2007年7月18日 (水)

Applied Materials社の請求項 #564

5789878
Applied Materials
An apparatus for transferring objects, comprising: a first motor coupled to a first rotatable member that is rotatable about an axis of rotational symmetry; a second motor coupled to a second rotatable member that is rotatable about an axis of rotational symmetry; a plurality of blades vertically spaced from one another; and a linkage to enable coordinated movement of the blades on rotation of the first and second rotatable members.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #563

6162116
Applied Materials
A carrier head for a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, comprising: a base; a flexible membrane extending beneath the base to define a pressurizable chamber, a lower surface of the flexible membrane providing a mounting surface for a substrate; a retaining ring having an inner surface surrounding the mounting surface and a recess formed in the inner surface, an edge portion of the flexible membrane extending into the recess; and a sealant in the recess to secure the flexible membrane to the retaining ring.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #562

5645646
Applied Materials
A susceptor for an apparatus for depositing a layer of a material on a surface of a wafer comprising: a plate having a continuous surface; and a plurality of support posts coupled to and projecting from the continuous surface of the plate, said support posts being arranged in spaced relation in a pattern which permits a wafer to be seated on the support posts with the wafer being spaced from the surface of the plate said support posts being sized and spaced sufficient to allow a gas to flow and/or diffuse between said continuous surface and substantially the entire back surface of the wafer, but still allow heat transfer from the plate to the wafer mainly by conduction.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #561

5674321
Applied Materials
A magnetic field-enhanced plasma reactor comprising: a reaction chamber for containing a plasma proximate a substrate support; a plurality of substantially annular electromagnets circumscribing a reaction region within the reaction chamber for forming a radially-directed magnetic field within the reaction chamber wherein at least one of said plurality of electromagnets is below the substrate support and a remaining number of electromagnets are above the substrate support, coaxially aligned, and stacked one on top of the other; and a current generator, connected to said plurality of electromagnets, for applying a current to each electromagnet in said plurality of electromagnets, where each of the currents flow in opposite directions through adjacent electromagnets.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #560

5160402
Applied Materials
A method of monitoring a plasma process which comprises (a) optically monitoring a plurality of preselected emission spectra developed by a plasma in a plasma chamber, (b) amplifying and digitizing a plurality of spectra signals of said spectra, (c) weighting and summing said signals to form a composite function, and (d) comparing the slope of the composite function to a predetermined value to determine preselected conditions within said plasma.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #559

5549756
Applied Materials
A thin film deposition system comprising: a susceptor for supporting a deposition substrate during a deposition process; a channel formed in said susceptor, said channel having an opening on an upper surface of said susceptor; an infrared detector disposed to receive an optical signal that passes through said channel along an optical path from said opening to said infrared detector, wherein said infrared detector is disposed so as to image portion of a deposition substrate disposed on said susceptor so that said infrared detector can receive infrared radiation emitted by a deposition substrate during a deposition process; and a hollow lightguide disposed within said channel and extending from said susceptor, wherein said lightguide further defines said optical path from said opening to said infrared detector.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #547

5740062
Applied Materials
A wafer positioning system comprising: a wafer handling chamber, said wafer handling chamber having at least a portion of a wall formed from a substantially transparent material; a wafer storage apparatus within said wafer handling chamber having a plurality of locations for storing wafers; a wafer transport robot capable of translating a wafer along a first coordinate direction and along a second coordinate direction, said wafer transport robot having a blade adapted for carrying wafers; and at least one position sensor comprising: a light source disposed external to said wafer handling chamber, said light source aligned to direct an incident beam of light through said substantially transparent material into said wafer handling chamber; a reflector disposed within said wafer handling chamber so that at least a portion of said incident beam of light is reflected from said reflector as a reflected beam of light, wherein said reflector directs said reflected beam of light through said substantially transparent material; and a detector disposed external to said wafer handling chamber to receive said reflected beam of light from said reflector, wherein said light source and said detector are disposed to detect an edge of said wafer when said wafer intercepts a beam of light as said wafer is transported from said wafer storage apparatus to a position within said wafer handling chamber disposed away from said wafer storage apparatus; means for detecting a position of said wafer transport robot as said edge of said wafer intersects both a first detection position and a second detection position within said wafer handling chamber; a converter which generates an interrupt signal; and means for checking the state of said position sensor in response to said interrupt signal.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #558

5904776
Applied Materials
An electrostatic chuck, comprising: (a) a conductive pedestal having a buried gas flow channel; (b) at least one opening through said pedestal upper surface, where said opening connects with said buried gas flow channel; (c) at least one insert which is disposed within at least one of said openings, wherein said insert acts to reduce the possibility of plasma penetration into said opening.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #557

5976993
Applied Materials
A process for depositing a film on a substrate disposed in a processing chamber, said process comprising the steps of: (a) flowing a process gas into the processing chamber; (b) forming an inductively-coupled plasma from said process gas using only RF energy applied to a coil disposed about the processing chamber; (c) depositing a first layer of the film over the substrate by maintaining the application of said RF energy for a first period of time; (d) applying electric energy to a first electrode and a second electrode while maintaining the application of said RF energy, wherein the substrate is disposed on said second electrode; and (e) depositing a second layer of the film over said first layer by maintaining the application of said electric energy and said RF energy for a second period of time.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #556

6083852
Applied Materials
A process for depositing an antireflective film comprising silicon and nitrogen over a substrate disposed in a processing chamber, said process comprising the steps of: introducing a first process gas comprising silicon into the processing chamber at a first selected rate, said first selected rate causing said film to be deposited at less than about 2000 .ANG./minute; introducing nitrogen (N.sub.2) (into the processing chamber as both a dilutant gas and a reactant gas at a second selected rate which maintains a pressure in the processing chamber sufficient to permit a reaction including said first process gas and said nitrogen to proceed, said pressure being between about 1 torr and about 6 torr; and applying energy to said first process gas and said nitrogen to cause said reaction to deposit said film comprising silicon and nitrogen to a desired thickness.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #555

5691876
Applied Materials
A multilayer electrostatic chuck means comprising: at least one self-adhered polyimide-comprising film acting as a dielectric layer within said electrostatic chuck, wherein said self-adhered polyimide-comprising film has a sustained operational temperature of at least 175.degree. C.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #554

