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:
Sep. 10, 2024
Filed:
Jun. 06, 2023
Lam Research Corporation, Fremont, CA (US);
John Stephen Drewery, San Jose, CA (US);
Tom A. Kamp, San Jose, CA (US);
Haoquan Yan, Fremont, CA (US);
John Edward Daugherty, Fremont, CA (US);
Ali Sucipto Tan, Milpitas, CA (US);
Ming-Kuei Tseng, San Jose, CA (US);
Bruce Edmund Freeman, Mountain House, CA (US);
Lam Research Corporation, Fremont, CA (US);
Abstract
A processing chamber such as a plasma etch chamber can perform deposition and etch operations, where byproducts of the deposition and etch operations can build up in a vacuum pump system fluidly coupled to the processing chamber. A vacuum pump system may have multiple roughing pumps so that etch gases can be diverted a roughing pump and deposition precursors can be diverted to another roughing pump. A divert line may route unused deposition precursors through a separate roughing pump. Deposition byproducts can be prevented from forming by incorporating one or more gas ejectors or venturi pumps at an outlet of a primary pump in a vacuum pump system. Cleaning operations, such as waferless automated cleaning operations, using certain clean chemistries may remove deposition byproducts before or after etch operations.