Tuan V Ngo

6361645, Mar 26, 2002

Oct 8, 1998

09/169017

Alan M. Schoepp - Ben Lomond CA
Robert E. Knop - Fremont CA
Christopher H. Olson - El Dorado CA
Michael S. Barnes - San Ramon CA
Tuan M. Ngo - Milpitas CA

Lam Research Corporation - Fremont CA

H02N 1300

156345, 118723 E, 118728, 118500, 20429803, 20429808, 20429832, 20429834, 361234, 323234, 323304, 323318, 324109

Disclosed is a method and device for compensating a bias voltage on a wafer disposed over an electrostatic chuck in a processing chamber of a plasma processing system. The plasma processing system includes an electrostatic and RF power supplies that are coupled to the electrostatic chuck. The bias compensation device includes a voltage converter, a storage unit, and a voltage adjusting circuitry. The voltage converter is coupled to the electrostatic chuck for detecting a voltage Vpp of the electrostatic chuck. The voltage converter converts the detected voltage to a lower voltage Vref. The storage unit stores a predetermined slope and a predetermined offset of a calibration curve, which is derived by fitting a plurality of wafer bias voltages as a function of electrostatic chuck voltages.

6526355, Feb 25, 2003

Mar 30, 2000

09/539312

Tuqiang Ni - Fremont CA
Tuan Ngo - Milpitas CA
Chung-Ho Huang - Fremont CA
Andrew Lui - Fremont CA
Farro Kaveh - Palo Alto CA

Lam Research Corporation - Fremont CA

G06F 1900

702 32, 702 31, 31511121

A process chamber with a computer system that controls the process chamber is connected to one or more spectrometers. The spectrometers may be part of an interferometer or may be an optical emission spectrometer. The spectrometers may be CCD or photodiode arrays of 2,048 elements. An input board forms part of the computer system and is directly connected to the spectrometers. The input board provides data from the spectrometers to dual port memory, which is directly accessible to the CPU of the computer system. The use of a state machine and adder on the input board allows computation and placement of the data from the spectrometers on to the dual port memory, so that the CPU is not needed for such placement.

6622286, Sep 16, 2003

Jun 30, 2000

09/608599

Tuan Ngo - Milpitas CA
Farro Kaveh - Palo Alto CA
Connie Lam - Los Altos CA
Chung-Ho Huang - Fremont CA
Tuqiang Ni - Fremont CA
Anthony T. Le - San Jose CA
Steven Salkow - Pleasanton CA

Lam Research Corporation - Fremont CA

G06F 1750

716 1, 716 19, 700121

A central controller for use in a semiconductor manufacturing equipment integrates a plurality of controllers with an open architecture allowing real-time communication between the various control loops. The central controller includes at least one central processing unit (CPU) executing high level input output (i/o) and control algorithms and at least one integrated i/o controller providing integrated interface to sensors and control hardware. The integrated i/o controller performs basic i/o and low level control functions and communicates with the CPU through a bus to perform or enable controls of various subsystems of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

59297174, Jul 27, 1999

Jan 9, 1998

9/005146

Brett C. Richardson - San Ramon CA
Tuan Ngo - Milpitas CA

LAM Research Corporation - Fremont CA

H03H 740

333 173

Variable reactances of a matching network connected between an r. f. source and a plasma load of a vacuum plasma chamber processing a workpiece are varied so a tendency of the plasma to change in an unstable manner which can adversely affect processing of the workpiece is avoided while matching is approached. The plasma tendency to change in an unstable manner is detected by monitoring an electrical parameter resulting from r. f. current flowing between the source and load via the network. The parameter can be (1) statistically based, e. g. variance of percent delivered power, or (2) amplitude modulation in one or both of the 2-20 kHz and 50-200 kHz ranges.

45070784, Mar 26, 1985

Mar 28, 1983

6/479197

Johann Tam - Saratoga CA
Jalal Ashjaee - Mountain View CA
Nobuo B. Kuwaki - San Jose CA
Tuan M. Ngo - Milpitas CA
Susan W. Kung - Oakland CA

Silicon Valley Group, Inc. - San Jose CA

F27D 300
F27B 914
B65G 4300
B65G 1500

432 11

A wafer handling method and apparatus insures proper centering of a wafer at a work station and controls the heat transferred to the wafer in a baking operation. The amount of heat transferred and the rate at which the heat is transferred to the wafer are regulated by controlling the distance between the wafer and a hot plate. The hot plate is maintained at a constant temperature higher than the bake out or equilibrium temperature to which the wafer is to be heated.

56892152, Nov 18, 1997

May 23, 1996

8/652037

Brett Richardson - San Ramon CA
Tuan Ngo - Milpitas CA
Michael S. Barnes - San Francisco CA

LAM Research Corporation - Fremont CA

H03H 740

333 173

An r. f. field is supplied by a reactive impedance element to a plasma in a vacuum plasma processing chamber. The element and source are connected via a matching network including first and second variable reactances that control loading of the source and tuning a load, including the reactive impedance element and the plasma, to the source. The values of the first and second variable reactances are changed to determine the amount the first variable reactance is to change for each unit change of the second variable reactance to attain the best match between the impedances seen looking into and out of output terminals of the r. f. source. Then the values of the first and second variable reactances are varied simultaneously based on the determination until the best impedance match between the impedances seen looking into and out of output terminals of the r. f. source is attained.

59820993, Nov 9, 1999

Mar 29, 1996

8/624124

Michael S. Barnes - San Francisco CA
Brett Richardson - San Ramon CA
Tuan Ngo - Milpitas CA
John Patrick Holland - Santa Clara CA

Lam Research Corporation - Fremont CA

H05H 124

31511121

A gas in a vacuum plasma processing chamber is ignited to a plasma by subjecting the gas to an r. f. field derived from an r. f. source having a frequency and power level sufficient to ignite the gas into the plasma and to maintain the plasma. The r. f. field is supplied to the gas by a reactive impedance element connected via a matching network to the r. f. source. The matching network includes first and second variable reactances that control loading of the source and tuning a load, including the reactive impedance element and the plasma, to the source. The value of only one of the reactances is varied until a local maximum of a function of power coupled between the source and the load is reached. The value of only the other reactance is varied until a local maximum of the function is reached. The two varying steps are then repeated as necessary.

60608374, May 9, 2000

Jun 18, 1999

9/335493

Brett C. Richardson - San Ramon CA
Tuan Ngo - Milpitas CA

Lam Research Corporation - Fremont CA

H05H 146

31511151

Variable reactances of a matching network connected between an r. f. source and a plasma load of a vacuum plasma chamber processing a workpiece are varied so a tendency of the plasma to change in an unstable manner which can adversely affect processing of the workpiece is avoided while matching is approached. The plasma tendency to change in an unstable manner is detected by monitoring an electrical parameter resulting from r. f. current flowing between the source and load via the network. The parameter can be (1) statistically based, e. g. variance of percent delivered power, or (2) amplitude modulation in one or both of the 2-20 kHz and 50-200 kHz ranges.