6251215
Applied Materials
A carrier head for a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, comprising: a substrate mounting surface; and a retaining ring to maintain a substrate beneath the mounting surface during polishing, the retaining ring including a lower portion having a bottom surface for contacting a polishing pad during polishing and made of a first material and an upper portion made of a second material which is more rigid than the first material; wherein the first material is polyphenylene sulfide with a durometer measurement between about 80 and 95 on the Shore D scale, the second material is metal, and the lower portion is affixed to the upper portion by an epoxy.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #553

6255222
Applied Materials
A method of operating a substrate processing chamber, said method comprising: flowing a deposition gas comprising an organosilane into said chamber during a film deposition step to deposit a layer over said substrate; and thereafter, flowing an etchant into said chamber during a chamber clean step to remove material deposited on interior walls of said chamber; said method also comprising: flowing at least one of an oxygen source and oxygen-containing byproducts into a downstream plasma apparatus fluidly coupled to receive an effluent stream from said chamber and concurrently forming a plasma within said apparatus; and flowing at least one of a halogen source and halogen-containing byproducts into said downstream plasma apparatus and concurrently forming a plasma within said apparatus.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #552

5355066
Applied Materials
A robot apparatus, comprising: a robot vacuum chamber having an outer wall, a top wall and a bottom wall; a rotatable robot arm for positioning a workpiece at a desired angular location in said vacuum chamber; a motor mounted outside the vacuum chamber; a motor shaft extending into the chamber and coupled to the rotatable robot arm; and a load bearing support for the vacuum chamber, spaced inward from the outer wall, extending from the top wall to the bottom wall and having sufficient strength to withstand a compressive stress in said support when a vacuum is produced in said vacuum chamber, whereby when a vacuum is produced within the chamber, said support significantly reduces vertical displacement of the robot arm by ambient pressure.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #551

5886355
Applied Materials
A filament system for an arc chamber connected to a source of current outside of said arc chamber which includes walls surrounding a filament for said arc chamber, and a sheath surrounding the filament made of a refractory material, said sheath mounted so as to maintain an insulating gap with respect to the walls of said arc chamber.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #550

5975740
Applied Materials
A computer-implemented method for transferring wafers in a wafer processing facility comprising a plurality of process chambers, each process chamber for performing a different process on a wafer contained therein, the method comprising the steps of: (1) assigning a different priority level to each of a plurality of wafers in the wafer processing facility according to a processing stage to which each respective wafer has progressed through the process chambers; (2) determining that a process in one or more of the process chambers has been completed; (3) determining which wafer of the plurality of wafers in the one or more process chambers is assigned a highest priority level; and (4) initiating a wafer transfer between two of the process chambers for the wafer having the highest assigned priority level, wherein the wafer processing facility comprises a cooling chamber for cooling a wafer previously processed in one of the process chambers, wherein step (1) comprises the step of assigning a lower priority level to a wafer which has been transferred to the cooling chamber than to a wafer which has not yet been transferred to the cooling chamber.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #549

6416647
Applied Materials
An apparatus for electroplating a metal onto a substrate having a substrate plating surface, comprising: a rotatable substrate support member having means for holding and rotating the substrate with the substrate plating surface facing upward during an electroplating process; a cathode clamp ring disposed in electrical contact with the substrate plating surface; an anode disposed above the substrate support member, an electroplating solution inlet supplying an electroplating solution fluidly connecting the anode and the substrate plating surface; a power source connected to the anode and the cathode clamp ring, wherein an electrical contact to the cathode clamp ring is isolated from a region between the substrate support member and the anode, a cavity ring disposed below the electroplating solution inlet, the cavity ring and the anode defining a cavity for holding the electroplating solution; and an actuator connected to the cavity ring to move the cavity ring about a substantially horizontal plane.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #548

5824607
Applied Materials
A plasma processing system, comprising: (a) a vacuum chamber having a top a bottom and a sidewall; (b) a wafer support member disposed in the vacuum chamber; (c) a plasma source disposed adjacent to the vacuum chamber, providing a plasma flux to the vacuum chamber; (d) a first magnet disposed adjacent to the chamber to generate at least a first magnetic field to attract the plasma flux toward the sidewall; and (e) a second magnet disposed below an upper surface of the wafer support member to generate at least a second magnetic field to repel the plasma flux from the wafer support member.

*Inventorsのメンバーに日本人が含まれている。
英文の正確性を一度細かくチェックする必要あり。

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #546

5540821
Applied Materials
An apparatus for compensating for target erosion occurring during sequential processing of substrates in a chamber having a deposition target therein, comprising: a substrate support member disposed within the chamber having an end portion extending from the chamber, said substrate support member movable between a first position to receive a substrate thereon and a second position adjacent the target to position a substrate thereon for processing; said second position defining a mean distance between the substrate and the target; and a drive member interconnected to said end portion to move said substrate support member between said first position and second position, said drive member including a logic member responsive to the amount of target erosion resulting from previous processing with the target to cause the drive member to vary the travel of said substrate support member thereon between the first position to the second position to maintain the second position at the mean distance from the target to compensate for target erosion as substrates are sequentially processed with the target.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #545

6323119
Applied Materials
A method of adhering a fluorine containing dielectric material to metal surfaces on a substrate, comprising: depositing an adhesive metal layer on a substrate comprising metal surfaces; exposing the adhesive metal layer to a nitrogen plasma; and then depositing a fluorine containing dielectric material on the adhesive metal layer.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #544

6175645
Applied Materials
A method for inspecting an object having upper and lower faces for detecting defects existing on the object, the method comprising: a) providing first and second beams of radiation; b) directing the first beam of radiation onto the object so as to illuminate a first area of the object, and sensing a light component reflected from one face of the object; c) directing the second beam of radiation onto the object so as to illuminate a second, different area of the object, and sensing a light component transmitted through the upper and lower faces of the object; d) simultaneously acquiring first and second images of the object, wherein the first image is formed by the reflected light component and the second image is formed by the transmitted light component; and e) analyzing said first and second images so as to provide data indicative of said defects.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #543

5763851
Applied Materials
A plasma processing system comprising: a vacuum chamber; an RF field coil surrounding a central space within the vacuum chamber, during processing said RF coil coupling RF power into a plasma within the central space; and a coil shield assembly shielding the coil from the plasma, said coil shield assembly comprising a first shield located inside the RF field coil and having at least one slot extending therethrough, wherein the first shield is located relative to the chamber so as to be exposed to the plasma during operation, and a barrier structure positioned between the first shield and the coil and aligned with the at least one slot, wherein the first shield and the barrier are structured and arranged to inhibit bridging of the at least one slot by material deposited in the chamber during plasma processing.

