Applied Materials, Inc.

Genus, Inc.

Stion Corporation

Kenneth Brian Doering

Kevin Griffin

Carl J Galewski

Sanjeev Baluja

Mario Dave Silvetti

Hanhong Chen

Kartik Bhupendra Shah

Robert D Wieting

Joseph F AuBuchon

Thomas E Seidel

Prasad N Gadgil

Gregory J Wilson

Chunlei Zhang

Jared Ahmad Lee

Tejas Ulavi

Dhritiman Subha Kashyap

Karthik Ramanathan

Ashutosh Agarwal

Vivek Bharat Shah

Abhishek Chowdhury

Chi-Chou Lin

Chaowei Wang

Hao Zhang

Jurg Schmitzburger

Santhoshkumar Doddegowdanapalya Nanjundegowda

Somashekhar Kosthi

Abhijit Ghosh

Shrihari Sampathkumar

Zhejun Zhang

Rohit Ode

Plasma showerhead assemblies are disclosed comprising a conductive plate having a plurality of the conductive plate gas openings, a dielectric faceplate having a thickness and a plurality of dielectric faceplate gas openings extending through the dielectric faceplate thickness in fluid communication with the plurality of the conductive plate gas openings. A conductive insert is disposed within at least one of the dielectric faceplate gas openings or adjacent o-rings included in the plasma showerhead assemblies.

Plasma showerhead assembly and method of reducing defects

Heaters having a body with having a top and bottom comprising pyrolytic boron nitride (PBN), a first heater electrode and a second heater electrode are described. The heater electrodes can be enclosed within an electrically insulating standoff and connected to separate busbars to provide power. Heater assemblies including one or more of the heaters and processing chambers including the heater assemblies are also described.

PBN heaters for ALD temperature uniformity

Plasma showerheads with improved gas uniformity, and a plasma showerhead with angled gas nozzles are disclosed. Also disclosed are gas nozzles having a vertical offset angle and/or a directional offset angle. None of the gas channels and/or the gas nozzles intersect with the plasma regions of the showerhead.

Plasma showerhead with improved uniformity

A showerhead with an embedded nut is disclosed. The showerhead comprises an embedded nut within a cavity. The nut may be engaged by a bolt through an opening in the cavity to support the showerhead. The apparatus allows for the support of the showerhead without the potential for metal contamination.

Showerhead with embedded nut

Metrology slot plates, processing chamber lids and processing chambers having metrology slot plates are described. Each of the metrology slot plates independently comprises one or more of a plate blank, a reflectometer, a capacitance sensor, a gas flow meter, a manometer, a pyrometer, a distance sensor (laser) or an emissometer.

Metrology slot plates

Gas injector inserts having a wedge-shaped housing, at least one first slot and at least one second slot are described. The housing has a first opening in the back face that is in fluid communication with the first slot in the front face and a second opening in the back face that is in fluid communication with the second slot in the front face. Each of the first slot and the second slot has an elongate axis that extends from the inner peripheral end to the outer peripheral end of the housing. The gas injector insert is configured to provide a flow of gas through the first slots at supersonic velocity. Gas distribution assemblies and processing chambers including the gas injector inserts are described.

Gas distribution assembly for improved pump-purge and precursor delivery

Gas distribution assemblies and methods for providing a flow of gases to a process station are described. The gas distribution assemblies comprise a pumping liner with a showerhead and a gas funnel positioned therein. The pumping liner has an inner wall that slants at a first angle relative to a central axis of the gas distribution assembly so that the inner wall adjacent the bottom wall of the pumping liner is closer to the central axis than the inner wall adjacent the top wall. The gas funnel and pumping liner form a plenum between the outer wall of the gas funnel, a cavity in the bottom wall of the gas funnel and the inner wall of the pumping liner.

Thermally uniform deposition station

Apparatus and methods for lifting loads are described. The load lift includes a support frame and a lift assembly with main cylinder and at least one standby cylinder connecting a rotatable cross beam with a clamp plate. A rotary actuator assembly is connected to the lift beam to move the lift assembly out of the way while not in use by rotating the lift assembly from a lift position to a standby position.

Fail-safe pneumatic lift system

An apparatus for fabricating thin film photovoltaic devices includes a deposition chamber for loading a pair of substrates. Two heater platens in a side-by-side configuration with a middle gap form intimate contact with the pair of substrates. Each heater platen has a second width and a second length respectively made smaller than the first width and the first length to allow the substrate to fully cover the heater platen for preventing formation of edge lip due to coating buildup in a peripheral edge region. The apparatus further includes a shield structure which covers both the middle gap and all outer peripheral side regions of the side-by-side configuration of the two heater platens for preventing coating buildup and guiding a downstream flow.

Apparatus for manufacturing thin film photovoltaic devices

An apparatus for fabricating thin films on substrate panels includes a deposition chamber enclosed by sidewalls, a lid, and a base. The apparatus includes a mixing chamber disposed above the lid and configured to receive vapor species and form a mixed vapor. The mixing chamber is coupled with the deposition chamber via inlets through the lid, including a diffuser plate. Two heater plates disposed side by side on the base supporting and heating two substrates.

Large scale MOCVD system for thin film photovoltaic devices

A processing station adaptable to standard cluster tools has a vertically-translatable pedestal having an upper wafer-support surface including a heater plate adapted to be plugged into a unique feedthrough in the pedestal. At a lower position for the pedestal wafers may be transferred to and from the processing station, and at an upper position for the pedestal the pedestal forms an annular pumping passage with a lower circular opening in a processing chamber. A removable, replaceable ring at the lower opening of the processing chamber allows process pumping speed to be tailored for different processes by replacing the ring. In some embodiments the pedestal also has a surrounding shroud defining an annular pumping passage around the pedestal. A unique two-zone heater plate is adapted to the top of the pedestal, and connects to a unique feedthrough allowing heater plates to be quickly and simply replaced. In some embodiments the top of the processing chamber is removable allowing users to remove either pedestals or heater assemblies. Or both, through the open top of a processing station. In preferred embodiments the system is adapted to atomic layer deposition processing.

Processing chamber for atomic layer deposition processes

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Kenneth Brian Doering