175 results about "Floating potential" patented technology

A plasma CVD apparatus for forming a thin film on a substrate includes: a vacuum chamber; an upper electrode; a susceptor as a lower electrode; and a ring-shaped insulation plate disposed in a gap between the susceptor and an inner wall of the chamber in the vicinity of or in contact with the susceptor to minimize a floating potential charged on the substrate while processing the substrate.

A method for processing a substrate by plasma CVD includes: (i) forming a film on a substrate placed on a susceptor by applying RF power between the susceptor and a shower plate in the presence of a film-forming gas in a reactor; and (ii) upon completion of step (i), without unloading the substrate, applying amplitude-modulated RF power between the susceptor and the shower plate in the absence of a film-forming gas but in the presence of a non-film-forming gas to reduce a floating potential of the substrate.

An electrosurgical instrument, system and methods are provided for the vaporization, cutting, coagulation, or treatment of tissue in the presence of an electrically conductive fluid medium. The electrosurgical probe comprises at least one active electrode, and at least one “floating” electrode having at least one end in close proximity to at least one active electrode. The floating electrode is not connected in any way to the electrosurgical power supply, but rather has a “floating” potential determined by the shape and position of the electrode. The floating electrode increases current density in the region of the probe distal end.

Disclosed herein are improved, efficient electrosurgical probes suitable for tissue vaporization and cutting of tissue structures, more particularly for performing electrosurgical cutting, ablation (volumetric tissue vaporization), coagulating and/or modification within a body tissue, cavity or vessel or on the surface of a patient. The system and method of the present invention optionally include means for irrigation and/or aspiration of the surgical site and therefore may be used in relatively dry environments for, for instance, oral, otolaryngological, laparoscopic, and dermatologic procedures.

Provided is a semiconductor device which scarcely malfunctions even when the device is used as a high-side element, and can keep a high breakdown voltage. In a semiconductor substrate having a main surface, a first p⁻ epitaxial region is formed. At the main surface side of the first p⁻ epitaxial region, a second p⁻ epitaxial region is formed. At the main surface side of the second p⁻ epitaxial region, an n-type drift region and a p-type body region are formed. Between the first and second p⁻ epitaxial regions, an n⁺ buried region having a floating potential is formed to isolate these regions electrically from each other. Between n⁺ buried region and the second p⁻ epitaxial region, a p⁺ buried region is formed which has a higher p-type impurity concentration than the second p⁻ epitaxial region.

The a cathode-arc source of metal plasma with filtration, used, in particular, for deposition of DLC, utilizes the effect of fast ions reflection from the Hall stratum in a transversal arched magnetic field to filtrate vacuum arc plasma arc from contaminating macroparticles and vapor. Various embodiments for producing maximal plasma flux at the source outlet, in particular, a pulse source with more the one cathode units for deposition of coating inside pipes/cavities, for deposition of coating in a stationary/quasi-stationary condition are offered. The cathode is made of a consumable material and is exposed to poles of magnets on both ends of cathode for creating a transversal magnetic field of an arched configuration in a discharge gap between the cathode and the anode. The anode geometry adequate to the mechanism of the arc current passage through a transversal magnetic field is offered. To avoid longitudinal and transverse short circuits of the current layer, an installation of non-conducting surfaces at ends or sectioned shields under a floating potential at the cathode sides is provided. The method of creating the Hall stratum in said transversal magnetic field of arched configuration is offered.

Shield plates for reduced coupling between charge storage regions in nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices, and associated techniques for forming the same, are provided. Electrical fields associated with charge stored in the floating gates or other charge storage regions of a memory device can couple to neighboring charge storage regions because of the close, and continually decreasing proximity of these regions. A shield plate can be formed adjacent to the bit line sides of floating gates that face opposing bit line sides of adjacent floating gates. Insulating layers can be formed between each shield plate and its corresponding adjacent charge storage region. The insulating layers can extend to the levels of the upper surfaces of the control gates formed above the charge storage regions. In such a configuration, sidewall fabrication techniques can be implemented to form the insulating members and shield plates. Each shield plate can be deposited and etched without complex masking to connect the control gates and shield plates. In one embodiment, the shield plates are at a floating potential.

