Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100221583 | HDD PATTERN IMPLANT SYSTEM - Methods and apparatus for forming substrates having magnetically patterned surfaces is provided. A magnetic layer comprising one or more materials having magnetic properties is formed on a substrate. The magnetic layer is subjected to a patterning process in which selected portions of the surface of the magnetic layer are altered such that the altered portions have different magnetic properties from the non-altered portions without changing the topography of the substrate. A protective layer and a lubricant layer are deposited over the patterned magnetic layer. The patterning is accomplished through a number of processes that expose substrates to energy of varying forms. Apparatus and methods disclosed herein enable processing of two major surfaces of a substrate simultaneously, or sequentially by flipping. In some embodiments, magnetic properties of the substrate surface may be uniformly altered by plasma exposure and then selectively restored by exposure to patterned energy. | 09-02-2010 |
20100248497 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING NITROGEN-CONTAINING LAYERS - Methods and apparatus for forming nitrogen-containing layers are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method includes placing a substrate having a first layer disposed thereon on a substrate support of a process chamber; heating the substrate to a temperature of at least about 250 degrees Celsius; and exposing the first layer to a radio frequency (RF) plasma formed from a process gas comprising nitrogen while maintaining the process chamber at a pressure of about 10 mTorr to about 40 mTorr to transform at least an upper portion of the first layer into a nitrogen-containing layer. In some embodiments, the process gas includes ammonia (NH | 09-30-2010 |
20100297347 | SUBSTRATE SUPPORT HAVING SIDE GAS OUTLETS AND METHODS - A substrate support for a process chamber comprises an electrostatic chuck having a receiving surface to receive the substrate and a gas distributor baseplate below the electrostatic chuck. The gas distributor baseplate comprises a circumferential sidewall having a plurality of gas outlets that are spaced apart from one another to introduce a process gas into the process chamber from around the perimeter of the substrate and in a radially outward facing direction. | 11-25-2010 |
20110127156 | CHAMBER FOR PROCESSING HARD DISK DRIVE SUBSTRATES - An apparatus for forming a magnetic pattern in a magnetic storage substrate. A chamber comprises a chamber wall that defines an internal volume, a substrate support in the internal volume of the chamber, a gas distributor disposed in a wall region of the chamber facing the substrate support, a compact energy source for ionizing a portion of the process gas provided to the chamber, and a throttle valve having a z-actuated gate member with a sealing surface for covering an outlet portal of the chamber. Ions are accelerated toward the substrate support by an electrical bias, amplifying the ion density of the process gas. A substrate disposed on the substrate support is bombarded by the ions to alter a magnetic property of the substrate surface. | 06-02-2011 |
20110163065 | SYSTEM FOR BATCH PROCESSING OF MAGNETIC MEDIA - A method and apparatus for processing multiple substrates simultaneously is provided. Each substrate may have two major active surfaces to be processed. The apparatus has a substrate handling module and a substrate processing module. The substrate handling module has a loader assembly, a flipper assembly, and a factory interface. Substrates are disposed on a substrate carrier at the loader assembly. The flipper assembly is used to flip all the substrates on a substrate carrier in the event two-sided processing is required. The factory interface positions substrate carriers holding substrates for entry into and exit from the substrate processing module. The substrate processing module comprises a load-lock, a transfer chamber, and a plurality of processing chambers, each configured to process multiple substrates disposed on a substrate carrier. | 07-07-2011 |
20110278260 | INDUCTIVE PLASMA SOURCE WITH METALLIC SHOWER HEAD USING B-FIELD CONCENTRATOR - A method and apparatus for plasma processing of substrates is provided. A processing chamber has a substrate support and a lid assembly facing the substrate support. The lid assembly has a plasma source that comprises an inductive coil disposed within a conductive plate, which may comprise nested conductive rings. The inductive coil is substantially coplanar with the conductive plate, and insulated therefrom by an insulator that fits within a channel formed in the conductive plate, or nests within the conductive rings. A field concentrator is provided around the inductive coil, and insulated therefrom by isolators. The plasma source is supported from a conductive support plate. A gas distributor supplies gas to the chamber through a central opening of the support plate and plasma source from a conduit disposed through the conductive plate. | 11-17-2011 |
20110281442 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING NITROGEN-CONTAINING LAYERS - Methods and apparatus for forming nitrogen-containing layers are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method of forming a nitrogen-containing layer may include placing a substrate having a first layer disposed thereon on a substrate support of a process chamber; heating the substrate to a temperature of at least about 250 degrees Celsius; and exposing the first layer to a radio frequency (RF) plasma formed from a process gas consisting essentially of ammonia (NH | 11-17-2011 |
20130001899 | ELECTROSTATIC CHUCK ASSEMBLY - Embodiments of electrostatic chucks for substrate processing are provided herein. In some embodiments, an electrostatic chuck may include a puck for supporting a substrate, the puck formed from a dielectric material and having a chucking electrode disposed within the puck proximate a support surface of the puck to electrostatically retain the substrate when disposed on the puck; a base having a ring extending from the base to support the puck; and a spacer disposed between the base and the puck to support the puck above the base such that a gap is formed between the puck and the base, wherein the spacer supports the puck proximate a peripheral edge of the puck. | 01-03-2013 |
20130288460 | PROCESS CHAMBER HAVING SEPARATE PROCESS GAS AND PURGE GAS REGIONS - Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to chambers and methods of processing substrates therein. The chambers generally include separate process gas and purge gas regions. The process gas region and purge gas region each have a respective gas inlet and gas outlet. The methods generally include positioning a substrate on a substrate support within the chamber. The plane of the substrate support defines the boundary between a process gas region and purge gas region. Purge gas is introduced into the purge gas region through at least one purge gas inlet, and removed from the purge gas region using at least one purge gas outlet. The process gas is introduced into the process gas region through at least one process gas inlet, and removed from the process gas region through at least one process gas outlet. The process gas is thermally decomposed to deposit a material on the substrate. | 10-31-2013 |
20140199785 | MULTIZONE CONTROL OF LAMPS IN A CONICAL LAMPHEAD USING PYROMETERS - A method and apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate is described. The apparatus is a process chamber having an optically transparent upper dome and lower dome. Vacuum is maintained in the process chamber during processing. The upper dome is thermally controlled by flowing a thermal control fluid along the upper dome outside the processing region. Thermal lamps are positioned proximate the lower dome, and thermal sensors are disposed among the lamps. The lamps are powered in zones, and a controller adjusts power to the lamp zones based on data received from the thermal sensors. | 07-17-2014 |
20140273419 | MULTIZONE CONTROL OF LAMPS IN A CONICAL LAMPHEAD USING PYROMETERS - A substrate processing apparatus is provided. The substrate processing apparatus includes a vacuum chamber having a dome and a floor. A substrate support is disposed inside the vacuum chamber. A plurality of thermal lamps are arranged in a lamphead and positioned proximate the floor of the vacuum chamber. A reflector is disposed proximate the dome, where the reflector and the dome together define a thermal control space. The substrate processing apparatus further includes a plurality of power supplies coupled to the thermal lamps and a controller for adjusting the power supplies to control a temperature in the vacuum chamber. | 09-18-2014 |