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2007年7月17日 (火)

Applied Materials社の請求項 #542

5298465
Applied Materials
A method for enhancing a plasma etch process of the type carried out in a housing for processing a semiconductor substrate having a substrate diameter, a top surface and a bottom surface, the plasma etch process including the use of a plasma positioned substantially coaxially with the semiconductor substrate and having a time averaged plasma diameter which is larger than the substrate diameter, the method comprising the steps of: a) releasing an inert gas beneath the substrate such that the inert gas impinges upon the bottom surface of said substrate, and then moves in a substantially horizontal direction beneath the substrate's bottom surface, and b) deflecting the inert gas, proximate to the perimeter of the substrate's bottom surface, to change the gas flow direction from the horizontal direction to an upward direction, to flow between the wafer diameter and the plasma diameter in a quantity comprising from about 5-50% by volume of the total plasma precursor gases and inert gases supplies to said housing, thereby preventing deposition of particulates on said substrate top surface.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #541

5643366
Applied Materials
A substrate processing apparatus for processing a downwardly facing substrate comprising: a processing chamber; a substrate mount within the chamber defining a downwardly facing substrate mounting surface adapted to engage a back face of a substrate, said mount providing a passageway between said mounting surface and a source of vacuum; and substrate transfer apparatus having at least one set of beveled surfaces for supporting a substrate, wherein each of said at least one set of beveled surfaces are configured to support at least three points defining a plane on an edge of a front face of said substrate, wherein at least a portion of said transfer apparatus includes one set of said at least one set of beveled surfaces, wherein said portion of said transfer apparatus is vertically movable to bring the substrate mounting surface into proximity with the back face of the substrate facing upwardly; wherein when: said downwardly facing substrate mounting surface and back face of the substrate are adjacent, said passageway is in communication with said source of vacuum, and the pressure over the substrate backside is sufficiently below that of the processing chamber that the substrate is urged and held against the downwardly facing substrate mounting surface, the substrate transfer apparatus is configured to be removable from the substrate so that the downwardly facing surface of the substrate to be processed is fully exposed to the chamber.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #540

6015465
Applied Materials
An apparatus capable of processing a substrate, the apparatus comprising: (a) a process chamber having an external surface, the chamber comprising a support capable of holding the substrate in the chamber, a gas distributor capable of distributing process gas in the chamber, a plasma generator capable of forming a plasma from the process gas capable of processing the substrate, and an exhaust capable of exhausting spent process gas from the chamber; and (b) a vapor chamber surrounding the external surface of the process chamber, the vapor chamber comprising a fluid distributor adapted to apply a fluid film over the external surface of the process chamber to control the temperature of the external surface.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #539

6123791
Applied Materials
A plasma reactor for processing substrates comprising a reactor chamber including a chamber wall; a dielectric window supported by said chamber wall and comprising a ceramic composition including a ceramic compound and an oxide of a Group IIIB metal said ceramic composition of said dielectric window comprising from about 30% by weight to about 95% by weight of said ceramic compound and from about 5% by weight to about 70% by weight of said oxide of a Group IIIB metal; a pedestal assembly disposed in said reactor chamber for supporting substrates in said reactor chamber; a processing power source; a processing gas-introducing assembly, engaged to said reactor chamber, for introducing a processing gas into said reactor chamber; and a processing power-transmitting member disposed in proximity to said reactor chamber and connected to said processing power source for transmitting power into the reactor chamber to aid in sustaining a plasma from a processing gas within the reactor chamber.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #538

6008139
Applied Materials
A method of selectively etching a substrate comprising metal silicide and polysilicon layers, the method comprising the steps of: (a) placing the substrate in a process chamber comprising process electrodes therein, and an inductor coil adjacent to the process chamber; (b) introducing a process gas comprising chlorine, oxygen, and helium into the process chamber; (c) ionizing the process gas to form a plasma by (i) applying an RF source power of about 400 to about 3000 Watts to the inductor coil, and (ii) applying an RF bias power to the process electrodes, wherein a ratio P.sub.r of the source power to the bias power is selected to be sufficiently high to etch the metal silicide layer at a first etch rate that is at least about 1.2 times a second rate of etching of the polysilicon layer, whereby anisotropic etching of the metal silicide and polysilicon layers is obtained.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #537

6280183
Applied Materials
A single substrate RTP reaction chamber in which a reflective cavity is formed between a substrate placed in the chamber and a reflective surface below the substrate, wherein the chamber includes an edge ring for supporting the substrate near its periphery, the edge ring comprising: an open center region such that a major portion of the substrate surface is exposed to radiation reflected from the reflective surface during processing; an inner annular-shaped portion including a substantially flat surface formed in a first plane; an outer annular-shaped portion contiguous with the inner annular-shaped portion, wherein the outer portion includes a substantially flat surface extending radially outward from the inner portion in a second plane, the inner annular-shaped portion further including a raised annular ridge proximate its inner edge, the ridge extending from the first plane toward the second plane to support the substrate at its periphery and provide a substantially uniform thermal contact surface proximate the periphery of the substrate to reduce temperature differentials across the substrate surface, and an upstanding annular-shaped structure connecting the inner and outer annular-shaped portions so as to retain the substrate on the ridge, wherein the upstanding structure has a height greater than the combined height of the ridge and a nominal thickness of the substrate.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #536

6620723
Applied Materials
A method of forming a barrier layer structure for use in integrated circuit fabrication, comprising: positioning a substrate having an oxide layer thereon, wherein the oxide layer has apertures formed therein to a top surface of the substrate; forming a first boride layer comprising two or more refractory metals on at least a portion of the oxide layer and the substrate surface by chemisorbing monolayers of a boron containing compound and one or more refractory metal compounds on the substrate; and forming a second boride layer comprising one or more refractory metals on the first boride layer by chemisorbing monolayers of a boron containing compound and one or more refractory metal compounds on the substrate.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #535

6189482
Applied Materials
A substrate processing apparatus comprising a chamber, having a chamber volume; a gas delivery system comprising a plurality of gas sources, at least one of said gas sources supplying a source gas comprised of a metal and halogen, said gas delivery system introducing said source gas at a flow rate for use in said chamber; a heater pedestal having a surface for supporting a substrate, said heater pedestal comprising a heater assembly and a thermal choke disposed between said heater assembly and a metal support shaft; and a plasma system comprising an RF generator and an RF plane, said RF plane being disposed in said heater pedestal below said surface.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #534

