Patent ID: 11913777
Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  H | IPC G  H

Claim 9:
10. A method comprising:
acquiring sensor data of a top surface of a process kit ring disposed within a processing chamber using at least one non-contact sensor, wherein at least a portion of the process kit ring is within a field of view of the at least one non-contact sensor;
analyzing, by a computing system, the sensor data to determine a degree of erosion of the top surface of the process kit ring; and
in response to determining that the degree of erosion meets an end-of-life threshold, initiating automated replacement of the process kit ring comprising:
removing the process kit ring from the processing chamber using an end effector of a robot arm within a transfer chamber;
loading, using the robot arm, a new process kit ring on the end effector with a fixed two-dimensional offset; and
lowering, using the robot arm and end effector, the new process kit ring onto an electrostatic chuck of a substrate support assembly disposed in the processing chamber while correcting for the fixed two-dimensional offset to center the process kit ring on the electrostatic chuck.