...that several people are credited with the invention of the flush toilet? Most people have heard of Thomas Crapper (1837-1910), the sanitary engineer who invented the valve-and-siphon arrangement that made the modern toilet possible. Another claimant to "the throne" was British inventor Alexander Cumming who patented a toilet in 1775. Then there's a nameless Minoan (a native of ancient Crete) who lived 4,000 years ago who supposedly was ahead of his time and created the first flush toilet!
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8281738 | Cathode and counter-cathode arrangement in an ion source The present invention relates to ion sources (14) comprising a cathode (20) and a counter-cathode (44) that are suitable for ion implanters (10). Typically, the ion source is held under vacuum and produces ions using a plasma generated wi... | 10/09/2012 |
| 7905199 | Method and system for directional growth using a gas cluster ion beam A method for growing material on a substrate is described. The method comprises directionally growing a thin film on one or more surfaces of a substrate using a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) formed from a source of precursor for the thin film, wherein the growth occur... | 03/15/2011 |
| 7442946 | Nonuniform ion implantation apparatus and method using a wide beam A nonuniform ion implantation apparatus comprises a wide ion beam generator for generating a wide ion beam including a plurality of wide ion beams irradiated on at least two sections among a plurality of sections into which a wafer is divided, and a wafer drive unit... | 10/28/2008 |
| 7421973 | System and method for performing SIMOX implants using an ion shower An ion shower comprises a plasma source operable to generate source gas ions within a chamber, and an extraction assembly associated with a top portion of the chamber. The extraction assembly is operable to extract ions from the top portion of the chamber. The ion s... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7377228 | System for and method of gas cluster ion beam processing System and method of gas-cluster ion beam processing is realized by incorporating improved beam and workpiece neutralizing components. Larger GCIB current transport is enabled by low energy electron neutralization of space charge of the GCIB. The larger currents tra... | 05/27/2008 |
| 7365340 | Resonance method for production of intense low-impurity ion beams of atoms and molecules The present invention comprehends a compact and economical apparatus for producing high intensities of a wide variety of wanted positive and negative molecular and atomic ion beams that have been previously impossible to previously produce at useful intensities. In ... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7365341 | Gas cluster ion beam emitting apparatus and method for ionization of gas cluster An emitting apparatus 50 has a gas cluster generation chamber 2 and a nozzle 3 as means for generating a gas cluster and emitting the gas cluster to a processing object 10. A group of gas clusters jetted from the nozzle 3 is shaped... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7268846 | Diamond like carbon films Alignment films for use within a liquid crystal display (LCD) and methods for their manufacture are disclosed. Embodiments of the invention generally relate to process conditions that are selected to improve certain properties of the alignment films. The alignment f... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7259378 | Closed drift ion source A closed drift ion source which includes a channel having an open end, a closed end, and an input port for an ionizable gas. A first magnetic pole is disposed on the open end of the channel and extends therefrom in a first direction. A second magnetic pole disposed ... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7241360 | Method and apparatus for neutralization of ion beam using AC ion source There is provided by this invention a unique ion source for depositing thin films on a substrate in a vacuum chamber that neutralizes the positive electric charges that develop on the substrate and vacuum chamber apparatus that may cause arcing and degradation of th... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7241361 | Magnetically enhanced, inductively coupled plasma source for a focused ion beam system The present invention provides an inductively coupled, magnetically enhanced ion beam source, suitable to be used in conjunction with probe-forming optics to produce an ion beam without kinetic energy oscillations induced by the source. ... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7208878 | Method of manufacturing a rotation-magnetron-in-magnetron (RMIM) electrode An RMIM electrode, a method for manufacturing the RMIM electrode, and a sputtering apparatus using the RMIM electrode, wherein the RMIM electrode includes a magnet unit including a cylinder-shaped magnet located at a center of the magnet unit and a plurality of ring... