Patents by Inventor Yutaka Kouzuma

Yutaka Kouzuma 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).

  • Publication number: 20240111313
    Abstract: A gas supply control device that supplies a gas to a processing chamber in which a workpiece is processed, includes: a first port connected to a gas source of a purge gas; a second port to which a gas source of a processing gas is connected; a collective pipe in which each of the purge gas and the processing gas supplied from the first port and the second port merges, respectively, and flow; a first flow rate controller provided between the first port and the collective pipe; and a second flow rate controller provided between the second port and the collective pipe. A gas flow path through which the purge gas flows is provided from an output side of the first flow rate controller to an input side of the second flow rate controller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2021
    Publication date: April 4, 2024
    Inventors: Yoshifumi Ogawa, Yutaka Kouzuma
  • Patent number: 11915951
    Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus includes a stage disposed in a processing chamber for mounting a wafer, a plasma generation chamber disposed above the processing chamber for plasma generation using process gas, a plate member having multiple introduction holes, made of a dielectric material, disposed above the stage and between the processing chamber and the plasma generation chamber, and a lamp disposed around the plate member for heating the wafer. The plasma processing apparatus further includes an external IR light source, an emission fiber arranged in the stage, that outputs IR light from the external IR light source toward a wafer bottom, and a light collection fiber for collecting IR light from the wafer. Data obtained using only IR light from the lamp is subtracted from data obtained also using IR light from the external IR light source during heating of the wafer. Thus, a wafer temperature is determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Nobuya Miyoshi, Kazunori Shinoda, Tatehito Usui, Naoyuki Kofuji, Yutaka Kouzuma, Tomoyuki Watanabe, Kenetsu Yokogawa, Satoshi Sakai, Masaru Izawa
  • Publication number: 20240055278
    Abstract: There is provided a gas supply apparatus that can effectively suppress a trouble caused by backflow of a process gas to the upstream side when processing is performed by using the process gas inside a chamber. The gas supply apparatus supplies gas to a processing chamber in which a sample is processed. The gas supply apparatus includes: ports respectively connected to gas sources of a plurality of types of gases containing a purging gas and a processing gas; and a collective pipe in which the plurality of types of gases supplied from the ports are joined and flowed. A gas flow path through which gas supplied from the port connected to the gas source for the purging gas flows is formed on an uppermost stream side of the collective pipe.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2021
    Publication date: February 15, 2024
    Inventors: Yoshifumi Ogawa, Yutaka Kouzuma, Keisuke Akinaga, Kazuyuki Hirozane, Yasushi Sonoda
  • Patent number: 11835465
    Abstract: Provided is a detecting device of gas components that includes a gas component detecting unit for detection of a light emission of plasma that is formed by re-excitation downstream of an arrangement position of an object to be processed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshifumi Ogawa, Yutaka Kouzuma, Masaru Izawa
  • Patent number: 11557463
    Abstract: In a vacuum processing apparatus including: a vacuum container including a processing chamber therein; a plasma formation chamber; plate members being arranged between the processing chamber and the plasma formation chamber; and a lamp and a window member being arranged around the plate members, in order that a wafer and the plate members are heated by electromagnetic waves from the lamp, a bottom surface and a side surface of the window member is formed of a member transmitting the electromagnetic waves therethrough.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Tech Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Nobuya Miyoshi, Kazunori Shinoda, Kenji Maeda, Yutaka Kouzuma, Satoshi Sakai, Masaru Izawa
  • Patent number: 11515167
    Abstract: Provided is a plasma etching method which enables etching with high accuracy while controlling and reducing surface roughness of a transition metal film. The etching is performed for the transition metal film, which is formed on a sample and contains a transition metal element, by a first step of isotropically generating a layer of transition metal oxide on a surface of the transition metal film while a temperature of the sample is maintained at 100° C. or lower, a second step of raising the temperature of the sample to a predetermined temperature of 150° C. or higher and 250° C. or lower while a complexation gas is supplied to the layer of transition metal oxide, a third step of subliming and removing a reactant generated by an reaction between the complexation gas and the transition metal oxide formed in the first step while the temperature of the sample is maintained at 150° C. or higher and 250° C. or lower, and a fourth step of cooling the sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Sumiko Fujisaki, Yoshihide Yamaguchi, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Kazunori Shinoda, Kohei Kawamura, Yutaka Kouzuma, Masaru Izawa
