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SamsungGranted patentChips & hardwareInterest 2/10

Samsung patents a new design for holding wafers in place during chip making

This patent describes a specific structure for an electrostatic chuck, a device used in chip manufacturing to hold silicon wafers steady. It details how a cooling plate, an insulating layer, and a top plate are stacked and held together by a fastener that moves only in one direction.

Why it mattersIt is a routine improvement to the internal hardware used in semiconductor factories, likely aimed at better stability or cooling efficiency during production.

In the filing’s own words

An electrostatic chuck includes a cooling plate having a cooling flow path, an insulating plate disposed on the cooling plate, an upper plate disposed on the insulating plate and fixed to the cooling plate, and a fastening member coupling the cooling plate to the upper plate. The fastening member passes through the cooling plate and is coupled to a fastening portion provided on a lower surface of the upper plate. Movement of the fastening member is constrained only in a first direction intersecting an upper surface of the upper plate.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An electrostatic chuck comprising: a cooling plate having a cooling flow path; an insulating plate disposed on the cooling plate and defining (i) a fastener insertion recess at an upper surface of the insulating plate and (ii) a communication hole extending from the fastener insertion recess and through the insulating plate in a direction intersecting the upper surface of the insulating plate; an upper plate disposed above the insulating plate and having a lower surface facing the upper surface of the insulating plate, the upper plate including a fastening portion that extends from the lower surface into the insulating plate and is received at the fastener insertion recess of the insulating plate; and a fastener coupling the cooling plate to the upper plate with the insulating plate between the cooling plate and the upper plate, wherein the fastener passes through the cooling plate and the communication hole of the insulating plate, and has a first end coupled to the fastening portion of the upper plate.

Facts

Company
Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
Official title
Electrostatic chuck
Patent number
US12741349B2
Application number
18233374
Filed
Aug 14, 2023
Granted
Sep 22, 2026
Inventors
5
Claims
18

Classified under

B23Q 3/15 Operations & transportH02N 13/00 Electricity & electronicsH10P 72/722 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.