Tokyo Electron Limited

Other

Sony Corporation

Veeco Instruments Inc.

Read Rite Corporation

Materials Research Corporation

Marerials Research Corporation

Ira Reiss

Steven D Hurwitt

Alan V Hayes

Boris L Druz

Viktor Kanarov

Swie-In Tan

Piero Sferlazzo

Tugrul Yasar

James Allen Folta

Robert C Krause

Rustam Yevtukhov

Claude Montcalm

Israel Wagner

Kurt E Williams

Hari S Hegde

Marian Zielinski

Roger P Fremgen

Roger P Fremgen, Jr

Subhadra Gupta

Adrian Celaru

Carlos Fernando De Mello Borges

Rajendrapura Seetharamaiya Krishnaswamy

Renga Rajan

Method and apparatus for processing a substrate with an energetic particle beam. Features on the substrate are oriented relative to the energetic particle beam and the substrate is scanned through the energetic particle beam. The substrate is periodically indexed about its azimuthal axis of symmetry, while shielded from exposure to the energetic particle beam, to reorient the features relative to the major dimension of the beam.

Method and apparatus for surface processing of a substrate using an energetic particle beam

A charged particle source utilizes a novel plasma processing chamber, RF coil and ion optics, to achieve high uniformity. The plasma processing chamber has a re-entrant vessel which is movable, and which includes extensions of adjustable shape or position, to make more uniform the plasma contained within the chamber. One or more magnets, which may be static or moving, may be included within the re-entrant vessel. The ion optics include a grid with a number of apertures, and tuning features each surrounding an aperture. These tuning features either reduce the diameter of the associated aperture, or increase the length of that aperture, to create more uniform beamlets emerging from the grid. The RF coil includes a flux concentrator positioned adjacent to the winding in at least one angular region thereof to tune the magnetic field produced thereby.

Charged particle source and operation thereof

A method and system for producing a film (preferably a thin film with highly uniform or highly accurate custom graded thickness) on a flat or graded substrate (such as concave or convex optics), by sweeping the substrate across a vapor deposition source operated with time-varying flux distribution. In preferred embodiments, the source is operated with time-varying power applied thereto during each sweep of the substrate to achieve the time-varying flux distribution as a function of time. A user selects a source flux modulation recipe for achieving a predetermined desired thickness profile of the deposited film. The method relies on precise modulation of the deposition flux to which a substrate is exposed to provide a desired coating thickness distribution.

Method and system using power modulation for maskless vapor deposition of spatially graded thin film and multilayer coatings with atomic-level precision and accuracy

Warping of a clamping ring, by which a series of semiconductor wafers is held to a wafer holder for vapor deposition of coatings onto the wafers, is retarded by providing a clamping ring formed of the material having a coefficient of thermal expansion that is approximately the same as or close to that of the coating material being deposited onto the wafers. Preferably also, the material of which the ring is formed has a high modulus of elasticity, high thermal conductivity and a high yield strength. For the deposition of tantalum and gold, which is useful for providing backside thermal conductivity on semiconductor wafers, a clamping ring of molybdenum is preferred. The onset of excessive warping is delayed by replacing clamping rings with clamping rings formed of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient closer to that of the material to be deposited, and preferably having the other preferred properties. Preferably, the clamping ring is one having a generally circular opening that is slightly smaller than the wafers to be clamped and that has a flat edge on the inner edge of the ring corresponding to the orientation flat found on the outer edge of an industry standard wafer, so that the ring engages the wafer during clamping around the entire outer rim of the wafer. A ring having a small number of discrete mounting points for spring attachment to the holder, and having a set of latches connected thereto, is preferred.

Wafer holder and clamping ring therefor for use in a deposition chamber

A substrate support platform has a substrate engaging surface which defines a first channel for introducing and distributing a thermal transfer gas to a first region of the engaging surface, and a second channel, nonintersecting with the first channel, for introducing and distributing a thermal transfer gas to a second region of the engaging surface. A gas delivery system is independently connected between a gas source and the first and second channels, for independently providing (via valved connections) a thermal transfer gas to the first and second channels, so that gas delivery may be limited to one of the channels, or gas may be delivered to both of the channels in case a substrate is placed over either or both of the associated regions. A pressure measuring device is independently coupled to each of the channels via measuring ports, permitting measurement and control of gas pressure from the gas source.

Apparatus for thermal control of variously sized articles in vacuum

Method and apparatus for forming the longitudinal edges of stacks of razor blades by conveying the stacks of razor blades along a conveying path in a vacuum chamber past material deposition and material etching stations. The material etching stations are mounted in the sides of the vacuum chamber to be directed generally toward the edge sides of the edges of the razor blades. In another embodiment, stacks of razor blades are mounted on opposite sides of a rotating pallet and material deposition and etching stations are mounted in both side walls of the vacuum chamber. A DC or RF bias is applied to the stacks of razor blades by capacitively coupling the RF bias or conducting by electrical contacts a DC or RF bias to a central portion of the rotating pallet.

Process equipment with simultaneous or sequential deposition and etching

A composite backing plate (34) for a backing plate-target assembly (41) having a core of structural material (36) with a front face (42) and/or a rear face (44) of a different material laminated thereto. The composite backing plate (35) has the desired mechanical properties of a solid copper backing plate, for example, strength and stiffness, but is preferably less than half the density of a solid copper backing plate. The core material is preferably aluminum; the front face is preferably copper; and the rear face is preferably either copper or an organic material.

Composite backing plate for a sputtering target

A device for rotating a substrate in a complex motion within a chamber which during a sputtering process. The device includes a first support element positioned within the chamber. The first support element includes a first rotating structure which is affixed between a platform for supporting the substrate and a first magnet positioned adjacent to the inner wall surface. Further, the first rotating structure is adapted to rotate about a first axis. The device further includes a second support element positioned outside of the chamber. The second support element includes a second rotating structure affixed between a planet gear adapted for engagement with a sun gear outside of the chamber and a second magnet positioned adjacent the outer wall surface and spaced apart from the first magnet. This causes the formation of a magnetic bond between the first and second magnets. Further, the second rotating structure is adapted to rotate about the first axis thereby enabling the first and second rotating structures to rotate in unison about the first axis. In addition, the device includes a drive element affixed to the first and second support elements, wherein rotation of the drive element causes a first rotation of the first and second rotating elements and thus the substrate about a center axis. This also causes a second rotation wherein the engagement of the sun gear and the planet gear causes simultaneous rotation of the substrate about the first axis.

Magnetic device for rotating a substrate

Growing community of inventors

New City, NY, United States of America

Ira Reiss