Patents by Inventor Kazue Takahashi
Kazue Takahashi 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: 6610170Abstract: A method and system of holding a substrate where foreign substances on the back surface can be decreased. The substrate holding system comprises a ring-shaped leakage-proof surface having a smooth surface on the specimen table corresponding to the periphery of the substrate, a plurality of contact holding portions within the periphery of the substrate, and electrostatic attraction means for fixing the substrate by contacting the back surface of the substrate to the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface and the contact holding portions. The substrate contacts to the cooling surface at the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface and the contact holding portion placed on a position inside the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface. The back surface of the substrate and the cooling surface do not contact to each other in the large portion of the remaining area.Type: GrantFiled: March 28, 2002Date of Patent: August 26, 2003Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Naoyuki Tamura, Kazue Takahashi, Youichi Ito, Yoshifumi Ogawa, Hiroyuki Shichida, Tsunehiko Tsubone
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Patent number: 6596551Abstract: Etching end point judging method that includes the following steps in a dry etching end point judging method having a step of reducing noise of input signal waveforms using first digital filter, a step of obtaining a differential coefficient (primary or secondary) of a signal waveform from differential processing by operation circuit, a step of obtaining a smoothed differential coefficient value by reducing the noise components of the time series differential coefficient waveform that was obtained in the previous step, using the second digital filter, and a step of judging an etching end point by comparing the smoothed differential coefficient value and a preset value using discrimination method.Type: GrantFiled: December 1, 1999Date of Patent: July 22, 2003Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Tatehito Usui, Ken Yoshioka, Shoji Ikuhara, Kouji Nishihata, Kazue Takahashi, Tetsunori Kaji, Shigeru Nakamoto
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Patent number: 6558100Abstract: The vacuum processing apparatus has an atmospheric loader having a plurality of cassette tables and a transport unit for carrying wafers, a vacuum loader equipped with vacuum wafer-processing chambers and a vacuum transport chamber communicating with the processing chambers via gate valves, and a locking unit provided with a loading lock chamber and unloading lock chambers that have gate valves for connecting the atmospheric transport unit and vacuum transport chamber; wherein two etching chambers, formed by UHF-ECR reactors, are arranged symmetrically with respect to an axial line passing through the middle of the vacuum transport chamber and locking unit, only at the opposite side of the locking unit across the vacuum transport chamber, and at an acute angle with respect to the vacuum transport chamber, and UHF-ECR antennas, almost parallel to the foregoing axial line, are opened at the opposite side to that of the vacuum transport chamber.Type: GrantFiled: October 27, 2000Date of Patent: May 6, 2003Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Hironobu Kawahara, Mitsuru Suehiro, Kazue Takahashi, Hideyuki Yamamoto, Katsuya Watanabe
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Patent number: 6544379Abstract: A method and system of holding a substrate where foreign substances on the back surface can be decreased. The substrate holding system comprises a ring-shaped leakage-proof surface having a smooth surface on the specimen table corresponding to the periphery of the substrate, a plurality of contact holding portions within the periphery of the substrate, and electrostatic attraction means for fixing the substrate by contacting the back surface of the substrate to the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface and the contact holding portions. The substrate contacts to the cooling surface at the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface and the contact holding portion placed on a position inside the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface. The back surface of the substrate and the cooling surface do not contact to each other in the large portion of the remaining area.Type: GrantFiled: February 8, 2001Date of Patent: April 8, 2003Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Naoyuki Tamura, Kazue Takahashi, Youichi Ito, Yoshifumi Ogawa, Hiroyuki Shichida, Tsunehiko Tsubone
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Publication number: 20030060054Abstract: A plasma treatment method of etching a substrate to be processed by using a gas plasma in a treatment chamber. The method includes exhausting reaction products obtained by etching and released into a vapor phase as a gas from the treatment chamber, wherein the reaction products on an outer periphery of the substrate are more efficiently exhausted and setting a deposition probability of the reaction products in a central part of a plane of the substrate to be low and setting a deposition probability of the reaction products in a peripheral part of a plane of the substrate to be high. The setting of the deposition probability is effected by setting a temperature in the central part of the substrate higher than a temperature in the peripheral part of the substrate.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 6, 2002Publication date: March 27, 2003Inventors: Kazue Takahashi, Saburo Kanai, Yoshiaki Satou, Takazumi Ishizu
