Other

Comet Technologies USA, Inc.

Novellus Systems Incorporated

Fmc Corporation

The Boc Group, Inc.

Kla Instruments Corporation

Linear Integrated Systems, Inc.

Rodenstock Instruments Corp.

Flexible Manufacturing Systems, Inc.

J Kirkwood Rough

Anthony Oliveti

Eliot K Broadbent

Jeffrey C Benzing

Tigran Poghosyan

Adrian I Cogan

Alan D Brodie

Michael Krolak

John H Hall

Eric Munro

Russell J Hill

Richard R Simmons

Peter W Rose

Gary Russell

Anil A Desai

Jin-Liou Fang

Martin N Nelson

Neill R Thornton

John McMurtry

April Dutta

Michael R Biche

Tom N Cornsweet

Daniel Catalan

Wallace R Prunella

Dennis G Emge

Henry Pearce-Percy

Henry A Byorum

John P Lehan

Lawrence H Schiller

Dave E Smith

Zhong-Wei Chen

Dan Meisberger

Gabe Calebotta

Leslie A Honfi

George P Rigg

H Malcolm Ogle

The present disclosure relates to a switching circuitry for a variable reactance matching network as may be used by plasma generation systems which utilize plasma for semiconductor processing. The switching circuitry may be used within a hybrid matching network that has a first-stage switched matching network and a second-stage mechanically-tuned matching network. The switching circuitry may also be used for variable reactance matching in telecom applications, plasma laser cutting applications, and/or RADAR/LIDAR implementations. The switching circuitry includes individual isolated power supplies that are fed from a main power supply. The individual isolated power supplies receive inductive power from a main power supply loop powered by the main power supply. The inductive coupling provides isolated power supply loops to drive circuitry for a single switch. Multiple instances of the isolated switch circuitry are used to receive a digital signal from a connected controller.

Variable reactance device having isolated gate drive power supplies

A method for homing a stepping motor having a plurality of full-step positions within each full rotation of a rotor of the stepper motor includes applying a first drive current to windings of the stepper motor to rotate the rotor at least one full rotation in a first direction away from an end-of-travel (EOT) position. Thereafter, the drive current is applied to the windings to rotate the rotor in a second direction toward the EOT position. Upon detection of EOT, the drive current is discontinued. Drive current is then applied to the windings to rotate the rotor of the stepper motor in micro-steps in the first direction to a closest full-step position of the stepper motor. Finally, a drive current is applied to drive the stepper motor a predetermined number of full steps away from the EOT position.

Method for repeatable stepper motor homing

An electromagnetic field sensor may include a housing including an opening extending therethrough; a dielectric element including a first section having a first interior space and a second section having a second interior space, the dielectric element being received within the opening of the housing; and a conductor disposed within and approximating the first interior space and the second interior space of the dielectric element, the conductor including a first portion defining a first frustrum shape and a second portion defining a second frustrum shape, the first interior space receiving the first portion of the conductor and the second interior space receiving the second portion of the conductor. The electromagnetic field sensor for use in a matching network of a plasma generation system or other application.

Electromagnetic field sensing device

A variable capacitor includes an enclosure having first and second conductive collars separated by an intermediate electrically insulating element. A movable capacitor plate assembly is electrically coupled to the first conductive collar, and a fixed capacitor plate assembly is electrically coupled to the second conductive collar. An actuator extends into the enclosure for advancing and retracting the movable capacitor plate assembly relative to the fixed capacitor plate assembly. A hermetically sealed volume within the enclosure contains a dielectric fluid serving as a dielectric between a capacitor plate of the movable capacitor plate assembly and a capacitor plate of the fixed capacitor plate assembly. A flexible structure is provided to contain the dielectric fluid displaced when the movable capacitor plate assembly is advanced toward the fixed capacitor plate assembly.

Dielectric fluid variable capacitor

An integrated transistor device operates with a linear triode vacuum tube like characteristic with a very low output impedance and a large interaction between the gate and drain potentials. The drain current of a first transistor is connected directly to the source of a second transistor which has a low input impedance matching the output impedance of the first transistor. The gate of the second transistor is held at a positive potential and functions to provide isolation of the varying drain signal from the drain of the first transistor and to provide a high impedance at the output terminal. This device structure provides high input impedance, high current gain, high output impedance and a linear operating characteristic.

Intergrated field effect transistor device for high power and voltage

A sputtering system using an AC power supply in the range of 10 kHz to 100 kHz uses two rotatable cylindrical magnetrons. The rotatable cylindrical magnetrons, when used for depositing a dielectric layer onto a substrate, clean off dielectric material that is deposited onto the target. This prevents a dielectric layer on the target from acting like a capacitor and may help avoid arcing. Additionally, an impedance-limiting capacitor can be placed in series in the electrical path between the targets through the transformer so as to reduce arcing. This impedance-limiting capacitor has a value much larger than the capacitors used to couple the power supply to a target in radio frequency sputtering systems.

Sputtering system using cylindrical rotating magnetron electrically

A BIFET vacuum tube replacement structure includes a plurality of devices that replicate the characteristics of a vacuum tube. The vacuum tube replacement structure has the same pin-out as the vacuum tube being replaced and so can be exchanged directly for a vacuum tube in an audio amplifier. The vacuum tube replacement structure is suitable for use in a wide range of audio amplifier applications without modification to the audio amplifiers. Further, there is no noticeable degradation to the human ear in the sound quality when the vacuum tube replacement structure is used in an audio amplifier in place of a vacuum tube. A unitary device that is a combination of a high impedance bipolar like transistor and a unipolar junction field effect transistor, that is referred to as a BIFET, is used in the vacuum tube replacement structure. In one embodiment, the bipolar like transistor is formed in combination with the gate of the unipolar junction field effect transistor. The vacuum tube replacement structure faithfully replicates input signals at low levels and also slowly and uniformly compresses the input signals at higher drive levels and under overdrive conditions.

