Patents by Inventor James Albert Gilhooly
James Albert Gilhooly 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).
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Patent number: 6440263Abstract: Detection of the endpoint for removal of a target film overlying a stopping film by removing the target film with a process that selectively generates a chemical reaction product (for example ammonia when polishing a wafer with a nitride film in a slurry containing KOH) with one of the stopping film and the target film, converting the chemical reaction product to a separate product, producing excited molecules from the separate product, and monitoring the level of light emitted from the excited molecules as the target film is removed.Type: GrantFiled: August 17, 2000Date of Patent: August 27, 2002Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Leping Li, James Albert Gilhooly, Clifford Owen Morgan, III, William Joseph Surovic, Cong Wei
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Patent number: 6419785Abstract: Detection of the endpoint for removal of a target film overlying a stopping film by removing the target film with a process that selectively generates a chemical reaction product (for example, ammonia when polishing a wafer with a nitride film in a slurry containing KOH) with either the target or stopping film, and monitoring the level of chemical reaction product as the target film is removed. The reaction product is extracted as a gas from the slurry and monitored using a threshold photoionization mass spectrometer.Type: GrantFiled: October 3, 2000Date of Patent: July 16, 2002Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Leping Li, James Albert Gilhooly, Clifford Owen Morgan, III, Cong Wei, Chienfan Yu
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Patent number: 6251784Abstract: A method and apparatus are described for detecting an endpoint of a film removal process in which a target film overlying a stopping film is removed. A chemical reaction product is generated from at least one of the target film and the stopping film; this chemical reaction product is converted to a separate product. The separate product is exposed to ionizing radiation. The ionization current generated by the radiation is monitored as the target film is removed. A change in the ionization current corresponds to a change in concentration of the separate product, thereby indicating the endpoint of the film removal process. In the particular case of removal of a silicon dioxide film overlying a silicon nitride film by chemical-mechanical polishing, the reaction product is ammonia extracted from the polishing slurry. The ammonia is converted to ammonium chloride by a reaction with hydrogen chloride vapor.Type: GrantFiled: December 8, 1998Date of Patent: June 26, 2001Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Leping Li, James Albert Gilhooly, Clifford Owen Morgan, Cong Wei
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Patent number: 6228769Abstract: Detection of the endpoint for removal of a target film overlying a stopping film by removing the target film with a process that selectively generates a chemical reaction product (for example ammonia when polishing a wafer with a nitride film in a slurry containing KOH) with either the target or stopping film, and monitoring the level of chemical reaction product by threshold photoionization mass spectroscopy as the target film is removed.Type: GrantFiled: May 6, 1998Date of Patent: May 8, 2001Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Leping Li, James Albert Gilhooly, Clifford Owen Morgan, III, Cong Wei, Chienfan Yu
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Patent number: 6228280Abstract: A method for detecting the endpoint for removal of a target film overlying a stopping film by chemical-mechanical polishing using a slurry, by removing the target film with a polishing process that generates a chemical reaction product (for example ammonia when polishing a wafer with a nitride film in a slurry containing KOH) in the slurry, adding to the slurry a reagent which produces a characteristic result upon reacting with the chemical reaction product, and monitoring the slurry for the characteristic result as the target film is removed.Type: GrantFiled: May 6, 1998Date of Patent: May 8, 2001Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Leping Li, James Albert Gilhooly, Clifford Owen Morgan, III, Cong Wei
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Patent number: 6194230Abstract: Detection of the endpoint for removal of a target film overlying a stopping film by removing the target film with a process that selectively produces a gaseous chemical reaction product (for example ammonia when polishing a wafer with a nitride film in a slurry containing KOH) with one of the stopping film and the target film, mixing the gaseous chemical reaction product present with a separate gas to form solid particles, and monitoring the amount of the solid particles as the target film is removed. Also, detection of a substance at very low concentrations in a liquid, by extracting the substance present as a gas from the liquid, mixing the gas with another substance to form solid particles, and monitoring the amount of the solid particles to detect the substance.Type: GrantFiled: May 6, 1998Date of Patent: February 27, 2001Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Leping Li, James Albert Gilhooly, Clifford Owen Morgan, III, Cong Wei
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Patent number: 6180422Abstract: Detection of the endpoint for removal of a target film overlying a stopping film by removing the target film with a process that selectively generates a chemical reaction product (for example ammonia when polishing a wafer with a nitride film in a slurry containing KOH) with either the target or stopping film, and monitoring the level of chemical reaction product as the target film is removed. Also, detection of a substance at very low concentrations in a liquid, by extracting the substance present as a gas from the liquid and monitoring the gas to detect the substance.Type: GrantFiled: May 6, 1998Date of Patent: January 30, 2001Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Leping Li, James Albert Gilhooly, Clifford Owen Morgan, III, Cong Wei, Chienfan Yu
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Patent number: 6126848Abstract: Detection of the endpoint for removal of a target film overlying a stopping film by removing the target film with a process that selectively generates a chemical reaction product (for example ammonia when polishing a wafer with a nitride film in a slurry containing KOH) with one of the stopping film and the target film, converting the chemical reaction product to a separate product, producing excited molecules from the separate product, and monitoring the level of light emitted from the excited molecules as the target film is removed.Type: GrantFiled: May 6, 1998Date of Patent: October 3, 2000Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Leping Li, James Albert Gilhooly, Clifford Owen Morgan, III, William Joseph Surovic, Cong Wei
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Patent number: 6066564Abstract: Detection of the endpoint for removal of a target film overlying a stopping film by removing the target film with a process that selectively generates a chemical reaction product (for example ammonia when polishing a wafer with a nitride film in a slurry containing KOH) with one of the stopping film and the target film, converting the chemical reaction product to a separate product, and monitoring the level of the separate product as the target film is removed.Type: GrantFiled: May 6, 1998Date of Patent: May 23, 2000Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Leping Li, James Albert Gilhooly, Clifford Owen Morgan, III, Cong Wei, Chienfan Yu
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Patent number: 5704987Abstract: A method for cleaning the surface of a semiconductor wafer by removing residual slurry particles adhered to the wafer surface after chemical-mechanical polishing is provided. The semiconductor wafer is subjected to a first polishing step using a basic aqueous solution of a nonionic polymeric surfactant comprising alkylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol, preferably nonylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol, at a concentration between about 30 to about 100 ppm and a quaternary ammonium hydroxide such as TMAH at a concentration between about 2.5% and about 6% by weight. A downforce of between about 0 and 2 psi (1.4.times.10.sup.5 dynes/cm.sup.2) is applied for at least 15 seconds. A second polishing step with an applied downforce of at least 4 psi is then employed while applying purified water. The method provides at least a ten fold reduction in the number of submicronic slurry particles remaining on the wafer surface and can be completed within a commercially acceptable amount of time. In addition, particles as small as 0.007 .mu.Type: GrantFiled: January 19, 1996Date of Patent: January 6, 1998Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Cuc Kim Huynh, Matthew Jeremy Rutten, Susan L. Cohen, Douglas Paul Nadeau, Robert Albin Jurjevic, James Albert Gilhooly