Applied Materials, Inc.

Pathonomic

Tara Technologies, Inc.

Marc O Schweitzer

John C Forster

Michael Rosenstein

Ilya Lavitsky

Alan Liu

Michael Feltsman

Jennifer L Watia

Xianmin Tang

Peijun Ding

Keith A Miller

Barry Lee Chin

Tza-Jing Gung

Brian T West

Allen K Lau

Yoichiro Tanaka

Alan R Popiolkowski

Shannon M Hart

Alex Shenderovich

Alvin Lau

Zheng Xu

Vijay D Parkhe

Sasson Roger Somekh

Karl M Brown

Roderick Craig Mosely

Howard E Grunes

Umesh M Kelkar

Wei Yang

Nety M Krishna

Nitin Khurana

James S Van Gogh

Ivo J Raaijmakers

James Van Gogh

Nalin Patadia

Mark D Menzie

Ashok K Das

Anthony Ct Chan

Scot Petitt

Xinyu Zhang

Anthony Chen

Jim Thompson

A digital microscope system configured for use with the built in camera of a mobile device is provided. The digital microscope system has a lens and an advanced lighting system incorporated into a case designed to fit a particular mobile device, where the case positions the optics of the case over the lens of the built in camera and the camera built in flash. When combined with an application program (app) running on the mobile device held within the case, the optics of the case combined with the built in camera of the mobile device becomes a powerful digital microscope with a user adjustable magnification. In a specific embodiment the adjustable magnification ranges from 1&#xd7; up to 200&#xd7; optical magnification.

Digital microscope system for a mobile device

An apparatus, method and computer program product for modifying a surface of a component is provided. In use, a surface of a component is translated relative to at least one jet for a period of time to form a plurality of features thereon.

Apparatus, method and computer program product for modifying a surface of a component

A method of fabricating a substrate processing chamber component involves forming a component having a textured surface and sweeping a jet of pressurized fluid across the textured surface of the component. The jet of fluid is pressurized sufficiently high to dislodge substantially all the particles from the textured surface. The method can be applied to dislodge grit particles from textured exposed surfaces formed by electromagnetic energy beam scanning and grit blasting. The method can also be applied to remove loosely adhered coating particles from the textured surfaces of coated components.

Fabricating and cleaning chamber components having textured surfaces

A one-piece inner shield usable in a plasma sputter reactor and extending from the target to the pedestal with a smooth inner surface and supported by an annular flange in a middle portion of the shield. The shield may be used to support the RF coil used in exciting the plasma. An outer shield includes an outwardly extending flange on its end alignable with the inner shield flange, holes in correspondence to recesses in the inner shield for standoffs for the RF coil, and circumferentially arranged gas flow holes.

Shields usable with an inductively coupled plasma reactor

A semiconductor processing chamber having a motorized lid is provided. In one embodiment, the semiconductor processing chamber generally includes a chamber body having sidewalls and a bottom defining an interior volume. A lid assembly is coupled to the chamber body and is movable between a first position that encloses the interior volume and a second position. A hinge assembly thereto is coupled between the lid assembly and the chamber body. A motor is coupled to the hinge assembly to facilitate moving the lid assembly between the first position and the second position.

Motorized chamber lid

In one embodiment, a target alignment surface disposed on a target support mechanically engages a darkspace shield alignment surface disposed on a darkspace shield as the target is lodged into a chamber body. The respective alignment surfaces are shaped and positioned so that the darkspace shield is physically moved to a desired aligned position as the alignment surfaces engage each other. In this manner a darkspace shield may be directly aligned to a target within a semiconductor fabrication chamber to provide a suitable darkspace gap between the target and the darkspace shield.

Method and apparatus for controlling darkspace gap in a chamber

Plasma etching or resputtering of a layer of sputtered materials including opaque metal conductor materials may be controlled in a sputter reactor system. In one embodiment, resputtering of a sputter deposited layer is performed after material has been sputtered deposited and while additional material is being sputter deposited onto a substrate. A path positioned within a chamber of the system directs light or other radiation emitted by the plasma to a chamber window or other optical view-port which is protected by a shield against deposition by the conductor material. In one embodiment, the radiation path is folded to reflect plasma light around the chamber shield and through the window to a detector positioned outside the chamber window. Although deposition material may be deposited onto portions of the folded radiation path, in many applications, the deposition material will be sufficiently reflective to permit the emission spectra to be detected by a spectrometer or other suitable detector without significant signal loss. The etching or resputtering may be terminated when the detector detects that an underlying layer has been reached or when some other suitable process point has been reached.

