Patents Assigned to Ulvac Coating Corporation
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Patent number: 8216745Abstract: A halftone mask increasing the versatility of an etching stopper layer. The half tone mask (10) is provided with a transparent portion (TA) using a glass substrate (S), a first semi-transparent portion (HA) including a first semi-transparent layer (11) formed on the glass substrate, and a light shield portion (PA) including a first semi-transparent portion, a light shield layer (13) superimposed above the first semi-transparent layer, and an etching stopper layer (12) formed between the first semi-transparent layer and the light shield layer. The first semi-transparent layer and the light shield layer are each formed from Cr or at least one selected from the group consisting of an oxide, nitride, carbide, oxynitride, oxycarbide, carbonitride, and oxycarbonitride of Cr. The etching stopper layer includes a first element of at least one selected from the group consisting of Fe, Ni, and Co and a second element of at least one selected from the group consisting of Al, Si, Ti, Nb, Ta, Hf, and Zr.Type: GrantFiled: October 29, 2008Date of Patent: July 10, 2012Assignee: ULVAC Coating CorporationInventors: Kagehiro Kageyama, Fumihiko Yamada
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Publication number: 20100294651Abstract: A method for manufacturing a gray-tone mask that decreases the wavelength dependency with respect to an exposure wavelength under stable and simple film formation conditions. A reactive sputtering method that sputters a pure Cr target in an atmosphere of Ar and NO is used to form a Cr nitride film having a single-layer structure. Based on a plurality of different spectral transmittance curves obtained under a plurality of film formation conditions having different NO concentrations, a target concentration (intermediate value) for NO is obtained that sets the transmittance uniformity of the semi-transparent film to 1.0% or less in the range of 365 nm to 436 nm or 4.0% or less in the range of 300 nm to 500 nm. Then, a semi-transparent film is formed by using the NO target concentration.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 9, 2008Publication date: November 25, 2010Applicant: ULVAC COATING CORPORATIONInventors: Fumihiko Yamada, Toshiharu Ozaki, Takaei Sasaki, Masahiko Ishizuka, Kagehiro Kageyama, Hiroyuki Iso, Ryouichi Kobayashi, Atsushi Hayashi
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Publication number: 20100261096Abstract: A halftone mask increasing the versatility of an etching stopper layer. The half tone mask (10) is provided with a transparent portion (TA) using a glass substrate (S), a first semi-transparent portion (HA) including a first semi-transparent layer (11) formed on the glass substrate, and a light shield portion (PA) including a first semi-transparent portion, a light shield layer (13) superimposed above the first semi-transparent layer, and an etching stopper layer (12) formed between the first semi-transparent layer and the light shield layer. The first semi-transparent layer and the light shield layer are each formed from Cr or at least one selected from the group consisting of an oxide, nitride, carbide, oxynitride, oxycarbide, carbonitride, and oxycarbonitride of Cr. The etching stopper layer includes a first element of at least one selected from the group consisting of Fe, Ni, and Co and a second element of at least one selected from the group consisting of Al, Si, Ti, Nb, Ta, Hf, and Zr.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 29, 2008Publication date: October 14, 2010Applicant: ULVAC Coating CorporationInventors: Kagehiro Kageyama, Fumihiko Yamada
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Patent number: 7282308Abstract: In the formation of a halftone type phase shift mask, a reactive gas introduction inlet and an inert gas introduction inlet are provided so as to introduce the respective gases separately and by using a reactive low throw sputtering method a molybdenum silicide based phase shifter film is formed. Thereby, it becomes possible to provide a halftone type phase shift mask, which is applicable to an ArF laser or to a KrF laser, by using molybdenum silicide based materials.Type: GrantFiled: June 30, 2006Date of Patent: October 16, 2007Assignees: Ulvac Coating Corporation, Renesas Technology Corp.Inventors: Susumu Kawada, Akihiko Isao, Nobuyuki Yoshioka, Kazuyuki Maetoko
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Publication number: 20070009810Abstract: In the formation of a halftone type phase shift mask, a reactive gas introduction inlet and an inert gas introduction inlet are provided so as to introduce the respective gases separately and by using a reactive low throw sputtering method a molybdenum silicide based phase shifter film is formed. Thereby, it becomes possible to provide a halftone type phase shift mask, which is applicable to an ArF laser or to a KrF laser, by using molybdenum silicide based materials.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 30, 2006Publication date: January 11, 2007Applicants: ULVAC COATING CORPORATION, RENESAS TECHNOLOGY CORP.Inventors: Susumu Kawada, Akihiko Isao, Nobuyuki Yoshioka, Kazuyuki Maetoko
