Patents by Inventor Masami Oikawa

Masami Oikawa 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: 11926891
    Abstract: A cleaning method for removing a silicon-containing film deposited in a temperature-adjustable process container by a heater and a cooler includes: stabilizing a temperature in the process container to a cleaning temperature; and removing the silicon-containing film by supplying a cleaning gas into the process container stabilized at the cleaning temperature; wherein in the removing the silicon-containing film, a heating capability of the heater and a cooling capability of the cooler are controlled based on the temperature in the process container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventor: Masami Oikawa
  • Patent number: 11894249
    Abstract: A control device controls an operation of a processing apparatus for performing a processing in a processing container that accommodates a substrate. The control device includes: a temperature acquisition unit configured to acquire a temperature inside the processing container; a storage unit configured to store relationship information indicating a relationship between the temperature inside the processing container and an etching rate, and film thickness information including a cumulative film thickness of a deposited film inside the processing container; a rate calculator configured to calculate an etching rate of the deposited film based on the temperature acquired by the temperature acquisition unit and the relationship information stored in the storage unit; and a time calculator configured to calculate an etching time for removing the deposited film based on the etching rate calculated by the rate calculator and the film thickness information stored in the storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Masami Oikawa, Tsubasa Watanabe, Tomoya Hasegawa
  • Publication number: 20230326762
    Abstract: A substrate processing method includes: preparing a substrate having a target film on a surface; forming a barrier film that covers the target film; supplying a deuterium gas and an oxygen gas to the target film covered with the barrier film, thereby implanting deuterium into the target film; and removing the barrier film after the deuterium is implanted into the target film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2023
    Publication date: October 12, 2023
    Inventors: Masami OIKAWA, Yuya TAKAMURA
  • Patent number: 11745231
    Abstract: A cleaning method includes: supplying a cleaning gas in a processing container while continuously increasing a pressure in the processing container in a stepwise manner at a plurality of time points, thereby executing a cleaning of the processing container by removing a film deposited in the processing container; and detecting an end point of the cleaning based on time-dependent data of a concentration of a predetermined gas generated during the executing the cleaning, for each pressure of the plurality of time points. The executing the cleaning is implemented when the time-dependent data of the concentration of the predetermined gas generated in the continuously increasing the pressure changes from an increasing state to a decreasing state after exceeding a threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Masami Oikawa, Tomoya Hasegawa, Koji Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20230124143
    Abstract: A processing apparatus includes: a processing container; a temperature sensor that detects a temperature therein; a gas supply unit that supplies a cleaning gas into the processing container; a pressure regulation unit that regulates a pressure in the processing container; and a control unit that controls the gas supply unit and the pressure regulation unit to perform a cleaning processing of removing a deposited film in the processing container. The control unit stores a vapor pressure curve in which the temperature in the processing container is associated with a vapor pressure of water in the processing container. In the cleaning processing, the control unit sets a target pressure below the vapor pressure curve based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor and the vapor pressure curve, and controls the pressure regulation unit such that the pressure in the processing container becomes the target pressure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2022
    Publication date: April 20, 2023
    Inventors: Tomoya HASEGAWA, Masaki KUROKAWA, Masami OIKAWA
  • Publication number: 20230096299
    Abstract: Disclosed is a substrate processing method for processing a substrate in a processing vessel. In the substrate processing method, the following steps (a) through (d) are performed together (a) heating the substrate to a set processing temperature, (b) supplying deuterium into the processing vessel, (c) supplying oxygen into the processing vessel, and (d) discharging the deuterium and the oxygen in the processing vessel so that a pressure inside the processing vessel becomes a set processing pressure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2022
    Publication date: March 30, 2023
    Inventors: Yuya TAKAMURA, Masami OIKAWA
  • Publication number: 20230047426
