Patents Assigned to Lam Research Corporation
  • Patent number: 12293919
    Abstract: Tin oxide films are used as spacers and hardmasks in semiconductor device manufacturing. In one method, tin oxide layer (e.g., spacer footing) needs to be selectively etched in a presence of an exposed silicon-containing layer, such as SiOC, SiON, SiONC, amorphous silicon, SiC, or SiN. In order to reduce damage to the silicon-containing layer the process involves passivating the silicon-containing layer towards a tin oxide etch chemistry, etching the tin oxide, and repeating passivation and etch in an alternating fashion. For example, passivation and etch can be each performed between 2-50 times. In one implementation, passivation is performed by treating the substrate with an oxygen-containing reactant, activated in a plasma, and the tin oxide etching is performed by a chlorine-based chemistry, such as using a mixture of Cl2 and BCl3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Seongjun Heo, Jengyi Yu, Chen-Wei Liang, Alan J. Jensen, Samantha S. H. Tan
  • Patent number: 12293943
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for method for etch assisted gold (Au) through silicon mask plating (EAG-TSM). An example method comprises providing a seed layer on a substrate and providing a silicon mask on at least a portion of the seed layer on the substrate. The silicon mask includes one or more via to be filled with Au. The masked substrate is subjected to at least one processing cycle, each processing cycle including an Au plating sub-step and an etch treatment sub-step. The cycles are repeated until a selected via fill thickness is achieved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Lee Peng Chua, Defu Liang, Jacob Kurtis Blickensderfer, Thomas A Ponnuswamy, Bryan L. Buckalew, Steven T. Mayer
  • Patent number: 12291777
    Abstract: Processing methods and apparatus for increasing a reaction chamber batch size. Such a method of processing deposition substrates (e.g., wafers), involves conducting a deposition on a first portion of a batch of deposition wafers in a reaction chamber, conducting an interval conditioning reaction chamber purge to remove defects generated by the wafer processing from the reaction chamber; and following the interval conditioning mid-batch reaction chamber purge, conducting the deposition on another portion of the batch of wafers in the reaction chamber. The interval conditioning reaction chamber purge is conducted prior to exceeding a baseline for acceptable defect (e.g., particle) generation in the chamber and is performed while no wafers are positioned in the reaction chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Chun-Hao Chen, Jeremy David Fields, Frank Loren Pasquale
  • Patent number: 12288685
    Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for modifying a wafer surface using an organosilicon precursor are provided herein. The wafer surface is dosed with the organosilicon precursor following deposition of a dielectric material by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process. In some implementations, the dielectric layer is made of silicon oxide. Dosing the wafer surface with the organosilicon precursor may occur in the same chamber as the ALD process. The organosilicon precursor may modify the wafer surface to increase its hydrophobicity so that photoresist adhesion is improved on the wafer surface. In some implementations, the wafer surface may be exposed to an inert gas RF plasma after dosing the wafer surface with the organosilicon precursor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Jeremy D. Fields, Awnish Gupta, Douglas W. Agnew, Joseph R. Abel, Purushottam Kumar
  • Patent number: 12288702
    Abstract: A semiconductor wafer mass metrology apparatus comprising: a measurement chamber for measuring the weight and/or the mass of a semiconductor wafer; a first temperature changing part for changing a temperature of the semiconductor wafer before the semiconductor wafer is transported into the measurement chamber; and a first temperature sensor for sensing a first temperature, wherein the first temperature is: a temperature of the first temperature changing part; or a temperature of the semiconductor wafer when the semiconductor wafer is on the first temperature changing part, or when the semiconductor wafer leaves the first temperature changing part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Gregor Elliott, Eric Tonnis
  • Patent number: 12283451
    Abstract: A method includes: receiving a first signal from a first sensor at a first filter and preventing passage of a first portion of the first signal via the first filter. The first portion of the first signal is at a first RF. A second portion of the first signal is indicative of a first temperature of a first electrode in a plasma chamber. The method further includes: outputting a second signal from the first filter; receiving the second signal at a second filter; and preventing passage of a portion of the second signal via the second filter. The portion of the second signal is at a second RF. The second RF is less than the first RF. The first filter and the second filter are implemented on a printed circuit board. The method further includes adjusting a temperature of the first electrode based on an output of the second filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Vince Burkhart, Christopher Ramsayer, Mohan Thilagaraj