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Patent number: 7090947Abstract: In the formation of a halftone type phase shift mask, a reactive gas introduction inlet and an inert gas introduction inlet are provided so as to introduce the respective gases separately and by using a reactive low throw sputtering method a molybdenum silicide based phase shifter film is formed. Thereby, it becomes possible to provide a halftone type phase shift mask, which is applicable to an ArF laser or to a KrF laser, by using molybdenum silicide based materials.Type: GrantFiled: March 13, 2001Date of Patent: August 15, 2006Assignees: Ulvac Coating Corporation, Renesas Technology Corp.Inventors: Susumu Kawada, Akihiko Isao, Nobuyuki Yoshioka, Kazuyuki Maetoko
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Patent number: 7063922Abstract: A dry-etching method comprises the step of dry-etching a metal thin film as a chromium-containing half-tone phase-shift film, wherein the method is characterized by using, as an etching gas, a mixed gas including (a) a reactive ion etching gas, which contains an oxygen-containing gas and a halogen-containing gas, and (b) a reducing gas added to the gas component (a), in the process for dry-etching the metal thin film. The dry-etching method permits the production of a half-tone phase-shift photomask by forming patterns to be transferred to a wafer on a photomask blank for a chromium-containing half-tone phase-shift mask. The photomask can in turn be used for manufacturing semiconductor circuits. The method permits the decrease of the dimensional difference due to the coexistence of coarse and dense patterns in a plane and the production of a high precision pattern-etched product.Type: GrantFiled: November 14, 2003Date of Patent: June 20, 2006Assignees: Ulvac Coating Corporation, Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takaei Sasaki, Noriyuki Harashima, Satoshi Aoyama, Shouichi Sakamoto
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Patent number: 7001698Abstract: A chromium-containing half-tone phase-shift photomask comprising coarse and dense patterns coexisting in a plane is prepared by a series of pattern-forming steps including forming a resist layer on a photomask blank, exposing and patterning said resist layer, developing, etching said photomask blank and removing said resist layer. Patterns for transferring onto a wafer are formed on the photomask blank by a dry-etching method comprising dry-etching a chromium-containing half-tone phase-shift film utilizing etching gas comprised of mixed gas including (a) reactive ion etching gas, containing an oxygen-containing gas and a halogen-containing gas, and (b) reducing gas added to the gas component (a).Type: GrantFiled: November 14, 2003Date of Patent: February 21, 2006Assignees: Ulvac Coating Corporation, Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takaei Sasaki, Noriyuki Harashima, Satoshi Aoyama, Shouichi Sakamoto
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Patent number: 6881991Abstract: A dry-etching method comprises the step of dry-etching a metal thin film as a chromium-containing film, wherein the method is characterized by using, as an etching gas, a mixed gas including (a) a reactive ion etching gas, which contains an oxygen-containing gas and a halogen-containing gas, and (b) a reducing gas added to the gas component (a), in the process for dry-etching the metal thin film. The dry-etching method permits the production of a photomask by forming patterns to be transferred to a wafer on a photomask blank. The photomask can in turn be used for manufacturing semiconductor circuits. The method permits the decrease of the dimensional difference due to the coexistence of coarse and dense patterns in a plane and the production of a high precision pattern-etched product.Type: GrantFiled: March 28, 2002Date of Patent: April 19, 2005Assignees: Ulvac Coating Corporation, Mitsubishi Denki KabushikiInventors: Satoshi Aoyama, Shouichi Sakamoto, Takaei Sasaki, Noriyuki Harashima
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Publication number: 20040101767Abstract: A dry-etching method comprises the step of dry-etching a metal thin film as a chromium-containing half-tone phase-shift film, wherein the method is characterized by using, as an etching gas, a mixed gas including (a) a reactive ion etching gas, which contains an oxygen-containing gas and a halogen-containing gas, and (b) a reducing gas added to the gas component (a), in the process for dry-etching the metal thin film. The dry-etching method permits the production of a half-tone phase-shift photomask by forming patterns to be transferred to a wafer on a photomask blank for a chromium-containing half-tone phase-shift mask. The photomask can in turn be used for manufacturing semiconductor circuits. The method permits the decrease of the dimensional difference due to the coexistence of coarse and dense patterns in a plane and the production of a high precision pattern-etched product.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 14, 2003Publication date: May 27, 2004Applicants: ULVAC COATING CORPORATION, MITSUBISHI DENKI KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Takaei Sasaki, Noriyuki Harashima, Satoshi Aoyama, Shouichi Sakamoto
