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:
Jul. 20, 1999
Filed:
Mar. 19, 1997
Steven Hurwitt, Park Ridge, NJ (US);
Vaclav Jelinek, River Edge, NJ (US);
Tokyo Electron Limited, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An apparatus is disclosed for clamping a substrate or wafer with a predetermined force during a sputtering process for maintaining a minimal gap between the wafer and a backplane in order to provide a uniform temperature distribution on the wafer. The apparatus includes a first suspension system which includes a diaphragm having a plurality of spring sections positioned in contact with an outer peripheral area of an upper surface of the wafer. The spring sections are positioned immediately adjacent to each other to provide substantially continuous and uniform loading of the outer periphery in order to eliminate edge gaps. The apparatus further includes a second suspension system which includes a mounting ring having a plurality of springs each of which are secured to a fixed element. The first and second suspension systems are configured such that approximately 80 to 90% of the total spring deflection is provided by the second suspension system whereas the remaining 10 to 20% of the total spring deflection is provided by the first suspension system.