What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus for producing a perceptible representation of data, comprising:
an arbiter
(a) selecting a dominant program from among a plurality of programs seeking a master persistence attribute to display data of the program according to a predetermined priority technique, and
(b) assigning the master persistence attribute to the dominant program.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
an access control table, coupled with the arbiter, containing indicia representative of the predetermined priority scheme.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:
a configuration application program, coupled with the access control table, configuring the arbiter with the predetermined priority scheme.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
an IO manager, coupled with the arbiter, communicating the display data between an application program and a display.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising:
a graphics device driver, coupled with the IO manager and the display, to transmit the display data to the display.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
a graphics device driver, coupled with the arbiter, to transmit the display data to the display.
7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the indicia include one of process ID (PID), window ID (WID), priority, revoked and repudiated credentials, authentication token or key, master persistence attribute authorization, descriptive text, program status, system status, an accessible display region, and an excluded display region.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the arbiter further comprises one of a rules engine, a state machine, and a content addressable memory that provides the predetermined priority scheme for determining dominant program priority.
9. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a gatekeeper determining selected ones of the plurality of programs to be granted access to the arbiter to receive a master persistence attribute according to a predetermined access scheme.
10. A graphic display apparatus, comprising:
a gatekeeper determining selected ones of a plurality of programs to be granted a key to request a persistence attribute according to a predetermined access scheme.
11. The graphic display apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:
a graphics device driver, coupled with the gatekeeper, that couples display data of the selected ones with a display.
12. The graphic display apparatus of claim 11, further comprising:
an arbiter
(a) selecting a dominant application program from among the selected ones seeking the master display persistence attribute, and
(b) assigning the master persistence display attribute to the dominant program.
13. The graphic display apparatus of claim 12, further comprising:
an access control table, coupled with the arbiter, storing indicia representative of the predetermined priority scheme.
14. The graphic display apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:
an IO manager, coupled with the gatekeeper, managing graphical data between the selected ones and a display.
15. The graphic display apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:
an application manager, coupled with the gatekeeper, preventing unauthorized access to an operating system by the selected ones.
16. The graphic display apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:
a graphics device driver, coupled with the application manager, to transmit graphical data to display data on the display.
17. The graphic display apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:
a configuration application program, coupled with the gatekeeper, configuring the gatekeeper with the predetermined priority scheme.
18. The graphic display apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:
a configuration table, coupled with the gatekeeper, storing an indicia representative of the predetermined priority scheme.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the indicia include one of process ID (PID), window ID (WID), priority, revoked and repudiated credentials, authentication token or key, master persistence attribute authorization, descriptive text, program status, system status, an accessible display region, and an excluded display region.
20. A graphic display apparatus comprising:
(a) a gatekeeper determining selected ones of a plurality of program to be granted a master persistence display attribute according to a predetermined access technique, and
(b) an arbiter;
(1) selecting a dominant program from among the selected ones seeking the master persistence display attribute, and
(2) assigning the master persistence attribute to the dominant program according to a predetermined priority technique.
21. The graphic display apparatus of claim 20, further comprising:
one of a configuration table, coupled with at least one of the arbiter and the gatekeeper, containing first indicia representative of a predetermined priority scheme, and an access control table, coupled with at least one of the arbiter and the gatekeeper, containing second indicia representative of a predetermined priority scheme.
22. The graphic display apparatus of claim 20, further comprising:
a configuration application, coupled with at least one of the configuration table and the access control table, configuring at least one of the arbiter and the gatekeeper.
23. The graphic display apparatus of claim 19, further comprising:
an IO manager, coupled with at least one of the arbiter and the gatekeeper, for communicating the display data between an application program and a display.
24. The graphic display apparatus of claim 23, further comprising:
a graphics device driver, coupled with the IO manager and the display, that transfers the display data to the display.
25. The graphic display apparatus of claim 24, further comprising:
a display buffer coupled with the graphic display driver.