5879574
Applied Materials
An apparatus for fabricating an integrated circuit device comprising: an enclosure housing a processing chamber, the enclosure including a gas inlet and a gas outlet, said gas inlet in communication with the chamber for receiving a cleaning gas capable of reacting with unwanted residue in the chamber in a cleaning process to produce clean gas reactants, and said gas outlet for discharging a used cleaning gas and the clean gas reactants from the chamber; and an endpoint detection assembly coupled to the gas outlet, said endpoint detection assembly determining when the cleaning process in the chamber has been substantially completed by detecting radiation absorbance of said used cleaning gas and the clean gas reactants discharged from the chamber.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #533

5812362
Applied Materials
An electrostatic chuck for supporting a substrate in a processing chamber during processing, said electrostatic chuck comprising: an electrically conductive element having an upper surface; and a doped diamond layer overlying said upper surface, said doped diamond layer having a substantially planar surface, opposite said upper surface, for receiving said substrate said doped diamond layer being doped with a dopant such that a conductance of said doped diamond layer is increased.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #532

6302964
Applied Materials
A one-piece gas distribution faceplate for a showerhead, the one-piece gas distribution faceplate including a first surface, a second surface, and a third surface, the one-piece gas distribution faceplate comprising: a plurality of first gas holes extending through the one-piece gas distribution faceplate between the first surface and the second surface, the one-piece gas distribution faceplate having an internal gas distribution cavity defined by a plurality of interconnecting channels, a plurality of second gas holes extending through the one-piece gas distribution faceplate between the first surface into the plurality of interconnecting channels, the interconnecting channels are fluidly coupled to a plenum that is in turn connected to at least one gas conduit, the gas conduit extends to the third surface.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #531

5467220
Applied Materials
An apparatus for improving thermal uniformity across a semiconductor wafer surface during wafer heating, comprising: an annular yoke having a yoke surface positioned proximate to said wafer in spaced facing relation thereto; said yoke surface defining a concave circumferential reflector; said reflector positioned proximate to and coincident with said wafer surface, wherein said reflector is positioned relative to a wafer edge to reflect thermal energy radiated from said wafer edge back thereto, and wherein said yoke is placed atop a ring-like wafer clamping assembly, such that an innermost portion of the reflector surface overhangs, and extends below an upper surface of, said clamping assembly and thereby provides maximum reflection of heat to said wafer surface.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #530

5225024
Applied Materials
A plasma etch or CVD reactor having a pair of electrodes for plasma processing comprising: plasma generation means for forming a plasma including energetic electrons near a major planar surface of a substrate mounted on a cathode, said plasma being selected to promote predetermined plasma processing at said surface; and magnetic confinement means for defining a cusp magnetic mirror region which at least partially confines said energetic electrons to a region near said major planar surface of said substrate and a permanent magnet disposed within said cathode to enhance said plasma processing.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #529

5570994
Applied Materials
A method of transferring substrates under conditions of varying pressure, comprising the steps of: (a) moving a substrate when the ambient pressure is relatively high using a substrate support provided with at least one vacuum port capable of engaging an undersurface of said substrate during such movement; and (b) moving a substrate when the ambient pressure is relatively low by: (i) removably mounting to said substrate support a substrate support tray capable of engaging and supporting a bottom surface of said substrate; (ii) placing said substrate on said substrate support tray by engaging and supporting said bottom surface of said substrate with said substrate support tray and (iii) moving said retained substrate by moving said substrate support and said substrate support tray mounted on said substrate support.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #528

6167834
Applied Materials
A semiconductor processing reactor, comprising: a housing defining a chamber for processing a wafer at a selected position therein; a gas inlet manifold position above the selected position for directing reactant gases downwardly to a wafer at the selected position; means for circulating fluid at a controlled temperature within the gas inlet manifold for maintaining the internal surfaces within a selected temperature range for suppressing condensation, decomposition and reaction of said gases therein; a radial gas flow pumping means comprising: vacuum exhaust pump means gas; a distributor plate mounted peripherally about the wafer mounting position within the chamber, the plate including a circular array of exhaust holes therein; a circular channel formed in the housing communicating with the exhaust holes and having an exhaust port connected to the vacuum exhaust pump means for flowing said gases radially across the wafer and through the exhaust port, said channel volume providing conductance sufficient to enable controlled radial gas flow across the wafer to the exhaust holes; a thin high emissivity susceptor; movable susceptor support means mounting the susceptor in a horizontal orientation and adapted for moving vertically for selectively positioning the susceptor and a wafer positioned thereon parallel to the gas manifold at selected position closely adjacent the gas manifold; a window forming the bottom of the chamber; and radian theating means mounted to the housing beneath the window comprising lamps and a circular reflector module mounting the lamps in a circular array for directing a collimated beam of radiant energy through the window onto the susceptor with an incident power density substantially higher at the edge of the susceptor than at the center thereof.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #527

4743767
Applied Materials
In a method for accurately measuring the dose of ions implanted into a workpiece in an ion implantation system, the steps of: generating an ion beam characterized by beam current stability; directing said ion beam along a prearranged path toward a beam collecting means; scanning a workpiece through said ion beam in a prearranged combined relatively fast scan directional motion and a relatively slow scan directional motion, with said workpiece entirely leaving said path of said ion beam at the end of the slow scan directional motion; measuring ion beam current on said beam collecting means at the end of each slow scan directional motion of said workpiece; calculating average ion beam current striking said workpiece during each slow scan directional motion as the average of two successive ion beam current measurements before and after said slow scan directional motion; calculating ion dose delivered to said workpiece based on the calculated average ion beam current; and controlling the ion beam to a selected current level designed to provide a selected total ion dose based upon the calculated ion dose.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #526

6098568
Applied Materials
A substrate processing system comprising: a deposition chamber comprising a reaction zone; a gas distribution system including a gas inlet manifold that comprises a first RF electrode and that supplies one or more process gases to said reaction zone, said gas inlet manifold comprising a plurality of holes therein, each of said holes comprising an outlet which opens into the reaction zone and an inlet spaced apart from said outlet, said outlet being larger in diameter than said inlet; a substrate holder that positions a substrate in the reaction zone, said substrate holder comprising a second RF electrode; a mixed frequency RF power supply comprising a high frequency RF power source coupled to said first electrode and a low frequency RF power source coupled to said second electrode; and a filter and matching network that decouples waveforms generated by said high frequency RF power source from waveforms generated by said low frequency RF power source.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #525

5916689
Applied Materials
An electrostatic chuck comprising: a pedestal having a conductive upper surface; and a layer of plasma-sprayed material formed on the upper surface of the pedestal and defining a surface onto which a substrate is placed during use, wherein said plasma-sprayed material exhibits the Johnson-Rahbeck effect when a bias is applied between the substrate and the pedestal.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #524

