Patents by Inventor Hirotomo Kawahara

Hirotomo Kawahara 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: 11982935
    Abstract: A reflective mask blank for EUV lithography includes a substrate and, formed on or above the substrate in the following order, a reflective layer for reflecting EUV light, a protective layer for the reflective layer, an absorption layer for absorbing EUV light, and a hard mask layer. The protective layer contains ruthenium (Ru), the absorption layer contains tantalum (Ta), the hard mask layer contains chromium (Cr) and at least one of nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O), and the hard mask layer has a film density of from 3.00 g/cm3 to 5.40 g/cm3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
    Assignee: AGC INC.
    Inventors: Hirotomo Kawahara, Hiroshi Hanekawa, Toshiyuki Uno, Masafumi Akita
  • Patent number: 11953822
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a reflective mask blank for EUV lithography, including: a substrate, a multilayer reflective film reflecting EUV light, and a phase shift film shifting a phase of the EUV light, in which the substrate, the multilayer reflective film, and the phase shift film are formed in this order, the phase shift film includes a layer 1 including ruthenium (Ru) and nitrogen (N), and the layer 1 has an absolute value of a film stress of 1,000 MPa or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: AGC INC.
    Inventors: Hirotomo Kawahara, Daijiro Akagi, Hiroaki Iwaoka, Toshiyuki Uno, Michinori Suehara, Keishi Tsukiyama
  • Patent number: 11934093
    Abstract: A reflective mask blank for EUV lithography, includes: a substrate; a conductive film; a reflective layer; and an absorption layer, the absorption layer absorbing the EUV light, wherein the conductive film has a refractive index n?1000-1100 nm of 5.300 or less and has an extinction coefficient k?1000-1100 nm of 5.200 or less, at a wavelength of 1000 nm to 1100 nm, the conductive film has a refractive index n?600-700 nm of 4.300 or less and has an extinction coefficient k?600-700 nm of 4.500 or less, at a wavelength of 600 nm to 700 nm, the conductive film has a refractive index n?400-500 nm of 2.500 or more and has an extinction coefficient k?400-500 nm of 0.440 or more, at a wavelength of 400 nm to 500 nm, and the conductive film has a film thickness t of 40 nm to 350 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: AGC INC.
    Inventors: Yusuke Ono, Hiroshi Hanekawa, Hirotomo Kawahara
  • Publication number: 20240045319
    Abstract: A reflective mask blank for EUV lithography includes: a substrate; a multilayer reflective film for reflecting EUV light; and a phase shift film for shifting a phase of EUV light, the multilayer reflective film and the phase shift film formed on or above the substrate in this order. The phase shift film includes a layer 1 including ruthenium (Ru) and at least one selected from the group consisting of oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N). Among diffraction peaks derived from the phase shift film observed at 2?: from 20° to 50° by out-of-plane XRD method, a peak having the highest intensity has a half value width FWHM of 1.0° or more.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2023
    Publication date: February 8, 2024
    Applicant: AGC Inc.
    Inventors: Daijiro AKAGI, Hirotomo Kawahara, Toshiyuki Uno, Ichiro Ishikawa, Kenichi Sakaki
  • Patent number: 11822229
    Abstract: A reflective mask blank for EUV lithography includes: a substrate; a multilayer reflective film for reflecting EUV light; and a phase shift film for shifting a phase of EUV light, the multilayer reflective film and the phase shift film formed on or above the substrate in this order. The phase shift film includes a layer 1 including ruthenium (Ru) and at least one selected from the group consisting of oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N). Among diffraction peaks derived from the phase shift film observed at 2?: from 20° to 50° by out-of-plane XRD method, a peak having the highest intensity has a half value width FWHM of 1.0° or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: AGC Inc.