26. The graphic display apparatus of claim 20, further comprising:
a graphics device driver, coupled with at least one of the arbiter and the gatekeeper, that transfers display data to a display.
27. The graphic display apparatus of claim 26, further comprising:
a display buffer coupled with the graphic display driver.
28. The graphic display apparatus of claim 26, further comprising:
an IO manager, coupled with the graphic display driver, communicating between an application program and the display.
29. The graphic display apparatus of claim 20 further comprising:
an application manager, coupled with at least one of the gatekeeper and the arbiter, preventing unauthorized access to an operating system by a program.
30. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein at least one of the first indicia and the second indicia include one of process ID (PID), window ID (WID), priority, revoked and repudiated credentials, authentication token or key, master persistence attribute authorization, descriptive text, program status, system status, an accessible display region, and an excluded display region.
31. A graphics system, comprising:
a. a video input receiving a graphical data signal;
b. a video output coupled with a display;
c. a display controller coupled with the video input signal and selectively transmitting the graphical data signal to the video output; and
d. an arbiter coupled with the display controller, the arbiter effecting the selectively transmitting by granting a persistence attribute according to a predetermined priority scheme, the display controller selectively transmitting responsive to the arbiter.
32. The graphics system of claim 31, further comprising a CPU interface for coupling the graphics system to a CPU, the CPU receiving display control signals and the arbiter being responsive thereto.
33. The graphics system of claim 32, wherein the CPU includes a gatekeeper, the gatekeeper operably coupled with the arbiter and transmitting the predetermined priority scheme thereto.
34. The graphics system of claim 32, wherein the CPU includes a gatekeeper, the gatekeeper operably coupled with the arbiter and selecting display control signals having access to the arbiter.
35. The graphics system of claim 34, further comprising an arbiter access control table configured to receive indicia relevant to the priority scheme.
36. The graphics system of claim 35, wherein the indica include one of process ID (PID), window ID (WID), priority, revoked and repudiated credentials, authentication token or key, master persistence attribute authorization, descriptive text, program status, system status, an accessible display region, and an excluded display region.
37. A method of assigning a persistence attribute to at least one of a plurality of dominant programs, comprising:
(a) requesting the master persistence attribute from a gatekeeper;
(b) assigning a set of priority rules to the gatekeeper via a configuration application program;
(c) the gatekeeper granting keys to selected dominant application programs allowing access to an arbiter;
(d) the arbiter examining an arbiter access control table storing the predetermined priority scheme; and
(e) the arbiter assigning the persistence attribute to the at least one of a plurality of dominant application programs granting access to a display window.
38. A computer program product recorded on a computer readable medium for assigning a master persistence attribute to at least one of a plurality of programs, comprising:
(a) computer readable program code by which a gatekeeper grants an access token to selected programs allowing access to an arbiter according to a predetermined access scheme; and
(c) computer readable program code by which the arbiter assigns the master persistence attribute to a dominant one of the selected programs thereby granting access to a preselected display window.
39. The computer program product of claim 38, further comprising computer readable program code by which the arbiter examines an arbiter access control table storing the predetermined priority scheme.
40. The computer program product of claim 39, further comprising computer readable program code which assigns a set of access rules to the gatekeeper and assigns a set of priority rules to the arbiter, via a configuration application program.
41. A method of assigning a master persistence display attribute to at least one of a plurality of dominant application programs comprising:
(a) requesting the persistence attribute from a gatekeeper;
(b) the gatekeeper accessing a configuration table storing a predetermined priority scheme;
(c) the gatekeeper granting keys to selected dominant application programs;
(d) the selected dominant application programs applying the keys to access an arbiter which examines an arbiter access control table storing a predetermined priority scheme; and
(e) the arbiter assigning the master persistence display attribute to the at least one of a plurality of dominant application programs granting access to a display window.
