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:
Apr. 24, 2001
Filed:
Dec. 03, 1997
Applicant:
Inventors:
Julio Guardado, Milpitas, CA (US);
Paul J. Timans, Mountain View, CA (US);
Assignee:
Steag RTP Systems, San Jose, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
A21B 2/00 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
A21B 2/00 ;
Abstract
The present invention is directed to an apparatus and process for heat treating wafers, such as semiconductor wafers, in thermal processing chambers. In particular, the apparatus of the present invention includes an electrical heating element positioned along the edges of a wafer contained in the thermal processing chamber. The electrical heating element which can be made, for instance, from silicon, silicon carbide or graphite, radiates heat towards the edges of the wafer during processing. The heating element is designed to compensate for heat losses that occur at the wafer's edge.