Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for detecting arcs

US5993615A · kind A · utility

29Cited by
7References
27Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 19, 1997
Grant dateNov 30, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 19, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01J2237/0206
  • WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The present invention is a thin film deposition tool with arc detection capabilities. An arc detector is provided in the power supply line between the power supply and the sputter deposition tool. Arcs are detected by the arc detector and counted using a logic circuit. Arc data is collected and analyzed and real-time data is provided which can be used to stop further processing until a repair is made.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.