Patents
US 12770828 B2: Multi-electrode source assembly for plasma processing
- Granted
- 2026-10-20
- Filed
- 2023-04-24 application 18138730
- Type
- Utility · 23 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
Apparatus and methods for controlling the uniformity of a plasma formed using a radio frequency (RF) source power assembly that includes one or more resonant tuning circuits coupled to two or more electrodes disposed within a multi-electrode source assembly. Improved plasma uniformity control and reduced system cost are achieved by eliminating multiple RF generators and matches that power the multiple electrodes separately. Multiple frequencies may also be provided to multiple electrodes at the same time, which can include another cost savings when using a multi-frequency RF source assembly. Local plasma density and sheath voltage over a surface of a substrate are controlled with segmented electrodes disposed within the processing region of a plasma processing chamber. The ion flux and direction, as well as energetic electron flux towards the substrate, are controlled to address the plasma non-uniformity and global tilt during processing of a semiconductor substrate.
Source: PTBLXML, file of 2026-10-20 (ipgb20261020.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Materials, Inc. 9,683 patents | US company or organization | Santa Clara, CA | PTBLXML, file of 2026-10-20 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linying Cui | Cupertino, CA | 28 | PTBLXML, file of 2026-10-20 | |
| James Rogers | Los Gatos, CA | PTBLXML, file of 2026-10-20 | ||
| Rajinder Dhindsa | Pleasanton, CA | 178 | PTBLXML, file of 2026-10-20 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| H01J | Electric discharge tubes or discharge lamps | H01J37/32183 | PTBLXML, file of 2026-10-20 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
No recorded assignments or security interests on file for this patent.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.