End point detection for sputtering and resputtering

One aspect of the invention includes an auxiliary magnet ring positioned outside of the chamber wall of a plasma sputter reactor and being disposed at least partially radially outwardly of an RF coil used to inductively generate a plasma, particularly for sputter etching the substrate being sputter deposited. Thereby, a magnetic barrier prevents the plasma from leaking outwardly to the coil and improves the uniformity of sputter etching. The magnetic field also acts as a magnetron when the coil, when made of the same material as the primary target, is being used as a secondary target. Another aspect of the invention includes a one-piece inner shield extending from the target to the pedestal with a smooth inner surface and supported by an annular flange in a middle portion of the shield. The shield may be used to support the RF coil.

Sidewall magnet improving uniformity of inductively coupled plasma and shields used therewith

A method and system for providing a texture to a surface of a workpiece is provided. The method comprises providing a workpiece to a texturizing chamber and scanning a beam of electromagnetic energy across the surface of the workpiece to form a plurality of features thereon. The features formed are generally depressions, protuberances, and combinations thereof. Also provided is a method of reducing contamination in a process chamber. The method comprises scanning a beam of electromagnetic energy across a surface of one or more process chamber components to form a plurality of features thereon, positioning the one or more chamber components into a process chamber, and initiating a process sequence within the process chamber.

Method of surface texturizing

The present invention generally provides a physical vapor deposition chamber and a method for detecting a position of a shutter disk within a physical vapor deposition chamber. In one embodiment, a physical vapor deposition chamber includes a chamber body having a shutter disk mechanism disposed therein. A housing is sealingly coupled to a sidewall of the chamber body and communicates therewith through a slot formed through the sidewall. At least a first sensor is disposed adjacent to the housing and orientated to detect the presence of a shutter disk mechanism within the housing. In one embodiment, a method for detecting the position of a shutter disk within a physical vapor deposition chamber having a substrate support generally includes moving the shutter disk away from a substrate support, and changing a state of a first sensor in response to a position of an edge the shutter disk.

Method for detecting the position of a shutter disk in a physical vapor deposition chamber

A method and system for providing a texture to a surface of a workpiece, such as a chamber component is provided. The method comprises providing a workpiece to a texturizing chamber and scanning a beam of electromagnetic energy across the surface of the workpiece to form a plurality of features thereon. The features formed are generally depressions, protuberances, and combinations thereof. The chamber components may include, for example, a chamber shield and related assembly, a target, a shadow ring, a contact ring, a substrate support or other component disposable within a processing chamber. Also provided is a method of reducing contamination in a process chamber. The method comprises scanning a beam of electromagnetic energy across a surface of one or more process chamber components to form a plurality of features thereon, positioning the one or more chamber components into a process chamber, and initiating a process sequence within the process chamber.

Shutter disk and blade alignment sensor

An apparatus for a physical vapor deposition system includes a target having a sidewall having an undercut thereon defining a net erosion area and a net redeposition area.

Target sidewall design to reduce particle generation during magnetron sputtering

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for measuring the temperature of a moving radiant object. A probe, such as a pyrometer, is disposed in an opening of a vacuum chamber adjacent a radiation transparent window. The probe defines an optical path which intercepts the radiant object entering or exiting a processing chamber. The radiant object is moved through the optical path and emits electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic waves are collected by the probe and transmitted to a signal processing unit where the waves are detected and converted to a temperature reading. If desired, the accumulated data may then be used to generate a cooling curve representing the thermal effects experienced by the radiant object. Extrapolation or correlation methods may be used to extend the cooling curve to points in time prior to or after the data collected by the probe.

Non-intrusive, on-the-fly (OTF) temperature measurement and monitoring system

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Marc O Schweitzer