Patents Examined by Bret P Chen
  • Patent number: 11236425
    Abstract: A method of processing each of a plurality of substrates comprises: obtaining a first correction factor based on a first flow rate set value of a mass flow controller and a first measurement value of a mass flow meter; adjusting the first flow rate set value of the mass flow controller with the first correction factor so that the flow rate of the vaporized raw material becomes equal to a target value to process the substrate; obtaining a second correction factor based on a second flow rate set value of the mass flow controller and a second measurement value of the mass flow meter; and adjusting the second flow rate set value of the mass flow controller with the second correction factor so that the flow rate of the vaporized raw material becomes equal to the target value to process the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Kennan Mo, Nuri Choi, Kouichi Sekido, Katsumasa Yamaguchi, Eiichi Komori
  • Patent number: 11236423
    Abstract: A film-forming apparatus includes a processing container having a vacuum atmosphere therein, a stage having a heater and disposed in the processing container to load a substrate thereon, a gas discharge mechanism provided at a position to face the stage, and an exhaust part configured to exhaust an inside of the processing container. The gas discharge mechanism includes a gas intake port configured to introduce a processing gas into the processing container, a first plate-shaped member having a first opening formed in a more radially outward position than the gas intake port and a shower plate disposed between the first plate-shaped member and the stage to supply the processing gas from the first opening to a process space through a plurality of gas holes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Takashi Kamio, Tetsuya Saitou, Kai Shiono
  • Patent number: 11236422
    Abstract: A substrate processing system configured to perform a deposition process on a substrate includes a substrate support including a plurality of zones and a plurality of resistive heaters arranged throughout the plurality of zones. The plurality of resistive heaters includes separately-controllable resistive heaters arranged in respective ones of the plurality of zones. A controller is configured to, during the deposition process, control the plurality of resistive heaters to selectively adjust temperatures within the plurality of zones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Philip Roberts, Ramesh Chandrasekharan, Pulkit Agarwal, Aaron Bingham, Ashish Saurabh, Ravi Kumar, Jennifer Leigh Petraglia
  • Patent number: 11230764
    Abstract: Methods of forming metal-containing films by atomic layer deposition are provided. The methods include delivering a metal-containing complex, a purge gas, and a co-reactant to a first substrate under sufficient conditions such that the metal-containing film selectively grows on at least a portion of the first substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: MERCK PATENT GMBH
    Inventors: Jean-Sébastien Lehn, Charles Dezelah, Jacob Woodruff
  • Patent number: 11225716
    Abstract: Internally cooled multi-hole injectors to deliver process chemicals are provided. An internal channel in an injector for the delivery system delivers process chemicals, such as a gas precursor, to a reaction space or substrate within a process chamber through multiple holes formed by outlets. A cooling delivery path and a cooling return path for cooling chemicals are positioned adjacent the supply channel to cool the process chemicals internally within the injector. The cooling process can be controlled to achieve a target cooling level for the process chemicals within the channel. In operation, undesired deposits are reduced thereby extending the time between product maintenance cycles. Further, the delivery and return flow of the cooling chemicals helps to stimulate a more evenly distributed temperature for the supply channel. Still further, the disclosed embodiments can be used in high-temperature environments, such as above about 400 degrees Celsius.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Melvin Verbaas, Anthony Dip
  • Patent number: 11214862
    Abstract: The disclosure describes techniques for forming hard magnetic materials including ??-Fe16N2 using chemical vapor deposition or liquid phase epitaxy and hard materials formed according to these techniques. A method comprises heating an iron source to form a vapor comprising an iron-containing compound; depositing iron from the vapor comprising the iron-containing compound and nitrogen from a vapor comprising a nitrogen-containing compound on a substrate to form a layer comprising iron and nitrogen; and annealing the layer comprising iron and nitrogen to form at least some crystals comprising ??-Fe16N2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
    Inventors: Jian-Ping Wang, YanFeng Jiang
  • Patent number: 11214864
    Abstract: A method for reducing metal contamination performed after dry cleaning of a process chamber used for a film deposition process and before starting the film deposition process is provided. In the method, a temperature in the process chamber is changed from a first temperature during the dry cleaning to a film deposition temperature. Hydrogen and oxygen are activated in the vacuum chamber while supplying hydrogen and oxygen into the process chamber. An inside of the process chamber is coated by performing the film deposition process without a substrate in the process chamber after the step of activating hydrogen and oxygen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventor: Takahito Umehara
  • Patent number: 11213853
    Abstract: Methods are provided for selectively depositing a material on a first surface of a substrate relative to a second, different surface of the substrate. The selectively deposited material can be, for example, a metal, metal oxide, or dielectric material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: ASM IP HOLDING B.V.
