Patents by Inventor Tomonori Aoyama

Tomonori Aoyama 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: 9082822
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a transistor including a gate insulator and a gate electrode on a substrate. The method further includes forming an interconnect structure including one or more interconnect layers on the substrate by performing first and second processes one or more times, the first process forming an interconnect layer on the substrate, and the second process processing the interconnect layer into an interconnect pattern. The method further includes annealing the substrate by irradiating the substrate with a microwave, after at least one interconnect layer included in the one or more interconnect layers is processed into an interconnect pattern on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Tatsunori Isogai, Tomonori Aoyama
  • Publication number: 20150179533
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes a support module configured to support a wafer which includes a substrate and a workpiece layer provided on the substrate and has a first face on a side of the workpiece layer and a second face on a side of the substrate, a chamber configured to contain the support module, and a microwave generator configured to generate a microwave. The apparatus further includes a waveguide provided on an upper face side or a lower face side of the chamber, and configured to irradiate the second face of the wafer with the microwave. The apparatus further includes a thermometer provided on the same side where the waveguide is provided selected from the upper face side and the lower face side of the chamber, and configured to measure a temperature on a side of the second face of the wafer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2014
    Publication date: June 25, 2015
    Inventors: Tomonori Aoyama, Kyoichi Suguro, Tatsunori Isogai
  • Patent number: 8999855
    Abstract: According one embodiment, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device is provided, which includes forming a pair of element isolation insulation films on a semiconductor substrate, forming a gate electrode structure on sides of the gate electrode structure, selectively removing oxide films that are formed on a top surface of the diffusion layer and a top surface of the gate electrode by placing the substrate in a gas atmosphere selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, I, H, O, Ar, or N; and irradiating the semiconductor substrate with microwave radiation. The method also includes depositing a metal film on a top surface of the diffusion layer and a top surface of the gate electrode, and a silicide film is formed by heating the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Makoto Honda, Tomonori Aoyama
  • Publication number: 20150093903
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a resist and a layer to be etched on a substrate, forming a non-cured layer on the resist by supplying a metal compound containing Ru, forming a cured layer on a surface layer of the resist by using the non-cured layer, and etching the layer to be etched by reactive ion etching using the cured layer and the resist as a mask.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2014
    Publication date: April 2, 2015
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventor: Tomonori Aoyama
  • Patent number: 8883642
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a concave portion on a surface of a substrate to be processed. The method further includes forming a coating film on the substrate to embed the coating film in the concave portion. The method further includes performing a first heat treatment in an atmosphere including an oxidant which contains polar molecules. The method further includes performing a second heat treatment after the first heat treatment by irradiating the coating film with a microwave after or while exposing the coating film to a liquid or a gas containing polar molecules.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Wakana Kai, Tomonori Aoyama
  • Patent number: 8828853
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming an amorphous semiconductor film on a substrate. The method further includes annealing the amorphous semiconductor film by irradiating the substrate with a microwave to form a polycrystalline semiconductor film from the amorphous semiconductor film. The method further includes forming a transistor whose channel is the polycrystalline semiconductor film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Tomonori Aoyama, Kiyotaka Miyano
  • Patent number: 8759205
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein an amorphous semiconductor film comprising a microcrystal is annealed using a microwave, to crystallize the amorphous semiconductor film comprising the microcrystal using the microcrystal as a nucleus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Tomonori Aoyama, Yusuke Oshiki, Kiyotaka Miyano
  • Publication number: 20140087547
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, the manufacturing method for the semiconductor device according to the embodiment includes carrying out ion implantation to the semiconductor layer and forming an amorphous layer on the surface of the semiconductor layer, and a heat treatment process using microwave annealing at a temperature higher than or equal to 200° C. and lower than or equal to 700° C. and single crystallizes the amorphous layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2013
    Publication date: March 27, 2014
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Kiyotaka MIYANO, Wakana KAI, Tatsunori ISOGAI, Tomonori AOYAMA
  • Publication number: 20140073065
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a microwave annealing apparatus is provided, including a housing shielding electromagnetic waves, a first electromagnetic wave source configured to apply a first electromagnetic wave into the housing, a second electromagnetic wave source configured to apply, into the housing, a second electromagnetic wave having a higher frequency than the first electromagnetic wave, a susceptor configured to hold a semiconductor substrate, made of a material transparent to the first electromagnetic wave and provided in the housing, a temperature measuring device configured to measure the temperature of the semiconductor substrate, and a control unit configured to control the power of each of the first and second electromagnetic wave sources in accordance with the temperature measured by the temperature measuring device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 9, 2013
    Publication date: March 13, 2014
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Hiroshi OHNO, Tomonori AOYAMA, Kiyotaka MIYANO, Yoshinori HONGUH, Masataka SHIRATSUCHI
  • Patent number: 8658520
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a gate electrode on a channel region in a silicon substrate via a gate insulation film; forming a source region and a drain region in the silicon substrate so as to sandwich the channel region along a channel direction by injecting desired impurities to the silicon substrate; forming amorphous regions containing the impurities on surfaces of the source region and the drain region by amorphousizing the surfaces of the source region and the drain region; forming nickel films on the amorphous regions; and forming crystal layers containing the activated impurities and forming nickel silicide films on the crystal layers at low temperature by radiating microwaves to the amorphous regions and the nickel films.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2014
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Tomonori Aoyama, Kiyotaka Miyano, Hiroshi Nakazawa