    Inventors: Daijiro Akagi, Hirotomo Kawahara, Toshiyuki Uno, Ichiro Ishikawa, Kenichi Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20230350284
    Abstract: A reflective mask blank for EUV lithography, includes: a substrate; a conductive film; a reflective layer; and an absorption layer, the absorption layer absorbing the EUV light, wherein the conductive film has a refractive index n?1000-1100 nm of 5.300 or less and has an extinction coefficient k?1000-1100 nm of 5.200 or less, at a wavelength of 1000 nm to 1100 nm, the conductive film has a refractive index n?600-700 nm of 4.300 or less and has an extinction coefficient k?600-700 nm of 4.500 or less, at a wavelength of 600 nm to 700 nm, the conductive film has a refractive index n?400-500 nm of 2.500 or more and has an extinction coefficient k?400-500 nm of 0.440 or more, at a wavelength of 400 nm to 500 nm, and the conductive film has a film thickness t of 40 nm to 350 nm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2023
    Publication date: November 2, 2023
    Applicant: AGC INC.
    Inventors: Yusuke Ono, Hiroshi Hanekawa, Hirotomo Kawahara
  • Publication number: 20230324785
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a reflective mask blank for EUV lithography, including: a substrate, a multilayer reflective film reflecting EUV light, and a phase shift film shifting a phase of the EUV light, in which the substrate, the multilayer reflective film, and the phase shift film are formed in this order, the phase shift film includes a layer 1 including ruthenium (Ru) and nitrogen (N), and the layer 1 has an absolute value of a film stress of 1,000 MPa or less.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2023
    Publication date: October 12, 2023
    Applicant: AGC INC.
    Inventors: Hirotomo KAWAHARA, Daijiro AKAGI, Hiroaki IWAOKA, Toshiyuki UNO, Michinori SUEHARA, Keishi TSUKIYAMA
  • Publication number: 20230305383
    Abstract: A reflective mask blank for EUV lithography includes a substrate, a reflective layer for reflecting EUV light, and an absorption layer for absorbing EUV light. The reflective layer and the absorption layer are formed on or above the substrate in this order. The absorption layer contains tantalum (Ta) and niobium (Nb), and the absorption layer has a composition ratio Ta:Nb of Ta (at %) to Nb (at %) of from 4:1 to 1:4. Among diffraction peaks derived from the absorption layer observed at 2?: from 20° to 50° by out-of-plane XRD method, a peak having the highest intensity has a half width FWHM of 1.0° or more.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 24, 2023
    Publication date: September 28, 2023
    Applicant: AGC Inc.
    Inventors: Hirotomo KAWAHARA, Hiroyoshi TANABE, Toshiyuki UNO, Hiroshi HANEKAWA, Daijiro AKAGI
  • Publication number: 20230288794
    Abstract: A reflective mask blank for EUV lithography, includes, in the following order, a substrate, a multilayer reflective film reflecting EUV light, a protective film for the multilayer reflective film, and an absorption layer absorbing EUV light, in which the protective film includes rhodium (Rh) or a rhodium material including Rh and at least one element selected from the group consisting of nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), carbon (C), boron (B), ruthenium (Ru), niobium (Nb), molybdenum (Mo), tantalum (Ta), iridium (Ir), palladium (Pd), zirconium (Zr), and titanium (Ti).
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2023
    Publication date: September 14, 2023
    Applicant: AGC Inc.
    Inventors: Daijiro AKAGI, Hirotomo KAWAHARA, Kenichi SASAKI, Ichiro ISHIKAWA, Toshiyuki UNO
  • Patent number: 11698580
    Abstract: A reflective mask blank for EUV lithography includes a substrate, a reflective layer for reflecting EUV light, and an absorption layer for absorbing EUV light. The reflective layer and the absorption layer are formed on or above the substrate in this order. The absorption layer contains tantalum (Ta) and niobium (Nb), and the absorption layer has a composition ratio Ta:Nb of Ta (at %) to Nb (at %) of from 4:1 to 1:4. Among diffraction peaks derived from the absorption layer observed at 2?: from 20° to 50° by out-of-plane XRD method, a peak having the highest intensity has a half width FWHM of 1.0° or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignee: AGC INC.
