| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20090084758 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHAPING GAS PROFILE NEAR BEVEL EDGE - A method for etching a bevel edge of a substrate in a processing chamber is provided. The method includes flowing an inert gas into a center region of the processing chamber defined above a center region of the substrate and flowing a mixture of an inert gas and a processing gas over an edge region of the substrate. The method further includes striking a plasma in the edge region, wherein the flow of the inert gas and the flow of the mixture maintain a mass fraction of the processing gas substantially constant. A processing chamber configured to clean a bevel edge of a substrate is also provided. | 04-02-2009 |
| 20110005601 | GAS TRANSPORT DELAY RESOLUTION FOR SHORT ETCH RECIPES - In one embodiment, an apparatus for providing a gas mixture of a plurality of gases, may have a plurality of mass flow controllers (MFCs), a mixing manifold in fluid connection with each plurality of MFCs, a plurality of mixing manifold exits positioned on the mixing manifold; and an isolation device in fluid connection with each of the plurality of mixing manifold exits. | 01-13-2011 |
| 20110232566 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHAPING A GAS PROFILE NEAR BEVEL EDGE - A method for etching a bevel edge of a substrate in a processing chamber is provided. The method includes flowing an inert gas into a center region of the processing chamber defined above a center region of the substrate and flowing a mixture of an inert gas and a processing gas over an edge region of the substrate. The method further includes striking a plasma in the edge region, wherein the flow of the inert gas and the flow of the mixture maintain a mass fraction of the processing gas substantially constant. A processing chamber configured to clean a bevel edge of a substrate is also provided. | 09-29-2011 |
| 20120318362 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DECREASING SCRUBBER EXHAUST FROM GAS DELIVERY PANELS - A method and apparatus is provided for decreasing the scrubber exhaust from gas panels, lower the cost of operation, lower the facilitation cost and power consumption by increasing the air velocity in areas of high potential risk of ignition. The apparatus includes a supply of compressed dry air (CDA) through the tubing with individual dispersion nozzles. The CDA dispersion nozzles can be installed at various key locations in order to provide additional ventilation turbulence and reduce potential dead zones inside the gas panel. Aspects of the invention help to save the energy and protect the environment by reducing the power consumption. In addition human safety shall be improved by minimizing the potential risk of ignition. | 12-20-2012 |
| 20130255781 | SHARED GAS PANELS IN PLASMA PROCESSING SYSTEMS - Methods and apparatus for shared gas panel for supplying a process gas to a plurality of process modules are disclosed. The shared gas panel includes a plurality of mixing valves and at least two mixing manifolds for a given mixing valve to service at least two process modules. The mixing manifolds are disposed on a given plane and staggered to save space. Components of the shared gas panel are also stacked vertically in order to reduce volume of the shared gas panel enclosure. Components are optimized such that the two mixing manifolds coupled to the given mixing valve receive equal mass flow to eliminate matching issues. | 10-03-2013 |
| 20130255782 | SHARED GAS PANELS IN PLASMA PROCESSING CHAMBERS EMPLOYING MULTI-ZONE GAS FEEDS - Apparatus and methods for sharing a gas panel among a plurality of multi-zone gas feed chambers of a plasma processing chamber. Each multi-zone gas feed chamber is provided with its own multi-zone gas feed device to adjustably split the incoming gas flow into each chamber and provide the different gas flows to different zones of the multi-zone gas feed chamber. | 10-03-2013 |
| 20140182689 | GAS SUPPLY SYSTEMS FOR SUBSTRATE PROCESSING CHAMBERS AND METHODS THEREFOR - A gas supply subsystem for providing a set of process gases to a substrate processing chamber, the set of process gases being a subset of a plurality of process gases available to the substrate processing chamber. The gas supply subsystem has fewer multi-gas mass flow controllers than the number of available process gases, wherein multiple process gases are multiplexed at the input of one or more of the multi-gas mass flow controllers. Pump-purge may be employed to improve gas switching speed for the multi-gas mass flow controllers | 07-03-2014 |
| 20140343875 | METROLOGY METHOD FOR TRANSIENT GAS FLOW - A method of calculating a transient flow rate of a flowed process gas comprises flowing process gas through a mass flow controller into a chamber of known volume and measuring successive data sample points which include pressure data, temperature data, and a time value for each successive data sample point. Groups of successive data sample points are identified wherein each group shares one or more successive data sample points with another group, and ratio values are calculated for each of the successive data sample points wherein each ratio value is a ratio between the pressure data and a product of temperature and gas compressibility data for each respective time value. A line of best fit of the ratio values is determined within at least one group, and then the transient flow rate of the flowed process gas is calculated using a pressure rate of rise technique wherein the pressure rate of rise technique utilizes a ratio value determined from the line of best fit for at least one time value within the at least one group. | 11-20-2014 |
