Eco-efficiency monitoring and exploration platform for semiconductor manufacturing
Granted: February 18, 2025
Patent Number:
12228905
Technologies directed to an eco-efficiency monitoring and exploration platform for semiconductor manufacturing. One method includes receiving, by a processing device, first data indicating an update to a substrate fabrication system having a first configuration of manufacturing equipment and operating to one or more process procedures. The method further includes determining, by the processing device, using the first data with a digital replica, environmental resource data. The digital…
Methods and apparatus for cooling a substrate support
Granted: February 18, 2025
Patent Number:
12232299
Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate are provided herein. For example, an apparatus for processing a substrate comprises a process chamber configured to process a substrate, a substrate support comprising a heat sink configured to cool the substrate support during operation and a water trap panel comprising a pumping ring configured to cool the water trap panel such that the water trap panel condenses water vapor molecules and drops a process chamber pressure during…
Three dimensional device formation using early removal of sacrificial heterostructure layer
Granted: February 18, 2025
Patent Number:
12230691
A method for forming a nanosheet device. The method may include providing a heterostructure device stack above a semiconductor substrate. The method may include patterning the heterostructure device stack to define a dummy gate region, and before forming a source drain recess adjacent the dummy gate region, selectively removing a first set of sacrificial layers of the heterostructure device stack within the dummy gate region.
MOSFET gate engineerinng with dipole films
Granted: February 18, 2025
Patent Number:
12230688
A metal gate stack on a substrate comprises: an interfacial layer on the substrate; a high-? metal oxide layer on the interfacial layer, the high-? metal oxide layer comprising a dipole region adjacent to the interfacial layer, the dipole region comprising niobium (Nb); a high-? metal oxide capping layer on the high-? metal oxide layer; a positive metal-oxide-semiconductor (PMOS) work function material above the high-? metal oxide capping layer; and a gate electrode above the PMOS work…
Apparatus and methods for semiconductor processing
Granted: February 18, 2025
Patent Number:
12230530
Described are apparatus and methods for processing a semiconductor wafer so that the wafer remains in place during processing. The wafer is subjected to a pressure differential between the top surface and bottom surface so that sufficient force prevents the wafer from moving during processing, the pressure differential generated by applying a decreased pressure to the back side of the wafer.
Method for non-contact low substrate temperature measurement
Granted: February 18, 2025
Patent Number:
12230521
A method and apparatus for measuring a temperature of a substrate located in a semiconductor processing environment is disclosed. The substrate has a top surface and an edge surface, and is positioned in a prescribed location within the semiconductor processing environment. An infrared camera oriented to view one side of the edge surface of the substrate is triggered to obtain an infrared image of the one side of the edge surface of the substrate. The infrared image is processed to…
Methods of post treating silicon nitride based dielectric films with high energy low dose plasma
Granted: February 18, 2025
Patent Number:
12230499
A method of post-treating a silicon nitride (SiN)-based dielectric film formed on a surface of a substrate includes positioning a substrate having a silicon nitride (SiN)-based dielectric film formed thereon in a processing chamber, and exposing the silicon nitride (SiN)-based dielectric film to helium-containing high-energy low-dose plasma in the processing chamber. Energy of helium ions in the helium-containing high-energy low-dose plasma is between 1 eV and 3.01 eV, and flux density…
Processing chamber with multiple plasma units
Granted: February 18, 2025
Patent Number:
12230479
Provided is a processing chamber configured to contain a semiconductor substrate in a processing region of the chamber. The processing chamber includes a remote plasma unit and a direct plasma unit, wherein one of the remote plasma unit or the direct plasma unit generates a remote plasma and the other of the remote plasma unit or the direct plasma unit generates a direct plasma. The combination of a remote plasma unit and a direct plasma unit is used to remove, etch, clean, or treat…
Temperature-controlled surface with a cryo-nanomanipulator for improved deposition rate
Granted: February 18, 2025
Patent Number:
12230473
A method of depositing material over a sample in a deposition region of the sample with a charged particle beam column, the method comprising: positioning a sample within a vacuum chamber such that the deposition region is under a field of view of the charged particle beam column; cooling the deposition region by contacting the sample with a cyro-nanomanipulator tool in an area adjacent to the deposition region; injecting a deposition precursor gas into the vacuum chamber at a location…
In-line metrology systems, apparatus, and methods for optical devices
Granted: February 18, 2025
Patent Number:
12229940
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to optical devices for augmented, virtual, and/or mixed reality applications. In one or more embodiments, an optical device metrology system is configured to measure a plurality of first metrics and one or more second metrics for optical devices, the one or more second metrics including a display leakage metric.