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7176469 | Negative ion source with external RF antenna A radio frequency (RF) driven plasma ion source has an external RF antenna, i.e. the RF antenna is positioned outside the plasma generating chamber rather than inside. The RF antenna is typically formed of a small diameter metal tube coated with an insulator. An ext... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7119489 | Rotation-magnetron-in-magnetron (RMIM) electrode, method of manufacturing the RMIM electrode, and sputtering apparatus including the RMIM electrode An RMIM electrode, a method for manufacturing the RMIM electrode, and a sputtering apparatus using the RMIM electrode, wherein the RMIM electrode includes a magnet unit including a cylinder-shaped magnet located at a center of the magnet unit and a plurality of ring... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7112353 | Film deposition apparatus and film deposition method A film deposition apparatus for forming a film on a substrate includes a chamber capable of maintaining a reduced-pressure atmosphere. The chamber includes a control electrode, a substrate holder opposite to the control electrode, the substrate holder holding the su... | 09/26/2006 |
| 7107929 | Ion implantation ion source, system and method An ion source for an ion implantation system includes a vaporizer for producing a process gas; an electron source for generating an electron beam to ionize the process gas within a ionization chamber. The ionization chamber includes an extraction aperture for extrac... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7094312 | Focused particle beam systems and methods using a tilt column Particle beam systems and methods for interacting with a workpiece according to this invention include a work stage assembly and a first particle beam source. The work stage assembly is adapted a) for supporting a workpiece, b) for translating along a first axis, c)... | 08/22/2006 |
| 7021238 | Molecular beam epitaxy equipment Epitaxy equipment including an epitaxy chamber under vacuum containing a substrate support and at least one cell under vacuum for evaporation of epitaxy material closed by a diaphragm having at least one opening and communicating with the epitaxy chamber by a connec... | 04/04/2006 |
| 7018448 | Gas cabinet including integrated effluent scrubber A gas cabinet assembly for dispensing of gas to a process facility such as a semiconductor manufacturing tool. A purge gas dry scrubber is integrated with the gas flow circuitry and a venturi pump in the gas cabinet. Purge gas is flowed through the flow circuitry in... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7009193 | Utilization of an ion gauge in the process chamber of a semiconductor ion implanter A device to implant impurities into a semiconductor wafer has a process chamber having a wall, a pressure compensation unit, a disk to support a plurality of semiconductor wafers within the process chamber. The disk has a radially extending slot arranged among the w... | 03/07/2006 |
| 6988463 | Ion beam source with gas introduced directly into deposition/vacuum chamber An ion source is provided wherein depositing gas and/or maintenance gas is/are introduced into the ion source via the vacuum/depositing chamber, thereby reducing the amount(s) of undesirable insulative build-ups on the anode and/or cathode of the source in an area p... | 01/24/2006 |
| 6974957 | Ionization device for aerosol mass spectrometer and method of ionization The ionization device of the present invention is intended for use in conjunction with an aerosol TOF MS operating in a continuous mode and is capable of ionizing particulated substances in a wide range of particle masses. In the illustrated embodiment, the ionizati... | 12/13/2005 |
| 6974771 | Methods and apparatus for forming barrier layers in high aspect ratio vias In a first aspect, a method is provided that includes (1) forming a first barrier layer over the sidewalls and bottom of a via using atomic layer deposition within an atomic layer deposition (ALD) chamber; (2) removing at least a portion of the first barrier layer f... | 12/13/2005 |
| 6957624 | Apparatus and a method for forming an alloy layer over a substrate One embodiment of the invention involves introducing at least two metals into a chamber for forming an alloy layer over a substrate. This is accomplished by a variety of methods. In one embodiment, at least two metals are mixed and introduced into a chamber in which... | 10/25/2005 |
| 6918351 | Apparatus for ion beam implantation This invention discloses an ion implantation apparatus that has an ion source and an ion extraction device for extracting an ion beam therefrom. The ion implantation apparatus includes an ion beam sweeping-and-deflecting device disposed immediately next to the ion e... | 07/19/2005 |