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Publication number: 20040094504Abstract: A dry-etching method comprises the step of dry-etching a metal thin film as a chromium-containing half-tone phase-shift film, wherein the method is characterized by using, as an etching gas, a mixed gas including (a) a reactive ion etching gas, which contains an oxygen-containing gas and a halogen-containing gas, and (b) a reducing gas added to the gas component (a), in the process for dry-etching the metal thin film. The dry-etching method permits the production of a half-tone phase-shift photomask by forming patterns to be transferred to a wafer on a photomask blank for a chromium-containing half-tone phase-shift mask. The photomask can in turn be used for manufacturing semiconductor circuits. The method permits the decrease of the dimensional difference due to the coexistence of coarse and dense patterns in a plane and the production of a high precision pattern-etched product.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 14, 2003Publication date: May 20, 2004Applicants: ULVAC COATING CORPORATION, MITSUBISHI DENKI KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Takaei Sasaki, Noriyuki Harashima, Satoshi Aoyama, Shouichi Sakamoto
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Patent number: 6689515Abstract: A uniform thin phase-shifting photomask blank can be formed by depositing a thin film on a substrate by a reactive sputtering technique while passing, at least four times, the substrate over a sputtering target. In the formation of the blank, NO gas is used as the reactive gas, a target composed of a mixture of molybdenum and silicon is used as the sputtering target and a transparent substrate is used as the thin film-forming substrate to form, on the transparent substrate, a light-transmitting film capable of transmitting light rays having an intensity, which cannot substantially contribute to the exposure. In addition, the film is formed, on the substrate, through an opening having a sufficiently enlarged length along the substrate-conveying direction so that even regions whose deposition rate of the target component is not more than 90% of the maximum level thereof also contribute to the film-formation.Type: GrantFiled: March 15, 2001Date of Patent: February 10, 2004Assignees: Ulvac Coating Corporation, Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Nobuyuki Yoshioka, Akihiko Isao, Susumu Kawada, Tsuneo Yamamoto, Jun Amano, Ryoichi Kobayashi
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Patent number: 6685848Abstract: A dry-etching method comprises the step of dry-etching a metal thin film as a chromium-containing half-tone phase-shift film, wherein the method is characterized by using, as an etching gas, a mixed gas including (a) a reactive ion etching gas, which contains an oxygen-containing gas and a halogen-containing gas, and (b) a reducing gas added to the gas component (a), in the process for dry-etching the metal thin film. The dry-etching method permits the production of a half-tone phase-shift photomask by forming patterns to be transferred to a wafer on a photomask blank for a chromium-containing half-tone phase-shift mask. The photomask can in turn be used for manufacturing semiconductor circuits. The method permits the decrease of the dimensional difference due to the coexistence of coarse and dense patterns in a plane and the production of a high precision pattern-etched product.Type: GrantFiled: July 27, 1999Date of Patent: February 3, 2004Assignees: Ulvac Coating Corporation, Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takaei Sasaki, Noriyuki Harashima, Satoshi Aoyama, Shouichi Sakamoto
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Patent number: 6569577Abstract: A phase-shift photo mask blank comprises a half tone phase-shift film, wherein the half tone phase-shift film consists of at least two layers and in the case of two layers, the refractive index of the upper layer of the film is smaller than that of the lower layer thereof; in the case of three layers, the refractive index of the intermediate layer is smaller than those observed for the upper and lower layers or the refractive index of the upper layer is smaller than that of an intermediate layer; in the case of at least 4 layers, the refractive index of the upper most layer is smaller than that of the layer immediately below the upper most layer. The photo mask blank permits the production of a phase-shift photo mask having a high transmittance at an exposure wavelength and a low reflectance as well as a low transmittance at a defect-inspection wavelength. The photo mask in turn permits the fabrication of a semiconductor device having a fine pattern.Type: GrantFiled: November 3, 2000Date of Patent: May 27, 2003Assignees: Ulvac Coating Corporation, Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Akihiko Isao, Susumu Kawada, Shuichiro Kanai, Nobuyuki Yoshioka, Kazuyuki Maetoko
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Publication number: 20020155723Abstract: A dry-etching method comprises the step of dry-etching a metal thin film as a chromium-containing film, wherein the method is characterized by using, as an etching gas, a mixed gas including (a) a reactive ion etching gas, which contains an oxygen-containing gas and a halogen-containing gas, and (b) a reducing gas added to the gas component (a), in the process for dry-etching the metal thin film. The dry-etching method permits the production of a photomask by forming patterns to be transferred to a wafer on a photomask blank. The photomask can in turn be used for manufacturing semiconductor circuits. The method permits the decrease of the dimensional difference due to the coexistence of coarse and dense patterns in a plane and the production of a high precision pattern-etched product.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 28, 2002Publication date: October 24, 2002Applicant: Ulvac Coating CorporationInventors: Takaei Sasaki, Noriyuki Harashima, Satoshi Aoyama, Shouichi Sakamoto
