Capacitive sensor for monitoring gas concentration

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11959868-B2
Application number	US-202117166967-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 3, 2021
Priority date	Feb 3, 2021
Publication date	Apr 16, 2024
Grant date	Apr 16, 2024

Abstract

Embodiments disclosed herein include gas concentration sensors, and methods of using such gas concentration sensors. In an embodiment, a gas concentration sensor comprises a first electrode. In an embodiment the first electrode comprises first fingers. In an embodiment, the gas concentration sensor further comprises a second electrode. In an embodiment, the second electrode comprises second fingers that are interdigitated with the first fingers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A gas concentration sensor, comprising:
a first electrode above a substrate, wherein the first electrode comprises first fingers; and
a second electrode above the substrate, wherein the second electrode comprises second fingers that are interdigitated with the first fingers, the first electrode comprising a first plate along a vertical direction relative to the substrate, the second electrode comprising a second plate along the vertical direction, and the first fingers and second fingers laterally between the first electrode and the second electrode along a horizontal direction relative to the substrate, and wherein the second electrode is capacitively coupled to the first electrode to provide a capacitance to measure a gas concentration.

2. The gas concentration sensor of claim 1 , wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are raised up from a surface of the substrate.

3. The gas concentration sensor of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a flexible substrate.

4. The gas concentration sensor of claim 3 , wherein the flexible substrate is cylindrical.

5. The gas concentration sensor of claim 3 , wherein the first electrode comprises a first line, wherein the first fingers extend away from the first line from two surfaces of the first line, and wherein the second electrode comprises a second line, wherein the second fingers extend away from the second line from two surfaces of the second line.

6. The gas concentration sensor of claim 1 , wherein the first fingers and the second fingers are plates.

7. The gas concentration sensor of claim 1 , wherein the first fingers and the second fingers are pins.

8. The gas concentration sensor of claim 1 , wherein the gas concentration sensor is provided in a gas feed line of a semiconductor processing tool.

9. The gas concentration sensor of claim 1 , further comprising:
a temperature sensor; and
a pressure sensor.

Assignees

• Applied Materials Inc

Inventors

• Li Xiaopu
• Bera Kallol
• Pan Yaoling
• Chan Kelvin
• Bayati Amir
• Kraus Philip Allan
• Choi Kenric T
• Durand William John

Classifications

• H10P72/0604

  Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring · CPC title

• H10P72/0402

  Apparatus for fluid treatment (H10P72/0441, H10P72/0448 take precedence) · CPC title

• G01N27/22 Primary

  by investigating capacitance · CPC title

• C23C16/45544

  characterized by the apparatus · CPC title

• C23C16/45561

  Gas plumbing upstream of the reaction chamber · CPC title