Patents Examined by Deborah Jones
  • Patent number: 5872060
    Abstract: A semiconductor manufacturing method for devices, such as a DRAM, having a plurality of circuit elements of at least two substantially different heights (such as memory-cells vs. peripheral circuits) on a common semiconductor substrate. A plurality of circuit elements of at least two substantially different heights are formed on a common semiconductor substrate. A common insulating layer, such as BPSG, whose top surface has substantial variation in height above the substrate, is deposited over the circuit elements. A resist mask layer is deposited over the insulating layer with openings over high portions of the insulating layer's top surface exceeding a first predetermined height. Then the insulating layer's high portions are etched down to a second predetermined height to make its overall top surface more even, and the resist mask layer removed. The enables a working layer that would be easily damaged by substantial height variation to be deposited on the evened insulating layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 16, 1999
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Shigeo Ashigaki, Kazuhiro Hamamoto
  • Patent number: 5868806
    Abstract: For producing an abrasive tape (11) including a film substrate (2) and a polishing abrasive layer (10) laminated on one surface of the film substrate (2) and having on the outer surface thereof a plurality of recessed parts (9), the film substrate (2) is wrapped partially around the outer peripheral surface of a roll formplate (1) having on the surface thereof a plurality of concavities (5), and, as the roll formplate (1) is rotated, the film substrate (2) is fed thereto. On one hand, an ionizing radiation curing type resin (3) is supplied into the interface between the roll formplate (1) and the film substrate (2) therearound to be formed by the concavities (5), and the recessed parts (9) are formed on the resin surface. During this forming, radiation rays (R) are projected from an ionizing radiation ray source (8) toward the resin (3) thereby to cure the resin (3) and, at the same time, to render the resin (3) and the film substrate (2) into an integral structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1999
    Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshikazu Nishio, Hiroyuki Amemiya, Yasuo Nakai, Taiji Ishii, Masahisa Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 5865899
    Abstract: A process for refining a raw sugar, particularly raw sugar from the sugar cane sugar industry, characterized in that it comprises the steps of:(a) remelting of the raw sugar for obtaining a raw sugar syrup,(b) carbonatation or phosphatation of said raw sugar syrup, and(c) tangential microfiltration and/or tangential ultrafiltration of the raw sugar syrup, which has been subjected to carbonatation or phosphatation.The process is completed by the steps of:(d) decolorization of the sugar syrup resulting from step (c), and(e) crystallization and/or demineralization of the sugar syrup resulting from step (d).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 2, 1999
    Assignee: Applexion
    Inventors: Marc-Andre Theoleyre, Stanislas Baudoin
  • Patent number: 5866492
    Abstract: A low-temperature sintering temperature compensating microwave dielectric ceramic composition includes ZnTiO.sub.3 stoichiometrically combined with ZnO and TiO.sub.3, wherein Zn.sup.2+ of the ZnTiO.sub.3 is replaced with Mg.sup.2+ to produce (Zn.sub.1-X Mg.sub.X)TiO.sub.3 (X=0.02.about.0.5). The composite has a fine structure and improved dielectric property without a sintering agent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 2, 1999
    Assignee: Korea Institute of Science and Technology
    Inventors: Hyo Tae Kim, Yoon Ho Kim, Young Ho Roh
  • Patent number: 5863308
    Abstract: The present invention provides a vitreous-bonded abrasive tool wherein the abrasive grit portion comprises a thermally sensitive abrasive grain, such as sintered sol gel microcrystalline alpha alumina abrasive grain or superabrasive grain, and wherein the vitrified bond may be matured by firing at a temperature below about 875.degree. C. The invention further includes a novel vitrified bond composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 26, 1999
    Assignee: Norton Company
    Inventors: Dongxin Qi, Robert S. Lundberg
  • Patent number: 5863307
    Abstract: A Chemical-Mechanical Polish (CMP) planarizing method and a Chemical-Mechanical Polish (CMP) slurry composition for Chemical-Mechanical Polish (CMP) planarizing of copper metal and copper metal alloy layers within integrated circuits. There is first provided a semiconductor substrate having formed upon its surface a patterned substrate layer. Formed within and upon the patterned substrate layer is a blanket copper metal layer or a blanket copper metal alloy layer. The blanket copper metal layer or blanket copper metal alloy layer is then planarized through a Chemical-Mechanical Polish (CMP) planarizing method employing a Chemical-Mechanical Polish (CMP) slurry composition. The Chemical-Mechanical Polish (CMP) slurry composition comprises a non-aqueous coordinating solvent and a halogen radical producing specie.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 26, 1999
    Assignee: Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Ltd.
