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SamsungGranted patentChips & hardwareInterest 3/10

Samsung patents a stepped ring design for chip-making machines

Samsung has been granted a patent for a specific shape of a 'focus ring,' a component used in machines that process silicon wafers to make computer chips. The design features a ring with a stepped inner wall and an angled outer wall, which helps control how gas flows or particles move inside the machine during the manufacturing process.

Why it mattersThis is a routine improvement to the internal hardware of semiconductor factories, aimed at making the production of computer chips more consistent and efficient.

In the filing’s own words

A substrate processing apparatus includes a focus ring, the focus ring includes a central axis that extends in a first direction, a top surface having a first inner diameter, a bottom surface having a second inner diameter that is smaller than the first inner diameter, and an inner lateral surface between the top surface and the bottom surface, the inner lateral surface including a first inner lateral surface and a second inner lateral surface, where the second inner lateral surface extends downward from the first inner lateral surface and a first angle between the first inner lateral surface and a line corresponding to the first direction is different from a second angle between the second inner lateral surface and the line corresponding to the first direction.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a focus ring, wherein the focus ring comprises: a central axis that extends in a first direction; a top surface having a first inner diameter; a bottom surface having a second inner diameter that is greater than the first inner diameter; an inner lateral surface between the top surface and the bottom surface, the inner lateral surface comprising a first inner lateral surface and a second inner lateral surface; and an outer lateral surface comprising a first outer lateral surface and a second outer lateral surface that extends downward in the first direction from a bottom of the first outer lateral surface, wherein the second inner lateral surface extends downward from the first inner lateral surface, wherein a first angle between the first inner lateral surface and a line corresponding to the first direction is different from a second angle between the second inner lateral surface and the line corresponding to the first direction, wherein the first outer lateral surface is parallel to the first direction, and wherein a third angle between the second outer lateral surface and the line corresponding to the first direction is an acute angle.

Facts

Company
Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
Official title
Focus ring, substrate processing apparatus including the same, and semiconductor fabrication method using the same
Patent number
US12738462B2
Application number
18211887
Filed
Jun 20, 2023
Granted
Sep 15, 2026
Inventors
1
Claims
19

Classified under

H01J 37/32642 Electricity & electronicsH10P 72/72 Electricity & electronicsH10P 72/7612 Electricity & electronicsH10P 72/7624 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.