    Inventors: Suvi P. Haukka, Raija H. Matero, Eva Tois, Antti Niskanen, Marko Tuominen, Hannu Huotari, Viljami J. Pore, Ivo Raaijmakers
  • Patent number: 11211243
    Abstract: A method includes etching a semiconductor substrate to form a trench, and depositing a dielectric layer using an Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) cycle. The dielectric layer extends into the trench. The ALD cycle includes pulsing Hexachlorodisilane (HCD) to the semiconductor substrate, purging the HCD, pulsing triethylamine to the semiconductor substrate, and purging the triethylamine. An anneal process is then performed on the dielectric layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Wan-Yi Kao, Chung-Chi Ko
  • Patent number: 11186909
    Abstract: Methods for atomic layer deposition (ALD) of plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) of low-? films are described. A method of depositing a film comprises exposing a substrate to a silicon precursor having the general formula (I) or general formula (II) wherein X is silicon (Si) or carbon (C), Y is carbon (C) or oxygen (O), R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, and R8 are independently selected from hydrogen (H), substituted or unsubstituted alkyl alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted alkoxy, substituted or unsubstituted vinyl, silane, substituted or unsubstituted amine, or halide; purging the processing chamber of the silicon precursor; exposing the substrate to an oxidant; and purging the processing chamber of the oxidant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Bhaskar Jyoti Bhuyan, Mark Saly
  • Patent number: 11189482
    Abstract: A thin film formation method includes setting a film formation subject to 200° C. or higher. A first step includes changing a first state, in which a film formation material and a carrier gas are supplied so that the film formation material collects on the film formation subject, to a second state, in which the film formation material is omitted. A second step includes changing a third state, in which a hydrogen gas and a carrier gas are supplied to reduce the film formation material, to a fourth state, in which the hydrogen gas is omitted. The film formation material is any one of Al(CxH2x+1)3, Al(CxH2x+1)2H, and Al(CxH2x+1)2Cl. The first step and the second step are alternately repeated to form an aluminum carbide film on the film formation subject such that a content rate of aluminum atoms is 20 atomic percent or greater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignees: ULVAC, INC., INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masanobu Hatanaka, Yohei Ogawa, Keon-chang Lee, Nobuyuki Kato, Takakazu Yamada, John Rozen
  • Patent number: 11180849
    Abstract: An apparatus for direct liquid injection (DLI) of chemical precursors into a processing chamber is provided. The apparatus includes a vaporizer assembly having an injection valve for receiving a liquid reactant, vaporizing the liquid reactant, and delivering the vaporized liquid reactant. The injection valve includes a valve body encompassing an interior region therein, a gas inlet port, a liquid inlet port, and a vapor outlet port all in fluid communication with the interior region. The vaporizer assembly further includes a first inlet line having a first end fluidly coupled with the liquid inlet port and a second end to be connected to a liquid source. The vaporizer assembly further includes a second inlet line with a first end fluidly coupled with the gas inlet port, a second end fluidly coupled with a carrier gas source, and a heater positioned between the first end and the second end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Subramanya P. Herle, Vicente M. Lim, Basavaraj Pattanshetty, Ajay More, Marco Mohr, Bjoern Sticksel-Weis, Nilesh Chimanrao Bagul, Visweswaren Sivaramakrishnan
  • Patent number: 11174711
    Abstract: A method of non-line-of-sight coating of a sand screen for use in wellbores during the production of hydrocarbon fluids from subterranean formations. The coating can have uniformly coated internal and external surfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: CHEVRON U.S.A. INC.