5899801
Applied Materials
A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, comprising: a platen having a passageway therein; a polishing pad positionable on the platen, the polishing pad having an aperture coupled to the passageway; a fluid source coupled to the passageway to provide a fluid through the aperture, and to apply an upward force to a substrate on the polishing pad; a carrier head having a movable mounting surface to which the substrate may be chucked; and a controller operable to move the mounting surface of the carrier head away from the polishing pad as the fluid flows through the passage and the aperture in the polishing pad to lift the substrate from the polishing pad.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #523

5683517
Applied Materials
A plasma reactor for processing a semiconductor wafer inside a vacuum chamber, comprising: an array of gas distribution orifices in said chamber facing respective underlying portions of a top surface of said wafer; a gas flow supply; a programmable gas flow divider for individually coupling gas to respective ones of said gas distribution orifices from said gas flow supply at respective individual gas flow rates whereby respective gas flow rates over said respective underlying portions of said top surface of said wafer are respectively determined; and a radiation applicator for igniting a plasma inside said chamber from gases contained therein for processing said wafer.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #522

4927485
Applied Materials
A laser interferometer system for monitoring the etching of a workpiece, comprising: a laser for providing laser light; and for positioning a workpiece such that laser light from said laser is reflected off of said workpiece; detecting means for detecting laser light reflected from a surface of the workpiece; means for analyzing the detected light to monitor at least one of etch rate, etch depth and etch-through of a selected layer of the workpiece; and, a collector lens mounting the laser within said collector lens; means for mounting said collected lens in said interferometer system, such that said collector lens is pivotally movable relative to said workpiece surface to focus selected diffraction orders of light reflected from said workpiece surface into said detecting means.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #521

6019670
Applied Materials
An apparatus for use in a chemical mechanical polishing system, comprising: (a) a carrier having a substrate receiving surface to hold a substrate on a polishing surface; (b) a conditioning surface formed as a part of said carrier to condition the polishing surface; and (c) two positioning mechanisms capable of operating independently of each other to press the substrate and the conditioning surface, respectively, against the polishing surface.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #520

6537133
Applied Materials
A method of endpoint detection during polishing of semiconductor wafers using a polishing pad, said method comprising, polishing a said wafer with said polishing pad having a transparent portion of transparent solid material having an upper surface and a lower surface, transmitting detection light through said transparent portion of said polishing pad to a wafer surface of said wafer being polished, and receiving a reflection of said light reflecting off of said wafer surface and passing through said transparent portion of said polishing pad.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #519

6036874
Applied Materials
A method for forming a chamber in a layer on a substrate, the method comprising the steps of: a) forming a first layer on the substrate; b) shaping material in the first layer into a mold shape using an etch technique; c) forming a second layer over the substrate and the mold shape; d) exposing at least a portion of the mold shape; and e) removing the mold shape to define a chamber in the second material.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #518

6660126
Applied Materials
A lid assembly for a semiconductor processing system, comprising: a support having first and second opposed surfaces; a valve coupled to said first surface; and a baffle plate mounted to said second surface and having a throughway disposed in a recessed area of the baffle plate, with said valve coupled to said support to direct a flow of fluid through a borehole in the support along a path in an original direction and at an injection velocity and said baffle plate being disposed in said path to disperse said flow of fluid in a plane extending at least partially transversely to said original direction.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #517

5433835
Applied Materials
A sputtering target assembly comprising: a sputtering target in intimate contact with a first side of a target backing plate assembly; said target backing plate assembly configured to cover an opening of a sputtering chamber so as to seal the opening; said sputtering target and said target backing plate assembly comprising a plurality of layered members, one of said target backing plate assembly members having a surface with grooves therein, said surface being bonded to a surface of a neighboring one of said members with an adhesive, said grooves thereby forming heat exchange fluid passages in said grooves, said heat exchange fluid passages having one or more inlet and outlet openings.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #516

5354417
Applied Materials
A method for selectively etching a substrate having a molybdenum silicide layer with a resist material on the portions of the molybdenum silicide layer, the method comprising the steps of: (a) placing a substrate into an etch zone; (b) introducing a process gas comprising SF.sub.6 and HBr into the etch zone, the volumetric flow ratio of SF.sub.6 :HBr being from about 1:10 to about 1:1; and (c) generating a plasma in the etch zone to form an etch gas from the process gas, wherein the etch gas selectively etches the molybdenum silicide layer on the substrate.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #515

6268093
Applied Materials
A method for inspecting a multiple die reticle that is used with an optical exposure system under a set of exposure conditions, said multiple die reticle including at least a first die and a second die, said method comprising: acquiring a plurality of aerial images of said reticle using a transmitted light, said plurality of aerial images being acquired within a process window of said exposure system and using said set of exposure conditions; said plurality of aerial images including a first plurality of aerial images of said first die and a second plurality of aerial images of said second die; and comparing said first plurality of aerial images of said first die and said second plurality of aerial images of said second die to detect variations in line width in said first die.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #514

5387067
Applied Materials
A wafer cassette that can be loaded/unloaded in a first direction by a first wafer transfer blade having a first known width and moveable along a first axis and that can be loaded/unloaded in a second direction by a second wafer transfer blade having a second known width and moveable along a second axis, the second axis intersecting the first axis at an acute angle and at an intersection point substantially concurrent with a wafer support center point, the cassette comprising: at least one first wafer support, on a first side of the intersection point, for supporting an edge portion of each wafer loaded into said cassette and having a proximal and a distal edge with respect to the first direction; and at least one second wafer support, on a second side of the intersection point, for supporting a second edge of said wafer and having a proximal and a distal edge with respect to the first direction; wherein said first and second wafer supports are disposed in positions relative to said first and second axes to define a first wafer loading/unloading port between the proximal edges of the first and the second wafer supports respectively and a second wafer loading/unloading port between the distal edges of the first and the second wafer supports respectively, whereby the first and second loading/unloading ports are large enough for both said first and second transfer blades to each pass through both the first and second ports to load/unload the wafer.