    Inventors: Mei Sheng Zhou, Ron-Fu Chu
  • Patent number: 5863305
    Abstract: A method for making a nonwoven a abrasive article. A preferred aspect of the method comprises the steps of: a) providing a nonwoven web having a first side and a second side, the web comprising a plurality of fibers; b) frothing a liquid make coat precursor; c) applying the frothed make coat precursor to at least the first side of the web in such a manner so as to achieve a substantially uniform coating of the make coat precursor along the fibers of the web; d) spraying a plurality of fine abrasive particles onto the first side of the web, wherein the particles are sprayed so as to form a cloud of abrasive particles that deposit onto the fibers of the web in a substantially uniform distribution; and e) curing the make coat precursor to thereby form a hardened make coat which adheres the abrasive particles to the web and wherein the abrasive particles substantially protrude from the outer surface of the hardened make coat.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 26, 1999
    Assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Kris A. Beardsley, Jonathan M. Lise, Brent D. Niccum, Rufus C. Sanders, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5863306
    Abstract: Coated abrasives suitable for very fine abrading applications can be obtained by depositing a layer of a formulation comprising abrasive grits, fillers, grinding aid, additives and a binder resin on a substrate, treating the formulation to increase the viscosity and render it plastic but non-flowing, embossing a suitable pattern on the surface of the layer, and then curing the binder component of the formulation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 26, 1999
    Assignee: Norton Company
    Inventors: Paul Wei, Gwo Shin Swei, Wenliang Patrick Yang, Kevin Bruce Allen
  • Patent number: 5861350
    Abstract: A dielectric ceramic composition is herein disclosed which comprises four lead-containing perovskite compounds of (a) lead magnesium tungstate ?Pb(Mg.sub.1/2 W.sub.1/2)O.sub.3 !, (b) lead nickel niobate ?Pb(Ni.sub.1/3 Nb.sub.2/3)O.sub.3 !, (c) lead titanate (PbTiO.sub.3) and (d) lead zirconate (PbZrO.sub.3) as main components and which further contains an oxide of a rare earth element; and by adjusting a molar ratio of the components (a) to (d) and an amount of the oxide of the rare earth element in specific ranges, there can be obtained the dielectric ceramic composition suitable for a dielectric substance for a multilayer ceramic capacitor which has a low firing temperature, a high dielectric constant at room temperature and a low change rate of the dielectric constant to temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 19, 1999
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Toru Mori, Tadahiko Horiguchi, Shinji Ito
  • Patent number: 5858901
    Abstract: Barium titanate temperature stable dielectric compositions are disclosed containing magnesium oxide, silicon dioxide, germanium oxide and optionally an oxide or carbonate of barium, calcium or strontium which can be used to produce multilayer ceramic capacitors with nickel or nickel alloy electrode that have a variation of capacitance with temperature of less than .+-.10% over the range -55.degree. C. to +125.degree. C. compared with the value of the capacitance at 25.degree. C., or to produce multilayer ceramic capacitors with noble metal inner electrodes that have a variation of capacitance with temperature of less than .+-.15% over the range 55.degree. to +125.degree. C. compared with the value at 25.degree. C., and which does not contain any second phases after sintering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 12, 1999
    Assignee: Cookson Group plc
    Inventors: Mike Ssu Hai Chu, John Bultitude, Christopher Hood, Kay Louise Nimmo, Michael Rand
  • Patent number: 5858037
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a method of converting the preferred hydrated alumina oxide, boehmite, into a green particle which is then sintered to form an abrasive alumina particle. The process involves dispersing boehmite in water at a slightly elevated temperature with an acidic pH, then seeding it with alumina seed particles and drying it, then crushing to desired shapes and sizes, calcining the dried precipitate and sintering the calcined material. This forms high quality alumina abrasive grains. The apparatus used for sintering incorporates an elongate hollow tube, an insulative sleeve thereabout to define an elevated temperature zone, and a microwave generator coupled through a wave guide into a microwave cavity incorporated in the tube. The particles are moved through the tube at a controlled rate to assure adequate exposure to the microwave radiation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 12, 1999
    Inventors: Ponnarassery Sukumaran Jayan, Narayanan Ananthaseshan, Balachandran Subramaniam, Murugappan Vellayan Murugappan
  • Patent number: 5858906
    Abstract: Compacts produced from a pyrogenically produced oxide, magnesium stearate, methyl cellulose and urea are mixed together in the presence of water, compacted, dried, comminuted to a powder, and the powder is pressed with an isostatic press to compacts and the compacts tempered. The resulting compacts have an outside diameter of 16 to 100 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 12, 1999
    Assignee: Degussa Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Klaus Deller, Helmfried Krause, Roland Burmeister
  • Patent number: 5858895
    Abstract: A heat-resistant glass which has heat resistance sufficient for being free from viscous flowing, e.g., at a temperature of 600.degree. C. or higher, and devitrification resistance adequate for producing a panel of glass, which has, as thermal properties, an expansion coefficient equivalent or close to that of a sealing glass frit, with retaining electrical insulation properties excellent over conventional glass, and which can be used for the production of plate-shaped articles of glass such as a glass substrate, the heat-resistant glass containing, as glass components,______________________________________ 30-45% SiO.sub.2 1-10% B.sub.2 Ohd 3 1-7% Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 1-17% SrO 22-less than 35% BaO 0-5% MgO and 0-14% CaO ______________________________________the above % standing for % by weight, provided that the total amount of MgO+CaO is over 4% to 16% by weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 12, 1999
