Increasing the gas efficiency for an electrostatic chuck
AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.
InventorVijay D. Parkhe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gas is received through an inlet. A portion of the gas is supplied to an electrostatic chuck. A portion of the gas is re-circulated through a compressor. A pressure of the second portion of the gas is increased. The second portion of the gas is stored in a gas storage.
Claims6
A method to increase the efficiency of a backside gas for an electrostatic chuck comprising:
- receiving the gas through an inlet;
- supplying a first portion of the gas to the electrostatic chuck;
- re-circulating a second portion of the gas through a compressor;
- supplying the second portion of the gas through an orifice to a vacuum line for a first time interval, wherein the second portion of the gas is supplied to the re-circulating line for a second time interval.
A method to increase the efficiency of a backside gas for an electrostatic chuck comprising:
- receiving the gas through an inlet;
- supplying a first portion of the gas to the electrostatic chuck;
- re-circulating a second portion of the gas through a compressor;
- determining a pressure set point for the gas at the electrostatic chuck;
- obtaining a calibration curve for the gas;
- estimating a flow rate of the first portion of the gas for the pressure set point based on the calibration curve;
- and
- controlling the first portion of the gas based on the estimated flow rate.
A method to increase the efficiency of a backside gas for an electrostatic chuck comprising:
- receiving the gas through an inlet;
- supplying a first portion of the gas to the electrostatic chuck;
- re-circulating a second portion of the gas through a compressor;
- and
- measuring a flow of the gas at a plurality of pressure values to generate a calibration curve.
A method to increase the efficiency of a backside gas for an electrostatic chuck comprising:
- receiving the gas through an inlet;
- supplying a first portion of the gas to the electrostatic chuck;
- re-circulating a second portion of the gas through a compressor;
- determining if the gas is supplied through the inlet;
- and
- sending a trigger signal to the compressor, if the gas is supplied to the inlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.