Did You Know...
...that the video game, Pong, was invented by a guy who graduated at the bottom of his engineering class? Nolan Bushnell spent more time running the games at a local amusement park than he did on his studies at the University of Utah. His dreams of working for Disney's amusement empire were dashed when the company wouldn't hire him. Taking a boring job, Nolan daydreamed about electronic versions of popular games. He invented Pong, the first video game, and went on to found Atari Co.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6742279 | Apparatus and method for rinsing substrates Embodiments of the invention provide a spin rinse dry (SRD) chamber for a semiconductor processing system. The SRD chamber includes a selectively rotatable substrate support member having an upper substrate receiving surface formed thereon, and a selectively rotatab... | 06/01/2004 |
| 6398948 | Method of removing contaminants from used oil In a method of removing acidic compounds, color, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, and for removing or converting hydrocarbons containing heteroatoms from used oil distillate, phase transfer catalysts are employed to facilitate the transfer of inorga... | 06/04/2002 |
| 6349807 | Method and apparatus for inhibiting tangling of cables A method and apparatus for inhibiting tangling of a plurality of cables. The cable support apparatus includes a support brace having a plurality of legs, together at least partially surrounding a cable run for a plurality of cables. A side of the legs opp... | 02/26/2002 |
| 6348725 | Plasma processes for depositing low dielectric constant films A method and apparatus for depositing a low dielectric constant film by reaction of an organosilicon compound and an oxidizing gas at a constant RF power level from about 10 W to about 200 W or a pulsed RF power level from about 20 W to about 500 W. Disso... | 02/19/2002 |
| 6336204 | Method and apparatus for handling deadlocks in multiple chamber cluster tools A method and apparatus for handling deadlocks in a multichamber semiconductor wafer processing system known as a cluster tool. A plurality of software routines execute upon a sequencer of a cluster tool to perform deadlock avoidance, deadlock detection an... | 01/01/2002 |
| 6327517 | Apparatus for on-the-fly center finding and notch aligning for wafer handling robots A system and an associated method for positioning a substrate includes transferring a substrate along a path intersecting a plane of a sensor beam; determining a center point and an orientation indicator of the substrate utilizing signals from the sensor ... | 12/04/2001 |
| 6322312 | Mechanical gripper for wafer handling robots The present invention generally provides a robot that can transfer workpieces, such as silicon wafers, at increased speeds and accelerations and decelerations. More particularly, the present invention provides a robot wrist associated with the robot arm f... | 11/27/2001 |
| 6319098 | Method of post CMP defect stability improvement The present invention provides a method and apparatus for delivering one or more rinse agents to a surface, such as a polishing pad surface and preferably one or more polishing fluids. The invention also provides a method of cleaning one or more surfaces,... | 11/20/2001 |
| 6313042 | Cleaning contact with successive fluorine and hydrogen plasmas A method of cleaning a contact area of a semiconductor or metal region on a substrate of an electronic device. First, the contact area is cleaned by exposing the substrate to a plasma that includes fluorine-containing species. Second, the substrate is exp... | 11/06/2001 |
| 6312319 | Polishing media magazine for improved polishing A polishing media magazine for improved polishing. The polishing media magazine may include a conditioning element for rapid, uniform conditioning and cleaning of the polishing media. The polishing media magazine may include polishing media having section... | 11/06/2001 |
| 6303523 | Plasma processes for depositing low dielectric constant films A method and apparatus for depositing a low dielectric constant film by reaction of an organosilicon compound and an oxidizing gas at a constant RF power level from about 10 W to about 200 W or a pulsed RF power level from about 20 W to about 500 W. Disso... | 10/16/2001 |
| 6291334 | Etch stop layer for dual damascene process The present invention provides a carbon based etch stop, such as a diamond like amorphous carbon, having a low dielectric constant and a method of forming a dual damascene structure. The low k etch stop is preferably deposited between two dielectric layer... | 09/18/2001 |