    Inventors: Hirotomo Kawahara, Hiroyoshi Tanabe, Toshiyuki Uno, Hiroshi Hanekawa, Daijiro Akagi
  • Publication number: 20220299862
    Abstract: A reflective mask blank for EUV lithography includes, in the following order, a substrate, a multilayer reflective film for reflecting EUV light, a phase shift film for shifting a phase of EUV light, and an etching mask film. The phase shift film is constituted of a ruthenium-based material containing ruthenium as a main component. The phase shift film has a film thickness of 20 nm or larger. The etching mask film is removable with a cleaning liquid comprising an acid or a base.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2022
    Publication date: September 22, 2022
    Applicant: AGC Inc.
    Inventors: Daijiro AKAGI, Hirotomo KAWAHARA, Hiroyoshi TANABE, Toshiyuki UNO
  • Publication number: 20220075256
    Abstract: A reflective mask blank for EUV lithography includes a substrate and, formed on or above the substrate in the following order, a reflective layer for reflecting EUV light, a protective layer for the reflective layer, an absorption layer for absorbing EUV light, and a hard mask layer. The protective layer contains ruthenium (Ru), the absorption layer contains tantalum (Ta), the hard mask layer contains chromium (Cr) and at least one of nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O), and the hard mask layer has a film density of from 3.00 g/cm3 to 5.40 g/cm3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2021
    Publication date: March 10, 2022
    Applicant: AGC Inc.
    Inventors: Hirotomo KAWAHARA, Hiroshi HANEKAWA, Toshiyuki UNO, Masafumi AKITA
  • Publication number: 20220035234
    Abstract: A reflective mask blank for EUV lithography includes: a substrate; a multilayer reflective film for reflecting EUV light; and a phase shift film for shifting a phase of EUV light, the multilayer reflective film and the phase shift film formed on or above the substrate in this order. The phase shift film includes a layer 1 including ruthenium (Ru) and at least one selected from the group consisting of oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N). Among diffraction peaks derived from the phase shift film observed at 2?: from 20° to 50° by out-of-plane XRD method, a peak having the highest intensity has a half value width FWHM of 1.0° or more.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2021
    Publication date: February 3, 2022
    Applicant: AGC Inc.
    Inventors: Daijiro AKAGI, Hirotomo KAWAHARA, Toshiyuki UNO, Ichiro ISHIKAWA, Kenichi SASAKI
  • Publication number: 20210325772
    Abstract: A reflective mask blank for EUV lithography includes a substrate, a reflective layer for reflecting EUV light, and an absorption layer for absorbing EUV light. The reflective layer and the absorption layer are formed on or above the substrate in this order. The absorption layer contains tantalum (Ta) and niobium (Nb), and the absorption layer has a composition ratio Ta:Nb of Ta (at %) to Nb (at %) of from 4:1 to 1:4. Among diffraction peaks derived from the absorption layer observed at 2?: from 20° to 50° by out-of-plane XRD method, a peak having the highest intensity has a half width FWHM of 1.0° or more.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2021
    Publication date: October 21, 2021
    Applicant: AGC Inc.
    Inventors: Hirotomo KAWAHARA, Hiroyoshi TANABE, Toshiyuki UNO, Hiroshi HANEKAWA, Daijiro AKAGI
  • Patent number: 11036127
    Abstract: A reflective mask blank includes a backside conductive film on a back surface of a substrate. The backside conductive film has a laminated structure including a stress compensation layer and a conductive layer in this order from the substrate side. The conductive layer includes a metal nitride. The stress compensation layer has a compressive stress and the stress compensation layer includes at least one compound selected from the group consisting of oxides, oxynitrides, and nitrides, each having an absorption coefficient (k) over the wavelength range of 400 nm to 800 nm being 0.1 or less. The conductive layer has a thickness of 5 nm or more and 30 nm or less. The backside conductive film has a total thickness of 50 nm or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: AGC INC.
