Reno Sub-Systems (Reno), a developer of high performance radio frequency (RF) matching networks for leading-edge nanoscale semiconductor manufacturing, today announced that it has been awarded nine new patents for its solid-state RF matching network technology. These patents further strengthen Reno’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio for RF matching networks, reinforcing that Reno’s Velocity™ Matching Network technology is the industry-leading approach for semiconductor manufacturing at or beyond the 10nm node.
“Having these nine new patents awarded to us in such a short period of time is an outstanding accomplishment for any semiconductor equipment company,” said John Voltz, senior vice president, business development, at Reno. “We’re proud of our team’s ability to create and protect our Velocity™ RF matching network’s technology in a way that positions us as vendor of choice. Our customers are increasingly recognizing that our approach is best-of-breed and delivers unprecedented matching performance for the most advanced semiconductor processing in the world today.”
The new patents cover a broad range of claims to strengthen Reno’s IP position, including:
· Reno’s strongest claims to date using electronically variable capacitors (EVCs) in a matching network
· Solving technical issues related to parasitic capacitances
· Delivering engineering advances using a partial binary setup for an EVC to support applications that require wide capacitance range
· Protecting a one-dimensional EVC match with variable frequency sweep tuning
· Offering differentiation of Reno’s capabilities for level-to-level matching with pre-pulse switching
· Providing hybrid-type tuning using a matching lookup table to determine both a new EVC configuration and a new frequency
The list of newly awarded patents includes:
· US Patent No. 10,679,823 RF Switch for High Power Digital Matching Networks
· US Patent No. 10,679,824 Varying Capacitance Using a Partial Binary Approach
· US Patent No. 10,692,699 Impedance Matching with Restricted Capacitor Switching
· US Patent No. 10,699,880 High Voltage Reduction Circuit Used For Variable Capacitor Applications
· US Patent No. 10,707,057 RF Impedance Matching Circuit and Systems and Methods
· US Patent No. 10,714,314 Impedance Matching Network and Method
· US Patent No. 10,720,309 Impedance Matching Network and Method
· US Patent No. 10,727,029 Impedance Matching Using Independent Capacitance and Frequency Control
· US Patent No. 10,741,364 Impedance Matching Network and Method