| 6874443 | Layer-by-layer etching apparatus using neutral beam and etching method using the same A layer-by-layer etching apparatus and an etching method using a neutral beam which enables to control etching depth to an atomic level by controlling the etching of each atom of a material layer to be etched under precise control of the supply of an etching gas and... | 04/05/2005 |
| 6676989 | Method and system for improving the effectiveness of medical stents by the application of gas cluster ion beam technology Numerous studies suggest that the current popular designs of coronary stents are functionally equivalent and suffer a 16 to 22 percent rate of restenosis. Although the use of coronary stents is growing, the benefits of their use remain controversial in ce... | 01/13/2004 |
| 6629508 | Ionizer for gas cluster ion beam formation A neutral beam ionizing apparatus for electron impact ionization of a substantially cylindrical neutral beam. The apparatus includes an electron source, and a circularly cylindrical ionizing region that is substantially free of magnetic fields. In one emb... | 10/07/2003 |
| 6624081 | Enhanced etching/smoothing of dielectric surfaces A gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) etching process having a system for producing a gas cluster ion beam utilized to controllably etch a substrate. The gas cluster ion beam is initially directed along a preselected longitudinal axis. A portion of the GCIB etchi... | 09/23/2003 |
| 6613240 | Method and apparatus for smoothing thin conductive films by gas cluster ion beam A method and apparatus is disclosed that provided for the successful and precise smoothing of conductive films on insulating films or substrates. The smoothing technique provides a smooth surface that is substantially free of scratches. By supplying a sou... | 09/02/2003 |
| 6537606 | System and method for improving thin films by gas cluster ion beam processing The present invention provides apparatus and methods to carry out the task of both reducing the surface roughness (smoothing) and improving the thickness uniformity of, preferably, but not limited thereto, the top silicon film of a silicon-on-insulator (S... | 03/25/2003 |
| 6491759 | Combinatorial synthesis system A combinatorial synthesis system is provided which combines pulsed laser deposition techniques with the continuous composition spread technique in which a plurality of targets made of different ingredient materials are arranged in a predetermined relation... | 12/10/2002 |
| 6375790 | Adaptive GCIB for smoothing surfaces A method and apparatus for adapting the nature of an ion beam during processing of the surface of a solid workpiece so as to improve the reduction of surface roughness (smoothing) by using a GCIB. In addition, the invention provides for surface smoothing ... | 04/23/2002 |
| 6338312 | Integrated ion implant scrubber system An ion implantation process system, including an ion implanter apparatus for carrying out an ion implantation process. A supply of source gas for the ion implantation process is arranged to flow to the ion implanter apparatus, which discharges an effluent... | 01/15/2002 |
| 6331227 | Enhanced etching/smoothing of dielectric surfaces A gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) etching apparatus having a system for producing a gas cluster ion beam utilized to controllably etch a substrate. The gas cluster ion beam is initially directed along a preselected longitudinal axis. A portion of the GCIB etc... | 12/18/2001 |
| 6236163 | Multiple-beam ion-beam assembly A multiple-beam ion-beam assembly consisting of two or more concentrically arranged ring-shaped ion-beam sources having ion-beam slits that emit a plurality of ion beams which overlap on the surface being treated and thus ensure uniformity in distribution... | 05/22/2001 |
| 6220204 | Film deposition method for forming copper film A film deposition apparatus to which the present invention is applied comprises a vacuum chamber 11, a plasma beam generator 13, a main hearth 30 which is disposed within the vacuum chamber and which serves as an anode containing a vaporizable material Cu... | 04/24/2001 |
| 6160350 | Ion plating apparatus Around hearths 30a and 30b placed inside a vacuum chamber 11, auxiliary hearths 31a and 31b with annular permanent magnets included therein are arranged. Orientations of magnetic poles of annular permanent magnets 21a and 21b provided in two adjacent plas... | 12/12/2000 |
| 6063248 | Process chamber isolation system in a deposition apparatus An improvement in an apparatus having an external casing defining a processing chamber for deposition of a film on a substrate and an opening in the processing chamber through which a substrate is introduced for deposition is described. The improvement co... | 05/16/2000 |
| 6032611 | Apparatus for forming single-crystalline thin film by beam irradiator and beam reflecting device In order to form a single-crystalline thin film on a polycrystalline substrate using plasma CVD, a downwardly directed mainly neutral Ne atom current is formed by an ECR ion generator (2). A reaction gas such as silane gas which is supplied from a reactio... | 03/07/2000 |