  • Patent number: 11276579
    Abstract: A substrate processing method for reducing a surface roughness of a semiconductor wafer by processing a film structure having at least two types of films beforehand disposed on the substrate, including steps of repeating an adsorption step of supplying activated particles into the processing chamber and allowing the particles to be adsorbed to a surface of a desirable film to be etched in the at least two types of films to allow the particles to combine with a material of the desirable film to form a reaction layer, a removal step of using plasma generated by supplying oxygen into the processing chamber to remove a deposit containing particles adhering to a surface of an undesirable film to be etched in the films, and a desorption step of desorbing and removing the reaction layer on the desirable film to be etched by heating the sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Nobuya Miyoshi, Kazunori Shinoda, Yutaka Kouzuma, Masaru Izawa
  • Publication number: 20210366721
    Abstract: A substrate processing method for reducing a surface roughness of a semiconductor wafer by processing a film structure having at least two types of films beforehand disposed on the substrate, including steps of repeating an adsorption step of supplying activated particles into the processing chamber and allowing the particles to be adsorbed to a surface of a desirable film to be etched in the at least two types of films to allow the particles to combine with a material of the desirable film to form a reaction layer, a removal step of using plasma generated by supplying oxygen into the processing chamber to remove a deposit containing particles adhering to a surface of an undesirable film to be etched in the films, and a desorption step of desorbing and removing the reaction layer on the desirable film to be etched by heating the sample.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 14, 2018
    Publication date: November 25, 2021
    Inventors: Hiroyuki KOBAYASHI, Nobuya MIYOSHI, Kazunori SHINODA, Yutaka KOUZUMA, Masaru IZAWA
  • Publication number: 20210358760
    Abstract: Provided is a plasma etching method which enables etching with high accuracy while controlling and reducing surface roughness of a transition metal film. The etching is performed for the transition metal film, which is formed on a sample and contains a transition metal element, by a first step of isotropically generating a layer of transition metal oxide on a surface of the transition metal film while a temperature of the sample is maintained at 100° C. or lower, a second step of raising the temperature of the sample to a predetermined temperature of 150° C. or higher and 250° C. or lower while a complexation gas is supplied to the layer of transition metal oxide, a third step of subliming and removing a reactant generated by an reaction between the complexation gas and the transition metal oxide formed in the first step while the temperature of the sample is maintained at 150° C. or higher and 250° C. or lower, and a fourth step of cooling the sample.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2019
    Publication date: November 18, 2021
    Inventors: Sumiko FUJISAKI, Yoshihide YAMAGUCHI, Hiroyuki KOBAYASHI, Kazunori SHINODA, Kohei KAWAMURA, Yutaka KOUZUMA, Masaru IZAWA
  • Publication number: 20210231571
    Abstract: Provided is a detecting device of gas components that includes a gas component detecting unit for detection of a light emission of plasma that is formed by re-excitation downstream of an arrangement position of an object to be processed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2019
    Publication date: July 29, 2021
    Inventors: Yoshifumi OGAWA, Yutaka KOUZUMA, Masaru IZAWA
  • Publication number: 20210151298
    Abstract: In a vacuum processing apparatus including: a vacuum container including a processing chamber therein; a plasma formation chamber; plate members being arranged between the processing chamber and the plasma formation chamber; and a lamp and a window member being arranged around the plate members, in order that a wafer and the plate members are heated by electromagnetic waves from the lamp, a bottom surface and a side surface of the window member is formed of a member transmitting the electromagnetic waves therethrough.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 28, 2021
    Publication date: May 20, 2021
    Inventors: Hiroyuki KOBAYASHI, Nobuya MIYOSHI, Kazunori SHINODA, Kenji MAEDA, Yutaka KOUZUMA, Satoshi SAKAl, Masaru IZAWA
  • Patent number: 10937635
    Abstract: In a vacuum processing apparatus including: a vacuum container including a processing chamber therein; a plasma formation chamber; plate members being arranged between the processing chamber and the plasma formation chamber; and a lamp and a window member being arranged around the plate members, in order that a wafer and the plate members are heated by electromagnetic waves from the lamp, a bottom surface and a side surface of the window member is formed of a member transmitting the electromagnetic waves therethrough.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Nobuya Miyoshi, Kazunori Shinoda, Kenji Maeda, Yutaka Kouzuma, Satoshi Sakai, Masaru Izawa
  • Patent number: 10872779