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Patent number: 6537012Abstract: The vacuum processing apparatus has an atmospheric loader having a plurality of cassette tables and a transport unit for carrying wafers, a vacuum loader equipped with vacuum wafer-processing chambers and a vacuum transport chamber communicating with the processing chambers via gate valves, and a locking unit provided with a loading lock chamber and unloading lock chambers that have gate valves for connecting the atmospheric transport unit and vacuum transport chamber; wherein two etching chambers, formed by UHF-ECR reactors, are arranged symmetrically with respect to an axial line passing through the middle of the vacuum transport chamber and locking unit, only at the opposite side of the locking unit across the vacuum transport chamber, and at an acute angle with respect to the vacuum transport chamber, and UHF-ECR antennas, almost parallel to the foregoing axial line, are opened at the opposite side to that of the vacuum transport chamber.Type: GrantFiled: March 4, 2002Date of Patent: March 25, 2003Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Hironobu Kawahara, Mitsuru Suehiro, Kazue Takahashi, Hideyuki Yamamoto, Katsuya Watanabe
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Patent number: 6524428Abstract: A method and system of holding a substrate where foreign substances on the back surface can be decreased. The substrate holding system comprises a ring-shaped leakage-proof surface having a smooth surface on the specimen table corresponding to the periphery of the substrate, a plurality of contact holding portions within the periphery of the substrate, and electrostatic attraction means for fixing the substrate by contacting the back surface of the substrate to the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface and the contact holding portions. The substrate contacts to the cooling surface at the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface and the contact holding portion placed on a position inside the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface. The back surface of the substrate and the cooling surface do not contact to each other in the large portion of the remaining area.Type: GrantFiled: May 7, 2001Date of Patent: February 25, 2003Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Naoyuki Tamura, Kazue Takahashi, Youichi Ito, Yoshifumi Ogawa, Hiroyuki Shichida, Tsunehiko Tsubone
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Publication number: 20030036282Abstract: An etching end point judging device which uses emission spectroscopy for dry etching. The device includes an AND converter for obtaining time series data of emission intensity of a specific wavelength produced during etching, a first digital filter for performing smoothening of the time series data, a differential operator for obtaining a differential coefficient of the smoothened time series data, a second digital filter for smoothening the calculated differential coefficient of the time series data, and a discriminator for judging the etching end point by comparing said smoothened differential coefficient with a value set beforehand.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 13, 2002Publication date: February 20, 2003Inventors: Tatehito Usui, Ken Yoshioka, Shoji Ikuhara, Kouji Nishihata, Kazue Takahashi, Tetsunori Kaji, Shigeru Nakamoto
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Publication number: 20030024646Abstract: A plasma etching apparatus for etching of a sample having an etching chamber having an upper wall and a sidewall, an exchangeable jacket which is held inside of the sidewall and a heating mechanism for generating heat which radiates toward an interior of the etching chamber, the sample being disposed in the etching chamber. The apparatus includes an evacuation system which evacuates the etching chamber, an etching gas supply which supplies an etching gas into the chamber and a plasma generator which generates a plasma for performing etching of the sample in the etching chamber and at least one temperature controller for controlling a temperature of at least one such upper wall and said sidewall of said etching chamber.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 25, 2002Publication date: February 6, 2003Inventors: Toshio Masuda, Kazue Takahashi, Mitsuru Suehiro, Tetsunori Kaji, Saburo Kanai
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Patent number: 6506686Abstract: In a plasma processing apparatus that has a vacuum chamber, a process gas supply means of supply gas to a processing chamber, an electrode to hold a sample inside said vacuum chamber, a plasma generator installed in said vacuum chamber opposite to said sample, and a vacuum exhaust system to decrease pressure of said vacuum chamber, a bias voltage of Vdc=−300 to −50 V is applied and the surface temperature of said plate ranges from 100 to 200° C. In addition, the surface temperature fluctuation of the silicon-made plate in said plasma processing apparatus is kept within ±25° C.Type: GrantFiled: February 23, 2001Date of Patent: January 14, 2003Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Toshio Masuda, Kazue Takahashi, Ryoji Fukuyama, Tomoyuki Tamura
