US6042707A — Multiple-coil electromagnet for magnetically orie…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 126 words

A thin-film processing electromagnet assembly for magnetically orienting a magnetic film on a surface of a substrate within a thin-film processing environment comprising: a plate-shaped core having front and back surfaces that extend substantially parallel to a plane of the substrate surface; a first winding layer of a first electromagnetic coil wrapped in a first angular direction around said plate-shaped core; a first winding layer of a second electromagnetic coil wrapped in a second angular direction around both said first winding layer of the first electromagnetic coil and said plate-shaped core; and at least one power supply that controls relative amounts of electrical current conveyed through said first and second electromagnetic coils for orienting a substantially uniaxial magnetic field in the plane of the substrate surface.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 126 words

A thin-film processing electromagnet assembly for magnetically orienting a magnetic film on a surface of a substrate within a thin-film processing environment comprising: a plate-shaped core having front and back surfaces that extend substantially parallel to a plane of the substrate surface; a first winding layer of a first electromagnetic coil wrapped in a first angular direction around said plate-shaped core; a first winding layer of a second electromagnetic coil wrapped in a second angular direction around both said first winding layer of the first electromagnetic coil and said plate-shaped core; and at least one power supply that controls relative amounts of electrical current conveyed through said first and second electromagnetic coils for orienting a substantially uniaxial magnetic field in the plane of the substrate surface.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 32 words

The assembly of claim 1 in which said plate-shaped core and said first and second electromagnetic coils are supported within a chuck housing that includes a mounting surface for supporting the substrate.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 30 words

The assembly of claim 2 in which said plate-shaped core and said first and second electromagnetic coils are mounted on an opposite side of said mounting surface from the substrate.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 30 words

The assembly of claim 1 in which each of said first and second electromagnetic coils are arranged for producing a substantially uniaxial magnetic field in the plane of the substrate.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 25 words

The assembly of claim 4 in which said first and second angular directions of the electromagnetic coils are angularly separated by 30 degrees or more.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 23 words

The assembly of claim 5 in which said first and second angular directions of the electromagnetic coils are angularly separated by 90 degrees.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 46 words

The assembly of claim 1 in which a second winding layer of the first electromagnetic coil is wrapped in the first angular direction around said first winding layer of the second electromagnetic coil, said first winding layer of the first electromagnetic coil, and said plate-shaped core.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 55 words

The assembly of claim 7 in which a second winding layer of the second electromagnetic coil is wrapped in the second angular direction around said second winding layer of the first electromagnetic coil, said first winding layer of the second electromagnetic coil, said first winding layer of the first electromagnetic coil, and said plate-shaped core.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 32 words

The assembly of claim 8 in which each of said first and second electromagnetic coils includes at least three winding layers that are alternately wrapped in respective directions around the plate-shaped core.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 38 words

The assembly of claim 1 further comprising a first winding layer of a third electromagnetic coil wrapped in a third angular direction around said first winding layers of the first and second electromagnetic coils and said plate-shaped core.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 29 words

The assembly of claim 10 in which said first, second, and third angular directions of the electromagnetic coils are angularly separated from each other by 60 degrees or more.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 25 words

The assembly of claim 1 in which said at least one power supply supports different amounts of current through said first and second electromagnetic coils.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 24 words

The assembly of claim 12 further comprising a control system for adjusting the amounts of current flowing into said first and second electromagnetic coils.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 44 words

The assembly of claim 1 in which a first of said at least one power supply supports flows of current through said first electromagnetic coil and a second of said at least one power supply supports flows of current through said second electromagnetic coil.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 30 words

The assembly of claim 1 in which said front and back surfaces of the plate-shaped core are joined by a peripheral surface having a plurality of sides separated by corners.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 13 words

The assembly of claim 15 in which said peripheral surface has four sides.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 19 words

The assembly of claim 15 in which said peripheral surface has a polygonal shape with other than four sides.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 13 words

The assembly of claim 17 in which said peripheral surface has six sides.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 17 words