  • Patent number: 12283461
    Abstract: Systems and methods for increasing peak ion energy with a low angular spread of ions are described. In one of the systems, multiple radio frequency (RF) generators that are coupled to an upper electrode associated with a plasma chamber are operated in two different states, such as two different frequency levels, for pulsing of the RF generators. The pulsing of the RF generators facilitates a transfer of ion energy during one of the states to another one of the states for increasing ion energy during the other state to further increase a rate of processing a substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2024
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Juline Shoeb, Ying Wu, Alex Paterson
  • Patent number: 12283462
    Abstract: An apparatus for forming a plasma may include one or more coupling ports to accept a radiofrequency (RF) current. The apparatus may additionally include one or more coupling structures which may include one or more conductive loops to permit the RF current to conduct from at least a first portion of the one or more coupling ports to at least a second port of the one or more coupling ports. The one or more conductive loops may each be configured to exhibit a first value of inductance in the absence of the plasma and to exhibit a second value of inductance in the presence of the plasma. The one or more coupling structures may each include a reactive element, in which each reactive element is coupled to a corresponding one of the one or more conductive loops so as to form a corresponding number of coupling structures. Each RF coupling structure may have a resonant frequency that increases in response to the presence of the plasma.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Hema Swaroop Mopidevi, Lee Chen, Thomas W. Anderson, Shaun Tyler Smith, Neil M. P. Benjamin
  • Patent number: 12283463
    Abstract: Systems and methods for multi-level pulsing are described. The systems and methods include generating four or more states. During each of the four or more states, a radio frequency (RF) generator generates an RF signal. The RF signal has four or more power levels, and each of the four or more power levels corresponds to the four or more states. The multi-level pulsing facilitates a finer control in processing a substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Ying Wu, Maolin Long, John Drewery, Vikram Singh
  • Patent number: 12280091
    Abstract: Apparatuses and methods are provided. Some methods may include providing a substrate to a processing chamber, the substrate having a first material adjacent to and covering a surface of a second material, modifying a layer of the first material by flowing a first process gas onto the substrate and thereby creating a modified layer of the first material, removing the modified layer of the first material by flowing a second process gas onto the substrate, and converting, when the surface of the second material is uncovered via removal of the modified layer, the surface to a converted layer of the second material by flowing a third process gas onto the substrate, in which the first and second process gases are less reactive with the converted layer than with the first material and the second material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Andreas Fischer, Thorsten Bernd Lill
  • Patent number: 12281402
    Abstract: A cell to process a substrate includes at least one chamber wall, a membrane frame, and a membrane. The at least one chamber wall is arranged to form a cavity below a holder of the substrate. The membrane frame is disposed on the at least one chamber wall and across the cavity. The membrane is supported by the membrane frame and separating a first electrolyte from a second electrolyte. The membrane includes a surface extending from a center of the cavity radially outward at an angle relative to a reference plane, and wherein the angle is greater than or equal to 0° and less than or equal to 3°.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Frederick Dean Wilmot, Robert Rash, Nirmal Shankar Sigamani, Gabriel Graham
  • Patent number: 12278112
    Abstract: A method for performing an etch process on a substrate includes applying a bias signal and a source signal to an electrode of a plasma processing system. The bias signal and the source signal are pulsed RF signals that together define a repeated pulsed RF cycle, wherein each pulsed RF cycle sequentially includes a first state, a second state, a third state, and a fourth state. The power level of the bias signal in the first state is greater than in the third state, which is greater than in the second state, which is greater than in the fourth state. The power level of the source signal in the first state is greater than in the third state, which is greater than in the second state, which is greater than in the fourth state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Aniruddha Joi, Nikhil Dole, Merrett Wong, Eric Hudson, Jay Sheth
