The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 28, 2020
Filed:
Aug. 25, 2017
Aixtron SE, Herzogenrath, DE;
Stephen Edward Savas, Pleasanton, CA (US);
Miguel Angel Saldana, Santa Cruz, CA (US);
Dan Lester Cossentine, Santa Cruz, CA (US);
Hae Young Kim, San Jose, CA (US);
Subramanian Tamilmani, Fremont, CA (US);
Niloy Mukherjee, Dublin, CA (US);
M Ziaul Karim, San Jose, CA (US);
AIXTRON SE, Herzogenrath, DE;
Abstract
During a pre-treat process, hydrogen plasma is used to remove contaminants (e.g., oxygen, carbon) from a surface of a wafer. The hydrogen plasma may be injected into the plasma chamber via an elongated injector nozzle. Using such elongated injector nozzle, a flow of hydrogen plasma with a significant radial velocity flows over the wafer surface, and transports volatile compounds and other contaminant away from the wafer surface to an exhaust manifold. A protective liner made from crystalline silicon or polysilicon may be disposed on an inner surface of the plasma chamber to prevent contaminants from being released from the surface of the plasma chamber. To further decrease the sources of contaminants, an exhaust restrictor made from silicon may be employed to prevent hydrogen plasma from flowing into the exhaust manifold and prevent volatile compounds and other contaminants from flowing from the exhaust manifold back into the plasma chamber.