    Assignee: Hoya Corporation
    Inventors: Hirozi Sagara, Koichi Sato
  • Patent number: 5858257
    Abstract: A method of preventing the occurrence of side etch in a wet etching method to form a circuit layer which meets the requirement of a high circuit density. First, etching is partially done using etchant having a relatively high etching rate with a spray pressure of a relatively small value, then etching is carried out using a second etchant having a relatively low etching rate with a high spray pressure. In an optional finishing step, etchant containing abrasive is used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 12, 1999
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshiyuki Naitoh
  • Patent number: 5858902
    Abstract: A semiconducting ceramic having negative resistance-temperature characteristics and a critical temperature consisting essentially of a rare-earth transition element oxide which is an oxide of a combination of samarium and nickel, wherein the samarium is partially replaced with Ln which is at least one other element selected from the group consisting of bismuth and rare-earth elements excluding lanthanum and cerium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 12, 1999
    Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Terunobu Ishikawa, Akinori Nakayama, Hiroshi Takagi
  • Patent number: 5855632
    Abstract: A method of preparing an abrasive article, and the article produced therefrom is provided. The method includes the steps of: providing a backing having a first major surface; coating the first major surface of the backing with a tie coat precursor, wherein the tie coat precursor comprises a first radiation curable component; applying an abrasive slurry to the first major surface of the backing after coating the tie coat precursor thereon, wherein the abrasive slurry comprises a plurality of abrasive particles and a binder precursor, and further wherein the binder precursor comprises a second radiation curable component; at least partially curing the tie coat precursor; and at least partially curing the binder precursor to form an abrasive article, wherein the abrasive article comprises a backing, an abrasive layer, and a tie coat disposed between the backing and the abrasive layer. Preferably, the method provides a structured abrasive article.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1999
    Assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: William L. Stoetzel, Scott R. Culler
  • Patent number: 5855860
    Abstract: Crude fumed silica resulting from pyrogenic hydrolysis is purified by continuously feeding particulate silica and steam or a mixture of steam and air in a steam/air volume ratio of at least 1/2 through an upright column from its bottom toward its top for forming a fluidized bed within the column at a gas linear velocity of 1 to 10 cm/sec. and a temperature of 250.degree. to 400.degree. C., whereby steam deprives the particulate silica of the halide borne thereon, and removing fine particulate silica from which the halide has been eliminated from the top of the column. Using a simple apparatus, pure fine particulate silica is collected at a low cost of energy consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1999
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masanobu Nishimine, Yoshio Tomizawa, Hidekazu Uehara, Kiyoshi Shirasuna, Susumu Ueno
  • Patent number: 5855811
    Abstract: A composition prepared from water, hydrofluoric acid (HF) and tetraalkylammonium hydroxide (TAAH, preferably tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH)) or tetraalkylammonium fluoride and solvent with or without HF or TAAH is used to clean residue from a semiconductor wafer, where the residue is formed as a result of a planarization process, such as chemical mechanical polishing. Incorporation of TMAH into an aqueous HF composition retards the rate at which the composition dissolves borophosphosilicate (BPSG) without effecting the rate at which silica is dissolved. Thus, the aqueous HF/TMAH composition may be used to completely remove silica-containing residue from a BPSG surface, with a tolerable level of BPSG removal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1999
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric K. Grieger, Michael T. Andreas, Michael A. Walker
  • Patent number: 5854160
    Abstract: A low temperature sintering microwave dielectric composition which can be sintered at a temperature of below 1250.degree. C. The composition includes a composition of xLiO.sub.1/2 --yCaO--.sub.z SmO.sub.3/2 --wTiO.sub.2 --qBO.sub.3/2 where 13.00.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.16.00, 11.00.ltoreq.y.ltoreq.13.00, 18.00.ltoreq.z.ltoreq.21.00, 45.00.ltoreq.w.ltoreq.51.00 and 0<q.ltoreq.12.0 wherein the numeric values are based on mol % with respect to the entire composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 29, 1998
    Assignee: LG Electro-Components, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ki Hyun Yoon, Woo Sup Kim, Jae Beom Kim
  • Patent number: 5851247
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to a structured abrasive article that provides an enhanced cut rate and extended productive life when abrading mild steel workpieces. This abrasive article includes a backing having a surface that contains precisely shape abrasive composites. In this invention, the abrasive composites include a binder, abrasive particles, water-insoluble metal silicate particles and a coupling agent. The selection of the combination of these components or materials in an abrasive composite provides an abrasive article having an enhanced cut rate and extended productive life when used to abrade, finish or grind mild steel, particularly under wet conditions using water or water treated with rust inhibiting agents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 22, 1998
    Assignee: Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: William Lee Stoetzel, Eric George Larson, Jeff W. Nelson