Samsung patents sensor to detect electrical faults in semiconductor equipment
Samsung describes a system that monitors insulating parts in ion generation chambers used for making chips. It measures small electrical leaks to identify if the material is failing before it causes a breakdown.
In the filing’s own words
A bushing diagnostic system includes a source chamber that receives a process gas to generate ions, and to discharge the generated ions through an outlet of the source chamber, a power supply for providing a voltage to the source chamber, an extraction chamber surrounding the outlet of the source chamber; a bushing surrounding the source chamber and positioned adjacent to the extraction chamber, the bushing formed of an insulating material, a ground line electrically connected to the bushing, a sensor installed on the ground line and measuring a current flowing from the bushing and through the ground line, and a diagnostic device in communication with the sensor and analyzing a partial discharge type based on the current measured by the sensor. The diagnostic device determines whether the bushing is abnormal based on the analyzed partial discharge type.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A bushing diagnostic system, comprising: a source chamber configured to receive a process gas to generate ions, and to discharge the generated ions through an outlet of the source chamber; a power supply for providing a voltage to the source chamber; an extraction chamber surrounding the outlet of the source chamber; a bushing surrounding the source chamber and positioned adjacent to the extraction chamber, the bushing formed of an insulating material; a ground line electrically connected to the bushing; a sensor installed on the ground line and configured to measure a current flowing from the bushing and through the ground line; and a diagnostic device in communication with the sensor and configured to analyze a partial discharge type based on the current measured by the sensor, the diagnostic device configured to determine whether the bushing is abnormal based on the analyzed partial discharge type.
Facts
- Company
- Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
- Official title
- BUSHING DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM
- Publication number
- US20260276692A1
- Application number
- 19451483
- Filed
- Jan 16, 2026
- Published
- Sep 17, 2026
- Inventors
- 5
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
G01R 31/1272 Physics & computingMore from Samsung in Chips & hardware
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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.