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2007年7月16日 (月)

Applied Materials社の請求項 #513

5354387
Applied Materials
A composite layer of boron phosphorus silicate glass (BPSG) on a semiconductor wafer comprising an essentially void-free first BPSG layer and a non-hygroscopic BPSG top layer formed by (a) depositing a first CVD base layer of BPSG on said wafer, in a vacuum chamber, using a mixture of gases comprising one or more gaseous sources of boron, one or more gaseous sources of phosphorus, a gaseous source of oxygen, and tetraethylorthosilicate as the gaseous source of silicon; and (b) depositing a plasma assisted CVD capping layer of BPSG over said CVD layer, in a vacuum chamber, using a mixture of gases comprising one or more gaseous sources of boron, one or more gaseous sources of phosphorus, a gaseous source of oxygen, and tetraethylorthosilicate as the gaseous source of silicon.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #512

5126231
Applied Materials
A process for forming an etch mask over the surface of a semiconductor wafer using a multilayer photoresist wherein a mask pattern photolithographically formed in the upper photoresist layer of said multilayer photoresist may be accurately reproduced in the lower photoresist layer of said multilayer photoresist which comprises: a) forming a photoresist layer on the surface of a semiconductor wafer which will be the lower photoresist layer of said multilayer photoresist; b) forming one or more intermediate layers over said lower photoresist layer; c) forming an upper photoresist layer over said one or more intermediate layers on said wafer; d) photolithographically forming a pattern in said upper photoresist layer; e) reproducing said pattern in a portion of said one or more intermediate layers below and in contact with said upper photoresist layer; f) removing the remainder of said upper photoresist layer; g) then reproducing said pattern in a portion of said one or more intermediate layers in contact with said lower photoresist layer using said previously etched portion of said one or more intermediate layers as a mask; and h) then reproducing said pattern in said lower photoresist layer using said pattern formed in said one or more intermediate layers as a mask; whereby a mask pattern photolithographically formed in said upper photoresist layer may be accurately reproduced in said lower photoresist layer while removing said upper photoresist layer before said pattern is reproduced in said lower photoresist layer.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #511

5843226
Applied Materials
A process for etching shallow trenches in single crystal silicon, the process comprising the steps of: (a) placing into a chamber a single crystal silicon having a patterned mask thereon; (b) introducing into the chamber a first process gas comprising HBr and Cl.sub.2 ; (c) generating a first plasma of the first process gas in the chamber; (d) contacting the single crystal silicon with the first plasma in the chamber to etch upper trench portions having upper sidewall portions of a first profile angle in the single crystal silicon; (e) introducing into the chamber a second process gas comprising HBr, Cl.sub.2 and oxygen; (f) generating a second plasma of the second process gas in the chamber; and (g) contacting the single crystal silicon with the second plasma in the chamber to etch lower trench portions having lower sidewall portions of a second profile angle in the single crystal silicon, wherein the upper sidewall portions and the lower sidewall portions comprise the sidewall of the shallow trenches, and the shallow trenches comprise a trench bottom and bottom corners.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #510

5226632
Applied Materials
A slit valve apparatus, comprising: wall means defining an elongated substantially rectangular aperture having a major axis and a minor axis, said aperture being adapted to pass a solid object along a transfer plane substantially parallel to said major axis and substantially perpendicular to said minor axis; elongated seat means surrounding said aperture, said seat means having a first seating surface defining a sealing plane which is angularly disposed with respect to said transfer plane; elongated door means having a second seating surface which is matingly engageable with said first seating surface parallel to said sealing plane; and linear actuator means for selectively moving said door means towards and away from said seat means along an actuator axis which is substantially perpendicular to said sealing plane.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #509

6042700
Applied Materials
A method of sputter depositing material onto a workpiece in a sputter reactor, comprising: in a first interval, spultering material primarily from a first, disk-shaped target, thereby depositing sputtered material from said first target onto said workpiece; and in a second interval, sputtering material primarily from a second, ring-shaped target which is a coil coupling RF energy, thereby depositing sputtered material from said second target onto said workpiece.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #508

6379575
Applied Materials
A method of etching a substrate and treating surfaces in an etching chamber, the method comprising the steps of: (a) etching the substrate in the etching chamber thereby depositing etch residue on the surfaces in the etching chamber; and (b) transporting the substrate out of the etching chamber while providing activated cleaning gas in the etching chamber under process conditions selected to treat the surfaces of the etching chamber.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #507

5566744
Applied Materials
An apparatus useful in semiconductor processing of substrates, said apparatus comprising: a) a substrate support platform having a substrate-facing surface, said substrate-facing surface comprising: 1) at least one fluid supply means, whereby a heat transfer fluid can be supplied to said substrate-facing surface; 2) a continuous, platform fluid flow barrier which extends upward from said substrate-facing surface such that continuous contact occurs between said platform fluid flow barrier and a substrate placed on said support platform; 3) at least one lift finger opening through said substrate-facing surface, through which a substrate lift finger can be operated; and b) at least one lift finger which can be extended upward from said substrate-facing surface of said support platform and which is positioned to operate through said lift finger opening, wherein said lift finger comprises: 1) a lift finger pin member; and 2) a lift finger sealing cover which extends from said lift finger pin member to a contact surface on said support platform during semiconductor processing, whereby a lift finger fluid flow barrier is formed by said contact surface between said lift finger sealing cover and said support platform surface so that a heat transfer fluid supplied to said substrate-facing surface does not flow through said lift finger opening, whereby an area on said substrate support platform bounded by said platform fluid flow barrier can extend in a manner which encompasses said at least one lift finger.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #506

5848842
Applied Materials
A method of calibrating a temperature measurement system comprising: heating a first substrate having a high emissivity value to a first process temperature; while the first substrate is at the first process temperature, calibrating a first probe and a second probe to produce temperature indications from the first substrate that are substantially the same, said first probe having associated therewith a first effective reflectivity and said second probe having associated therewith a second effective reflectivity, said first and second effective reflectivities being different; heating a second substrate having a low emissivity value to a second process temperature, said low emissivity value being lower than said high emissivity value; with the second substrate at said second process temperature, using both the first probe and the second probe to measure the temperature of the second substrate, the first probe producing a first temperature indication and the second probe producing a second temperature indication different from the first temperature indication; measuring a sensitivity of the first probe to changes in substrate emissivity; and by using said measured sensitivity and the first and second temperature indications, computing a correction factor for the first probe, said correction factor to be applied to subsequent temperature readings of the first probe to produce corrected temperature readings.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #505

5039388
Applied Materials
In a plasma apparatus comprising plasma forming electrodes used in pairs disposed in mutually facing spaced parallel relation in a reduced pressure treating chamber, and between which a radio frequency current is applied to produce a plasma, the improvement wherein said electrodes each comprise a base selected from aluminum or an aluminum alloy and on said base a chromic acid anodic surface film layer having a thickness not in excess of about 20 microns.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #504

