Particle dispersing system and method for testing semiconductor manufacturing equipment

Patent · 31 December 1997

OSTI ID:871689

Chandrachood, Madhavi ^[1]; Ghanayem, Steve G ^[1]; Cantwell, Nancy ^[2]; Rader, Daniel J ^[3]; Geller, Anthony S ^[3]

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1. Sunnyvale, CA
2. Milpitas, CA
3. Albuquerque, NM

The system and method prepare a gas stream comprising particles at a known concentration using a particle disperser for moving particles from a reservoir of particles into a stream of flowing carrier gas. The electrostatic charges on the particles entrained in the carrier gas are then neutralized or otherwise altered, and the resulting particle-laden gas stream is then diluted to provide an acceptable particle concentration. The diluted gas stream is then split into a calibration stream and the desired output stream. The particles in the calibration stream are detected to provide an indication of the actual size distribution and concentration of particles in the output stream that is supplied to a process chamber being analyzed. Particles flowing out of the process chamber within a vacuum pumping system are detected, and the output particle size distribution and concentration are compared with the particle size distribution and concentration of the calibration stream in order to determine the particle transport characteristics of a process chamber, or to determine the number of particles lodged in the process chamber as a function of manufacturing process parameters such as pressure, flowrate, temperature, process chamber geometry, particle size, particle charge, and gas composition.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA
• Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA)
• Patent Number(s): US 5777245
• OSTI ID: 871689
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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