The assembly of claim 17 in which said sides of the peripheral surface are substantially straight sides.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 17 words

The assembly of claim 19 in which said sides of the peripheral surface have substantially equal length.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 28 words

The assembly of claim 15 in which cooling passages are formed in said plate-shaped core, and said cooling passages enter and leave said plate-shaped core through said corners.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 31 words

The assembly of claim 21 further comprising corner posts located at said corners of the plate-shaped core for providing entry and exit ports for said cooling passages in said plate-shaped core.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 45 words

The assembly of claim 22 in which said corner posts are made of a magnetically permeable material and project in height above the front surface of the plate-shaped core for reducing skew of the substantially uniaxial magnetic field in the plane of the substrate surface.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 129 words

Apparatus for orienting a magnetic film on a surface of a substrate comprising: an electromagnet having first and second electromagnetic coils wrapped around a common core; said first electromagnetic coil being wrapped around said common core for producing a first uniaxial magnetic field along a first magnetic axis; said second electromagnetic coil being wrapped around said common core for producing a second uniaxial magnetic field along a second magnetic axis; and a controller that regulates electrical currents conveyed through said first and second electromagnetic coils for producing a compound uniaxial magnetic field that orients magnetic domains of the magnetic film along a compound magnetic axis that lies in a plane defined by the first and second magnetic axes, wherein the first an second magnetic axes extend in different directions.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 129 words

Apparatus for orienting a magnetic film on a surface of a substrate comprising: an electromagnet having first and second electromagnetic coils wrapped around a common core; said first electromagnetic coil being wrapped around said common core for producing a first uniaxial magnetic field along a first magnetic axis; said second electromagnetic coil being wrapped around said common core for producing a second uniaxial magnetic field along a second magnetic axis; and a controller that regulates electrical currents conveyed through said first and second electromagnetic coils for producing a compound uniaxial magnetic field that orients magnetic domains of the magnetic film along a compound magnetic axis that lies in a plane defined by the first and second magnetic axes, wherein the first an second magnetic axes extend in different directions.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 25 words

The apparatus of claim 24 in which the controller provides for orienting the compound magnetic axis throughout an angular span of at least 90 degrees.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 21 words

The apparatus of claim 24 in which the first and second magnetic axes are angularly separated by at least 30 degrees.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 53 words

The apparatus of claim 24 further comprising a third electromagnetic coil wrapped around said common core for producing a third uniaxial magnetic field that orients the magnetic domains of the magnetic film along a third magnetic axis that extends in a direction different from the directions of the first and second magnetic axes.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 42 words

The apparatus of claim 27 in which said controller regulates electrical currents conveyed through the first, second, and third electromagnetic coils for producing the compound uniaxial magnetic field that orients the magnetic domains of the magnetic film along the compound magnetic axis.

Claim 31

Dependent Claim 48 words

The apparatus of claim 28 in which the controller divides the electrical currents in different proportions between said first and second electromagnetic coils for orienting the compound magnetic axis throughout a continuum of different angular positions within an angular span that includes the first and second magnetic axes.

Claim 32

Dependent Claim 19 words

The apparatus of claim 24 in which the first and second magnetic axes are angularly separated by 90 degrees.

Claim 33

Dependent Claim 38 words

The apparatus of claim 24 in which said controller provides for maintaining a pre-specified ratio of currents between the first and second electromagnetic coils for orienting the magnetic domains of the magnetic film along the compound magnetic axis.

Claim 34

Dependent Claim 24 words

The apparatus of claim 31 in which said controller provides for maintaining a constant ratio of currents between the first and second electromagnetic coils.

Claim 35

Dependent Claim 24 words

The apparatus of claim 31 in which said controller provides for maintaining a time-varying ratio of currents between the first and second electromagnetic coils.

Claim 36

Dependent Claim 12 words

The apparatus of claim 33 in which said time-varying ratio is cyclical.

Claim 37

Dependent Claim 21 words

The apparatus of claim 24 further comprising a substrate support for supporting the substrate for processing within a controlled processing environment.

