Applied Materials, Inc.

S-b Power Tool Company

Other

Ronald Vern Schauer

Brian T West

Alan Rick Lappen

Amitabh Puri

Mark Roger Covington

Suresh Kumaraswami

Shivan Bhargava

Raphael Dascoli

Michael Santiago Cox

Roger M Johnson

Stanley Detmar

Simon Nicholas Binns

David L Tuttle

Hong Peng Wang

Yongxiang He

Jim Junshi Wang

A method and apparatus for locating the center of a substrate are provided. The substrate-positioning system uses an array of visible light sources to illuminate the substrate and its edges. The light sources are non-laser in nature and typically emit in the visible spectrum. The light sources are typically LEDs so that the individual elements may be switched-on or switched-off extremely rapidly, which allows for multiple images to be taken using different light sources at any given substrate rotation position. The substrate-positioning system further includes an image sensor array with the ability to process data rapidly, which allows for the digitization (quantization) of each pixel being viewed. Algorithms analyze the values for patterns and determine the true edge position at each rotational angle of the substrate. The systems and methods described herein are able to locate the center of various types of substrates composed of different materials and/or edge types.

Transparent wafer center finder

A chemical mechanical polishing system includes a carrier head having a flexible membrane and a chamber to apply pressure to the flexible membrane, a pressure control unit, a pressure supply line connecting the pressure control unit to the chamber, and a sensor located along the pressure supply line to detect a contaminant in the pressure supply line.

Monitoring of pneumatic connection to carrier head

A process chamber includes a chamber body having a chamber lid assembly disposed thereon, one or more monitoring devices coupled to the chamber lid assembly, and one or more antennas disposed adjacent to the chamber lid assembly that are in communication with the one or more monitoring devices.

Smart chamber and smart chamber components

Embodiments disclosed herein include a controller for a treatment system for lessening the hazard of effluents produced in a processing system.

Controller for treatment of semiconductor processing equipment effluent

Embodiments of the invention are directed toward systems and methods that execute legacy semiconductor applications using a non-legacy controller. In some embodiments a hardware abstraction layer and/or an emulator can be used to provide communication between a non-legacy operating system and legacy components including legacy applications. In some embodiments various methods and/or devices can be used to emulate and/or translate communications between legacy and non-legacy components.

Enhanced re-hosting capability for legacy hardware and software

Pneumatic connection to carrier head

A chamber monitoring system may include a parallel architecture in which a single sensor control system is coupled to a number of different processing chamber control board sensor lines. In an illustrative embodiment, a single rotation sensor such as a tachometer may reside in a central control unit remote from the processing chambers such that rotation data may be processed by a single system and thereafter routed according to a variety of different network communication protocols to the main system controller, a factory interface, or both. In this and other embodiments, pull-up networks in the central control unit and the chamber control boards are matched so as to reduce electrical signal anomalies such as crowbar effects. The central control unit may be programmed via a main system controller to operate according to user defined parameters, which in turn may enable the system to differentiate between certain operating states.

Sensor system for semiconductor manufacturing apparatus

Embodiments of the present invention generally provide plasma etch process chamber improvements. An improved gas injection nozzle is provided for use at a central location of the lid of the chamber. The gas injection nozzle may be used in an existing plasma etch chamber and is configured to provide a series of conic gas flows across the surface of a substrate positioned within the chamber. In one embodiment, an improved exhaust kit for use in the plasma etch chamber is provided. The exhaust kit includes apparatus that may be used in an existing plasma etch chamber and is configured to provide annular flow of exhaust gases from the processing region of the chamber.

Process chamber gas flow improvements

Detecting membrane breakage in a carrier head

The present invention provides methods, apparatus, and systems of sensing a substrate in a chamber. The invention includes emitting radiation of at least two different wavelengths; directing the emitted radiation of a first wavelength through a view port of a chamber at an interior of the chamber; directing the emitted radiation of a second wavelength through the view port of the chamber at a location of a hole in a blade of a substrate carrier; detecting any of the emitted radiation reflected by the blade, the interior of the chamber, or a substrate on the blade; and determining if a substrate is present on the blade based on the reflected radiation detected. Numerous additional aspects are disclosed.

Growing community of inventors

Gilroy, CA, United States of America

Ronald Vern Schauer