John R Langan, Age 902540 Burgener Blvd, San Diego, CA 92110

6637998, Oct 28, 2003

Oct 1, 2001

09/968125

John Giles Langan - Pleasanton CA
Wayne Thomas McDermott - Fogelsville PA
Thomas Hsiao-Ling Hsiung - Allentown PA

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. - Allentown PA

B65G 4907

414217, 41422204, 41422207, 41422213, 414939, 414940

A mobile, self-evacuating, micro-environment system for transit and storage of substrates between two or more processing chambers in the manufacture of semiconductor devices is provided where the system includes a mobile cart, a vacuum sealable container to hold the substrates, a vacuum source having a portable power source, located on the cart and capable of generating a vacuum in the container, and a docking valve to mate with a corresponding valve on each of the processing chambers, where the docking valve and the corresponding valve are securable to one another to form a substantially vacuum-tight seal and openable, while mated, to permit unloading and loading of substrates between the container and the processing chamber. A method of using the system is also provided.

6837250, Jan 4, 2005

Feb 27, 2002

10/085249

John Giles Langan - Pleasanton CA, US
Andrew David Johnson - Doylestown PA, US

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. - Allentown PA

B08B 600
B08B 900

134 11, 134 12, 134 10, 134 221, 438905, 216 67

A method of using PFCs recovered from the effluent of a CVD chamber cleaning process as an influent for the cleaning process is provided which includes the steps of selecting a first PFC gas mixture having a first ratio of CFto CF, providing the first PFC gas mixture as the influent gas to the CVD chamber to create a CVD chamber effluent gas of a second PFC gas mixture having a second ratio of CFto CF, adding virgin CFor CFto the CVD chamber effluent gas in sufficient quantity to create a third PFC gas mixture having the first ratio of CFto CF, and using the third PFC gas mixture as the influent gas to the CVD chamber.

6872323, Mar 29, 2005

Nov 1, 2001

10/003908

William R. Entley - San Jose CA, US
John G. Langan - Pleasanton CA, US
Randy Hall - Santa Cruz CA, US

Novellus Systems, Inc. - San Jose CA

B08B009/00

216 67, 134 11, 134 221, 438905

In accordance with an embodiment of the present intention, a fluorine residue removing method includes: supplying an oxygen-containing gas and a hydrogen-containing gas into a CVD chamber; producing a plasma of a mixture of the oxygen-containing gas and the-hydrogen containing gas, so that the plasma reacts with the fluorine residue, exothermically generating water; and evacuating from the CVD chamber a product of the reaction between the plasma and the fluorine residue. For the hydrogen-containing gas, NHis often used, and for the oxygen-containing gas, NO, O, or air is used. Exemplary mixtures of the oxygen-containing and the hydrogen-containing gases include 70 mol % NO/NH, 50 mol % NO/NH, and 52 mol % O/NH. An inert gas, such as He, Ne, Ar, or Kr, can be optionally supplied into the chamber to stabilize the plasma.

7479191, Jan 20, 2009

Apr 22, 2005

11/112741

William R. Entley - San Jose CA, US
John G. Langan - Pleasanton CA, US
Amith Murali - Fremont CA, US
Kathleen Bennett - Gilroy CA, US

Novellus Systems, Inc. - San Jose CA

B08B 3/12
B08B 6/00
B08B 7/00
B08B 7/02

134 1, 134 11

Methods of determining the endpoint of cleaning residues from the internal surfaces of a chemical vapor deposition chamber are described. The methods are especially useful for determining when organic-based residues deposited from an ultra low-k film precursor deposition are removed from the chamber. The methods involve cleaning the chamber with a plasma comprising fluorine and oxygen while monitoring the intensity of the optical emission lines of one or more atomic or molecular species that correlate to the removal of the organic-based residues. Techniques and apparatuses for monitoring different appropriate emission lines are described. Methods of the invention can be used to prevent particle contamination during CVD operations following ultra low-k film precursor depositions and improve wafer throughput in manufacturing environments.

5626775, May 6, 1997

May 13, 1996

8/645439

David A. Roberts - Escondido CA
Raymond N. Vrtis - Carlsbad CA
Arthur K. Hochberg - Salana Beach CA
Robert G. Bryant - Carlsbad CA
John G. Langan - Wescosville PA

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. - Allentown PA

H01L 2100

216 67

The present invention is directed to the etching of a material selected from the group consisting of silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, boronphosphorus silicate glass, fluorosilicate glass, siliconoxynitride, tungsten, tungsten silicide and mixtures thereof under plasma etch conditions, particularly for cleaning operations to remove silicon dioxide or silicon nitride from the walls and other surfaces within a reaction chamber of a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition reactor. The etching chemicals used in the etch process are trifluoroacetic acid and it derivatives, such as; trifluoroacetic anhydride, trifluoromethyl ester of trifluoroacetic acid and trifluoroacetic acid amide and mixtures thereof.