Intermolecular, Inc.

Sandeep Mariserla

Robert Anthony Sculac

Jeffrey Chih-Hou Lowe

Aaron T Francis

Gregory P Lim

Satbir Kahlon

Kenneth Alfred Williams

Frank C Ma

Brian Kennedy Foster

Multiple waste streams, including incompatible chemicals such as concentrated acids and/or strong base effluents, are handled together without the need for limiting or interrupting the processes run by the wafer processing tools. In some embodiments, waste tanks are primed with diluents, such as water, and a predetermined percentage of diluent is maintained in the waste tanks. In some embodiments, a diluent is flowed into the waste tanks concurrently with the waste pumping to generate a rinsing action for the waste tanks. Methods of the present disclosure accommodate both gravity type and vacuum type waste tanks.

Effluent management, waste dilution, effluent pre-dilution, acid waste handling

A cleaning assembly is provided. The cleaning assembly includes a plate having a front surface and a back surface and a manifold affixed to an edge of the plate. The manifold has a plurality of outlets extending therefrom. The plate further includes a plurality of cups extending through the plate. The plurality of cups have an upper body with an outlet extending from the back surface and the plurality of cups have a sealing portion coupled to the upper body and extending from the front surface of the plate. Each outlet of the upper body is coupled to one of the corresponding plurality of outlets of the manifold. The plate also includes a plurality of alignment pins extending from the front surface of the plate. The plurality of alignment pins are configured to support an edge of a substrate, wherein one of the plurality of alignment pins is slidably mounted to the plate. A plurality of guide pins extends the same distance from the back surface.

Ex-situ cleaning assembly

Methods for combinatorially processing semiconductor substrates are provided. The methods may involve receiving a substrate into a combinatorial processing chamber and sealing a plurality of flow cells against a surface of the substrate. The plurality of flow cells is enclosed within the combinatorial processing chamber to define an enclosed external environment for the plurality of flow cells. A pressure differential is created between a reaction area of the plurality of flow cells of the combinatorial processing chamber and the external environment, wherein each flow cells of the plurality of flow cells defines a site isolating region of the substrate. The regions the substrate are then combinatorially processed.

Reactor cell isolation using differential pressure in a combinatorial reactor

A method for combinatorially processing a substrate is provided. The method includes providing a substrate disposed on a substrate support. The substrate and the substrate support are raised against a plurality of sealing surfaces of corresponding sleeves of a plurality of flow cells of a combinatorial processing chamber. The combinatorial processing chamber is operable to concurrently process different regions of the substrate differently. A sealing pressure between the sealing surface of the sleeves and a surface of the substrate is monitored and the raising is terminated when a desired pressure is obtained. The different regions of the substrate are then processed differently.

Method and apparatus for controlling force between reactor and substrate

The embodiments describe methods for controlling the particles generated when cleaning and drying a wafer in a spin rinse dryer (SRD) module. In some embodiments, the substrate surface is cooled by dispensing deionized (DI) water across the surface of the substrate, while the substrate rests on the SRD chuck. In addition, a method for controlling the particles generated when sleeves in a processing module or SRD contact a substrate surface during a clamping operation or when the sleeves are removed from the substrate surface is provided. A bottom edge or lip of the sleeves and/or the surface of the wafer contacting the sleeve is wetted during clamping/unclamping operations. Alternatively, the substrate may be wetted prior to clamping/unclamping operations.

Growing community of inventors

Danbury, CT, United States of America

Sandeep Mariserla