Claim 38

Dependent Claim 16 words

The apparatus of claim 35 in which said controlled processing environment supports a physical-vapor deposition process.

Claim 39

Dependent Claim 16 words

The apparatus of claim 36 in which said controlled processing environment supports a magnetic annealing process.

Claim 40

Dependent Claim 24 words

The apparatus of claim 35 in which said substrate support includes a substrate mounting surface that is located between said electromagnet and the substrate.

Claim 41

Dependent Claim 24 words

The apparatus of claim 38 in which said substrate support includes a substrate temperature regulator located between said electromagnet and said substrate mounting surface.

Claim 42

Dependent Claim 14 words

The apparatus of claim 39 in which said temperature regulator is a heating unit.

Claim 43

Dependent Claim 14 words

The apparatus of claim 39 in which said temperature regulator is a cooling unit.

Claim 44

Dependent Claim 83 words

An electromagnet used for thin-film processing involving the orientation of a magnetic film on a surface of a substrate within a thin-film processing environment comprising: a plate-shaped core having substantially parallel top and bottom surfaces joined by a substantially polygonal periphery with more than four primary sides that provide overall shape to the core periphery; and at least two electromagnetic coils that are wrapped in different directions around said plate-shaped core for producing together a substantially uniaxial magnetic field at the substrate surface.

Claim 45

Dependent Claim 83 words

An electromagnet used for thin-film processing involving the orientation of a magnetic film on a surface of a substrate within a thin-film processing environment comprising: a plate-shaped core having substantially parallel top and bottom surfaces joined by a substantially polygonal periphery with more than four primary sides that provide overall shape to the core periphery; and at least two electromagnetic coils that are wrapped in different directions around said plate-shaped core for producing together a substantially uniaxial magnetic field at the substrate surface.

Claim 46

Dependent Claim 19 words

The electromagnet of claim 42 in which said at least two electromagnetic coils are wrapped in non-orthogonally related directions.

Claim 47

Dependent Claim 40 words

The electromagnet of claim 42 in which a first of said electromagnetic coils is wrapped around a first pair of said primary sides, and a second of said electromagnetic coils is wrapped around a second pair of said primary sides.

Claim 48

Dependent Claim 48 words

The electromagnet of claim 44 in which each of said first and second pairs of primary sides have parallel primary sides, and the parallel primary sides of said first pair of primary sides are oriented non-orthogonally to the parallel primary sides of said second pair of primary sides.

Claim 49

Dependent Claim 15 words

The electromagnet of claim 42 in which said primary sides form a substantially regular polygon.

Claim 50

Dependent Claim 13 words

The electromagnet of claim 46 in which said regular polygon is a hexagon.

Claim 51

Dependent Claim 31 words

The electromagnet of claim 42 in which said at least two electromagnetic coils include first, second, and third electromagnetic coils that are wrapped in three different directions around said plate-shaped core.

Claim 52

Dependent Claim 62 words

The electromagnet of claim 48 in which said first electromagnetic coil is wrapped in a first direction around a first pair of said primary sides, said second electromagnetic coil is wrapped in a second direction around a second pair of said primary sides, and said third electromagnetic coil is wrapped in a third direction around a third pair of said primary sides.

Claim 53

Dependent Claim 35 words

The electromagnet of claim 42 further comprising a controller that regulates relative amounts of electrical current conveyed through said at least two electromagnetic coils for producing a compound uniaxial magnetic field at the substrate surface.

Claim 54

Dependent Claim 40 words

The electromagnet of claim 50 in which said controller regulates relative amounts of electrical current conveyed through said at least two electromagnetic coils for orienting the substantially uniaxial magnetic field to different positions in a plane of the substrate surface.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2003-03-28	2003-09-27	2004-03-28	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2007-03-28	2007-09-27	2008-03-28	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2011-03-28	2011-09-27	2012-03-28	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Multiple-coil electromagnet for magnetically orienting thin films

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