Patents by Inventor Bryan L. Howe

Bryan L. Howe has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5969368
    Abstract: A product and process for making backside thinned semiconductor image sensing devices employing neutral ion beams to reduce substrate volumes so that the image sensor can be illuminated from the backside, or side opposite etched circuitry. A neutral ion beam is contained in a vacuum chamber that has a fixture for holding a semiconductor image sensor, a control mechanism for controlling the neutral ion beam via the raster mechanism, and a map of the semiconductor image sensor. The image sensor is placed on the fixture within the vacuum chamber and the neutral ion beam removes a predetermined amount of substrate from the backside of the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1999
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Dennis A. Thompson, Bryan L. Howe
  • Patent number: 5786236
    Abstract: A product and process for making backside inned semiconductor image sensing devices employing neutral ion beams to reduce substrate volumes so that the image sensor can be illuminated from the backside, or side opposite etched circuitry. A neutral ion beam is contained in a vacuum chamber that has a fixture for holding a semiconductor image sensor, a control mechanism for controlling the neutral ion beam via the raster mechanism, and a map of the semiconductor image sensor. The image sensor is placed on the fixture within the vacuum chamber and the neutral ion beam removes a predetermined amount of substrate from the backside of the sensor. The result is an image sensor than can be backside thinned at the molecular level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 28, 1998
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Dennis A. Thompson, Bryan L. Howe