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Patent number: 6503364Abstract: In the plasma processing apparatus for generating plasma in a processing chamber and processing a wafer by mutual action of electromagnetic waves radiated from a UHF band antenna installed in the processing chamber and a magnetic field formed by a magnetic field generator installed around the processing chamber, a hollow tube having one end in communication with an opening in the side wall of the processing chamber and another end, outside the processing chamber, which has a measuring window of plasma optical emission. By setting the lines of force of the magnetic field formed by the magnetic field generator so as to form an angle relative to the hollow tube, entry of plasma into the hollow tube can be prevented, and adhesion of deposits onto the measuring window can be suppressed, whereby the transmission factor of the measuring window can be kept constant over a long period of use.Type: GrantFiled: August 30, 2000Date of Patent: January 7, 2003Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Toshio Masuda, Tatehito Usui, Shigeru Shirayone, Kazue Takahashi, Mitsuru Suehiro
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Publication number: 20020179245Abstract: A maintenance method including performing a maintenance operation for a plasma processing apparatus having a vacuum vessel having a formed processing chamber inside, a plasma generation device for generating plasma in the processing chamber, and an electrode for holding a sample to be processed in the processing chamber. The plasma processing chamber is structured so that an upper wall of the vacuum vessel is an open-close part, and at least one of parts constituting the plasma generation device including a non-metallic brittle member is arranged in the open-close part, and at least one part of an upper wall constituting an upper side surface of the processing chamber is rotated around an almost horizontal axis and the open-close part can be held stably in a state that the open-close part on an inner side of the processing chamber is directed upward.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 25, 2002Publication date: December 5, 2002Inventors: Toshio Masuda, Hiroshi Kanekiyo, Tetsuo Fujimoto, Mitsuru Suehiro, Katsuji Matano, Kazue Takahashi
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Patent number: 6482747Abstract: Plasma treatment apparatus and method in which an influence on the treatment characteristics of reaction products in plasma treatment such as etching is offset, thereby enabling uniform treatment characteristics to be obtained in the plane of a substrate are provided. In a plasma treatment method of treating a substrate to be processed by using a gas plasma via a mask in a treatment chamber, plasma treatment is performed while optimizing an amount of deposition of a side wall protection layer, equalizing the optimized deposition amount in the center of the substrate and that in a peripheral part, and maintaining the uniformity in the plane of the side wall protection layer.Type: GrantFiled: December 22, 1998Date of Patent: November 19, 2002Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Kazue Takahashi, Saburo Kanai, Yoshiaki Satou, Takazumi Ishizu
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Publication number: 20020127858Abstract: A plasma etching method of a wafer includes the steps of electrostatically attracting the wafer which has a gate oxide film onto a wafer mounting electrode in a vacuum processing chamber, introducing a mixed gas into the vacuum processing chamber on the basis of an etching recipe, generating a magnetic field inside the vacuum processing chamber, generating a plasma in the vacuum processing chamber, applying a bias power to the wafer to accelerate ions in the plasma toward the wafer, and setting an impedance as viewed from a bias power supply relative to an outer periphery of the wafer to a value which is greater than that of a wafer center portion using the electrode which is formed under an insulating film for electrostatically attracting the wafer.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 6, 2002Publication date: September 12, 2002Inventors: Yutaka Ohmoto, Hironobu Kawahara, Ken Yoshioka, Kazue Takahashi, Saburou Kanai
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Publication number: 20020123816Abstract: A monitor data acquisition section acquires a plurality of monitor data relating to a processing state of one sample in a processing apparatus, via sensors. A data selection section selects monitor data belonging to an arbitrary processing division included in a plurality of processing divisions for the sample, from among the plurality of monitor data. A monitoring signal generation section generates monitoring signals based on the monitor data belonging to the arbitrary processing division selected by the data selection section. A display setting controller displays a plurality of monitoring signals obtained with respect to samples processed in the processing apparatus, on a display section in a time series manner.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 5, 2001Publication date: September 5, 2002Inventors: Junichi Tanaka, Hiroyuki Kitsunai, Hideyuki Yamamoto, Shoji Ikuhara, Kazue Takahashi