    Abstract: A cleaning method includes: supplying a cleaning gas in a processing container while continuously increasing a pressure in the processing container in a stepwise manner at a plurality of time points, thereby executing a cleaning of the processing container by removing a film deposited in the processing container; and detecting an end point of the cleaning based on time-dependent data of a concentration of a predetermined gas generated during the executing the cleaning, for each pressure of the plurality of time points. The executing the cleaning is implemented when the time-dependent data of the concentration of the predetermined gas generated in the continuously increasing the pressure changes from an increasing state to a decreasing state after exceeding a threshold value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2022
    Publication date: February 16, 2023
    Inventors: Masami OIKAWA, Tomoya HASEGAWA, Koji SASAKI
  • Patent number: 11538678
    Abstract: A deposition method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes performing multiple execution cycles serially. Each of the multiple execution cycles includes: supplying a raw material gas into a process chamber; and supplying a reactant gas that reacts with the raw material gas. Among the multiple execution cycles, at least one execution cycle includes adjusting a pressure in the process chamber without supplying the raw material gas, and the adjusting of the pressure is performed prior to the supplying of the raw material gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Masami Oikawa, Yuya Takamura
  • Patent number: 11534805
    Abstract: A cleaning method for removing a film deposited in a processing container includes: executing a cleaning of a processing container by supplying a cleaning gas to the processing container while increasing a pressure in the processing container in a stepwise manner at a plurality of time points, thereby removing a film deposited in the processing container; and detecting an end point of the cleaning based on time-dependent data of a concentration of a predetermined gas generated during the execution of the cleaning, for each pressure of the plurality of time points.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Masami Oikawa, Tomoya Hasegawa, Koji Sasaki
  • Publication number: 20220364228
    Abstract: A cleaning method according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: supplying a halogen-containing gas that does not contain fluorine to an interior of a processing container that is capable of being exhausted via an exhaust pipe to perform a cleaning; and supplying a fluorine-containing gas to at least one of the interior of the processing container and an interior of the exhaust pipe to perform the cleaning after the supplying the halogen-containing gas to perform the cleaning.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2020
    Publication date: November 17, 2022
    Inventors: Yoshihiro TAKEZAWA, Daisuke SUZUKI, Hiroyuki HAYASHI, Tatsuya MIYAHARA, Keisuke FUJITA, Masami OIKAWA, Sena FUJITA
  • Patent number: 11486041
    Abstract: A film forming apparatus includes: a pressure-reducible processing container; a pressure gauge configured to detect a pressure in the processing container; and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to repeat a cycle including a step of adjusting a zero point of the pressure gauge and a step of executing a film forming process in the processing container until an ultimate pressure, which is detected by the pressure gauge when an interior of the processing container is evacuated to a highest reachable vacuum degree after the step of executing the film forming process, reaches a target range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Masami Oikawa
  • Publication number: 20220223404
    Abstract: A cleaning method for removing a silicon-containing film deposited in a temperature-adjustable process container by a heater and a cooler includes: stabilizing a temperature in the process container to a cleaning temperature; and removing the silicon-containing film by supplying a cleaning gas into the process container stabilized at the cleaning temperature; wherein in the removing the silicon-containing film, a heating capability of the heater and a cooling capability of the cooler are controlled based on the temperature in the process container.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2021
    Publication date: July 14, 2022
    Inventor: Masami OIKAWA
  • Publication number: 20220062958
    Abstract: A cleaning method for removing a film deposited in a processing container includes: executing a cleaning of a processing container by supplying a cleaning gas to the processing container while increasing a pressure in the processing container in a stepwise manner at a plurality of time points, thereby removing a film deposited in the processing container; and detecting an end point of the cleaning based on time-dependent data of a concentration of a predetermined gas generated during the execution of the cleaning, for each pressure of the plurality of time points.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2021
    Publication date: March 3, 2022
    Inventors: Masami OIKAWA, Tomoya HASEGAWA, Koji SASAKI
  • Publication number: 20210193455
    Abstract: A deposition method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes performing multiple execution cycles serially. Each of the multiple execution cycles includes: supplying a raw material gas into a process chamber; and supplying a reactant gas that reacts with the raw material gas. Among the multiple execution cycles, at least one execution cycle includes adjusting a pressure in the process chamber without supplying the raw material gas, and the adjusting of the pressure is performed prior to the supplying of the raw material gas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Publication date: June 24, 2021
