces such that the plurality of thermoelectric modules defines a plurality of thermoelectric surfaces. In this apparatus, the plurality of thermoelectric surfaces is in thermal communication with the thermal surface and includes various shapes of thermoelectric surfaces, and the plurality of thermoelectric surfaces is configured to substantially completely underlie the thermal surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2006
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventor: Paul Moroz
  • Patent number: 7126093
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a heating system having a ceramic heater and a supporting member supporting the back face of the heater, so that the cost of the supporting member can be reduced, the design change of the heater is made easier and excellent flatness of the heating face on use can be maintained. The heating system has a ceramic substrate 1 having a heating face 1a and a back face 1b, a heating means 4 for generating heat from the heating face 1a of the substrate 1, a metal supporting member 6 supporting the back face 1b of the substrate 1, and a heat insulating plate 5 provided between the back face 1b of the substrate 1 and the supporting member 6.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2006
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Goto, Hideyoshi Tsuruta
  • Patent number: 7126092
    Abstract: A heater for wafer processing, such as thin film deposition, includes a first heating unit and a second heating unit. The first heating unit includes a substrate with a top surface for supporting a wafer thereon and a back surface. The second heating unit is disposed proximate the back surface of the substrate and is preferably disposed inside an inner space of a shaft supporting the first heating unit in a processing chamber. The first heating unit and the second heating unit are independently controlled. The second heating unit is designed based on the actual temperature profile and heat loss on the top surface. Therefore, the second heating unit can more effectively compensate the heat loss to achieve a more uniform temperature profile on the top surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2006
    Assignee: Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Hongy Lin, Yun Wang
  • Patent number: 7126090
    Abstract: A ceramic heater is provided including a ceramic sintered body and a heat resistor embedded in the substrate, wherein a change in the temperature uniformity on the heating face is reduced. The heat resistor contains a metal comprising one or more metal elements selected from the group consisting of Group IVa, Group Va and Group VIa elements of the Periodic Table and a carbide of the metal. A ratio (Ic/Im) of a total strength (Ic) of main peak of the metal carbide to a total strength (Im) of main peak strength of the metal is not larger than 0.2. Alternatively, the ratio (Rb?Ra)/Ra is not larger than 30 percent, where “Ra” is the resistance of the heat resistor before sintering and “Rb” is the resistance of the heat resistor after sintering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2006
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinji Yamaguchi, Kazuhiro Nobori
  • Patent number: 7126091
    Abstract: A substrate for use in a vacuum chamber has a workpiece supporting surface that has two or more mutually electrically insulated bifilar conductors configured as interleaved spirals disposed on it. Each of these bifilar conductors has a respective electrode at each of its two ends. This provides an electrostatic chuck for clamping a workpiece to the supporting surface when an electric voltage is applied between the two bifilar conductors or between one of the two bifilar conductors and an insulating workpiece. This arrangement also provides for electric heating of the workpiece when an electric voltage is applied between the two electrodes associated with one of the bifilar conductors. Moreover, when the electrical resistance of at least one of the bifilar conductors is known as a function of temperature, this arrangement allows one to sense the temperature of a workpiece supported on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2006
    Assignee: Eclipse Energy Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Raymond Thomas Westfall
  • Patent number: 7115839
    Abstract: A heater is provided, including an insulating substrate and a heating resistance, wherein the temperature on the heating face is easily controlled without providing a separate temperature controlling member. The heating resistance includes at least one parallel-connected portion which includes a plurality of heat generating parts connected in parallel. At least one of the heat generating portions has a resistance adjusting means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2006
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshinobu Goto
  • Patent number: 7115838
    Abstract: A disc-type unit 10 adjusts temperature of a control face 14 by means of a heater 12 and coolant, with a hollow plate 11 to which the heater 12 is secured, a cavity 13 formed in the hollow plate 11 and a piping 20 for supplying the coolant to the cavity 13, the piping 20 opening in the cavity 13, and the coolant being jetted to a portion to which the heater 12 is secured or a portion in proximity thereto and which shows high temperature rise when energizing the heater 12.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2006
    Assignee: Espec Corp.
    Inventors: Hironobu Kurara, Muneaki Sonobe, Shinichi Enomoto