| 20150068613 | Clutter Mass Flow Devices and Multi-Line Mass Flow Devices Incorporating The Same - A multi-line mass flow device configured for controlled delivery of two or more fluids into a process chamber. The multi-line mass flow device comprises a cluster mass flow control manifold and a multi-inlet manifold. The cluster mass flow control manifold comprises a controller, a gas manifold mounting block, and two or more gas flow control stations. The multi-inlet manifold comprises a multi-inlet mounting block, and two or more isolation valves mounted on the multi-inlet mounting block. | 03-12-2015 |
| 20150155187 | ANNULAR BAFFLE FOR PUMPING FROM ABOVE A PLANE OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR WAFER SUPPORT - A system and method for processing a substrate in a processing chamber and providing an azimuthally evenly distributed draw on the processing byproducts using a gas pump down source coupled to the processing chamber above the plane of a substrate support within the processing chamber. The process chamber can include an annular plenum disposed between the support surface plane and the chamber top, the plenum including at least one vacuum inlet port coupled to the gas pump down source and a continuous inlet gap proximate to a perimeter of the substrate support, the continuous inlet gap having an inlet gas flow resistance of between about twice and about twenty times an outlet gas flow resistance the at least one vacuum inlet port. | 06-04-2015 |
| 20150287572 | MONOLITHIC CERAMIC COMPONENT OF GAS DELIVERY SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MAKING AND USE THEREOF - A method of making a monolithic ceramic component of a gas delivery system of a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus wherein the gas delivery system is configured to supply process gas to a gas distribution member disposed downstream thereof. The gas distribution member is configured to supply the process gas to a processing region of a vacuum chamber of the apparatus, wherein the processing region is disposed above an upper surface of a semiconductor substrate to be processed. The method comprises preparing a green compact of ceramic material. The green compact of ceramic material is formed into a form of a desired monolithic ceramic component of the gas delivery system. The formed green compact of ceramic material is fired to form the monolithic ceramic component of the gas delivery system. | 10-08-2015 |
| 20150287573 | CONFIGURATION INDEPENDENT GAS DELIVERY SYSTEM - A gas delivery apparatus for supplying process gas to a processing chamber of a plasma processing apparatus includes a mixing manifold having a plurality of gas inlets on a surface thereof, the gas inlets being equally spaced from a center mixing point of the mixing manifold; and optionally a plurality of gas supplies in communication with the plurality of gas inlets on the surface of the mixing manifold. A method of supplying gas to a processing chamber of a plasma processing apparatus using such a gas delivery apparatus involves providing a plurality of gas supplies in communication with a plurality of gas inlets on a surface of a mixing manifold; flowing at least two different gases from the plurality of gas supplies to the mixing manifold to create a first mixed gas; and supplying the first mixed gas to a plasma processing chamber coupled downstream of the mixing manifold. | 10-08-2015 |
| 20150303035 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING GASES TO A PROCESS CHAMBER - A gas supply system for providing a plurality of process gases to a process chamber includes a plurality of mass flow controllers each arranged to receive a respective subset of the plurality of process gases. Each of the respective subsets includes more than one of the process gases, and at least one of the process gases is provided to more than one of the plurality of mass flow controllers. Respective valves are arranged upstream of each of the plurality of mass flow controllers to selectively provide the respective subsets to the mass flow controllers. A first quantity of the plurality of mass flow controllers is less than a total number of the plurality of process gases to be supplied to the process chamber. The first quantity is equal to a maximum number of the plurality of process gases to be used in the process chamber at any one time. | 10-22-2015 |
| 20160076989 | CORROSION SENSOR RETAINER ASSEMBLY APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING CORROSION - A corrosion sensor retainer assembly and method for predicting and detecting corrosion within a gas delivery system of a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. The corrosion sensor retainer assembly comprises a laminate that includes a first insulating layer with a first port and a second insulating layer with a second port, wherein the first port and the second port are configured to retain a seal. The corrosion sensor retainer assembly includes a conductor housed within the laminate. The conductor forms a path that extends around the first port and the second port. At least a portion of the conductor has an exposed surface with a property that changes in the presence of corrosive gas or acid. | 03-17-2016 |
| 20160111258 | GAS SUPPLY DELIVERY ARRANGEMENT INCLUDING A GAS SPLITTER FOR TUNABLE GAS FLOW CONTROL - A gas supply delivery arrangement of a plasma processing system for processing a substrate with gases introduced through at least first, second, and third gas injection zones comprises process gas supply inlets and tuning gas inlets. A mixing manifold comprises gas sticks in fluid communication with a process gas supply and tuning gas sticks in fluid communication with a tuning gas supply. A first gas outlet delivers gas to the first gas injection zone, a second gas outlet delivers gas to the second gas injection zone, and a third gas outlet delivers gas to the third gas injection zone. A gas splitter is in fluid communication with the mixing manifold, and includes a first valve arrangement which splits mixed gas exiting the mixing manifold into a first mixed gas supplied to the first gas outlet and a second mixed gas supplied to the second, and/or third gas outlets. | 04-21-2016 |
| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20090319071 | METHODS FOR CONTROLLING TIME SCALE OF GAS DELIVERY INTO A PROCESSING CHAMBER - A method for establishing a mass flow controller (MFC) control scheme, which is configured for reducing a time scale for gas delivery into a processing chamber, for a recipe is provided. The method includes identifying a set of delayed gas species utilized during execution of the recipe with a set of delivery time slower than a target delivery time scale. The method also includes establishing an initial overshoot strength and an initial overshoot duration for each gas specie of the set of delayed gas species. The method further includes establishing MFC control scheme by adjusting an MFC hardware for each gas specie during the execution of the recipe. Adjusting the MFC hardware includes applying the initial overshoot strength for the initial overshoot duration to determine if the MFC control scheme provides for each gas specie a pressure profile within a target accuracy of an equilibrium pressure for the processing chamber. | 12-24-2009 |
| 20110029268 | METHODS FOR DELIVERING A PROCESS GAS - A method for delivering a process gas to a reaction chamber of a plasma processing system using a recipe having a recipe flow rate is provided. The method includes delivering the process gas by a gas flow delivery system controlled by a mass flow controller (MFC) to an orifice. The predicted flow rate is previously computed by pressurizing a gas. The predicted flow rate further being previously computed measuring a set of upstream pressure values of the gas via at least one pressure sensor. The method also includes applying, using a programmed computing device, a calibration factor of a set of calibration factors to determine the predicted flow rate, the calibration factor being a ratio of an average of the set of upstream pressure values to an average of a set of golden upstream pressure values. | 02-03-2011 |
| 20120111379 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DISPLACING FLUIDS FROM SUBSTRATES USING SUPERCRITICAL CO2 - A processing chamber for post-wet-etch removing of drying fluid (DF) is disclosed. The chamber includes a chamber wall surrounding a processing volume and a plurality of nozzles disposed annularly about the processing volume and arranged into a set of nozzle rows that includes at least one nozzle row. The chamber also includes a plenum and a set of manifolds coupled to the plurality of nozzles to deliver the supercritical CO | 05-10-2012 |
| 20120247581 | APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING A PROCESS GAS - A processing system for delivering a process gas to a reaction chamber using a recipe having a recipe flow rate is provided. The processing system includes a gas flow delivery system configured for delivering the process gas, wherein said gas flow delivery system controlled by a mass flow controller (MFC) to an orifice. The predicted flow rate is previously computed by pressurizing a gas. The predicted flow rate further being previously computed measuring a set of upstream pressure values of the gas via at least one sensor. The processing system also includes a programmed computing device configured for applying a calibration factor of a set of calibration factors to determine the predicted flow rate, the calibration factor being a ratio of an average of the set of upstream pressure values to an average of a set of golden upstream pressure values. | 10-04-2012 |
| 20130255883 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING PROCESS GAS IN A PLASMA PROCESSING SYSTEM - Methods and apparatus for supplying gas in a plasma processing system that employs the single line drop approach wherein a regulator is shared among multiple mass flow controllers. In one or more embodiments, an accumulator is provided and coupled in gaseous communication with a shared manifold to reduce pressure spikes and dips. A filter, which may be replaceable or non-replaceable separate from the accumulator, is integrated with the accumulator in one or more embodiments. | 10-03-2013 |
| 20140158153 | ULTRASONIC CLEANING METHOD AND APPARATUS THEREFORE - Ultrasonic cleaning apparatuses and methods of cleaning substantially planar articles. An apparatus comprises (i) a substantially circular tank; (ii) a plurality of cleaning fluid inlets for delivering a cleaning fluid to the tank; (iii) an intermediate support for receiving an article to be cleaned; and (iv) an ultrasonic generator coupled to the tank for generating ultrasonic waves in the tank and cleaning fluid received therein. The apparatus is configured to remove particles from a substantially planar article and have them carried by flow of cleaning fluid away from the article and out of the tank. Using such an apparatus, a cleaning method comprises introducing a substantially planar article to be cleaned into the tank; introducing a cleaning fluid into the tank through the plurality of cleaning fluid inlets; and exciting the cleaning fluid with ultrasonic waves. | 06-12-2014 |
| 20160045941 | ULTRASONIC CLEANING METHOD AND APPARATUS THEREFORE - Ultrasonic cleaning apparatuses and methods of cleaning substantially planar articles. An apparatus comprises (i) a substantially circular tank; (ii) a plurality of cleaning fluid inlets for delivering a cleaning fluid to the tank; (iii) an intermediate support for receiving an article to be cleaned; and (iv) an ultrasonic generator coupled to the tank for generating ultrasonic waves in the tank and cleaning fluid received therein. The apparatus is configured to remove particles from a substantially planar article and have them carried by flow of cleaning fluid away from the article and out of the tank. Using such an apparatus, a cleaning method comprises introducing a substantially planar article to be cleaned into the tank; introducing a cleaning fluid into the tank through the plurality of cleaning fluid inlets; and exciting the cleaning fluid with ultrasonic waves. | 02-18-2016 |
