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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8057649 | Microwave rotatable sputtering deposition Disclosed is an invention that uses a coaxial microwave antenna as a primary plasma source in PVD. The coaxial microwave antenna is positioned inside a sputtering target. Instead of using a cathode assist in sputtering, microwaves generated from the coaxial microwav... | 11/15/2011 |
| 7931787 | Electron-assisted deposition process and apparatus Previous limitations in utilizing energetic vapor deposition means are addressed through the introduction of a novel means of vapor deposition, namely, an Electron-Assisted Deposition (EAD) process and apparatus. The EAD mode of film growth disclosed herein is gener... | 04/26/2011 |
| 7922880 | Method and apparatus for increasing local plasma density in magnetically confined plasma Local plasma density, e.g., the plasma density in the vicinity of the substrate, is increased by providing an ion extractor configured to transfer ions and electrons from a first region of magnetically confined plasma (typically a region of higher density plasma) to... | 04/12/2011 |
| 7879209 | Cathode for sputter coating A magnetron sputtering cathode for use in a vacuum deposition process is disclosed wherein the cathode is coated on its sides with an electrically insulating material such as alumina to prevent arcing, and wherein the first end surface of the cathode supports a mate... | 02/01/2011 |
| 7420182 | Combined radio frequency and hall effect ion source and plasma accelerator system This invention features a combined radio frequency (RF) and Hall Effect ion source and plasma accelerator system including a plasma accelerator having an anode and a discharge zone, the plasma accelerator for providing plasma discharge. A gas distributor introduces ... | 09/02/2008 |
| 7407565 | Method and apparatus for ionized plasma deposition A system for performing PVD of metallic nitride(s) is disclosed. The improved performance is provided by a method of increasing the partial pressures of nitrogen or other active gases near the wafer surface through initial introduction of the argon or other neutral ... | 08/05/2008 |
| 7404879 | Ionized physical vapor deposition apparatus using helical self-resonant coil Provided is an ionized physical vapor deposition (IPVD) apparatus having a helical self-resonant coil. The IPVD apparatus comprises a process chamber having a substrate holder that supports a substrate to be processed, a deposition material source that supplies a ma... | 07/29/2008 |
| 7374648 | Single piece coil support assemblies, coil constructions and methods of assembling coil constructions The invention includes a coil support assembly having an insulator interfacing a surface of a shield disposed within a processing chamber. The insulator has an extension which extends through the shield. A second insulator is disposed between the shield and a coil a... | 05/20/2008 |
| 7359177 | Dual bias frequency plasma reactor with feedback control of E.S.C. voltage using wafer voltage measurement at the bias supply output A plasma reactor has a dual frequency plasma RF bias power supply furnishing RF bias power comprising first and second frequency components, f(1), f(2), respectively, and an RF power path having an input end coupled to the plasma RF bias power supply a... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7358193 | Apparatus for forming nanoholes and method for forming nanoholes A vacuum chamber includes a plasma generating space in its interior. A magnetic field generating device applies a fluctuating magnetic field to the plasma generating space to cause plasma therein to fluctuate. A substrate is placed in the plasma generating space so ... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7335611 | Copper conductor annealing process employing high speed optical annealing with a low temperature-deposited optical absorber layer A method of forming a conductor in a thin film structure on a semiconductor substrate includes forming high aspect ratio openings in a base layer having vertical side walls, depositing a dielectric barrier layer comprising a dielectric compound of a barrier metal on... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7335282 | Sputtering using an unbalanced magnetron A sputtering process and magnetron especially advantageous for low-pressure plasma sputtering or sustained self-sputtering, in which the magnetron has a reduced area but full target coverage. The magnetron includes an outer pole face surrounding an inner pole face w... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7332061 | Integration of multiple frequency band FBAR filters A method and system for forming FBAR filters for different frequency bands with film stacks of different thicknesses, where at least some layers of different thicknesses are formed substantially at the same time, during a process operation are described herein. ... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7323400 | Plasma processing, deposition and ALD methods A plasma processing method includes providing a substrate in a processing chamber, the substrate having a surface, and generating a plasma in the processing chamber. The plasma provides at least two regions that exhibit different plasma densities. The method include... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7323401 | Semiconductor substrate process using a low temperature deposited carbon-containing hard mask A method of processing a thin film structure on a semiconductor substrate using an optically writable mask includes placing the substrate in a reactor chamber, the substrate having on its surface a target layer to be etched in accordance with a predetermined pattern... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7320734 | Plasma immersion ion implantation system including a plasma source having low dissociation and low minimum plasma voltage A system for processing a workpiece includes a plasma immersion ion implantation reactor with an enclosure having a side wall and a ceiling and defining a chamber, and a workpiece support pedestal within the chamber having a workpiece support surface facing the ceil... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7312148 | Copper barrier reflow process employing high speed optical annealing A method of forming a barrier layer for a thin film structure on a semiconductor substrate includes forming high aspect ratio openings in a base layer having vertical side walls, depositing a dielectric barrier layer comprising a dielectric compound of a barrier met... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7312162 | Low temperature plasma deposition process for carbon layer deposition A method of depositing a carbon layer on a workpiece includes placing the workpiece in a reactor chamber, introducing a carbon-containing process gas into the chamber, generating a reentrant toroidal RF plasma current in a reentrant path that includes a process zone... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7311851 | Apparatus and method for reactive atom plasma processing for material deposition Reactive atom plasma processing can be used to shape, polish, planarize, and clean surfaces of difficult materials with minimal subsurface damage. The apparatus and methods use a plasma torch, such as a conventional ICP torch. The workpiece and plasma torch are move... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7303789 | Methods for producing thin films on substrates by plasma CVD Methods are provided to form a thin film reproducibly in a process for forming the thin film on the inner wall surface facing a space formed in a substrate by plasma CVD. A thin film is produced on an inner wall surface of a substrate facing a space formed in the su... | 12/04/2007 |
| 7303982 | Plasma immersion ion implantation process using an inductively coupled plasma source having low dissociation and low minimum plasma voltage A method for implanting ions in a surface layer of a workpiece includes placing the workpiece on a workpiece support in a chamber with the surface layer being in facing relationship with a ceiling of the chamber, thereby defining a processing zone between the workpi... | 12/04/2007 |
| 7300684 | Method and system for coating internal surfaces of prefabricated process piping in the field The coating of internal surfaces of a workpiece is achieved by connecting a bias voltage such that the workpiece functions as a cathode and by connecting an anode at each opening of the workpiece. A source gas is introduced at an entrance opening, while a vacuum sou... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7294245 | Cover ring and shield supporting a wafer ring in a plasma reactor A magnetic dipole ring assembly positioned inside a vacuum chamber and around a wafer being sputter deposited with a ferromagnetic material such as NiFe or other magnetic materials so that the material is deposited with a predetermined magnetization direction in the... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7294563 | Semiconductor on insulator vertical transistor fabrication and doping process A process for conformally doping through the vertical and horizontal surfaces of a 3-dimensional vertical transistor in a semiconductor-on-insulator structure employs an RF oscillating torroidal plasma current to perform either conformal ion implantation, or conform... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7294209 | Apparatus and method for depositing material onto a substrate using a roll-to-roll mask A battery-operated device provided on a thin-film battery and a method for making. Some embodiments provide a system that includes a vacuum chamber, a plurality of pairs of source and take-up reels within the vacuum chamber, including a first source reel that suppli... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7291360 | Chemical vapor deposition plasma process using plural ion shower grids A chemical vapor deposition process is carried out in a reactor chamber having a set of plural parallel ion shower grids that divide the chamber into an upper ion generation region and a lower process region, each of the ion shower grids having plural orifices in mu... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7291545 | Plasma immersion ion implantation process using a capacitively couple plasma source having low dissociation and low minimum plasma voltage A method of ion implanting a species in a workpiece to a selected ion implantation profile depth includes placing a workpiece having a semiconductor material on an electrostatic chuck in or near a processing region of a plasma reactor chamber and applying a chucking... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7288491 | Plasma immersion ion implantation process One method of performing plasma immersion ion implantation on a workpiece in a plasma reactor chamber includes initially depositing a seasoning film on the interior surfaces of the plasma reactor chamber before the workpiece is introduced, by introducing a seasoning... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7285196 | Methods and apparatus for making integrated-circuit wiring from copper, silver, gold, and other metals In recent years, copper wiring has emerged as a promising substitute for the aluminum wiring in integrated circuits, because copper offers lower electrical resistance and better reliability at smaller dimensions than aluminum. However, use of copper typically requir... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7276816 | High-frequency matching network The invention relates to a high-frequency matching network comprised of a primary switching circuit (1) provided with any type of capacitor (7) and with a variable capacitor (8), and of a high-frequency air-core coil (9). The high frequen... | 10/02/2007 |
| 7268076 | Apparatus and method for metal plasma vapor deposition and re-sputter with source and bias power frequencies applied through the workpiece Physical vapor deposition and re-sputtering of a barrier layer in an integrated circuit is performed by providing a metal target near a ceiling of the chamber and a wafer support pedestal facing the target near a floor of the chamber. A process gas is introduced int... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7253109 | Method of depositing a tantalum nitride/tantalum diffusion barrier layer system We have discovered a method of providing a thin, approximately from about 2 Å to about 100 Å thick TaN seed layer, which can be used to induce the formation of alpha tantalum when tantalum is deposited over the TaN seed layer. Further, the ... | 08/07/2007 |
| 7250196 | System and method for plasma plating An exemplary system and method for plasma plating are provided to generate a deposition layer on a substrate. The method for plasma plating includes positioning a substrate within a vacuum chamber, positioning a depositant in a filament within the vacuum chamber, re... | 07/31/2007 |
| 7247218 | Plasma density, energy and etch rate measurements at bias power input and real time feedback control of plasma source and bias power A plasma reactor process measurement instrument includes an input phase processor receiving wafer bias voltage, current and power and computing an input impedance, an input current and an input voltage to the transmission line; a transmission line processor for comp... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7244344 | Physical vapor deposition plasma reactor with VHF source power applied through the workpiece A physical vapor deposition plasma reactor includes a vacuum chamber including a sidewall, a ceiling and a wafer support pedestal near a floor of the chamber, and a vacuum pump coupled to the chamber, a process gas inlet coupled to the chamber and a process gas sour... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7244343 | Sputtering apparatus A sputtering apparatus is provided with a DC power supply 1, an inverter 2 that converts DC voltage to AC voltage, a matching circuit 10 that transforms the AC voltage, a rectifier 4 that converts the transformed AC voltage to direct curr... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7244474 | Chemical vapor deposition plasma process using an ion shower grid A chemical vapor deposition process is carried out in a reactor chamber with an ion shower grid that divides the chamber into an upper ion generation region and a lower process region, the ion shower grid having plural orifices oriented in a non-parallel direction r... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7226868 | Method of etching high aspect ratio features A plasma processing system for and method of utilizing an improved etch chemistry for effectively etching high aspect ratio silicon features. The process chemistry employs precursor gases suitable for producing a fluorine/chlorine etch chemistry as well as precursor... | 06/05/2007 |
| 7223676 | Very low temperature CVD process with independently variable conformality, stress and composition of the CVD layer A low temperature process for depositing a coating containing any of silicon, nitrogen, hydrogen or oxygen on a workpiece includes placing the workpiece in a reactor chamber facing a processing region of the chamber, introducing a process gas containing any of silic... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7220937 | Plasma reactor with overhead RF source power electrode with low loss, low arcing tendency and low contamination A gas distribution ceiling electrode for use as a capacitive source power applicator and gas distribution showerhead in a plasma reactor includes a metal base and a process-compatible protective layer on the interior surface of he electrode having a dopant impurity ... | 05/22/2007 |
