Lam Research Corporation

Xerox Corporation

Novellus Systems Incorporated

Michael John Janicki

Brian Joseph Williams

Richard M Blank

James Forest Lee

Curtis Warren Bailey

Jacob Lee Hiester

Steven T Mayer

Daniel Clark Park

Thomas Anand Ponnuswamy

Edmund Minshall

Lisa Marie Gytri

Jeffrey D Womack

Timothy Patrick Cleary

Erica Pohl

Timothy Carlysle Shaw

A pedestal assembly including a pedestal for supporting a substrate. A central shaft positions the pedestal at a height during operation. A ring is placed along a periphery of the pedestal. A ring adjuster subassembly includes an adjuster flange disposed around a middle section of the central shaft. The subassembly includes a sleeve connected to the adjuster flange and extending from the adjuster flange to an adjuster plate disposed under the pedestal. The subassembly includes ring adjuster pins connected to the adjuster plate and extending vertically from the adjuster plate. Each of the ring adjuster pins being positioned on the adjuster plate at locations adjacent to and outside of a pedestal diameter. The ring adjuster pins contacting an edge undersurface of the ring. The adjuster flange coupled to at least three adjuster actuators for defining an elevation and tilt of the ring relative to a top surface of the pedestal.

Dynamic sheath control with edge ring lift

Various carrier ring designs and configurations to control an amount of deposition at a wafer's front side and bevel edge are provided. The carrier ring designs can control the amount of deposition at various locations of the wafer while deposition is performed on the wafer's back side, with no deposition desired on the front side of the wafer. These locations include front side, edge, and back side of bevel; and front and back side of the wafer. Edge profiles of the carrier rings are designed to control flow of process gases, flow of front side purge gas, and plasma effects. In some designs, through holes are added to the carrier rings to control gas flows. The edge profiles and added features can reduce or eliminate deposition at the wafer's front side and bevel edge.

Carrier ring designs for controlling deposition on wafer bevel/edge

Various embodiments include apparatuses, systems, and methods for using a remote-plasma cleaning system with a directional-flow device for concurrently cleaning multiple processing stations in a processing tool used in the semiconductor and allied fields. In one example, an apparatus used to perform a remote-plasma clean (RPC) in a multi-station process chamber is disclosed and includes an RPC directional-flow device that is to be coupled between an RPC reactor and the process chamber. The RPC directional-flow device includes a number of ramped gas-diversion areas to direct at least a radical species generated by the RPC reactor to a separate one of the processing stations. An incoming cleaning-gas diversion hub is to receive the radical species and distribute at least the species substantially-uniformly to each of the of the ramped gas-diversion areas. Other apparatuses, systems, and methods are disclosed.

Remote-plasma clean (RPC) directional-flow device

A substrate lift pin assembly includes a tubular support member connected to a bottom of a pedestal beneath a lift pin through-hole. The tubular support member has an interior cavity and an end closure with a cartridge through-hole extending through the end closure. A cartridge member includes a lift pin holder portion and a plunger portion. The lift pin holder portion is located inside of the interior cavity of the tubular support member. The plunger portion extends through the cartridge through-hole of the end closure of the tubular support member. A lift pin extends through the lift pin through-hole and connects to the lift pin holder portion of the cartridge member. A handle member connects to the plunger portion of the cartridge member at a location near a distal end of the plunger portion relative to the tubular support member. The handle member is configured to engage a lifting mechanism.

Lift pin assembly and associated methods

In a tandem media supply, two vertical stacks of media sheets are stored. The first stack is positioned on a lift plate that rises as top sheets are removed from the stack of media. When the first stack is exhausted, the second stack is moved by an actuator towards a position where the lift plate was loaded with the first stack of media sheets. Movement of the second stack displaces a biased gate to decouple the lift plate from a drive member that elevated the lift plate. The lift plate drops under the effect of gravity to a position where the second stack of media sheets moves onto the lift plate. Once the second stack is on the lift plate, a biasing force returns the biased gate to a position that enables the drive member to elevate the lift plate.

Sliding tandem media feeder in a printer

An apparatus for electrochemical treatment of a substrate, in particular for electroplating an integrated circuit wafer. An apparatus preferably includes dynamically operable concentric anodes and dielectric shields in an electrochemical bath. Preferably, the bath height of an electrochemical bath, the substrate height, and the shape and positions of an insert shield and a diffuser shield are dynamically variable during electrochemical treatment operations. Step include varying anode current, bath height and substrate height, shield shape, and shield position.

Electrochemical treatment of integrated circuit substrates using concentric anodes and variable field shaping elements

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West Linn, OR, United States of America

Michael John Janicki