  • Publication number: 20140004690
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a transistor including a gate insulator and a gate electrode on a substrate. The method further includes forming an interconnect structure including one or more interconnect layers on the substrate by performing first and second processes one or more times, the first process forming an interconnect layer on the substrate, and the second process processing the interconnect layer into an interconnect pattern. The method further includes annealing the substrate by irradiating the substrate with a microwave, after at least one interconnect layer included in the one or more interconnect layers is processed into an interconnect pattern on the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2013
    Publication date: January 2, 2014
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Tatsunori ISOGAI, Tomonori Aoyama
  • Publication number: 20130280911
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a concave portion on a surface of a substrate to be processed. The method further includes forming a coating film on the substrate to embed the coating film in the concave portion. The method further includes performing a first heat treatment in an atmosphere including an oxidant which contains polar molecules. The method further includes performing a second heat treatment after the first heat treatment by irradiating the coating film with a microwave after or while exposing the coating film to a liquid or a gas containing polar molecules.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Publication date: October 24, 2013
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Wakana KAI, Tomonori AOYAMA
  • Patent number: 8552411
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a manufacturing method of semiconductor device includes forming plural elements on a substrate, forming a silicon compound film so as to bury between a plurality of elements, and modifying the silicon compound film to a silicon dioxide film by radiating microwaves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Tomonori Aoyama, Kiyotaka Miyano
  • Publication number: 20130252411
    Abstract: According one embodiment, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device is provided, which includes forming a pair of element isolation insulation films on a semiconductor substrate, forming a gate electrode structure on sides of the gate electrode structure, selectively removing oxide films that are formed on a top surface of the diffusion layer and a top surface of the gate electrode by placing the substrate in a gas atmosphere selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, I, H, O, Ar, or N; and irradiating the semiconductor substrate with microwave radiation. The method also includes depositing a metal film on a top surface of the diffusion layer and a top surface of the gate electrode, and a silicide film is formed by heating the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 8, 2013
    Publication date: September 26, 2013
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Makoto HONDA, Tomonori AOYAMA
  • Publication number: 20130221449
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device includes forming a monolayer that includes organic compounds that contain conductive type dopants on a semiconductor layer, applying a bias voltage to the semiconductor layer, and injecting plasma inactive gas ions against the monolayer, so that conductive type dopants included in the monolayer are impacted by the ions to form the dopant layer injected with the conductive type dopants in a semiconductor layer. This manufacturing method controls the density of the conductive type dopants in the dopant layer by changing a size of functional group.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2012
    Publication date: August 29, 2013
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventor: Tomonori AOYAMA
  • Publication number: 20130189838
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus has a chamber, a microwave generator for generating a microwave, a waveguide for introducing the microwave into the chamber, a stage for mounting a semiconductor substrate, and a cover for covering an outer circumference portion of the stage exposed from the semiconductor substrate. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the stage is made of a material to be heated by the microwave, and the cover is made of a material through which the microwave penetrates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2012
    Publication date: July 25, 2013
    Inventors: Makoto HONDA, Tomonori AOYAMA
  • Patent number: 8435872
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, in a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, a surface region of a semiconductor substrate is modified into an amorphous layer. A microwave is irradiated to the semiconductor substrate in which the amorphous layer is formed in a dopant-containing gas atmosphere so as to form a diffusion layer in the semiconductor substrate. The dopant is diffused into the amorphous layer and is activated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2013
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Tomonori Aoyama
  • Patent number: 8435858
    Abstract: A semiconductor device manufacturing method includes: removing an insulating film on a semiconductor substrate by using wet etching and subsequently oxidizing a surface of the substrate by using a liquid oxidation agent without exposing this surface to an atmosphere, thereby forming a first insulating film containing an oxide of a constituent element of the substrate on the surface of the substrate; forming a second insulating film containing aluminum and another metal element on the first insulating film; forming a high-k insulating film containing at least one of hafnium and zirconium on the second insulating film; forming a metal film on the high-k insulating film; and conducting heat treatment to react the first insulating film and the second insulating film, thereby forming a third insulating film made of a mixture containing aluminum, the another metal element, the constituent element of the substrate, and oxygen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2013
    Assignee: Kabshiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Seiji Inumiya, Tomonori Aoyama
  • Patent number: 8426285
    Abstract: An ion implantation is performed to implant ions into a silicon substrate, and a microwave irradiation is performed to irradiate the silicon substrate with microwaves after the ion implantation. After the microwave irradiation, the silicon substrate is transferred to a heat-treatment apparatus, where the silicon substrate is treated with heat by being irradiated with light having a pulse width ranging from 0.1 milliseconds to 100 milliseconds, both inclusive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2013
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Kenichi Yoshino, Kiyotaka Miyano, Tomonori Aoyama
  • Publication number: 20130075844
    Abstract: A semiconductor device according to the present embodiment comprises a lower electrode provided above a semiconductor substrate and made of metal, an upper electrode provided above the lower electrode and made of metal, and a crystal layer provided between the lower electrode and the upper electrode. A thickness of each of the lower electrode and the upper electrode is smaller than a thickness of a skin layer deriving from a skin effect corresponding to a frequency of a microwave used to crystallize the crystal layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2012
    Publication date: March 28, 2013
    Inventors: Kiyotaka Miyano, Tomonori Aoyama