The invention provides an arc coating apparatus having a steering magnetic field source comprising steering conductors disposed along the short sides of a rectangular target behind the target, and a magnetic focusing system disposed along the long sides of the target in front of the target which confines the flow of plasma between magnetic fields generated on opposite long sides of the target. The plasma focusing system can be used to deflect the plasma flow off of the working axis of the cathode. Each steering conductor can be controlled independently. In a further embodiment, electrically independent steering conductors are disposed along opposite long sides of the cathode plate, and by selectively varying a current through one conductor, the path of the arc spot shifts to widen an erosion corridor. The invention also provides a plurality of internal anodes, and optionally a surrounding anode for deflecting the plasma flow and preserving a high ionization level of the plasma. The invention also provides a shield at floating potential, restricting the cathode spot from migrating into selected regions of the target evaporation surface outside of the desired erosion zone. The shield may be positioned immediately above the region of the target surface in the vicinity of the anode, protecting the anode from deposition of cathodic evaporate and providing better distribution of cathodic evaporate over the substrates to be coated. The invention further provides correcting magnets adjacent to the short sides of the target, to move the arc spot between the long sides.

Shield plates for reduced coupling between charge storage regions in nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices, and associated techniques for forming the same, are provided. Electrical fields associated with charge stored in the floating gates or other charge storage regions of a memory device can couple to neighboring charge storage regions because of the close, and continually decreasing proximity of these regions. A shield plate can be formed adjacent to the bit line sides of floating gates that face opposing bit line sides of adjacent floating gates. Insulating layers can be formed between each shield plate and its corresponding adjacent charge storage region. The insulating layers can extend to the levels of the upper surfaces of the control gates formed above the charge storage regions. In such a configuration, sidewall fabrication techniques can be implemented to form the insulating members and shield plates. Each shield plate can be deposited and etched without complex masking to connect the control gates and shield plates. In one embodiment, the shield plates are at a floating potential.

A bolometric detector for electromagnetic radiation comprising a sensitive part or membrane comprising one or more layers of a sensitive material, the resistivity of which varies with temperature; first electric conductor elements in electrical continuity with a readout circuit associated with the bolometric detector and acting as electrodes for the detector and being in contact with the sensitive material and acting as an electromagnetic radiation absorber; second electric conductor elements at a floating potential acting only as an electromagnetic radiation absorber; at least one support area for the sensitive part fulfilling the function of positioning the sensitive part and electric conductor in relation to the readout circuit; at least one thermal isolation structure electrically and mechanically linking each support area to the sensitive part. The conductor elements are distributed as two crossed, superimposed networks of conductive tracks, the first of the two networks comprising all the first conductor elements.

A method for monitoring plasma-induced damage to a substrate while being processed in a plasma CVD apparatus includes: measuring DC floating potential of the substrate using a detection electrode in contact with the substrate while the substrate is processed in the apparatus; and detecting abnormality as plasma-induced damage based on the measured DC floating potential.

Film formation conditions are determined in accordance with relationships among a film formation temperature Ts (° C.), a difference Vs−Vf (V), which is the difference between a plasma potential Vs (V) in the plasma at the time of the film formation and a floating potential Vf (V), and characteristics of the formed film. For a piezoelectric film containing at least one kind of Pb-containing perovskite type oxide, the film formation conditions should preferably be determined within a range such that Formulas (1) and (2) shown below are satisfied:

Ts(° C.)≧400   (1)

−0.2Ts+100<Vs−Vf(V)<−0.2Ts+130   (2)

The present invention provides a cold cathode ionization vacuum gauge, an auxiliary discharge starting electrode plate, and a vacuum processing apparatus which have simple configurations and, even after long-term-use, which allow discharge to be initiated in a short-period of time and also to be performed stably after the start of the discharge. A cold cathode ionization vacuum gauge according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: an anode; a gauge head chamber (cathode) placed in such a manner as to form a discharge space together with the anode; and a protruding configured so that, in voltage-application to the anode and the cathode, an electric field should be concentrated at the protruding portion to a larger extent than an electric field at the gauge head chamber is. The protruding portion is provided inside the discharge space in such a manner that the protruding portion has a floating potential.

A thin film is fabricated while causing ions in a plasma P to be incident by effecting biasing relative to the space potential of the plasma P by imparting a set potential to the surface of a substrate 9. A bias system 6 causes the substrate surface potential Vs to vary in pulse form by imposing an electrode imposed voltage Ve in pulse form on a bias electrode 23 which is in a dielectric block 22. The pulse frequency is lower than the oscillation frequency of ions in the plasma P, and the pulse period T, pulse width t and pulse height h are controlled by a control section 62 in a manner such that the incidence of ions is optimized. The imposed pulses are controlled in a manner such that the substrate surface potential Vs recovers to a floating potential Vf at the end of a pulse period T, and that the ion incidence energy temporarily crosses a thin film sputtering threshold value in a pulse period T.

A method for using plasma to activate biochar is disclosed where reactive gas(es) are excited by external power; biochar set on a sample holder is electrically biased or set at a floating potential so that charged particles of a certain type are attracted to the biochar, leading to intensive chemical reactions.