Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080239614 | ELECTROSTATIC CHUCK WITH SEPARATED ELECTRODES - Electrostatic clamping devices and methods for reducing contamination to a workpiece coupled to an electrostatic clamping device are disclosed. According to an embodiment an electrostatic clamping device for coupling a workpiece comprises: an embossment portion on a surface of a body to contact the workpiece; and at least two electrodes within the body; wherein the two electrodes are separated by a separation portion below the embossment portion. | 10-02-2008 |
20090003979 | TECHNIQUES FOR HANDLING SUBSTRATES - Techniques for handling substrates are disclosed. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a substrate support. The substrate support may comprise a mounting portion. The substrate support may also comprise a wall extending from the mounting portion, wherein the wall may form a generally enclosed area and may have a contact surface at a distal end. | 01-01-2009 |
20090122458 | EMBOSSED ELECTROSTATIC CHUCK - An electrostatic chuck includes a layer having a plurality of protrusions to support a workpiece, wherein at least a portion of the layer has a first plurality of the plurality of protrusions. The first plurality of protrusions is spaced to geometrically form a pattern of hexagons. The first plurality of protrusions may be spaced an equal distance from adjacent protrusions and the equal distance may be about 4.0 millimeters from a center of one protrusion to a center of another protrusion. The present disclosure reduces peak mechanical stress levels conventionally present along an edge of each protrusion. Reducing such mechanical stress levels helps reduce backside damage to a supported workpiece, which in turn can reduce the generation of unwanted particles caused by such damage. | 05-14-2009 |
20090317964 | PLATEN FOR REDUCING PARTICLE CONTAMINATION ON A SUBSTRATE AND A METHOD THEREOF - Techniques for reducing particle contamination on a substrate are disclosed. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the technique may be realized with a platen having different regions, where the pressure levels in the regions may be substantially equal. For example, the platen may comprise a platen body comprising first and second recesses, the first recess defining a fluid region for holding fluid for maintaining a temperature of the substrate at a desired temperature, the second recess defining a first cavity for holding a ground circuit; a first via defined in the platen body, the first via having first and second openings, the first opening proximate to the fluid region and the second opening proximate to the first cavity, wherein pressure level of the fluid region may be maintained at a level that is substantially equal to pressure level of the first cavity. | 12-24-2009 |
20100140508 | COATED GRAPHITE LINERS - Liner elements designed to protect the components located in the beam line are disclosed. These liner elements, preferably constructed from graphite, are coated with a non-metal material, such as silicon, silicon carbide or diamond like carbon. These coatings significantly reduce the loose particles created by the liner. Therefore, following preventative maintenance, the ion implantation system can return to normal operation sooner. A method of providing preventative maintenance for an ion implanter is also disclosed, whereby used liners are cleaned and recoated before being used again. | 06-10-2010 |
20100265631 | REMOVAL OF CHARGE BETWEEN A SUBSTRATE AND AN ELECTROSTATIC CLAMP - An electrostatic clamp, which more effectively removes built up charge from a substrate prior to and during removal, is disclosed. Currently, the lift pins and ground pins are the only mechanisms used to remove charge from the substrate after implantation. The present discloses describes a clamp having one of more additional low resistance paths to ground. These additional conduits allow built up charge to be dissipated prior to and during the removal of the substrate from the clamp. By providing sufficient charge drainage from the backside surface of the substrate | 10-21-2010 |
20110036990 | PLATEN TO CONTROL CHARGE ACCUMULATION - An embossed platen to control charge accumulation includes a dielectric layer, a plurality of embossments on a surface of the dielectric layer to support a workpiece, each of a first plurality of the plurality of embossments having a conductive portion to contact a backside of the workpiece when the workpiece is in a clamped position, and a conductor to electrically couple the conductive portion of the first plurality of embossments to ground. An ion implanter having such an embossed platen is also provided. | 02-17-2011 |
20110291344 | METHOD OF COOLING TEXTURED WORKPIECES WITH AN ELECTROSTATIC CHUCK - A workpiece support, which more effectively cools a textured workpiece is disclosed. A layer is added on top of a workpiece support. This layer is sufficiently soft so as to conform to the textured workpiece. Furthermore, the layer has a dielectric constant such that it does not alter the normal operation of the underlying electrostatic clamp. In some embodiments, the locations of the ground and lift pins are moved to further reduce the leakage of backside gas. | 12-01-2011 |
20120017938 | PLATEN CLEANING - To achieve cost efficiency, solar cells must be processed at a high throughput. Breakages, which may leave debris on the clamping surface of the platen, adversely affect this throughput. A plurality of embodiments are disclosed which may be used to remove debris from the clamping surface without breaking the vacuum condition within the processing station. In some embodiments, a brush is used to sweep the debris from the surface of the platen. In other embodiments, an adhesive material is used to collect the debris. In some embodiments, the automation equipment used to handle masks may also be used to handle the platen cleaning mechanisms. In still other embodiments, stream of gas or ion beams are used to clean debris from the clamping surface of the platen. | 01-26-2012 |
20120200980 | TRIBOELECTRIC CHARGE CONTROLLED ELECTROSTATIC CLAMP - An electrostatic clamp which more effectively removes built up charge from a substrate prior to removal is disclosed. Currently, the lift pins and the ground pins are the only mechanism used to remove charge from the substrate after implantation. The present discloses describes an electrostatic chuck in which the top dielectric surface has an embedded conductive region, such as a ring shaped conductive region in the sealing ring. Thus, regardless of the orientation of the substrate during release, at least a portion of the substrate will contain the conductive region on the dielectric layer of the workpiece support. This conductive region may be connected to ground through the use of conductive vias in the dielectric layer. In some embodiments, these conductive vias are the fluid conduits used to supply gas to the back side of the substrate. | 08-09-2012 |
20130070384 | High Surface Resistivity Electrostatic Chuck - In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, there is provided an electrostatic chuck. The electrostatic chuck comprises an electrode, and a surface layer activated by a voltage in the electrode to form an electric charge to electrostatically clamp a substrate to the electrostatic chuck, the surface layer including a charge control layer comprising a surface resistivity of greater than about 10 | 03-21-2013 |
20130155569 | High Conductivity Electrostatic Chuck - In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, there is provided an electrostatic chuck comprising a conductive path covering at least a portion of a workpiece-contacting surface of a gas seal ring of the electrostatic chuck, the conductive path comprising at least a portion of an electrical path to ground; and a main field area of a workpiece-contacting surface of the electrostatic chuck comprising a surface resistivity in the range of from about 10 | 06-20-2013 |
20140318455 | LOW EMISSIVITY ELECTROSTATIC CHUCK - An electrostatic chuck includes a heater and an electrode disposed on the heater. The electrostatic chuck also includes an insulator layer and coating disposed on the insulator, where the coating is configured to support an electrostatic field generated by the electrode system to attract a substrate thereto. | 10-30-2014 |