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:
Jun. 10, 2025
Filed:
Aug. 30, 2021
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Hsinchu, TW;
Yu-Jen Yang, Hsinchu, TW;
Chung-Pin Chou, Hsinchu, TW;
Kai-Lin Chuang, Hsinchu, TW;
Yan-Cheng Chen, Hsinchu, TW;
Sheng-Ching Kao, Hsinchu, TW;
Jun-Xiu Liu, Hsinchu, TW;
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Hsinchu, TW;
Abstract
A process tube device can detect the presence of any external materials that may reside within a fluid flowing in the tube. The process tube device detects the external materials in-situ which obviates the need for a separate inspection device to inspect the surface of a wafer after applying fluid on the surface of the wafer. The process tube device utilizes at least two methods of detecting the presence of external materials. The first is the direct measurement method in which a light detecting sensor is used. The second is the indirect measurement method in which a sensor utilizing the principles of Doppler shift is used. Here, contrary to the first method that at least partially used reflected or refracted light, the second method uses a Doppler shift sensor to detect the presence of the external material by measuring the velocity of the fluid flowing in the tube.