Patents by Inventor Thorsten Lill
Thorsten Lill 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: 10424461Abstract: Systems and methods controlling ion energy within a plasma chamber are described. One of the systems includes an upper electrode coupled to a sinusoidal RF generator for receiving a sinusoidal signal and a nonsinusoidal RF generator for generating a nonsinusoidal signal. The system further includes a power amplifier coupled to the nonsinusoidal RF generator. The power amplifier is used for amplifying the nonsinusoidal signal to generate an amplified signal. The system includes a filter coupled to the power amplifier. The filter is used for filtering the amplified signal using a filtering signal to generate a filtered signal. The system includes a chuck coupled to the filter. The chuck faces at least a portion of the upper electrode and includes a lower electrode. The lower electrode is used for receiving the filtered signal to facilitate achieving ion energy at the chuck to be between a lower threshold and an upper threshold.Type: GrantFiled: November 13, 2018Date of Patent: September 24, 2019Assignee: Lam Research CorporationInventors: Thorsten Lill, Harmeet Singh, Alex Paterson, Gowri Kamarthy
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Patent number: 10403476Abstract: An active showerhead used for a plasma reactor is described. The active showerhead includes a plurality of substrate layers. The substrate layers include at least one actuator and transfer component. The actuator and transfer component is coupled to a gas line via a gas channel. The active showerhead further includes an electrode layer located below the substrate layers. The electrode layer and the actuator and transfer component both share an opening. The actuator and transfer component allows passage of one or more process gases received from the gas line and the gas channel into the opening without the need for a conventional gas box.Type: GrantFiled: November 9, 2016Date of Patent: September 3, 2019Assignee: Lam Research CorporationInventors: Mariusch Gregor, Thorsten Lill, David Trussell
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Patent number: 10374144Abstract: Methods of etching metal by depositing a material reactive with a metal to be etched and a halogen to form a volatile species and exposing the substrate to a halogen-containing gas and activation gas to etch the substrate are provided. Deposited materials may include silicon, germanium, titanium, carbon, tin, and combinations thereof. Methods are suitable for fabricating MRAM structures and may involve integrating ALD and ALE processes without breaking vacuum.Type: GrantFiled: September 28, 2017Date of Patent: August 6, 2019Assignee: Lam Research CorporationInventors: Samantha Tan, Taeseung Kim, Wenbing Yang, Jeffrey Marks, Thorsten Lill
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Publication number: 20190237298Abstract: Various embodiments herein relate to methods and apparatus for etching feature on a substrate. In a number of embodiments, no substrate rotation or tilting is used. While conventional etching processes rely on substrate rotation to even out the distribution of ions over the substrate surface, various embodiments herein achieve this purpose by moving the ion beams relative to the ion source. Movement of the ion beams can be achieved in a number of ways including electrostatic techniques, mechanical techniques, magnetic techniques, and combinations thereof.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 15, 2019Publication date: August 1, 2019Inventors: Ivan L. Berry, III, Thorsten Lill
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Patent number: 10336656Abstract: A machined ceramic article having an initial surface defect density and an initial surface roughness is provided. The machined ceramic article is heated to a temperature range between about 1000° C. and about 1800° C. at a ramping rate of about 0.1° C. per minute to about 20° C. per minute. The machined ceramic article is heat-treated in air atmosphere. The machined ceramic article is heat treated at one or more temperatures within the temperature range for a duration of up to about 24 hours. The machined ceramic article is then cooled at the ramping rate, wherein after the heat treatment the machined ceramic article has a reduced surface defect density and a reduced surface roughness.Type: GrantFiled: April 15, 2015Date of Patent: July 2, 2019Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.Inventors: Ren-Guan Duan, Thorsten Lill, Jennifer Y. Sun, Benjamin Schwarz
