Advanced Micro Devices Corporation

Patrick B Lee

Michael J Allen

Dennis C Swartz

Michael B Allen

Jay J Seaton

Donald Landis

David Linzy

Susan B Luca

A low-pressure CVD apparatus is presented including one or more gas heating subsystems which heat process gases prior to their introduction into a reaction chamber of the low-pressure CVD apparatus. As a result, thermal expansions and contractions of the walls of the reaction chamber are reduced, along with the tendency of small particles of deposits on the inner walls of the reaction chamber to flake off. Fewer loose particulates created within the reaction chamber results in a reduction in the number of particulates adhering to surfaces of processed silicon wafers. Each gas heating subsystem includes a heating element thermally coupled to a gas feed line and to a process gas flowing within the gas feed line. Each gas heating subsystem also preferably includes a thermal feedback temperature control mechanism including a temperature sensor and a temperature control unit. The temperature sensor senses the temperature of the heated flow of process gas and produces a corresponding temperature signal. The temperature control unit is coupled to receive the temperature signal from the temperature sensor and controls the temperature of the heating element in response to the temperature signal. The temperature of the process gas entering the reaction chamber may thus be controllably increased.

Low pressure chemical vapor deposition apparatus including a process gas

Method and apparatus for providing integrated monitoring, control and diagnostics functions for semiconductor spray processors is disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, a spray processor host system of the present invention comprises a plurality of PC-class computers interconnected via a network link. Each of a first subset of the spray processor host system computers comprises a supervisor computer connected to one of a plurality of spray process tools, which in the preferred embodiment comprise Mercury.RTM. MP processors. The supervisor computers provide ongoing information exchange with the processors and maintain up-to-date status information. Each supervisor computer maintains an event log of processor operations and operator actions, as well as data capture files for storing process variables captured by the supervisor computer. Each of a second subset of the spray processor host system computers comprises an engineer computer for providing the system operator with a command driven interface to the spray processor host system. Each engineer computer can monitor a plurality of supervisor computers and is used to enable such functions as recipe directory editing, recipe downloading, event log searching, data capture file data graphing and processor status viewing. A third subset of the spray processor host system computers comprises a bridge computer for providing a communications link between the supervisor computers and a upstream host computer outside the spray processor host system, for example, a lot scheduling or material flow control computer.

System for providing integrated monitoring, control and diagnostics

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Patrick B Lee