Hamid A Tavassoli, Age 6619061 Tilson Ave, Cupertino, CA 95014

8021521, Sep 20, 2011

Apr 21, 2006

11/408558

Paul Lukas Brillhart - Pleasanton CA, US
Richard Fovell - San Jose CA, US
Hamid Tavassoli - Cupertino CA, US
Douglas H. Burns - Saratoga CA, US
Kallol Bera - San Jose CA, US
Daniel J. Hoffman - Saratoga CA, US
Kenneth W. Cowans - Fullerton CA, US
Williams W. Cowans - Fullerton CA, US
Glenn W. Zubillaga - Canyon Lake CA, US
Isaac Millian - Anaheim CA, US

Applied Materials, Inc. - Santa Clara CA
Advanced Thermal Sciences Corporation - Anaheim CA

H01T 23/00

204156, 216 67

A method of processing a workpiece in a plasma reactor having an electrostatic chuck for holding a workpiece in a chamber of the reactor includes providing a thermally conductive gas under pressure between a backside of the workpiece and a top surface of the electrostatic chuck, controlling the temperature of the electrostatic chuck, defining a desired workpiece temperature, measuring a current workpiece temperature or temperature related to the workpiece temperature and inputting the measured temperature to a thermal model representative of the electrostatic chuck. The method further includes determining from the thermal model a change in the pressure of the thermally conductive gas that would at least reduce the difference between the measured temperature and the desired temperature, and changing the pressure of the thermally conductive gas in accordance with the change determined from the thermal model.

8092638, Jan 10, 2012

Apr 21, 2006

11/409292

Paul Lukas Brillhart - Pleasanton CA, US
Richard Fovell - San Jose CA, US
Hamid Tavassoli - Cupertino CA, US
Douglas H. Burns - Saratoga CA, US
Kallol Bera - San Jose CA, US
Daniel J. Hoffman - Saratoga CA, US

Applied Materials Inc. - Santa Clara CA
Advanced Thermal Sciences Corporation - Anaheim CA

C23F 1/00
H01L 21/306

15634527, 15634528, 15634524

A plasma reactor for processing a workpiece includes a reactor chamber, an electrostatic chuck within the chamber for supporting a workpiece, an RF plasma bias power generator coupled to apply RF power to the electrostatic chuck and a refrigeration loop having an evaporator inside the electrostatic chuck with a refrigerant inlet and a refrigerant outlet. Preferably, the evaporator includes a meandering passageway distributed in a plane beneath a top surface of the electrostatic chuck. Preferably, refrigerant within the evaporator is apportioned between a vapor phase and a liquid phase. As a result, heat transfer between the electrostatic chuck and the refrigerant within the evaporator is a constant-temperature process. This feature improves uniformity of temperature distribution across a diameter of the electrostatic chuck.

8092639, Jan 10, 2012

Aug 12, 2010

12/855674

Paul Lukas Brillhart - Pleasanton CA, US
Richard Fovell - San Jose CA, US
Hamid Tavassoli - Cupertino CA, US
Douglas H. Burns - Saratoga CA, US
Kallol Bera - San Jose CA, US
Daniel J. Hoffman - Saratoga CA, US
Kenneth W. Cowans - Fullerton CA, US
William W. Cowans - Fullerton CA, US
Glenn W. Zubillaga - Canyon Lake CA, US
Isaac Millan - Anaheim CA, US

Advanced Thermal Sciences Corporation - Anaheim CA

H01L 21/3065
C23C 16/00
C23C 16/455
C23C 16/458
C23C 16/46
C23C 16/50

15634527, 15634524, 15634543, 15634547, 15634551, 15634552, 15634553, 118715, 118723 E, 118695, 118696, 118708, 118710, 118712, 118724, 118725, 118728

A plasma reactor having a reactor chamber and an electrostatic chuck with a surface for holding a workpiece inside the chamber includes a backside gas pressure source coupled to the electrostatic chuck for applying a thermally conductive gas under a selected pressure into a workpiece-surface interface formed whenever a workpiece is held on the surface and an evaporator inside the electrostatic chuck and a refrigeration loop having an expansion valve for controlling flow of coolant through the evaporator. The reactor further includes a temperature sensor in the electrostatic chuck and a memory storing a schedule of changes in RF power or wafer temperature. The reactor further includes a thermal model capable of simulating heat transfer between the evaporator and the surface based upon measurements from the temperature sensor, and a control processor coupled to the thermal model and to the memory and governing the backside gas pressure source in response to a prediction from the model of a change in the selected pressure that would compensate for the next scheduled change in RF power or implement the next scheduled change in wafer temperature.