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Publication number: 20190198345Abstract: A method for performing atomic layer etching (ALE) on a substrate, including the following method operations: performing a surface modification operation on a surface of the substrate, the surface modification operation configured to convert at least one monolayer of the substrate surface to a modified layer; performing a removal operation on the substrate surface, to remove the modified layer from the substrate surface, wherein removing the modified layer includes exposing the substrate surface to a metal complex, such that a ligand exchange reaction occurs between the metal complex and converted species of the modified layer; performing, following the removal operation, a plasma treatment on the substrate surface, the plasma treatment configured to remove residues formed from the exposure of the substrate surface to the metal complex, wherein the residues are volatilized by the plasma treatment; repeating the foregoing operations until a predefined thickness has been etched from the substrate surface.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 28, 2019Publication date: June 27, 2019Inventors: Andreas Fischer, Thorsten Lill, Richard Janek, John Boniface
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Patent number: 10304659Abstract: Methods of etching and smoothening films by exposing to a halogen-containing plasma and an inert plasma within a bias window in cycles are provided. Methods are suitable for etching and smoothening films of various materials in the semiconductor industry and are also applicable to applications in optics and other industries.Type: GrantFiled: April 13, 2018Date of Patent: May 28, 2019Assignee: LAM RESEARCH CORPORATIONInventors: Keren Jacobs Kanarik, Samantha Tan, Thorsten Lill, Meihua Shen, Yang Pan, Jeffrey Marks, Richard Wise
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Publication number: 20190157105Abstract: A method for performing atomic layer etching (ALE) on a substrate is provided, including the following operations: performing a surface modification operation on a substrate surface, the surface modification operation configured to convert at least one monolayer of the substrate surface to a modified layer, wherein a bias voltage is applied during the surface modification operation, the bias voltage configured to control a depth of the substrate surface that is converted by the surface modification operation; performing a removal operation on the substrate surface, the removal operation configured to remove at least a portion of the modified layer from the substrate surface, wherein removing the portion of the modified layer includes applying thermal energy to effect desorption of the portion of the modified layer. A plasma treatment can be performed to remove residues from the substrate surface following the removal operation.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 23, 2019Publication date: May 23, 2019Inventors: Andreas Fischer, Thorsten Lill, Richard Janek
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Publication number: 20190139778Abstract: Methods are provided for integrating atomic layer etch and atomic layer deposition by performing both processes in the same chamber or reactor. Methods involve sequentially alternating between atomic layer etch and atomic layer deposition processes to prevent feature degradation during etch, improve selectivity, and encapsulate sensitive layers of a semiconductor substrate.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 14, 2018Publication date: May 9, 2019Inventors: Keren Jacobs Kanarik, Jeffrey Marks, Harmeet Singh, Samantha SiamHwa Tan, Alexander Kabansky, Wenbing Yang, Taeseung Kim, Dennis M. Hausmann, Thorsten Lill
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Patent number: 10256108Abstract: A method for performing atomic layer etching (ALE) on a substrate, including the following method operations: performing a surface modification operation on a surface of the substrate, the surface modification operation configured to convert at least one monolayer of the substrate surface to a modified layer; performing a removal operation on the substrate surface, the removal operation configured to remove the modified layer from the substrate surface, wherein removing the modified layer occurs via a ligand exchange reaction that is configured to volatilize the modified layer; performing, following the removal operation, a plasma treatment on the substrate surface, the plasma treatment configured to remove residues generated by the removal operation from the substrate surface, wherein the residues are volatilized by the plasma treatment; repeating the foregoing operations until a predefined thickness has been etched from the substrate surface.Type: GrantFiled: February 17, 2017Date of Patent: April 9, 2019Assignee: Lam Research CorporationInventors: Andreas Fischer, Thorsten Lill, Richard Janek, John Boniface