5228950
Applied Materials
In a process for forming polysilicon lines over an oxide layer on an integrated circuit structure formed on a semiconductor wafer wherein a polysilicon layer on said oxide layer is patterned by etching through said polysilicon layer down to said underlying oxide layer whereby silicon-rich oxide residues from said etching step are deposited on the sidewalls of said polysilicon lines, the improvement which comprises: removing said silicon-rich oxide residues from said sidewalls by contacting said residues for from about 5 to about 60 seconds with an etchant gas containing at least 40 volume % NF.sub.3 in an etchant chamber while maintaining said semiconductor wafer in said etchant chamber within a temperature range of from about -25.degree. C. to about 150.degree. C.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #503

5882411
Applied Materials
A gas faceplate, comprising: a generally circular plate; a plurality of holes passing substantially perpendicularly through said plate in a central circular portion of said plate; and first and second circular grooves formed on opposite sides of said plate surrounding said central circular portion, radially offset from each other, and each penetrating more than half way through said plate so as to form a wall in said plate between said grooves.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #502

6018616
Applied Materials
A thermal cycling module comprising: a heat exchanger having a top and a bottom surface separated by a periphery surface; one or more fluid chambers disposed within said heat exchanger; a radiation heater in thermal contact with the bottom surface of the heat exchanger, said radiation heater comprising a plurality of bulb heaters arranged to provide uniform heat distribution across said bottom surface of said heat exchanger; and a power source in electrical contact with said radiation heater.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #501

5244841
Applied Materials
A process for planarizing an integrated circuit structure in an apparatus which comprises: (a) depositing a first layer of an insulating material over said integrated circuit structure in a chemical vapor deposition zone in said apparatus; (b) depositing over said insulating layer a flowable inorganic planarizing layer at a temperature high enough to permit said inorganic planarizing material to flow as it is deposited; and (c) dry etching said flowable inorganic planarizing layer in an etching zone in said apparatus to planarize said structure and until substantially all of said inorganic planarizing layer has been removed.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #500

5685914
Applied Materials
A plasma reactor for processing a semiconductor wafer, said reactor having a pedestal focus ring comprising: a base annulus surrounding the periphery of the wafer; a cylindrical ring wall extending upwardly near the base annulus; and a passageway for permitting passage therethrough of particulate contamination during wafer processing operations, said passageway comprising plural openings extending through the base annulus.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #499

5531835
Applied Materials
A plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition substrate processing chamber comprising: a gas distribution plate through which a process gas is directed into the processing chamber; a susceptor located opposite said gas distribution plate; wherein said susceptor is electrically grounded and said gas distribution plate is charged to create a plasma between said distribution plate and said susceptor, wherein when a substrate is disposed on said susceptor said substrate becomes coated with a product of gas constituent reactants; wherein said susceptor includes a wafer supporting surface having a pattern of high regions above a low region, said high regions defining a reference plane on which said wafer can be supported above and separated from said low region wherein said high regions include the crests of waves in a circular pattern appearing to emanate from a center point.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #498

5762714
Applied Materials
A vacuum process chamber for a semiconductor substrate comprising: a plasma source capable of generating charged particles of an active gas, an electrostatic chuck for electrostatically holding a semiconductor substrate thereon, at least one plasma guard member positioned juxtaposed to and overlapping said semiconductor substrate, said at least one plasma guard member comprise a first concentric ring made of silicon and a second concentric ring made of quartz, whereby said at least one plasma guard member prevent the charged particles of said active gas from contacting said electrostatic chuck.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #497

5755511
Applied Materials
A method of correcting temperature probe readings in a thermal processing chamber for heating a substrate, said method comprising: forming a reflecting cavity on one side of the substrate; heating the substrate to a process temperature; using a first probe, a second probe and at least a third probe to sample energy from said reflecting cavity, said first and third probes having associated therewith a first effective reflectivity and said second probe having associated therewith a second effective reflectivity, the sampled energy from the first probe producing a first temperature indication, the sampled energy from the second probe producing a second temperature indication and the sampled energy from the third probe producing a third temperature indication, and wherein the first and second effective reflectivities are different; from the first and second temperature indications, deriving a corrected temperature reading for the first probe where the corrected temperature reading is the sum of the first temperature indication and an adjustment temperature, said adjustment temperature derived from a difference between said first and second temperature indications, wherein the corrected temperature reading for the first probe is a more accurate indicator of an actual temperature of the substrate in the environment of the first probe than are uncorrected readings produced by the first and second probes; and from the adjustment temperature and the third temperature indication, deriving a corrected temperature reading for the third probe, wherein the corrected temperature reading for the third probe is a more accurate indicator of an actual temperature of the substrate in the environment of the third probe than are uncorrected readings produced by the third probe.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #496

5772771
Applied Materials
A deposition chamber comprising: a housing defining a single vacuum chamber; a substrate support having a substrate support surface within the vacuum chamber, the substrate support surface having a central region and a periphery; a plurality of first gas distributors having first exits opening into the vacuum chamber, the first exits directed generally towards the central region; a second gas distributor having a second exit spaced apart from and generally overlying said substrate support surface, said second exit opening directly into the vacuum chamber; and said first gas distributors being located closer to the support surface than are the second gas distributors.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #495

6136685
Applied Materials
A method for forming a film on a substrate having a gap, the method comprising the steps of: (a) flowing a silicon-containing gas, a halogen-containing gas, and oxygen into a chamber at a first flow rate; (b) creating a plasma in said chamber with an RF source generator; (c) applying RF bias power at a first bias power level to said plasma with an RF bias generator; (d) depositing a first portion of the film on the substrate at a first deposition-to-etch ratio, said first portion of the film partially filling the gap in the substrate; (e) increasing said first flow rate of said silicon-containing gas and said halogen-containing gas and said oxygen to a second flow rate; (f) reducing said RF bias power to a second bias power level; and (g) depositing a second portion of the film on the substrate at a second deposition-to-etch ratio wherein said second deposition-to-etch ratio is greater than said first deposition-to-etch ratio, said first and second portions of the film filling the gap in the substrate.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #494

