Applied Materials, Inc.

Lam Research Corporation

Leybold Vacuum Gmbh

Dennis R Smith

Peter Reimer

Pedram Sabouri

Paul Kevin Reimer

Sudhakar Gopalakrishnan

John Edward Daugherty

Iqbal A Shareef

Norm Shendon

Jayesh S Patel

Karl-Heinz Ronthaler

Heinz Frings

Anja Plugge

Rudolph Bahnen

Robert Stolle

Keith Trenton

Mariusch Gregor

Jay Patel

John Haruff

A mass flow controller assembly includes a housing defining a cavity, a plurality of internal passages, a first inlet, a first outlet, a second inlet, and a second outlet. A valve is connected to the housing, has an inlet fluidly coupled to the second outlet of the housing and an outlet fluidly coupled to the second inlet of the housing. The valve is configured to control fluid flow from the second outlet of the housing to the second inlet of the housing. A microelectromechanical (MEMS) Coriolis flow sensor is arranged in the cavity, includes an inlet fluidly coupled by at least one of the plurality of internal passages to the first inlet of the housing and is configured to measure at least one of a mass flow rate and density of fluid flowing through the MEMS Coriolis flow sensor. An outlet of the MEMS Coriolis flow sensor is fluidly coupled by at least one of the plurality of internal passages to the second outlet of the housing. The second inlet of the housing is fluidly coupled by at least one of the plurality of internal passages to the first outlet of the housing.

MEMS-based Coriolis mass flow controller

A fluid delivery system includes N first valves. Inlets of the N first valves are fluidly connected to N gas sources, respectively, where N is an integer greater than zero. N mass flow controllers include a microelectromechanical (MEMS) Coriolis flow sensor having an inlet in fluid communication with an outlet of a corresponding one of the N first valves. A second valve has an inlet in fluid communication with an outlet of the MEMS Coriolis flow sensor and an outlet supplying fluid to treat a substrate arranged in a processing chamber. A controller in communication with the MEMS Coriolis flow sensor is configured to determine at least one of a mass flow rate and a density of fluid flowing through the MEMS Coriolis flow sensor.

MEMS coriolis gas flow controller

Methods and systems for preparing a hole having an accurately controlled area in an orifice plate for a mass flow controller are provided. Methods involve forming an initial hole in the orifice plate. The initial hole has an opening having an initial area. The orifice plate comprises a material that can react to form a coating on the orifice plate. The coating occupies a greater volume than the material consumed to form the coating. The material of the orifice plate is reacted with a reactant to produce the coating and thereby produce a reduced area hole having an opening with a reduced area that is smaller than the initial area. The reduced area hole is measured. A determined amount of the coating is removed from at least the reduced area hole to produce a final hole in the orifice plate, wherein the reduced area is smaller than an opening area of the final hole.

Manufacture of an orifice plate for use in gas calibration

A gas pump and processes for preparing the gas pump are presented. The gas pump includes a bottom Holweck stage with internal heaters for cleaning deposits resulting from exhausting gases from a semiconductor manufacturing chamber. One example gas pump includes a turbomolecular stage on a top section of the gas pump and a Holweck stage below the turbomolecular stage. The Holweck stage comprises a rotor element, a stator element with an opening in the center, and one or more heaters. The opening has a substantially cylindrical shape and an inside surface with a plurality of grooves separated by threads. Each heater is situated on a surface of one of the plurality of grooves. The heaters may be turned on to clean the deposits accumulated on the gas pump during the processing of a substrate.

Turbomolecular pump deposition control and particle management

Methods and apparatuses for delivering a process gas to a processing chamber are provided. A mass flow controller includes a first flow line for introducing a process fluid and an inlet valve disposed along the first flow line for controlling a flow rate of the process fluid. The mass flow controller includes a second flow line for introducing a carrier fluid into the mass flow controller and a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) Coriolis sensor for providing a density signal and a mass flow rate signal for a mixture of the process fluid and the carrier fluid. The mass flow controller provided includes an outlet valve for controlling a mass flow rate of the mixture that is output by the mass flow controller as well as a controller for operating the inlet valve based on the density signal and for operating the outlet valve based on the mass flow rate signal.