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Publication number: 20190103253Abstract: Systems and methods controlling ion energy within a plasma chamber are described. One of the systems includes an upper electrode coupled to a sinusoidal RF generator for receiving a sinusoidal signal and a nonsinusoidal RF generator for generating a nonsinusoidal signal. The system further includes a power amplifier coupled to the nonsinusoidal RF generator. The power amplifier is used for amplifying the nonsinusoidal signal to generate an amplified signal. The system includes a filter coupled to the power amplifier. The filter is used for filtering the amplified signal using a filtering signal to generate a filtered signal. The system includes a chuck coupled to the filter. The chuck faces at least a portion of the upper electrode and includes a lower electrode. The lower electrode is used for receiving the filtered signal to facilitate achieving ion energy at the chuck to be between a lower threshold and an upper threshold.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 13, 2018Publication date: April 4, 2019Inventors: Thorsten Lill, Harmeet Singh, Alex Paterson, Gowri Kamarthy
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Patent number: 10249521Abstract: An apparatus for processing wafer-shaped articles comprises a vacuum transfer module and an atmospheric transfer module. A first airlock interconnects the vacuum transfer module and the atmospheric transfer module. An atmospheric process module is connected to the atmospheric transfer module. A gas supply system is configured to supply gas separately and at different controlled flows to each of the atmospheric transfer module, the first airlock and the atmospheric process module, so as to cause: (i) a flow of gas from the first airlock to the atmospheric transfer module when the first airlock and the atmospheric transfer module are open to one another, and (ii) a flow of gas from the atmospheric transfer module to the atmospheric process module when the atmospheric transfer module and the atmospheric process module are open to one another.Type: GrantFiled: March 17, 2016Date of Patent: April 2, 2019Assignee: LAM RESEARCH AGInventors: Thorsten Lill, Andreas Fischer, Richard H. Gould, Michael Myslovaty, Philipp Engesser, Harald Okorn-Schmidt, Anders Joel Bjork
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Patent number: 10242883Abstract: A method for etching features in an OMOM stack with first layer of silicon oxide, a second layer of a metal containing material over the first layer, a third layer of silicon oxide over the second layer, and a fourth layer of a metal containing material over the third layer is provided. A hardmask is formed over the stack. The hardmask is patterned. The OMOM stack is etched through the hardmask.Type: GrantFiled: June 23, 2017Date of Patent: March 26, 2019Assignee: Lam Research CorporationInventors: Joydeep Guha, Sirish K. Reddy, Kaushik Chattopadhyay, Thomas W. Mountsier, Aaron Eppler, Thorsten Lill, Vahid Vahedi, Harmeet Singh
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Patent number: 10229837Abstract: A method for performing atomic layer etching (ALE) on a substrate is provided, including the following operations: performing a surface modification operation on a substrate surface, the surface modification operation configured to convert at least one monolayer of the substrate surface to a modified layer, wherein a bias voltage is applied during the surface modification operation, the bias voltage configured to control a depth of the substrate surface that is converted by the surface modification operation; performing a removal operation on the substrate surface, the removal operation configured to remove at least a portion of the modified layer from the substrate surface, wherein removing the portion of the modified layer is effected via a ligand exchange reaction that is configured to volatilize the portion of the modified layer. A plasma treatment can be performed to remove residues from the substrate surface following the removal operation.Type: GrantFiled: June 6, 2017Date of Patent: March 12, 2019Assignee: Lam Research CorporationInventors: Andreas Fischer, Thorsten Lill, Richard Janek
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Patent number: 10224221Abstract: The embodiments disclosed herein pertain to improved methods and apparatus for etching a semiconductor substrate. A plasma grid assembly is positioned in a reaction chamber to divide the chamber into upper and lower sub-chambers. The plasma grid assembly may include one or more plasma grids having slots of a particular aspect ratio, which allow certain species to pass through from the upper sub-chamber to the lower sub-chamber. Where multiple plasma grids are used, one or more of the grids may be movable, allowing for tenability of the plasma conditions in at least the lower sub-chamber. In some cases, an electron-ion plasma is generated in the upper sub-chamber. Electrons that make it through the grid to the lower sub-chamber are cooled as they pass through. In some cases, this results in an ion-ion plasma in the lower sub-chamber.Type: GrantFiled: February 26, 2016Date of Patent: March 5, 2019Assignee: Lam Research CorporationInventors: Harmeet Singh, Thorsten Lill, Vahid Vahedi, Alex Paterson, Monica Titus, Gowri Kamarthy