8157951, Apr 17, 2012

Apr 21, 2006

11/408333

Paul Lukas Brillhart - Pleasanton CA, US
Richard Fovell - San Jose CA, US
Hamid Tavassoli - Cupertino CA, US
Douglas H. Burns - Saratoga CA, US
Kallol Bera - San Jose CA, US
Daniel J. Hoffman - Saratoga CA, US

Applied Materials, Inc. - Santa Clara CA
Advanced Thermal Sciences Corporation - Anaheim CA

H01L 21/306
C23C 16/52
C23C 16/46

15634527, 15634524, 15634552, 15634553, 118715, 118724, 118725, 118728, 118696, 118697

A plasma reactor for processing a workpiece includes a reactor chamber, an electrostatic chuck within the chamber having a top surface for supporting a workpiece and having indentations in the top surface that form enclosed gas flow channels whenever covered by a workpiece resting on the top surface. The reactor further includes thermal control apparatus thermally coupled to the electrostatic chuck, an RF plasma bias power generator coupled to apply RF power to the electrostatic chuck, a pressurized gas supply of a thermally conductive gas, a controllable gas valve coupling the pressurized gas supply to the indentations to facilitate filling the channels with the thermally conductive gas for heat transfer between a backside of a workpiece and the electrostatic chuck at a heat transfer rate that is a function of the pressure against the backside of the workpiece of the thermally conductive gas. The reactor further includes an agile workpiece temperature control loop including (a) a temperature probe in the electrostatic chuck, and (b) a backside gas pressure controller coupled to an output of the temperature probe and responsive to a specified desired temperature, the controller governing the gas valve in response to a difference between the output of the temperature probe and the desired temperature.

8221580, Jul 17, 2012

Apr 21, 2006

11/408567

Paul Lukas Brillhart - Pleasanton CA, US
Richard Fovell - San Jose CA, US
Hamid Tavassoli - Cupertino CA, US
Douglas H. Burns - Saratoga CA, US
Kallol Bera - San Jose CA, US
Daniel J. Hoffman - Saratoga CA, US
Kenneth W. Cowans - Fullerton CA, US
William W. Cowans - Fullerton CA, US
Glenn W. Zubillaga - Canyon Lake CA, US
Isaac Millan - Anaheim CA, US

Applied Materials, Inc. - Santa Clara CA
BE Aerospace, Inc. - Wellington FL

H01L 21/3065
C23C 16/52
C23C 16/46
C23C 16/458

15634527, 15634524, 15634543, 15634547, 15634551, 15634552, 118715, 118723 E, 118708, 118710, 118712, 118724, 118725, 118728

A plasma reactor with a reactor chamber and an electrostatic chuck having a surface for holding a workpiece inside the chamber includes a backside gas pressure source coupled to the electrostatic chuck for applying a thermally conductive gas under a selected pressure into a workpiece-surface interface formed whenever a workpiece is held on the surface, and an evaporator inside the electrostatic chuck and a refrigeration loop having an expansion valve for controlling flow of coolant through the evaporator. The reactor further includes a temperature sensor in the electrostatic chuck, a thermal model capable of simulating heat transfer between the evaporator and the surface based upon measurements from the temperature sensor and an agile control processor coupled to the thermal model and governing the backside gas pressure source in response to predictions from the model of changes in the selected pressure that would bring the temperature measured by the sensor closer to a desired temperature.