  • Patent number: 12278125
    Abstract: Methods for making thin-films on semiconductor substrates, which may be patterned using EUV, include: depositing the organometallic polymer-like material onto the surface of the semiconductor substrate, exposing the surface to EUV to form a pattern, and developing the pattern for later transfer to underlying layers. The depositing operations may be performed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), and ALD with a CVD component, such as a discontinuous, ALD-like process in which metal precursors and counter-reactants are separated in either time or space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Jengyi Yu, Samantha S. H. Tan, Mohammed Haroon Alvi, Richard Wise, Yang Pan, Richard Alan Gottscho, Adrien Lavoie, Sivananda Krishnan Kanakasabapathy, Timothy William Weidman, Qinghuang Lin, Jerome S. Hubacek
  • Publication number: 20250118592
    Abstract: Semiconductor processing tools with wafer back-side processing capabilities are disclosed. Such tools may be configured to only contact wafers being processed through edge contact, as opposed to underside/planar contact. Such tools may also include wafer-centering features that may allow such wafers to be precisely centered with regard to a particular wafer processing station thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2023
    Publication date: April 10, 2025
    Applicant: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Nick Ray Linebarger, Jr., Richard M. Blank, Daniel Boatright, Fayaz A. Shaikh, Eric Thomas Dixon, Michael John Janicki, Adriana Vintila, Xin Yin, Conor Charles Arcuri
  • Patent number: 12274047
    Abstract: A method for reducing bending of word lines in a memory cell includes a) providing a substrate including a plurality of word lines arranged adjacent to one another and above a plurality of transistors; b) depositing a layer of film on the plurality of word lines using a deposition process; c) after depositing the layer of film, measuring word line bending; d) comparing the word line bending to a predetermined range; e) based on the word line bending, adjusting at least one of nucleation delay and grain size of the deposition process; and f) repeating b) to e) one or more times using one or more substrates, respectively, until the word line bending is within the predetermined range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Gorun Butail, Shruti Thombare, Ishtak Karim, Patrick Van Cleemput
  • Patent number: 12272583
    Abstract: A system comprises an equipment front end module (EFEM), a vacuum transfer module (VTM), a plurality off quad station process modules (QSMs). The EFEM is configured to receive a plurality of wafers. The EFEM comprises an EFEM transfer robot. The vacuum transfer module (VTM) is configured to receive the plurality of wafers from the EFEM. The VTM comprises a VTM transfer robot. The plurality of quad station process modules (QSMs) is coupled to the VTM. The VTM transfer robot is configured Oto transfer wafers between the VTM and the plurality of QSMs. The EFEM transfer robot is configured to transfer wafers between the EFEM and the VTM.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher W. Burkhart, Richard H. Gould, Candi Kristoffersen, Michael Nordin, Richard M. Blank, Hironobu Yasuumi
  • Patent number: 12270103
    Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for depositing thin films using plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) with ramping radio-frequency (RF) power are provided herein. Embodiments involve increasing the RF power setting of PEALD cycles after formation of initial screening layers at low RF power settings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Jeremy David Fields, Frank Loren Pasquale
  • Patent number: 12272570
    Abstract: Several designs of a gas distribution device for a substrate processing system are provided. The gas distribution device includes a dual plenum showerhead. Additionally, designs for a light blocking structure used with the showerheads are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2024
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Dengliang Yang, Haoquan Fang, David Cheung, Gnanamani Amburose, Eunsuk Ko, Wei Yi Luo, Dan Zhang
  • Patent number: 12270748
    Abstract: An apparatus for measuring contamination on a critical surface of a part is provided. A vessel for mounting the part is provided. An inert gas source is in fluid connection with the vessel and adapted to provide an inert gas to the vessel. At least one diffuser receives the inert gas from the vessel, wherein the critical surface of the part is exposed to the inert gas when the part is mounted in the vessel. At least one analyzer is adapted to receive inert gas from the at least one diffuser and measures contaminants in the inert gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Amir A. Yasseri, Girish M. Hundi, John Michael Kerns, Duane Outka, John Daugherty, Cliff La Croix
  • Patent number: D1073758
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Karthik Adappa Sathish, Cody Barnett, Mitali Mrigendra Basargi, Ravi Kumar