/Patent Tracker
SamsungGranted patentChips & hardwareInterest 3/10

Samsung patents plasma sensor design for chip manufacturing

Samsung has been granted a patent for a device that monitors plasma conditions inside a chip-making chamber. The design uses a protective layer to shield a measuring unit from the high-energy plasma while allowing it to detect the plasma's status.

Why it mattersThis is a routine improvement in semiconductor manufacturing equipment that helps ensure the quality of the plasma used to etch or deposit materials on computer chips.

In the filing’s own words

A plasma diagnosis device and a method for manufacturing the plasma diagnosis device are provided. The plasma diagnosis device includes: a process chamber in which processes using plasma are performed; a probe structure which includes a protective layer having a first face abutting the plasma, a second face opposite to the first face, and an outer wall connecting the first face and the second face inside the process chamber, and a conductive measuring unit spaced apart from the first face of the protective layer and configured to measure a status of the plasma; and a wafer on a periphery of the probe structure and in contact with the outer wall of the protective layer, in which the wafer and the protective layer include materials different from each other.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A plasma diagnosis device, comprising: a process chamber in which processes using plasma are performed; a probe structure which includes a protective layer that has a first face configured to be exposed to a plasma established within the process chamber during a plasma process, a second face opposite to the first face, and an outer wall connecting the first face and the second face inside the process chamber, and a conductive measuring unit spaced apart from the first face of the protective layer and configured to measure a status of the plasma; and a wafer on a periphery of the probe structure and in contact with the outer wall of the protective layer, wherein the wafer and the protective layer include materials different from each other.

Facts

Company
Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
Official title
Plasma diagnosis device and manufacturing method of plasma diagnosis device
Patent number
US12770844B2
Application number
18657015
Filed
May 7, 2024
Granted
Oct 20, 2026
Inventors
4
Claims
20

Classified under

H01J 37/32917 Electricity & electronicsH01J 2237/24564 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

More from Samsung in Chips & hardware

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.