Applied Materials, Inc.

Other

Richard H Crockett

Chiu-Wing Tsui

Richard W Plavidal

Petru N Nitescu

Greg Mudwilder

A two piece throttling valve is disclosed. The valve assembly includes a stationary outer housing with an inner removable operable assembly. In this configuration the piping (pump stack) does not have to disassembled to remove, clean or replace the internal valve pieces or the in-line screen. The inner assembly can be quickly removed for cleaning. The entire valve assembly is heated to reduce deposition of volatile process byproducts on the internal valve surfaces and reduce the cleaning frequency. A wedge plate is provided in the outer stationary valve housing to mate with a sloped bottom surface of the inner valve housing such that when the inner assembly is in position in the outer valve housing there is a tight fit between adjacent sealing surfaces around the valve bore. A single flat surface seal provides vacuum sealing between the inner assembly and outer housing. A dual valve stem (shaft) seal seals the valve shaft. The seal includes an inner O-ring made of a chemically resistant material and an outer O-ring that is less chemically resistant, but has a dual-quad profile to prevent vacuum leakage. A screen in the fluid passage adjacent to and supported by the outer housing can easily be accessed from the inside of the outer housing.

Heated removable throttle valve

A method for heating or cooling a semiconductor wafer in semiconductor processing apparatus is described which comprises directing into contact with a surface of the wafer at least a portion of one or more components of the process gas to transfer heat between the wafer and a wafer support positioned in the apparatus adjacent to the wafer. Method and apparatus are also described for controlling the total flow of process gas through the apparatus and for monitoring the pressure in said apparatus to maintain the desired pressure therein.

Method for transferring heat to or from a semiconductor wafer using a

Apparatus for heating and cooling semiconductor wafers in semiconductor

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Richard H Crockett