Paddle configuration for a particle coating reactor
Granted: February 11, 2025
Patent Number:
12220678
A reactor for coating particles includes a stationary vacuum chamber to hold a bed of particles to be coated, a chemical delivery system, and a paddle assembly. The paddle assembly includes a rotatable drive shaft and a first plurality of paddles and a second plurality of paddles that extend radially from the drive shaft. The spacing, cross-sections, and oblique angles of the paddles are such that orbiting of the paddles causes the first plurality of paddles and the second plurality of…
Bake devices for handling and uniform baking of substrates
Granted: February 11, 2025
Patent Number:
12225641
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to bake apparatuses for handling and uniform baking of substrates and methods for the handling and the uniform baking of substrates. The bake apparatuses allow the substrates to be heated to a temperature greater than 50° C. without bowing of about 1 mm to about 2 mm from the edge of the substrates to the center of the substrates. The bake apparatuses heat the substrates uniformly or substantially uniformly to improve substrate quality.
Manufacturing micro-LED displays to reduce subpixel crosstalk
Granted: February 11, 2025
Patent Number:
12224272
A method for manufacturing micro-LED displays includes depositing a first material over a substrate having a plurality of micro-LEDs such that the plurality of micro-LEDs are covered by the first material and the first material fills gaps laterally separating the micro-LEDs, removing a portion of the first material from the gaps that laterally separate the plurality of micro-LEDs to form trenches that extend to or below light-emitting layers of the micro-LEDs, depositing a second…
Apparatus and method of brush cleaning using periodic chemical treatments
Granted: February 11, 2025
Patent Number:
12224186
A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) system include apparatus and methods to clean brushes used to scrub substrates, including brush cleaning using periodic chemical treatment. One or more embodiments include a method of operating the CMP system to rotate a first one or more scrubber brushes while the first one or more scrubber brushes are in contact with a first substrate, performing, concurrent with the rotating during the first time duration, a cleaning operation for a second one or…
Multi-beam charged particle source with alignment means
Granted: February 11, 2025
Patent Number:
12224152
Disclosed are an apparatus and method for generating a plurality of substantially collimated charged particle beamlets. The apparatus includes a charged particle source for generating a diverging charged particle beam, a beam splitter for splitting the charged particle beam in an array of charged particle beamlets, a deflector array includes an array of deflectors including one deflector for each charged particle beamlet of said array of charged particle beamlets, wherein the deflector…
Ion source for controlling decomposition buildup using chlorine co-gas
Granted: February 11, 2025
Patent Number:
12224149
An ion source for generating an ion beam containing aluminum ions is disclosed. The ion source includes a first gas source to introduce an organoaluminium compound into the arc chamber of the ion source. A second gas, different from the first gas, which is a chlorine-containing gas is also introduced to the arc chamber. The chloride co-flow reduces the buildup of decomposition material that occurs within the arc chamber. This buildup may occur at the gas bushing, the extraction aperture…
Defect detection of a semiconductor specimen
Granted: February 11, 2025
Patent Number:
12223641
There is provided a system and method of defect detection of a semiconductor specimen. The method includes obtaining a first image of the specimen acquired at a first bit depth, converting by a first processor the first image to a second image with a second bit depth lower than the first bit depth, transmitting the second image to a second processor configured to perform first defect detection on the second image using a first defect detection algorithm to obtain a first set of defect…
Metrology system for packaging applications
Granted: February 11, 2025
Patent Number:
12222659
Methods and apparatus for detecting metrology data are provided herein. For example, an apparatus comprises a substrate support configured to support a substrate and another substrate disposed on the substrate, an incoherent light source configured to transmit an illumination beam through the substrate and the another substrate, a set of optics configured to direct the illumination beam when transmitted through the substrate and the another substrate, an actuator operably coupled to the…
Process kits and related methods for processing chambers to facilitate deposition process adjustability
Granted: February 11, 2025
Patent Number:
12221696
The present disclosure relates to flow guides, process kits, and related methods for processing chambers to facilitate deposition process adjustability. In one implementation, a process kit for disposition in a processing chamber applicable for use in semiconductor manufacturing includes a plate having a first face and a second face opposing the first face. The process kit includes a liner. The liner includes an annular section, and one or more ledges extending inwardly relative to the…
Conditioning of a processing chamber
Granted: February 11, 2025
Patent Number:
12221694
A method for cleaning one or more interior surfaces of a processing chamber includes removing a processed substrate from the processing chamber, and introducing a first cleaning chemistry into the processing chamber to generate a first internal pressure of greater than 1.1 atm within the processing chamber and remove deposited contaminants from the one or more interior surfaces of the processing chamber. The method further comprises removing the cleaning chemistry from the processing…