42. An apparatus for producing a perceptible representation of data, comprising an arbiter that selects a dominant program from among a plurality of programs seeking a master persistence attribute to display data of the program according to a predetermined priority technique, and assigns the master persistence attribute to the dominant program, wherein the perceptible representation of data is rendered on one of a computer, a communication pad, a communication pad, a telephony device, a handheld remote control device, and a handheld computing device.
43. The apparatus of claim 42 wherein the medium by which data is communicated to the apparatus includes one of a wirelessRF channel, a wire-based channel, a cable-based channel, and a fiberoptic channel.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method to form a seed layer for an integrated circuit, the method comprising:
depositing a metal seed layer over a barrier layer such that the metal seed layer has a greater thickness along a top surface portion of at least one recessed feature formed in the substrate that is substantially coplanar with the substrate than a sidewall surface portion of the at least one recessed feature; and
etching a portion of the metal seed layer from the top surface portion of the at least one recessed feature to improve coverage of the metal seed layer along the sidewall surface portion of the at least one recessed feature and to mitigate overhang of the metal seed layer.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the etching further comprises energizing a coil disposed about the substrate.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the depositing further comprises sputtering atoms from a target material to form the metal seed layer.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the coil comprises the same material as the target material or an alloy thereof.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein the target material comprises a copper material and the coil comprises a copper alloy material.
6. The method of claim 2, wherein the coil comprises a material selected from the group consisting essentially of copper, tantalum, iridium, ruthenium, and alloys thereof.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the depositing further comprises sputtering atoms from a target material to form the metal seed layer by applying power to the target material and applying power to the substrate in an ionized environment within a processing chamber.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising sputtering additional atoms from the target material after the etching.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the sputtering of the additional atoms further comprises applying power to the substrate in the absence of applying power to the target material.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the deposition and etching are performed separately.
11. A method for fabricating a copper seed layer over a barrier layer, the method comprising:
applying power to a copper target disposed above a substrate;
applying power to the substrate so that an electric field is created between the copper target and the substrate;
depositing copper atoms from the copper target onto exposed surfaces of the substrate, including within at least one of trenches and vias formed therein the substrate;
energizing a coil to generate a radio frequency field operative to redistribute portions of the deposited copper atoms onto sidewalls of at least one of trenches and vias.
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising depositing additional copper atoms from the target material after the portions of the deposited copper have been redistributed.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the coil comprises a copper material or an alloy thereof.
14. The method of claim 11, further comprising applying DC power to the coil to deposit copper atoms from the coil onto the sidewalls of the at least one of trenches and vias.
15. A system for forming a seed layer on a substrate, comprising:
a metal target;
a first power source coupled to energize the target;
a chuck positioned below the target for supporting the substrate;
a coil disposed about a periphery of the chuck, and
a controller operative to control power applied to the metal target and to the substrate for depositing target atoms from the metal target on to exposed surfaces of the substrate, the controller further being operative to control energization of the coil to redistribute deposited target atoms to improve coverage of the seed layer on sidewalls of at least one of vias and trenches formed in the substrate.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the coil comprises the same material as the target material or an alloy thereof.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the target material comprises copper or titanium.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein the coil comprises a material selected from the group consisting essentially of copper, tantalum, iridium, ruthenium, titanium, and alloys thereof.
19. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller is programmed to control the first power source to supply power to the target and to control a second power source to supply power to the chuck during a first phase to deposit atoms from the target on exposed surfaces of the substrate with a first thickness, the controller controlling a radio frequency generator and a DC generator to energize the coil and controlling at least one of the first and second power sources to an off condition during a second phase to redistribute portions of the seed layer and thereby improve coverage of the seed layer on the sidewalls of the at least one of vias and trenches.
20. The system of claim 19, further comprising:
a pressure control unit operative to exhaust materials from an interior of the chamber; and
a gas source coupled to supply a gaseous medium for creating a charged plasma within the chamber, the controller controlling operation of the pressure control unit and the gas source.