    Inventors: Hirotomo Kawahara, Hiroshi Hanekawa, Toshiyuki Uno
  • Patent number: 10654746
    Abstract: Provided is a glass sheet with an antireflection film: containing a glass sheet, a first transparent high refractive index layer located on the glass sheet, a first transparent low refractive index layer located on the first transparent high refractive index layer, a second transparent high refractive index layer located on the first transparent low refractive index layer, and a second transparent low refractive index layer located on the second transparent high refractive index layer; having a haze after heating at 600° C. to 700° C. for 15 minutes being 0.4% or less; and having a visible light reflectance measured from the side of the second transparent low refractive index layer based on JIS R 3106 being 1.0% or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: AGC Inc.
    Inventors: Hirotomo Kawahara, Kenichi Suzuki, Nobutaka Aomine
  • Patent number: 10634887
    Abstract: A protective film placed on an upper part of a metal film for protecting the metal film placed on a glass substrate. The protective film includes a silica film. The silica film has an extinction coefficient “k” less than or equal to 1×10?4, a refractive index “n” greater than or equal to 1.466 at a wavelength of 632 nm, and a carbon content less than or equal to 3 atomic %.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Assignee: AGC Inc.
    Inventors: Naoko Okada, Nobutaka Aomine, Hiroshi Hanekawa, Hirotomo Kawahara
  • Patent number: 10618838
    Abstract: A heat insulating glass unit for vehicle includes a glass plate; a color tone compensation film arranged on at least one surface of the glass plate; a transparent conductive layer arranged on the color tone compensation film, and mainly including an indium tin oxide (ITO); and an upper part layer arranged on the transparent conductive layer, a refraction index for a light with a wavelength of 630 nm being 1.7 or less. The color tone compensation film has at least a first layer and a second layer. The first layer is arranged at a position closer to the glass plate than the second layer. A refraction index of the first layer for a light with a wavelength of 630 nm is greater than a refraction index of the second layer for a light with a wavelength of 630 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: AGC Inc.
    Inventors: Hirotomo Kawahara, Ryota Nakamura, Kenichi Suzuki, Nobutaka Aomine
  • Patent number: 10576713
    Abstract: A heat insulating glass unit for vehicle includes a laminated glass in which a first glass plate and a second glass plate are bonded to each other via an intermediate film; a color tone compensation film arranged on at least one surface of the laminated glass; a transparent conductive layer mainly including an ITO arranged on the color tone compensation film; and an upper part layer arranged on the transparent conductive layer. A refraction index of the upper part layer for a light with a wavelength of 630 nm is 1.7 or less. The color tone compensation film has at least first and second layers. The first layer is arranged at a position closer to the laminated glass than the second layer. A refraction index of the first layer for a light with a wavelength of 630 nm is greater than a refraction index of the second layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: AGC Inc.
    Inventors: Hirotomo Kawahara, Ryota Nakamura, Kenichi Suzuki, Nobutaka Aomine
  • Patent number: 10538060
    Abstract: A heat insulating glass unit for vehicle includes a laminated glass in which a first glass plate and a second glass plate are bonded to each other via an intermediate film; a color tone compensation film arranged on at least one surface of the laminated glass; a transparent conductive layer mainly including an ITO arranged on the color tone compensation film; and an upper part layer arranged on the transparent conductive layer. A refraction index of the upper part layer for a light with a wavelength of 630 nm is 1.7 or less. The color tone compensation film has at least first and second layers. The first layer is arranged at a position closer to the laminated glass than the second layer. A refraction index of the first layer for a light with a wavelength of 630 nm is greater than a refraction index of the second layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2020
    Assignee: AGC Inc.
    Inventors: Hirotomo Kawahara, Ryota Nakamura, Kenichi Suzuki, Nobutaka Aomine