GT Advanced Technologies Inc fka GTAT

[QuackQuackQuack]

"This process describes a process for strengthening sapphire substrate by implanting ions into a precut sapphire substrate. Hyperion was ostensibly intended to cleave a thin sapphire substrate from a brick of single crystal sapphire. There is a simularity between the two but they are different processes. The latter seems to be easier to accomplish than the former."
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HYPERION does not process "bricks", it processes "wafers":

http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=12&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PG01&s1=GTAT.AS.&OS=AN/GTAT&RS=AN/GTAT
ION IMPLANT APPARATUS AND A METHOD OF IMPLANTING IONS
Abstract
Ion implant apparatus using a drum-type scan wheel holds wafers with a total cone angle less than 60.degree.. A collimated scanned beam of ions, for example H.sup.+, is directed along a final beam path which is at an angle of at least 45.degree. to the axis of rotation of the scan wheel. Ions are extracted from a source and accelerated along a linear acceleration path to a high implant energy (more than 500 keV) before scanning or mass analysis. The mass analyzer may be located near the axis of rotation and unwanted ions are directed to an annular beam dump which may be mounted on the scan wheel
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If you look at the filing date on this patent of March, 2, 2013 you can see this corresponds to the AAPL/GTAT relationship. They clearly had a well defined relationship to tackle the problem of implanting ions into very hard materials.

Do you think HYPERION is just about EXFOLIATION?
The only way you get exfoliation is from God-like control of ions.
GTAT developed ion IMPLANTERS 10 times more powerful than anything on the market for implanting ions into a very hard materials.
The WHOLE HYPERION machine is about controlling ions. Exfoliation is just the end result when using hydrogen ions and implanting to same depth with added heat.
The main differences between EXFOLIATION and STRENGTHENING is the type of ion being implanted and their depth, concentration and pattern.
CLAIM:
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the high energy ions directed at the first surface and the ions directed at the secondary surface are each selected to comprise one or more of nitrogen ions, argon ions, titanium ions, or iron ions.

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I said, "essentially", and the process is near identical.
CLAIMS:
14. A system for ion implantation, the system comprising: an ion source configured to receive an element; an ion extraction unit coupled to the ion source for creating an ion stream; a redirecting magnet sequentially following the ion extraction unit along the ion stream; a mass analyzing slit that filters the redirected ion stream; an ion acceleration column that accelerates the filtered ion stream; a plurality of lenses that focus the ion stream; a scanning unit that directs the ion stream into an end station; and a support member in the end station for supporting and manipulating a position of a sapphire part with respect to the ion stream, such that the ions are implanted beneath a selected surface thereof.
17. A method comprising: forming a sapphire component for an electronic device; embedding selected ions into a selected surface of the sapphire component, wherein the selected ions are embedded at a target depth beneath the selected surface; heating the sapphire component to a sufficient temperature such that the selected ions diffuse to a greater depth than the target depth beneath the selected surface of the sapphire component, in a concentration sufficient to generate compressive stress therein.

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Do you think AAPL has EXCLUSIVITY to this machine? Do you think GTAT should have some rights to it? Well, I bet GTAT helped develop it but now in 2 weeks they for sure won't have any rights to it because it's getting sold to another AAPL supplier.

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