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Publication number: 20020139476Abstract: A dry-etching method comprises the step of dry-etching a metal thin film as a chromium-containing film, wherein the method is characterized by using, as an etching gas, a mixed gas including (a) a reactive ion etching gas, which contains an oxygen-containing gas and a halogen-containing gas, and (b) a reducing gas added to the gas component (a), in the process for dry-etching the metal thin film. The dry-etching method permits the production of a photomask by forming patterns to be transferred to a wafer on a photomask blank. The photomask can in turn be used for manufacturing semiconductor circuits. The method permits the decrease of the dimensional difference due to the coexistence of coarse and dense patterns in a plane and the production of a high precision pattern-etched product.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 28, 2002Publication date: October 3, 2002Applicant: Ulvac Coating CorporationInventors: Takaei Sasaki, Noriyuki Harashima, Satoshi Aoyama, Shouichi Sakamoto
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Publication number: 20020136967Abstract: A dry-etching method comprises the step of dry-etching a metal thin film as a chromium-containing film, wherein the method is characterized by using, as an etching gas, a mixed gas including (a) a reactive ion etching gas, which contains an oxygen-containing gas and a halogen-containing gas, and (b) a reducing gas added to the gas component (a), in the process for dry-etching the metal thin film. The dry-etching method permits the production of a photomask by forming patterns to be transferred to a wafer on a photomask blank. The photomask can in turn be used for manufacturing semiconductor circuits. The method permits the decrease of the dimensional difference due to the coexistence of coarse and dense patterns in a plane and the production of a high precision pattern-etched product.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 28, 2002Publication date: September 26, 2002Applicant: Ulvac Coating CorporationInventors: Takaei Sasaki, Noriyuki Harashima
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Patent number: 6391791Abstract: A dry-etching method comprises the step of dry-etching a metal thin film as a chromium-containing film, wherein the method is characterized by using, as an etching gas, a mixed gas including (a) a reactive ion etching gas, which contains an oxygen-containing gas and a halogen-containing gas, and (b) a reducing gas added to the gas component (a), in the process for dry-etching the metal thin film. The dry-etching method permits the production of a photomask by forming patterns to be transferred to a wafer on a photomask blank. The photomask can in turn be used for manufacturing semiconductor circuits. The method permits the decrease of the dimensional difference due to the coexistence of coarse and dense patterns in a plane and the production of a high precision pattern-etched product.Type: GrantFiled: July 27, 1999Date of Patent: May 21, 2002Assignees: Ulvac Coating Corporation, Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takaei Sasaki, Noriyuki Harashima, Satoshi Aoyama, Shouichi Sakamoto
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Publication number: 20020009653Abstract: In the formation of a halftone type phase shift mask, a reactive gas introduction inlet and an inert gas introduction inlet are provided so as to introduce the respective gases separately and by using a reactive low throw sputtering method a molybdenum silicide based phase shifter film is formed. Thereby, it becomes possible to provide a halftone type phase shift mask, which is applicable to an ArF laser or to a KrF laser, by using molybdenum silicide based materials.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 13, 2001Publication date: January 24, 2002Applicant: ULVAC COATING CORPORATION and MITSUBISHI DENKI KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Susumu Kawada, Akihiko Isao, Nobuyuki Yoshioka, Kazuyuki Maetoko
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Publication number: 20010018154Abstract: A uniform thin phase-shifting photomask blank can be formed by depositing a thin film on a substrate by a reactive sputtering technique while passing, at least four times, the substrate over a sputtering target. In the formation of the blank, NO gas is used as the reactive gas, a target composed of a mixture of molybdenum and silicon is used as the sputtering target and a transparent substrate is used as the thin film-forming substrate to form, on the transparent substrate, a light-transmitting film capable of transmitting light rays having an intensity, which cannot substantially contribute to the exposure. In addition, the film is formed, on the substrate, through an opening having a sufficiently enlarged length along the substrate-conveying direction so that even regions whose deposition rate of the target component is not more than 90% of the maximum level thereof also contribute to the film-formation.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 15, 2001Publication date: August 30, 2001Applicant: Ulvac Coating CorporationInventors: Nobuyuki Yoshioka, Akihiko Isao, Susumu Kawada, Tsuneo Yamamoto, Jun Amano, Ryoichi Kobayashi