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…
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…
Radio frequency source for inductively coupled and capacitively coupled plasmas in substrate processing chambers
Granted: February 4, 2025
Patent Number:
12217937
A radio frequency (RF) source may be used to generate a capacitively coupled plasma to perform a plasma-based process on a substrate in a plasma processing chamber. A controller may cause the RF source and a switching element to route an RF signal to electrodes in the pedestal that generate the plasma in the processing chamber as part of a recipe performed on a substrate during etch or deposition processes. Between processes, the controller may cause the same RF source to generate a…
Isolated volume seals and method of forming an isolated volume within a processing chamber
Granted: February 4, 2025
Patent Number:
12217982
A method and apparatus for substrate processing and a cluster tool including a transfer chamber assembly and a plurality of processing assemblies. Processing chamber volumes are sealed from the transfer chamber volume using a support chuck on which a substrate is disposed. A seal ring assembly is coupled to the support chuck. The seal ring assembly includes an inner assembly, an assembly bellows circumscribing the inner assembly, and a bellows disposed between the inner and outer…
Lid separation device for vacuum chamber
Granted: February 4, 2025
Patent Number:
12217981
Lid separators for vacuum processing chamber lid separation and vacuum processing chambers incorporating same are provided herein. In some embodiments, a lid separator for a vacuum processing chamber includes: a shaft having a first end and an opposing second end, wherein the shaft is threaded along at least a first portion of the shaft; and a contact pad having an outer diameter greater than an outer diameter of the shaft, a recess disposed in a first side of the contact pad, and a…
Localized stress modulation by implant to back of wafer
Granted: February 4, 2025
Patent Number:
12217974
Embodiments herein are directed to localized stress modulation by implanting a first side of a substrate to reduce in-plane distortion along a second side of the substrate. In some embodiments, a method may include providing a substrate, the substrate comprising a first main side opposite a second main side, wherein a plurality of features are disposed on the first main side, performing a metrology scan to the first main side to determine an amount of distortion to the substrate due to…
To an inductively coupled plasma source
Granted: February 4, 2025
Patent Number:
12217938
Disclosed herein is an apparatus for processing a substrate using an inductively coupled plasma source. An inductively coupled plasma source utilizes a power source, a shield member, and a coil coupled to the power source. In certain embodiments, the coils are arranged with a horizontal spiral grouping and a vertical extending helical grouping. The shield member, according to certain embodiments, utilizes a grounding member to function as a Faraday shield. The embodiments herein reduce…
Chamber component condition estimation using substrate measurements
Granted: February 4, 2025
Patent Number:
12216455
A substrate processing system includes a process chamber, one or more robot, a substrate measurement system, and a computing device. The process chamber may process a substrate that will comprise a film and/or feature after the processing. The one or more robot, to move the substrate from the process chamber to a substrate measurement system. The substrate measurement system may measure the film and/or feature on the substrate and generate a profile map of the film and/or feature. The…
Air-spaced encapsulated dielectric nanopillars for flat optical devices
Granted: February 4, 2025
Patent Number:
12216243
Embodiments described herein relate to flat optical devices and methods of forming flat optical devices. One embodiment includes a substrate having a first arrangement of a first plurality of pillars formed thereon. The first arrangement of the first plurality of pillars includes pillars having a height h and a lateral distance d, and a gap g corresponding to a distance between adjacent pillars of the first plurality of pillars. An aspect ratio of the gap g to the height h is between…
MEMS resonator sensor substrate for plasma, temperature, stress, or deposition sensing
Granted: February 4, 2025
Patent Number:
12216015
Embodiments disclosed herein include diagnostic substrates and methods of using the diagnostic substrates to extract plasma parameters. In an embodiment, a diagnostic substrate comprises a substrate and an array of resonators across the substrate. In an embodiment, the array of resonators comprises at least a first resonator with a first structure and a second resonator with a second structure. In an embodiment, the first structure is different than the second structure.
Methods and systems of optical inspection of electronic device manufacturing machines
Granted: February 4, 2025
Patent Number:
12215966
Implementations disclosed describe an inspection device capable of being transferred by a robot blade into a processing chamber of a manufacturing machine, the inspection device comprising an optical sensor to detect light reflected from a target located within the processing chamber, wherein the optical sensor is to output, to a processing device, a signal representative of a state of a region of a surface of the target.
Polishing head retaining ring tilting moment control
Granted: February 4, 2025
Patent Number:
12214469
Embodiments herein generally relate to chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) systems used in the manufacturing of electronic devices. In one embodiment, a substrate carrier for polishing a surface of a substrate includes a retaining ring configured to surround a substrate during a polishing process. The retaining ring includes a first surface that is configured to contact a surface of a polishing pad during the polishing process, a second surface that is on a side of the retaining ring…
Temperature control of chemical mechanical polishing
Granted: February 4, 2025
Patent Number:
12214468
A chemical mechanical polishing system includes a support to hold a polishing pad, a carrier head to hold a substrate against the polishing pad during a polishing process, an in-situ monitoring system configured to generate a signal indicative of an amount of material on the substrate, a temperature control system to control a temperature of the polishing process, and a controller coupled to the in-situ monitoring system and the temperature control system. The controller is configured to…
Edge defect detection via image analytics
Granted: January 28, 2025
Patent Number:
12211195
The present disclosure includes edge defect detection via image analytics. A method includes identifying an image of an edge of a susceptor pocket formed by a susceptor of a substrate processing system. The method further includes predicting, based on the image, whether property values of the edge of the susceptor meet threshold values. The method further includes, responsive to the property values of the edge meeting threshold values, causing performance of a corrective action…
Uniformity control for plasma processing
Granted: January 28, 2025
Patent Number:
12211677
A system and method including a processing device. The processing device receives data including one or more plasma exposure durations of a plasma process. The plasma exposure duration are associated with a set of controlled elements. The processing device causes a each set of controlled elements to switch between a first mode of operation and a second mode of operation. Each set of controlled elements expose appropriate portion of a substrate to the plasma related fluxes. The first set…
Performing radio frequency matching control using a model-based digital twin
Granted: January 28, 2025
Patent Number:
12211670
A method includes receiving, from one or more sensors, sensor data associated with manufacturing equipment and updating one or more values of a digital replica associated with the manufacturing equipment based on the sensor data. The digital replica comprises a model reflecting a virtual representation of physical elements and dynamics of how the manufacturing equipment operates. One or more outputs indicative of predictive data is obtained from the digital replica and, based on the…
System for automatic tumor detection and classification
Granted: January 28, 2025
Patent Number:
12211296
Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for automatically detecting and classifying tumor regions in a tissue slide. The method generally includes obtaining a digitized tissue slide from a tissue slide database and determining, based on output from a tissue classification module, a type of tissue of shown in the digitized tissue slide. The method further includes determining, based on output from a tumor classification model for the type of tissue, a region of…