    Inventors: Jeremy Alexander Davis, Antonio Lazo, Reza Sarrafi-Nour, David Reuel Underdown
  • Patent number: 11174549
    Abstract: In a substrate processing method, a cleaning process is performed at a first temperature to remove a portion of a cumulative layer that is deposited within a chamber by deposition processes (step 1). The deposition processes are performed at the first temperature on a plurality of substrates within the chamber respectively (step 2). The step 1 and the step 2 are performed alternately and repeatedly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Inventors: Sun-Cheul Kim, Kap-Soo Lee, Keun-Young Lee, Hong-Taek Lim, Jeong-Woo Hyun, Dong-Hoon Han
  • Patent number: 11174551
    Abstract: Methods for forming a nucleation layer on a substrate. In some embodiments, the processing method comprises sequential exposure to a first reactive gas comprising a metal precursor and a second reactive gas comprising a halogenated silane to form a nucleation layer on the surface of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Kelvin Chan, Yihong Chen
  • Patent number: 11170993
    Abstract: Methods for selectively depositing oxide thin films on a dielectric surface of a substrate relative to a metal surface are provided. The methods can include at least one plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) cycle including alternately and sequentially contacting the substrate with a first precursor comprising oxygen and a species to be included in the oxide, such as a metal or silicon, and a second plasma reactant. In some embodiments the second plasma reactant comprises a plasma formed in a reactant gas that does not comprise oxygen. In some embodiments the second plasma reactant comprises plasma generated in a gas comprising hydrogen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: ASM IP HOLDING B.V.
    Inventors: Eva Tois, Viljami Pore, Suvi Haukka, Toshiya Suzuki, Lingyun Jia, Sun Ja Kim, Oreste Madia
  • Patent number: 11168099
    Abstract: Disclosed are methods of synthesizing and using Titanium-containing film forming compositions comprising titanium halide-containing precursors to deposit Titanium-containing films on one or more substrates via vapor deposition processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: L'Air Liquide, Société Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procédés Georges Claude
    Inventors: Antonio Sanchez, Jean-Marc Girard, Grigory Nikiforov, Nicolas Blasco
  • Patent number: 11162172
    Abstract: A method for coating temperature-sensitive substrates with polycrystalline diamond by a hot-wire CVD method, in which hydrogen and at least one carbon carrier gas are fed into a coating chamber. The fed gases are split at an electrically heated wire in such a way that carbon is formed and deposits on the temperature-sensitive substrate in the form of the diamond modification thereof. The substrate is arranged in the coating chamber, which is at a reduced pressure, and electrical power to electrically heat the wire is adjustable. The method is performed cyclically in respect of the electrical power that is fed to electrically heat the wire. A basic power is fed as lower threshold value for a predetermined time (basic load phase) and is increased for a further predetermined time to a maximum power as an upper threshold value (pulse phase) and is then reduced again to the basic power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Guehring KG
    Inventor: Immo Garrn
  • Patent number: 11149346
    Abstract: Provided are methods of directly growing a carbon material. The method may include a first operation and a second operation. The first operation may include adsorbing carbons onto a substrate by supplying the carbons to the substrate. The second operation may include removing unreacted carbon residues from the substrate after suspending the supplying the carbons of the first operation. The two operations may be repeated until a desired graphene is formed on the substrate. The substrate may be maintained at a temperature less than 700° C. In another embodiment, the method may include forming a carbon layer on a substrate, removing carbons that are not directly adsorbed to the substrate on the carbon layer, and repeating the two operations until desired graphene is formed on the substrate. The forming of the carbon layer includes supplying individual carbons onto the substrate by preparing the individual carbons.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Changhyun Kim, Hyeonjin Shin, Kyung-Eun Byun, Keunwook Shin, Changseok Lee, Seunggeol Nam, Sungjoo An, Janghee Lee, Jeonil Lee, Yeonchoo Cho
  • Patent number: 11142820
    Abstract: In a method for depositing a layer of amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide (SiC:H), a gas mixture comprising a reactive gas to inert gas volume ratio of 1:12 to 2:3 is introduced into a reaction chamber of a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition apparatus. The reactive gas has a ratio of Si of 50 to 60, C of 3 to 13, and H of 32 to 42 at %. The inert gas comprises i) a first inert gas selected from helium, neon and mixtures; and ii) a second inert gas selected from argon, krypton, xenon and mixtures. The reaction plasma is at a power frequency of 1-16 MHz at a power level of 100 W to 700 W. The resulting layer exhibits a refractive index of not less than 2.4 and a loss of not more than 180 dB/cm at an indicated wavelength within 800 to 900 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC
    Inventors: Xiaoyue Huang, Deming Zhang, Minna Hovinen, Ziyou Zhou