    Inventors: Masami OIKAWA, Yuya TAKAMURA
  • Publication number: 20210115562
    Abstract: A film forming apparatus includes: a pressure-reducible processing container; a pressure gauge configured to detect a pressure in the processing container; and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to repeat a cycle including a step of adjusting a zero point of the pressure gauge and a step of executing a film forming process in the processing container until an ultimate pressure, which is detected by the pressure gauge when an interior of the processing container is evacuated to a highest reachable vacuum degree after the step of executing the film forming process, reaches a target range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2020
    Publication date: April 22, 2021
    Inventor: Masami OIKAWA
  • Publication number: 20210104421
    Abstract: A control device controls an operation of a processing apparatus for performing a processing in a processing container that accommodates a substrate. The control device includes: a temperature acquisition unit configured to acquire a temperature inside the processing container; a storage unit configured to store relationship information indicating a relationship between the temperature inside the processing container and an etching rate, and film thickness information including a cumulative film thickness of a deposited film inside the processing container; a rate calculator configured to calculate an etching rate of the deposited film based on the temperature acquired by the temperature acquisition unit and the relationship information stored in the storage unit; and a time calculator configured to calculate an etching time for removing the deposited film based on the etching rate calculated by the rate calculator and the film thickness information stored in the storage unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2020
    Publication date: April 8, 2021
    Inventors: Masami OIKAWA, Tsubasa WATANABE, Tomoya HASEGAWA
  • Publication number: 20190309420
    Abstract: There is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a processing container accommodating a boat on which a substrate is mounted; and an injector that extends in a vertical direction along an inner wall of the processing container in a vicinity of the processing container and has a plurality of gas holes in a longitudinal direction, wherein the plurality of gas holes is oriented toward the inner wall in the vicinity of the processing container.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2019
    Publication date: October 10, 2019
    Inventors: Masami OIKAWA, Ken ITABASHI, Satoshi TAKAGI, Masahisa WATANABE, Keisuke FUJITA, Tatsuya MIYAHARA, Hiroyuki HAYASHI
  • Publication number: 20190228992
    Abstract: There is provided a substrate processing method comprising etching a silicon film formed on a surface of a substrate accommodated in a processing container by supplying an etching gas to the substrate, purging the processing container by supplying a hydrogen-containing gas that reacts with the etching gas as a purge gas into the processing container, and forming an additional silicon film on the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2019
    Publication date: July 25, 2019
    Inventors: Masami OIKAWA, Keisuke FUJITA
  • Patent number: 10256162
    Abstract: Disclosed is a substrate processing system capable of performing an etching processing collectively on a plurality of substrates accommodated in a processing container. The system includes: a first acquisition unit which acquires, as information, an amount of a film forming material formed on one of the substrates; a second acquisition unit which acquires, as information, the number of the substrates; a first calculating unit which calculates a total amount of the film forming material formed on the substrates based on the amount of the film forming material and the number of the substrates; and a second calculating unit which calculates an etching condition required to etch and remove the entire film forming material based on the total amount of the film forming materials and a relationship between a predetermined amount of the film forming material and an etching condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventor: Masami Oikawa
  • Publication number: 20180254222
    Abstract: Disclosed is a substrate processing system capable of performing an etching processing collectively on a plurality of substrates accommodated in a processing container. The system includes: a first acquisition unit which acquires, as information, an amount of a film forming material formed on one of the substrates; a second acquisition unit which acquires, as information, the number of the substrates; a first calculating unit which calculates a total amount of the film forming material formed on the substrates based on the amount of the film forming material and the number of the substrates; and a second calculating unit which calculates an etching condition required to etch and remove the entire film forming material based on the total amount of the film forming materials and a relationship between a predetermined amount of the film forming material and an etching condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2018
    Publication date: September 6, 2018
    Inventor: Masami Oikawa