5780359
Applied Materials
In a process chamber, a process for stripping photoresist and polymer residues from top surfaces and side walls of a post-metal etch semiconductor wafer, comprising the steps of: initiating a flow of feed gas comprising fluorine-containing gases upstream from said process chamber; applying to said feed gas means for producing a plasma; supplying effluents of said plasma in the form of reactive species separated from said plasma to said process chamber; applying radio frequency energy to said wafer in said process chamber to generate a lower intensity plasma therein and accompanying wafer self-biasing; applying a magnetic field that rotates slowly in the horizontal plane to said process chamber during said step of applying radio frequency energy to said wafer to enhance plasma generation; and stripping said photoresist and polymer residues from the top surfaces and side walls of said post metal-etch wafer with said reactive species and said lower intensity plasma wherein the pressure in said process chamber is greater than 100 miliTorr.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #493

6607976
Applied Materials
A method for the formation of a copper interconnect barrier layer on a substrate comprising: depositing one of a thin titanium-nitride nucleation layer and a thin tantalum-nitride nucleation layer on the substrate; and forming a tungsten-containing copper interconnect barrier layer overlying the substrate, wherein the forming step uses a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) technique that employs a fluorine-free tungsten-containing gas.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #492

6117244
Applied Materials
A chemical vapor deposition apparatus comprising: a chamber defined by a lower surface, side surfaces extending upward from said lower surface, and an upper surface, said upper surface including a faceplate opposite said lower surface; a ceramic liner contained within a recess of said faceplate, a periphery of said recess being defined by an edge ring, said ceramic liner having a composition more resistant to deposition of material during chemical vapor deposition processing than aluminum and easier and faster to clean of said material deposited thereon than aluminum.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #491

5690795
Applied Materials
The configuration for attaching a shield to a substrate processing chamber comprising: a substrate processing chamber having walls surrounding a substrate processing location, a top edge of said walls forming a chamber opening; a chamber opening cover member spanning said opening and configured to be sealed to said top edge of said chamber walls; a shield configured to act as at least a partial barrier preventing process constituents emanating from the substrate processing location from reaching the walls, said shield including an integral flange piece which is securely held and clamped by a clamping force between a portion of said chamber wall and a portion of said chamber opening cover member, wherein at least part of the clamping force to hold and clamp the flange portion is created by evacuation of the substrate processing chamber which causes the cover member and said top edge of said chamber walls to be urged together; wherein said flange piece is disposed at a spacer location between said walls of said processing chamber and said chamber opening cover member within said processing chamber and internal to the seal path of a flange sandwich of said chamber opening, wherein the chamber is gas tightly sealed by seals in said flange sandwich; wherein said shield is configured so that in use removal and replacement of the shield is done without removal and replacement of a set of removable fasteners which in use are disposed inside the processing chamber.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #490

5824375
Applied Materials
A method for reducing sorbable contaminants in a reactor, comprising the steps of: cleaning a reactor with a plasma comprising a cleaning gas that leaves sorbable contaminants in the reactor; and removing sorbable contaminants from the reactor with a plasma consisting of an inert gas.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #489

5780357
Applied Materials
A method for depositing material within contact holes formed within a surface of a semiconductor substrate, comprising: depositing a first thickness of the material onto the surface of the substrate so as to partially fill the holes; reverse sputtering the deposited material so as to coat the sidewalls of the contact holes with the deposited material; after the first thickness of said material is deposited onto the surface of the substrate, depositing a second thickness of said material onto the surface of the substrate; and while depositing the second thickness of said material onto the surface of the substrate, heating the substrate to enhance reflow of the material being deposited, wherein the step of heating comprises biasing the substrate to a positive voltage relative to ground and bombarding the substrate with electrons.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #488

5486975
Applied Materials
A corrosion resistant apparatus for holding a substrate during processing with a corrosive gas, the apparatus comprising: (a) an electrostatic chuck having an electrically insulative layer, the insulative layer having a top surface and an exposed side surface, the chuck being chargeable for holding the substrate thereon by electrostatic force; and (b) a guard substantially enclosing the exposed side surface of the insulative layer for protecting the insulative layer against the corrosive gas, the guard being made from a sacrificial material that corrodes at least as quickly as the insulative layer corrodes when exposed to the corrosive gas.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #487

5460689
Applied Materials
A method of pretreating a wafer comprising: placing the wafer in a plasma chamber; flowing a gas into the plasma chamber; establishing a plasma in said chamber having a first pressure therein; after establishing the plasma, plasma etching said wafer at the first pressure for a first period of time; transitioning to a second pressure in said chamber, said second pressure being different from said first pressure; plasma etching said wafer at the second pressure for a second period of time; and after the second period of time has elapsed, discontinuing plasma etching at said second pressure.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #486

6199927
Applied Materials
An apparatus for handling a semiconductor substrate, comprising: a surface upon which said semiconductor substrate is lifted or carried from one process or storage location to another, wherein said surface is formed from a specialized material having an essentially void-free structure, wherein said specialized material is selected from the group consisting of a single crystal, a fine-grained crystal, a fused crystal, and a combination thereof, and wherein said surface is smooth, having a finish of 1.0 micro inch or less, and is a low-friction surface, whereby said surface reduces the generation of particulates when contacted with said semiconductor substrate.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #485

6008140
Applied Materials
A method of patterning a copper film on a substrate surface for use in semiconductor applications, wherein said patterning is accomplished by plasma etching, said method comprising: supplying a halogen-comprising plasma feed gas to a plasma etch chamber, wherein components of said plasma feed gas enable the application of sufficient hydrogen to an etched portion of a copper feature surface to protect said etched portion of said copper feature surface from reaction with reactive species during the etching of an adjacent copper feature surface, wherein at least 40% of said hydrogen applied to said etched portion of said copper feature surface is supplied by a halogen-comprising component of said feed gas, wherein said halogen-comprising component is selected from the group consisting of HCl, HBr, and combinations thereof, and wherein a hydrogen-comprising gas selected from the group consisting of H.sub.2, CH.sub.4, and CH.sub.3 F is also a component of said halogen-comprising feed gas.

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Applied Materials社の請求項 #484

5571571
Applied Materials
A method of forming a conformal thin film of silicon oxide on a substrate having spaced conductive lines thereon comprising the steps of: mounting a substrate onto a substrate support in a vacuum chamber; forming a plasma in the vacuum chamber in a region above the substrate by means of an electrical power source from a reaction gas comprising a mixture of tetraethylorthosilicate and a fluorine-containing halocarbon gas selected from the group consisting of CX.sub.4 and CX.sub.3 --(CX.sub.2).sub.n --CX.sub.3 wherein X is hydrogen or halogen and n is an integer from 0 to 5 with the proviso that at least one X is fluorine; and subjecting the substrate to the plasma so as to deposit a layer of silicon oxide containing at least about 2.5 atomic percent of fluorine onto the substrate without the formation of voids in the film.