    Abstract: An plasma etching method for etching a film layer includes a plurality of times repeating a step set including a first step of introducing a gas containing hydrogen fluoride into a processing chamber and supplying hydrogen fluoride molecules to the surface of an oxide film, a second step of exhausting the interior of the processing chamber in vacuum to remove the hydrogen fluoride, and a third step of introducing a gas containing hydrogen nitride into the processing chamber and supplying hydrogen nitride to the surface of the oxide film to form a compound layer containing nitrogen, hydrogen, and fluorine on the surface of the film layer, and removing the compound layer formed on the surface of the film layer. Foreign object contamination is prevented by inhibiting mixing of hydrogen fluoride gas and hydrogen nitride gas, and the etching amount is controlled by the number of times of repeating application thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Nobuya Miyoshi, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Kazunori Shinoda, Kohei Kawamura, Kazumasa Ookuma, Yutaka Kouzuma, Masaru Izawa
  • Patent number: 10825664
    Abstract: Provided is a plasma processing apparatus including: a processing chamber; a sample stage placed inside the processing chamber; a processing gas supply unit which supplies processing gas into the processing chamber; a high-frequency power supply which supplies an electric field inside the processing chamber; an electrostatic chuck unit disposed on the sample stage in which openings to flow heat transfer gas are formed; a refrigerant supply unit which supplies a refrigerant inside the sample stage; and a control unit, wherein the control unit controls a heat transfer gas supply unit to control the temperature of a wafer depending on a plurality of processes for processing the wafer by switching a flow rate of the heat transfer gas or the type of the heat transfer gas flowing out of the openings between a concave portion formed in the electrostatic chuck unit and the wafer attracted to the electrostatic chuck unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomoyuki Watanabe, Yutaka Kouzuma, Takumi Tandou, Kenetsu Yokogawa, Hiroshi Ito
  • Publication number: 20200328099
    Abstract: A plasma processing apparatus includes a stage disposed in a processing chamber for mounting a wafer, a plasma generation chamber disposed above the processing chamber for plasma generation using process gas, a plate member having multiple introduction holes, made of a dielectric material, disposed above the stage and between the processing chamber and the plasma generation chamber, and a lamp disposed around the plate member for heating the wafer. The plasma processing apparatus further includes an external IR light source, an emission fiber arranged in the stage, that outputs IR light from the external IR light source toward a wafer bottom, and a light collection fiber for collecting IR light from the wafer. Data obtained using only IR light from the lamp is subtracted from data obtained also using IR light from the external IR light source during heating of the wafer. Thus, a wafer temperature is determined.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 26, 2020
    Publication date: October 15, 2020
    Inventors: Hiroyuki KOBAYASHI, Nobuya MIYOSHI, Kazunori SHINODA, Tatehito USUI, Naoyuki KOFUJI, Yutaka KOUZUMA, Tomoyuki WATANABE, Kenetsu YOKOGAWA, Satoshi SAKAI, Masaru IZAWA
  • Publication number: 20200006079
    Abstract: An plasma etching method for etching a film layer includes a plurality of times repeating a step set including a first step of introducing a gas containing hydrogen fluoride into a processing chamber and supplying hydrogen fluoride molecules to the surface of an oxide film, a second step of exhausting the interior of the processing chamber in vacuum to remove the hydrogen fluoride, and a third step of introducing a gas containing hydrogen nitride into the processing chamber and supplying hydrogen nitride to the surface of the oxide film to form a compound layer containing nitrogen, hydrogen, and fluorine on the surface of the film layer, and removing the compound layer formed on the surface of the film layer. Foreign object contamination is prevented by inhibiting mixing of hydrogen fluoride gas and hydrogen nitride gas, and the etching amount is controlled by the number of times of repeating application thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2019
    Publication date: January 2, 2020
    Inventors: Nobuya MIYOSHI, Hiroyuki KOBAYASHI, Kazunori SHINODA, Kohei KAWAMURA, Kazumasa OOKUMA, Yutaka KOUZUMA, Masaru IZAWA
  • Patent number: D864885
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Michiaki Kobayashi, Kazuyuki Hirozane, Akio Harada, Nobuhide Nunomura, Yutaka Kouzuma
  • Patent number: D900760
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Tech Corporation
    Inventors: Yutaka Kouzuma, Michiaki Kobayashi, Kazuyuki Hirozane, Kohei Kawamura, Nobuya Miyoshi, Hiroyuki Kobayashi
  • Patent number: D901407
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Tech Corporation
    Inventors: Yutaka Kouzuma, Michiaki Kobayashi, Kazuyuki Hirozane, Nobuya Miyoshi, Kohei Kawamura, Hiroyuki Kobayashi
  • Patent number: D924824
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Tech Corporation
    Inventors: Yutaka Kouzuma, Kazuyuki Hirozane, Michiaki Kobayashi, Yoshifumi Ogawa