Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090152958 | VACUUM SEALING RADIO FREQUENCY (RF) AND LOW FREQUENCY CONDUCTING ACTUATOR - A linear actuator comprised of an actuator body having a first portion and a second portion, each arranged along a longitudinal axis of the actuator body. A vacuum bellows is concentrically located in the first portion and is configured to seal a vacuum environment from the second portion. A linear motion shaft is concentrically located substantially within the actuator body and is configured to move in a linear direction along the longitudinal axis. An electrically conductive portion of the shaft is concentrically located substantially within the vacuum bellows and electrically insulated therefrom and is configured to receive and conduct a signal. A lift force generating portion of the shaft is concentrically located substantially within the second portion. An electrical contact pad is electrically coupled to the conductive portion of the shaft and is configured to couple the signal to another surface upon activation of the shaft. | 06-18-2009 |
20110115379 | CURRENT CONTROL IN PLASMA PROCESSING SYSTEMS - A plasma processing system for generating plasma to process at least a wafer. The plasma processing system includes a coil for conducting a current for sustaining at least a portion of the plasma. The plasma processing system also includes a sensor coupled with the coil for measuring a magnitude of a supplied current to provide a magnitude measurement without measuring any phase angle of the supplied current. The supplied current is the current or a total current that is used for providing a plurality of currents (e.g., including the current). The plasma processing system also includes a controller coupled with the sensor for generating a command using the magnitude measurement and/or information derived using the magnitude measurement, without using information related to phase angle measurement, and for providing the command for controlling the magnitude of the supplied current and/or a magnitude of the total current. | 05-19-2011 |
20140210508 | Determining A Malfunctioning Device in A Plasma System - Systems and methods for determining a malfunctioning device in a plasma system, are described. One of the methods includes receiving an indication whether plasma is generated within a plasma chamber of the plasma system. The plasma system includes a processing portion and a power delivery portion. The method further includes determining whether the plasma system operates within constraints in response to receiving the indication that the plasma is generated, determining a value of a variable at an output of the power delivery portion when the processing portion is decoupled from the power delivery portion, and comparing the determined value with a pre-recorded value of the variable. The method includes determining whether the determined value is outside a range of the pre-recorded value and determining that the malfunctioning device within the power delivery portion upon determining that the determined value is outside the range of the pre-recorded value. | 07-31-2014 |
20140235063 | HYBRID EDGE RING FOR PLASMA WAFER PROCESSING - An edge ring assembly is disclosed for use in a plasma processing chamber, which includes an RF conductive ring positioned on an annular surface of a base plate and configured to surround an upper portion of the baseplate and extend underneath an outer edge of a wafer positioned on the upper surface of the baseplate, and a wafer edge protection ring positioned above an upper surface of the RF conductive ring and configured to extend over the outer edge of the wafer. The protection ring has an inner edge portion with a uniform thickness, which extends over the outer edge of the wafer, a conical upper surface extending outward from the inner edge portion to a horizontal upper surface, an inner annular recess which is positioned on the upper surface of the RF conductive and configured to extend over the outer edge of the wafer. | 08-21-2014 |
20140256066 | Radiofrequency Adjustment for Instability Management in Semiconductor Processing - Methods, systems, and computer programs are presented for reducing chamber instability while processing a semiconductor substrate. One method includes an operation for identifying a first recipe with steps having an operating frequency equal to the nominal frequency of a radiofrequency (RF) power supply. Each step is analyzed with the nominal frequency, and the analysis determines if any step produces instability at the nominal frequency. The operating frequency is adjusted, for one or more of the steps, when the instability in the one or more steps exceeds a threshold. The adjustment acts to find an approximate minimum level of instability. A second recipe is constructed after the adjustment, such that at least one of the steps includes a respective operating frequency different from the nominal frequency. The second recipe is used to etch the one or more layers disposed over the substrate in the semiconductor processing chamber. | 09-11-2014 |
20140367044 | Methods for Automatically Determining Capacitor Values and Systems Thereof - A method for automatically performing power matching using a mechanical RF match during substrate processing is provided. The method includes providing a plurality of parameters for the substrate processing wherein the plurality of parameters including at least a predefined number of learning cycles. The method also includes setting the mechanical RF match to operate in a mechanical tuning mode. The method further includes providing a first set of instructions to the substrate processing to ignore a predefined number of cycles of Rapid Alternating Process RAP steps. The method yet also includes operating the mechanical RF match in the mechanical tuning mode for the predefined number of learning cycles. The method yet further includes determining a set of optimal capacitor values. The method moreover includes providing a second set of instructions to a power generator to operate in a frequency tuning mode. | 12-18-2014 |
20150235808 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IMPROVING WAFER ETCH NON-UNIFORMITY WHEN USING TRANSFORMER-COUPLED PLASMA - A substrate processing system includes a processing chamber including a dielectric window and a pedestal for supporting a substrate during processing. A gas supply system supplies gas to the processing chamber. A coil is arranged outside of the processing chamber adjacent to the dielectric window. A radio frequency (RF) source supplies RF signals to the coil to create RF plasma in the processing chamber. N flux attenuating portions are arranged in a spaced pattern adjacent the coil, wherein N is an integer greater than one. | 08-20-2015 |
20150248995 | RADIOFREQUENCY ADJUSTMENT FOR INSTABILITY MANAGEMENT IN SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSING - Methods, systems, and computer programs are presented for reducing chamber instability while processing a semiconductor substrate. One method includes an operation for identifying a first recipe with steps having an operating frequency equal to the nominal frequency of a radiofrequency (RF) power supply. Each step is analyzed with the nominal frequency, and the analysis determines if any step produces instability at the nominal frequency. The operating frequency is adjusted, for one or more of the steps, when the instability in the one or more steps exceeds a threshold. The adjustment acts to find an approximate minimum level of instability. A second recipe is constructed after the adjustment, such that at least one of the steps includes a respective operating frequency different from the nominal frequency. The second recipe is used to etch the one or more layers disposed over the substrate in the semiconductor processing chamber. | 09-03-2015 |