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. 23, 2002
Filed:
Sep. 30, 1999
Craig Stevens, Ben Lomond, CA (US);
Tony Jakubiec, San Jose, CA (US);
Novellus Systems, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
A wafer processing system employing a single-wafer load lock with a cooling unit is disclosed. The small volume of the single-wafer load lock allows for fast pump down and vent cycles. By providing a cooling unit within the load lock, system throughput is further increased by eliminating the need to move a newly processed wafer to a separate cooling station before moving the wafer to the load lock. In another embodiment, the wafer processing system includes a load lock having the capability to both heat and cool a wafer. This further increases throughput in processes where the wafer needs to be pre-heated before putting the wafer in the reactor by eliminating the need for an intermediate pre-heating station.