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Patent number: 10186426Abstract: Methods are provided for integrating atomic layer etch and atomic layer deposition by performing both processes in the same chamber or reactor. Methods involve sequentially alternating between atomic layer etch and atomic layer deposition processes to prevent feature degradation during etch, improve selectivity, and encapsulate sensitive layers of a semiconductor substrate.Type: GrantFiled: September 28, 2017Date of Patent: January 22, 2019Assignee: Lam Research CorporationInventors: Keren Jacobs Kanarik, Jeffrey Marks, Harmeet Singh, Samantha Tan, Alexander Kabansky, Wenbing Yang, Taeseung Kim, Dennis M. Hausmann, Thorsten Lill
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Publication number: 20180374712Abstract: A method for etching features in an OMOM stack with first layer of silicon oxide, a second layer of a metal containing material over the first layer, a third layer of silicon oxide over the second layer, and a fourth layer of a metal containing material over the third layer is provided. A hardmask is formed over the stack. The hardmask is patterned. The OMOM stack is etched through the hardmask.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 23, 2017Publication date: December 27, 2018Inventors: Joydeep GUHA, Sirish K. REDDY, Kaushik CHATTOPADHYAY, Thomas W. MOUNTSIER, Aaron EPPLER, Thorsten LILL, Vahid VAHEDI, Harmeet SINGH
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Publication number: 20180366343Abstract: A method for performing atomic layer etching (ALE) on a substrate is provided, including the following operations: performing a surface modification operation on a substrate surface, the surface modification operation configured to convert at least one monolayer of the substrate surface to a modified layer, wherein a bias voltage is applied during the surface modification operation, the bias voltage configured to control a depth of the substrate surface that is converted by the surface modification operation; performing a removal operation on the substrate surface, the removal operation configured to remove at least a portion of the modified layer from the substrate surface, wherein removing the portion of the modified layer is effected via a ligand exchange reaction that is configured to volatilize the portion of the modified layer. A plasma treatment can be performed to remove residues from the substrate surface following the removal operation.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 6, 2017Publication date: December 20, 2018Inventors: Andreas Fischer, Thorsten Lill, Richard Janek
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Patent number: 10141163Abstract: Systems and methods controlling ion energy within a plasma chamber are described. One of the systems includes an upper electrode coupled to a sinusoidal RF generator for receiving a sinusoidal signal and a nonsinusoidal RF generator for generating a nonsinusoidal signal. The system further includes a power amplifier coupled to the nonsinusoidal RF generator. The power amplifier is used for amplifying the nonsinusoidal signal to generate an amplified signal. The system includes a filter coupled to the power amplifier. The filter is used for filtering the amplified signal using a filtering signal to generate a filtered signal. The system includes a chuck coupled to the filter. The chuck faces at least a portion of the upper electrode and includes a lower electrode. The lower electrode is used for receiving the filtered signal to facilitate achieving ion energy at the chuck to be between a lower threshold and an upper threshold.Type: GrantFiled: September 9, 2016Date of Patent: November 27, 2018Assignee: Lam Research CorporationInventors: Thorsten Lill, Harmeet Singh, Alex Paterson, Gowri Kamarthy
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Patent number: 10096487Abstract: Provided herein are methods of atomic layer etching (ALE) of metals including tungsten (W) and cobalt (Co). The methods disclosed herein provide precise etch control down to the atomic level, with etching a low as 1 ? to 10 ? per cycle in some embodiments. In some embodiments, directional control is provided without damage to the surface of interest. The methods may include cycles of a modification operation to form a reactive layer, followed by a removal operation to etch only this modified layer. The modification is performed without spontaneously etching the surface of the metal.Type: GrantFiled: August 17, 2016Date of Patent: October 9, 2018Assignee: Lam Research CorporationInventors: Wenbing Yang, Samantha Tan, Keren Jacobs Kanarik, Jeffrey Marks, Taeseung Kim, Meihua Shen, Thorsten Lill