ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,230,518, issued on Feb. 18, was assigned to SCREEN HOLDINGS Co. LTD. (Kyoto, Japan).
"Light irradiation type heat treatment apparatus" was invented by Nobuhiko Nishide (Kyoto, Japan).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A light diffusion plate made of quartz and provided with a plurality of recessed spherical surfaces is placed on an upper chamber window so as to be in opposed relation to a central portion of a semiconductor wafer. Flashes of light emitted from flash lamps and passing by the side of the light diffusion plate impinge upon a peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer. On the other hand, flashes of light emitted from the flash ...