| 6286451 | Dome: shape and temperature controlled surfaces The present invention provides an HDP-CVD tool using simultaneous deposition and sputtering of doped and undoped silicon dioxide capable of excellent gap fill and blanket film deposition on wafers. The tool of the present invention includes: a dual RF zon... | 09/11/2001 |
| 6287990 | CVD plasma assisted low dielectric constant films A method and apparatus for depositing a low dielectric constant film by reaction of an organosilane or organosiloxane compound and an oxidizing gas at a low RF power level from 10-250 W. The oxidized organosilane or organosiloxane film has good barrier pr... | 09/11/2001 |
| 6283701 | Pneumatically actuated flexure gripper for wafer handling robots The present invention generally provides a robot that can transfer workpieces, such as silicon wafers, at increased speeds and accelerations and decelerations. More particularly, the present invention provides a robot wrist associated with the robot arm f... | 09/04/2001 |
| 6280299 | Combined slurry dispenser and rinse arm The present invention provides a method and apparatus for delivering one or more rinse agents to a surface, such as a polishing pad surface and preferably one or more polishing fluids. The invention also provides a method of cleaning one or more surfaces,... | 08/28/2001 |
| 6258170 | Vaporization and deposition apparatus The invention relates to an apparatus and process for the vaporization of liquid precursors and deposition of a film on a suitable substrate. Particularly contemplated is an apparatus and process for the deposition of a metal-oxide film, such as a barium,... | 07/10/2001 |
| 6251190 | Gate electrode connection structure by in situ chemical vapor deposition of tungsten and tungsten nitride A gate electrode connection structure formed by deposition of a tungsten nitride barrier layer and a tungsten plug, where the tungsten nitride and tungsten deposition are accomplished in situ in the same chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber. The tungst... | 06/26/2001 |
| 6251758 | Construction of a film on a semiconductor wafer The construction of a film on a wafer, which is placed in a processing chamber, may be carried out through the following steps. A layer of material is deposited on the wafer. Next, the layer of material is annealed. Once the annealing is completed, the ma... | 06/26/2001 |
| 6244931 | Buffer station on CMP system A chemical mechanical polishing system is provided having a buffer station disposed therein or adjacent thereto. The buffer station includes two or more substrate supports for supporting two or more substrates adjacent to an inspection station. The two or... | 06/12/2001 |
| 6245662 | Method of producing an interconnect structure for an integrated circuit A dual damascene technique that forms a complete via in a single step. Specifically, the method deposits a first insulator layer upon a substrate, an etch stop layer over the first insulator layer, and a second insulator layer atop the etch stop layer. A ... | 06/12/2001 |
| 6245690 | Method of improving moisture resistance of low dielectric constant films A method and apparatus for depositing a low dielectric constant film includes depositing a silicon oxide based film, preferably by reaction of an organosilicon compound and an oxidizing gas at a low RF power level from about 10 W to about 500 W, exposing ... | 06/12/2001 |
| 6244121 | Sensor device for non-intrusive diagnosis of a semiconductor processing system A sensor device, for diagnosing a processing system, generally includes a support platform and one or more sensors mounted on the support platform. The sensor senses a condition, such as direction or inclination or acceleration in one or two axes, of the ... | 06/12/2001 |
| 6241596 | Method and apparatus for chemical mechanical polishing using a patterned pad A polishing pad for use in a chemical mechanical polishing system is provided. The pad comprises a patterned surface having slurry distribution/retaining grooves formed therein. The slurry distribution/retaining grooves include a uniform or random pattern... | 06/05/2001 |
| 6239553 | RF plasma source for material processing The present invention provides a plasma source that maintains a low coil voltage in the vicinity of the plasma tube, thereby reducing the capacitive coupling between the coil and the plasma and significantly reducing the erosion from the internal surfaces... | 05/29/2001 |
| 6224470 | Pad cleaning brush for chemical mechanical polishing apparatus and method of making the same A pad cleaning brush and method for making the same is used in conjunction with spray rinse water to thoroughly clean a polishing pad of a chemical-mechanical polishing apparatus after a wafer has been polished. The bristles of the brush are securely reta... | 05/01/2001 |