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Publication number: 20020119670Abstract: A plasma processing method includes the steps of evacuating a vacuum vessel by an evacuation system, introducing a processing gas into the vacuum vessel, disposing an object or example to be processed within the vacuum vessel, supplying electrical bias power to a lower electrode within the vacuum vessel, radiating a high frequency electromagnetic wave within the vacuum vessel, and causing said processing gas to change into a plasma for performing processing of the object to be processed. The vacuum vessel includes a processing chamber having a sidewall and subjecting the sidewall to temperature control so that the temperature of the sidewall is controlled so as to be maintained within ±10° C. in a range of 20 to 80° C.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 20, 1999Publication date: August 29, 2002Inventors: TOSHIO MASUDA, KAZUE TAKAHASHI, MITSURU SUEHIRO, TETSUNORI KAJI, SABURO KANAI
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Publication number: 20020108574Abstract: A method and system of holding a substrate where foreign substances on the back surface can be decreased. The substrate holding system comprises a ring-shaped leakage-proof surface having a smooth surface on the specimen table corresponding to the periphery of the substrate, a plurality of contact holding portions within the periphery of the substrate, and electrostatic attraction means for fixing the substrate by contacting the back surface of the substrate to the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface and the contact holding portions. The substrate contacts to the cooling surface at the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface and the contact holding portion placed on a position inside the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface. The back surface of the substrate and the cooling surface do not contact to each other in the large portion of the remaining area.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 28, 2002Publication date: August 15, 2002Inventors: Naoyuki Tamura, Kazue Takahashi, Youichi Ito, Yoshifumi Ogawa, Hiroyuki Shichida, Tsunehiko Tsubone
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Publication number: 20020104618Abstract: A method and system of holding a substrate where foreign substances on the back surface can be decreased. The substrate holding system comprises a ring-shaped leakage-proof surface having a smooth surface on the specimen table corresponding to the periphery of the substrate, a plurality of contact holding portions within the periphery of the substrate, and electrostatic attraction means for fixing the substrate by contacting the back surface of the substrate to the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface and the contact holding portions. The substrate contacts to the cooling surface at the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface and the contact holding portion placed on a position inside the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface. The back surface of the substrate and the cooling surface do not contact to each other in the large portion of the remaining area.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 28, 2002Publication date: August 8, 2002Inventors: Naoyuki Tamura, Kazue Takahashi, Youichi Ito, Yoshifumi Ogawa, Hiroyuki Shichida, Tsunehiko Tsubone
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Publication number: 20020096116Abstract: A method and system of holding a substrate where foreign substances on the back surface can be decreased. The substrate holding system comprises a ring-shaped leakage-proof surface having a smooth surface on the specimen table corresponding to the periphery of the substrate, a plurality of contact holding portions within the periphery of the substrate, and electrostatic attraction means for fixing the substrate by contacting the back surface of the substrate to the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface and the contact holding portions. The substrate contacts to the cooling surface at the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface and the contact holding portion placed on a position inside the ring-shaped leakage-proof surface. The back surface of the substrate and the cooling surface do not contact to each other in the large portion of the remaining area.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 28, 2002Publication date: July 25, 2002Inventors: Naoyuki Tamura, Kazue Takahashi, Youichi Ito, Yoshifumi Ogawa, Hiroyuki Shichida, Tsunehiko Tsubone
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Patent number: 6413876Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus processes high-speed semiconductor circuits by using plasma with an increased yield. The plasma processing apparatus has a vacuum vessel including an exhaust device, a starting material gas supplying device, an electrode for installing a workpiece (wafer) and a device for applying radio frequency power to the wafer. This apparatus converts the starting material gas to plasma inside the vacuum vessel and plasma-processes a wafer surface, wherein an insulating film is interposed between the electrode for installing the wafer and the wafer and has a conductive material at a part thereof, and the conductive material is electrically grounded through an impedance regulating circuit.Type: GrantFiled: March 5, 2001Date of Patent: July 2, 2002Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Yutaka Ohmoto, Hironobu Kawahara, Ken Yoshioka, Kazue Takahashi, Saburou Kanai