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:
Oct. 25, 2022
Filed:
Jun. 03, 2019
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Hsin-Chu, TW;
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd., Hsinchu, TW;
Abstract
A sputtering system includes a vacuum chamber, a power source having a pole coupled to a backing plate for holding a sputtering target within the vacuum chamber, a pedestal for holding a substrate within the vacuum chamber, and a time of flight camera positioned to scan a surface of a target held to the backing plate. The time of flight camera may be used to obtain information relating to the topography of the target while the target is at sub-atmospheric pressure. The target information may be used to manage operation of the sputtering system. Managing operation of the sputtering system may include setting an adjustable parameter of a deposition process or deciding when to replace a sputtering target. Machine learning may be used to apply the time of flight camera data in managing the sputtering system operation.