BIFET vacuum tube replacement structure

An induction plasma source for integrated circuit fabrication includes a hemispherically shaped induction coil in an expanding spiral pattern about the vacuum chamber containing a semiconductor wafer supported by a platen. The windings of the induction coil follow the contour of a hemispherically shaped quartz bell jar, which holds the vacuum. The power source is a low frequency rf source having a frequency of about 450 KHz and a power in the range of 200-2000 Watts, and the pressure is a low pressure of about 0.1-100 mTorr. A high frequency rf source independently adjusts the bias voltage on the wafer.

Method of generating plasma having high ion density for substrate

A method and apparatus for a charged particle scanning system and an automatic inspection system, including wafers and masks used in microcircuit fabrication. A charged particle beam is directed at the surface of a substrate for scanning that substrate and a selection of detectors are included to detect at least one of the secondary charged particles, back-scattered charged particles and transmitted charged particles from the substrate. The substrate is mounted on an x-y stage to provide at least one degree of freedom while the substrate is being scanned by the charged particle beam. The substrate is also subjected to an electric field on it's surface to accelerate the secondary charged particles. The system facilitates inspection at low beam energies on charge sensitive insulating substrates and has the capability to accurately measure the position of the substrate with respect to the charged particle beam. Additionally, there is an optical alignment system for initially aligning the substrate beneath the charged particle beam. To function most efficiently there is also a vacuum system for evacuating and repressurizing a chamber containing the substrate. The vacuum system can be used to hold one substrate at vacuum while a second one is being loaded/unloaded, evacuated or repressurized. Alternately, the vacuum system can simultaneously evacuate a plurality of substrates prior to inspection and repressurize the same plurality of substrates following inspection. In the inspection configuration, there is also a comparison system for comparing the pattern on the substrate with a second pattern.

Electron beam inspection system and method

An induction plasma source for integrated circuit fabrication includes a hemispherically shaped induction coil in an expanding spiral pattern about the vacuum chamber containing a semiconductor wafer supported by a platen. The windings of the induction coil follow the contour of a hemispherically shaped quartz bell jar, which holds the vacuum. The power source is a low frequency rf source having a frequency of about 450 KHz and a power in the range of 200-2000 watts, and the pressure is a low pressure of about 0.1-100 mTorr. A high frequency rf source independently adjusts the bias voltage on the wafer.

Induction plasma source

A single turn induction coil which provides uniform sealing of lids to plastic containers. A first end of the coil overlaps a second end of the coil with the ends being tapered to form a single complete ring. An electrical current is coupled to the overlapped portions of the first and second end of the coil so the electrical current flows for more than 360.degree. around the coil. This provides an induced electrical current around a container lid adjacent to the coil and provides heating of the complete circumference of the lid. A variety of shapes of containers and matching lids can be used with the present invention.

Induction coil with lapped joint

A multiple electrode plasma reactor power circuit that utilizes a power splitting device, such as a center-tapped coil, to deliver balanced power to a plurality of powered electrodes. Balanced plasmas are thereby created between powered electrodes and grounded electrodes. In a preferred embodiment a plurality of center-tapped coils are connected to deliver balanced power to several powered electrodes located in a plurality of reactor chambers.

Multiple electrode plasma reactor power distribution system

The processing of video signal information derived from scanning the characters or marks on a background sheet includes normalizing the signal levels against changes in operating conditions and dynamically altering the threshold level of the video signal in response to the changes in levels of video signal.

Dynamic video system and method

Apparatus for transferring electrical power between a power supplying apparatus and power consuming apparatus and having a separable high frequency transformer with a primary permanently mounted to the power supply apparatus and a secondary mounted about the power consuming apparatus. A charging control circuit mounted on the consuming apparatus, e.g. a mobile vehicle includes means for detecting current and voltage delivered through the transformer, and also for monitoring storage batteries within the vehicle. The power supply apparatus includes a power supply circuit comprising a ferrite core transformer and capacitor forming a parallel resonant circuit. The primaries of the transformer are alternately driven by a driver about opposing polarities. The drivers are controlled by a voltage-controlled pulse-width modulator which provides a square wave input to the drivers to cause them to alternatively energize the ferrite core transformer. Power is transferred across the inductor to the resonant circuit as portions of a sine wave. The power supply circuit also includes an internal current sensing circuit to shut current build-up down when current in the resonant circuit becomes too high, and an external control loop which senses power demands of the charging control circuit delivered via an optical communications link within the separable transformer.

Power transfer device

A lensmeter is disclosed for determining the refractive properties of a test lens, including an optical system to produce an ellipse of light at a detecting plane having information of such properties, a scanning linear photodiode array at the detecting plane for producing video output signals, a first integrator to integrate the video output signal from each photodiode, a compensator to compensate each video output signal for the light sensitivity of each photodiode, a second integrator to integrate the compensated video signals over the range of the distribution of light of an area of the ellipse being scanned, a circuit, connected to the second integrator, to detect the median point of the distribution, and a microprocessor to provide data identifying the median point in response to the detection.

Median point detecting apparatus for a lensmeter

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

J Kirkwood Rough