Mass flow controller for substrate processing

An apparatusfor processing a substratecomprises an integrated pumping systemhaving a high operating efficiency, small size, and low vibrational and noise levels. The apparatuscomprises a chamber, such as a load-lock chambertransfer chamberor process chamberAn integrated and local pumpis abutting or adjacent to one of the chambersfor evacuating gas from the chambers. The pump has an inletconnected to a chamberand an outletthat exhausts the gas to atmospheric pressure. Preferably, the pumpcomprises a pre-vacuum pump or a low vacuum pump.

Processing apparatus having integrated pumping system

An apparatusfor processing a substrate, comprises an integrated pumping systemhaving a high operating efficiency, small size, and low vibrational and noise levels. The apparatuscomprises a chamber, such as a load-lock chamber, transfer chamber, or process chamber. An integrated pumpis abutting or adjacent to one of the chambersfor evacuating gas from the chambers. In operation, the pump is located within the actual envelope or footprint of the apparatus and has an inletconnected to a chamber, and an outletthat exhausts the gas to atmospheric pressure. Preferably, the integrated pumpcomprises a pre-vacuum pump or a low vacuum pump and is housed in a noise reducing enclosure having means for moving the pump between locations and means for stacking pumps vertically in use.

An apparatus for processing a substrate , comprises an integrated pumping system having a high operating efficiency, small size, and low vibrational and noise levels. The apparatus comprises a chamber, such as a load-lock chamber , transfer chamber , or process chamber . An integrated pump is abutting or adjacent to one of the chambers for evacuating gas from the chambers. In operation, the pump is located within the actual envelope or footprint of the apparatus and has an inlet connected to a chamber , and an outlet that exhausts the gas to atmospheric pressure. Preferably, the integrated pump comprises a pre-vacuum pump or a low vacuum pump and is housed in a noise reducing enclosure having means for moving the pump between locations and means for stacking pumps vertically in use.

In one aspect, a vacuum processing system comprising a vacuum processing chamber and a turbo-molecular pump disposed on the vacuum processing chamber is provided. The turbo-molecular pump comprises a casing having an inlet port and an outlet port, a stator disposed on an inner wall of the casing, a rotor disposed in the stator, and a motor extending coaxially with the rotor, wherein at least the first stage of the pump is enlarged with no correspondingly larger pump components other than the corresponding upper portion of the housing.

Turbo-molecular pump having enhanced pumping capacity

A pressure for a chamber is regulated by controlling either the exhaust pressure at the exhaust side of a first vacuum pump or the internal pressure at a compression stage of the first vacuum pump, where the first vacuum pump is directly communicating with the chamber. The pressure of the chamber can be regulated by combinations of the following: controlling the variable rotational frequency of a roots vacuum pump, a pre-vacuum pump, or a high compression pump; controlling a control valve between a pre-vacuum pump and the first vacuum pump; controlling a control valve for injecting gas into the exhaust side of the first vacuum pump or into the compression stage of the first vacuum pump; and controlling a control valve or control valves for bypassing the first vacuum pump or a compression stage or compression stages of the first vacuum pump. To regulate the pressure in the chamber, several types of control rules can be used, including: a PID control rule, a gain scheduler, and a threshold comparison control rule.

Apparatus and method for regulating a pressure in a chamber

A process for polishing substrates includes a carrier which receives a substrate and positions it against a slowly rotating polishing pad. The carrier orbits the pad on the rotating pad, at a speed significantly greater than the rotational speed of the polishing pad, to ensure that the movement of the polishing pad is a very small increment of the cumulative motion between the pad and substrate.

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Santa Clara County, CA, United States of America

Dennis R Smith