8236105, Aug 7, 2012

Apr 8, 2004

10/821310

Kallol Bera - San Jose CA, US
Heeyeop Chae - San Jose CA, US
Hamid Tavassoli - Cupertino CA, US
Yan Ye - Saratoga CA, US

Applied Materials, Inc. - Santa Clara CA

C23C 16/455
C23C 16/52
C23F 1/00
H01L 21/306
C23C 16/06
C23C 16/22

118715, 15634529

Apparatus for controlling the flow of a gas between a process region and an exhaust port in a semiconductor substrate processing chamber is provided. The apparatus includes at least one restrictor plate supported within the semiconductor processing chamber and at least partially circumscribing a substrate support pedestal. The restrictor plate is adapted to control the flow of at least one gas flowing between the process region and the exhaust port.

8337660, Dec 25, 2012

Aug 12, 2010

12/855678

Paul Lukas Brillhart - Pleasanton CA, US
Richard Fovell - San Jose CA, US
Hamid Tavassoli - Cupertino CA, US
Douglas H. Burns - Saratoga CA, US
Kallol Bera - San Jose CA, US
Daniel J. Hoffman - Saratoga CA, US
Kenneth W. Cowans - Fullerton CA, US
William W. Cowans - Fullerton CA, US
Glenn W. Zubillaga - Canyon Lake CA, US
Isaac Millan - Anaheim CA, US

B/E Aerospace, Inc. - Wellington FL

H01L 21/306
C23C 16/46
C23C 16/52
H01L 21/683

15634527, 15634524, 15634552, 15634553, 118715, 118724, 118725, 118728, 361234

A plasma reactor for processing a workpiece includes a reactor chamber, an electrostatic chuck within the chamber having a top surface for supporting a workpiece and having indentations in the top surface that form enclosed gas flow channels whenever covered by a workpiece resting on the top surface. The reactor further includes thermal control apparatus thermally coupled to the electrostatic chuck, an RF plasma bias power generator coupled to apply RF power to the electrostatic chuck, a pressurized gas supply of a thermally conductive gas, a controllable gas valve coupling the pressurized gas supply to the indentations to facilitate filling the channels with the thermally conductive gas for heat transfer between a backside of a workpiece and the electrostatic chuck at a heat transfer rate that is a function of the pressure against the backside of the workpiece of the thermally conductive gas. The reactor further includes an agile workpiece temperature control loop including (a) a temperature probe in the electrostatic chuck, and (b) a backside gas pressure controller coupled to an output of the temperature probe and responsive to a specified desired temperature, the controller governing the gas valve in response to a difference between the output of the temperature probe and the desired temperature.

8608900, Dec 17, 2013

Apr 21, 2006

11/409183

Paul Lukas Brillhart - Pleasanton CA, US
Richard Fovell - San Jose CA, US
Hamid Tavassoli - Cupertino CA, US
Douglas H. Burns - Saratoga CA, US
Kallol Bera - San Jose CA, US
Daniel J. Hoffman - Saratoga CA, US

B/E Aerospace, Inc. - Wellington FL
Applied Materials, Inc. - Santa Clara CA

H01L 21/3065
C23C 16/52
C23C 16/46
C23C 16/458
C23C 16/503
C23C 16/509

15634527, 15634524, 15634543, 15634547, 15634551, 15634552, 15634553, 118723 E, 118715, 118708, 118710, 118712, 118724, 118725, 118728

A plasma reactor having a reactor chamber and an electrostatic chuck with a surface for holding a workpiece inside the chamber includes a backside gas pressure source coupled to the electrostatic chuck for applying a thermally conductive gas under a selected pressure into a workpiece-surface interface formed whenever a workpiece is held on the surface and an evaporator inside the electrostatic chuck and a refrigeration loop having an expansion valve for controlling flow of coolant through the evaporator. The reactor further includes a temperature sensor in the electrostatic chuck and a memory storing a schedule of changes in RF power or wafer temperature. The reactor further includes a thermal model capable of simulating heat transfer between the evaporator and the surface based upon measurements from the temperature sensor, and a control processor coupled to the thermal model and to the memory and governing the backside gas pressure source in response to a prediction from the model of a change in the selected pressure that would compensate for the next scheduled change in RF power or implement the next scheduled change in wafer temperature.