| 6224312 | Optimal trajectory robot motion An apparatus for processing wafers generally comprising a transfer chamber, a loadlock chamber mounted on the transfer chamber, one or more processing chambers mounted on the transfer chamber, a wafer handling member disposed in the transfer chamber, and ... | 05/01/2001 |
| 6224638 | Method and apparatus for scheduling wafer processing within a multiple chamber semiconductor wafer processing tool having a multiple blade robot Apparatus and concomitant method for performing priority-based scheduling of wafer processing within a multiple chamber semiconductor wafer processing system (cluster tool) having a dual blade wafer transfer mechanism. The sequencer assigns priority value... | 05/01/2001 |
| 6220942 | CMP platen with patterned surface A chemical mechanical polishing system is provided having one more polishing stations. The polishing stations include a platen and pad mounted to an upper surface of the platen. The upper surface of the platen is patterned to define a raised area and a re... | 04/24/2001 |
| 6221174 | Method of performing titanium/titanium nitride integration The present invention is a method of wafer processing which improves the reliability of an integrated titanium (Ti)/titanium nitride (TiN) CVD film formed from a reaction of titanium tetrachloride (TiCi4) and ammonia (NH3). A Ti film... | 04/24/2001 |
| 6222337 | Mechanically clamping robot wrist The present invention generally provides a robot that can transfer a workpiece, such as a silicon wafer, at increased speeds and accelerations/decelerations. More particularly, the present invention provides a robot wrist for mechanically clamping a workp... | 04/24/2001 |
| 6220941 | Method of post CMP defect stability improvement The present invention provides a method and apparatus for delivering one or more rinse agents to a surface, such as a polishing pad surface and preferably one or more polishing fluids. The invention also provides a method of cleaning one or more surfaces,... | 04/24/2001 |
| 6217426 | CMP polishing pad A polishing pad for use in a chemical mechanical polishing system is provided. The pad is mounted to a rotatable platen and comprises a polishing surface and a deflection surface which provides a desired degree of rigidity and compliance to the pad when b... | 04/17/2001 |
| 6217802 | Polymer pelletizing indexing system A polymer pelletizing apparatus includes a device for automatically and electronically indexing (advancing) a set of pelletizer knives by a predetermined distance upon the expiration of a predetermined time period. This advancement is continued for the us... | 04/17/2001 |
| 6214121 | Pedestal with a thermally controlled platen A semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, and more specifically, an apparatus containing a pedestal assembly having a thermally controlled platen for providing a controllable, uniform temperature distribution across the diameter of a semiconductor wafer... | 04/10/2001 |
| 6214714 | Method of titanium/titanium nitride integration A method of film processing comprises forming an integrated titanium/titanium nitride (Ti/TiN) film structure having an intermediate layer. The intermediate layer comprises species containing Si, and preferably containing Si and Ti, such as titanium silic... | 04/10/2001 |
| 6211065 | Method of depositing and amorphous fluorocarbon film using HDP-CVD The present invention provides a method of depositing an amorphous fluorocarbon film using a high bias power applied to the substrate on which the material is deposited. The invention contemplates flowing a carbon precursor at rate and at a power level so... | 04/03/2001 |
| 6207027 | Method to reduce overhead time in an ion metal plasma process The present invention provides a method of reducing the overhead time associated with a high density ion metal plasma process. The method provides flowing a gas at a first flow rate and exhausting the chamber at a constant rate so that the rate at which g... | 03/27/2001 |
| 6206971 | Integrated temperature controlled exhaust and cold trap assembly A temperature-controlled exhaust assembly with cold trap capability. One embodiment of the exhaust assembly comprises a multi-heater design which allows for independent multi-zone closed-loop temperature control. Another embodiment comprises a compact mul... | 03/27/2001 |
| 6206176 | Substrate transfer shuttle having a magnetic drive A magnetic drive system for moving a substrate transfer shuttle along a linear path between chambers in a semiconductor fabrication apparatus. A rack with rack magnets is secured to the shuttle, and a rotatable pinion with pinion magnets is positioned adj... | 03/27/2001 |
