Patents Examined by Jiong-Ping Lu
  • Patent number: 11380547
    Abstract: A plasma processing method of etching an organic film through a mask having an opening is provided. The mask is formed on the organic film, and is made of a silicon-containing film. The method includes rectifying a shape of the mask. The rectifying of the shape of the mask includes refining a side wall of the opening of the mask, and etching an upper surface of the mask.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Ryo Terashima, Yuzuru Sakai
  • Patent number: 11373847
    Abstract: A plasma treatment method is provided. The method includes generating a planar plasma in a plasma treatment chamber, observing an effective influence region of the planar plasma by using an optical observation system in which an observation lens has a transparent substrate and a fluorescent coating thereon, adjusting a location of the observation lens to observe a brightness change of the fluorescent coating and the transparent substrate to obtain a location and a thickness range of the effective influence region of the planar plasma, and then adjusting a location of the observation lens to observe a brightness change of the fluorescent coating and the transparent substrate to obtain a location and a thickness range of the effective influence region of the planar plasma. A location of a sample is adjusted to within the effective influence region, and a plasma treatment is then performed on the sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
    Inventor: Hung-Yuan Hsieh
  • Patent number: 11373876
    Abstract: A film forming method includes: removing a natural oxide film formed on a front surface of a metal-containing film by supplying a hydrogen fluoride gas to a substrate accommodated in a processing container, the substrate having the metal-containing film formed thereon, and the metal-containing film including no metal oxide film; and forming a silicon film on the metal-containing film by supplying a silicon-containing gas into the processing container, wherein the step of forming the silicon film occurs after the step of removing the natural oxide film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Satoshi Takagi
  • Patent number: 11370939
    Abstract: Smoothness of glass is improved. A polishing slurry (A) contains amorphous carbon and water, and a total amount of the amorphous carbon and the water is equal to or more than 90% of the whole polishing slurry in terms of mass ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: AGC INC.
    Inventor: Tomohiro Shibuya
  • Patent number: 11367621
    Abstract: A manufacturing method of a semiconductor device, comprises the following steps: providing a semiconductor substrate; forming a dummy insulation layer and a dummy electrode sequentially stacked on the semiconductor substrate; forming spacers on sidewalls of the dummy electrode; removing the dummy electrode to exposes inner sidewalls of the spacers; and performing an ion implantation process to the inner sidewalls of the spacers and the dummy insulation layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tien-Shun Chang, Chun-Feng Nieh, Huicheng Chang, Yee-Chia Yeo
  • Patent number: 11352523
    Abstract: According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a polishing liquid containing abrasive grains, a hydroxy acid, a polyol, at least one zwitterionic compound selected from the group consisting of an aminocarboxylic acid and an aminosulfonic acid, and a liquid medium, in which a zeta potential of the abrasive grains is positive, an isoelectric point of the aminocarboxylic acid is smaller than 7.0, and pKa of the aminosulfonic acid is larger than 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: SHOWA DENKO MATERIALS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tomohiro Iwano, Takaaki Matsumoto, Tomomi Kukita, Tomoyasu Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 11345852
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an etchant composition, in particular to an aqueous masking layer etchant composition for use in the removal of tungsten-doped carbon masking layers from a surface of a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer. The composition comprises (a) 10 to 40 wt. %, based on the total weight of the composition, of hydrogen peroxide; and (b) 0.1 to 2.0 wt. %, based on the total weight of the composition, of one or more corrosion inhibitors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Angela Hecke, Hongzhi Wang, David Lou
  • Patent number: 11345988
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a deposition mask includes preparing a mask-target substrate which has one surface on which a sacrificed layer pattern is formed and comprises a cover area covered by the sacrificed layer pattern and a plurality of exposed areas exposed by the sacrificed layer pattern; forming holes in the exposed areas of the mask-target substrate by emitting laser toward the mask-target substrate; and removing the sacrificed layer pattern, wherein the sacrificed layer pattern has a higher reflectance with respect to the laser than a reflectance of the mask-target substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hwi Kim, In Bae Kim, Sung Soon Im, Kyu Hwan Hwang
  • Patent number: 11342194
    Abstract: A technique improves selectivity in etching of a silicon-containing film over etching of a mask in plasma etching. A substrate processing method includes placing a substrate in a chamber in a plasma processing apparatus. The substrate includes a silicon-containing film and a mask on the silicon-containing film. The substrate processing method further includes generating plasma from a first process gas containing a hydrogen fluoride gas in the chamber. The generating plasma includes etching the silicon-containing film with a chemical species contained in the plasma. A flow rate of the hydrogen fluoride gas is at least 80 vol % of a total flow rate of non-inert components of the first process gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Ryutaro Suda, Maju Tomura
  • Patent number: 11342191
    Abstract: There is provided a structure manufacturing method, including: preparing an etching target with at least one surface comprising group III nitride; then in a state where the etching target is immersed in an etching solution containing peroxodisulfate ions; irradiating the surface of the etching target with light through the etching solution, and generating sulfate ion radicals from the peroxodisulfate ions and generating holes in the group III nitride, thereby etching the group III nitride, wherein in the etching of the group III nitride, the etching solution remains acidic during a period for etching the group III nitride by making the etching solution acidic at a start of etching the group III nitride, and the etching is performed, with a resist mask formed on the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignees: SCIOCS COMPANY LIMITED, SUMITOMO CHEMICAL COMPANY, LIMITED
    Inventors: Fumimasa Horikiri, Noboru Fukuhara, Taketomo Sato, Masachika Toguchi
  • Patent number: 11342195
    Abstract: Improved process flows and methods are provided that use a cyclic dry process to transfer a pattern from a patterned organic layer to an underlying silicon-containing layer. The cyclic dry process disclosed herein includes a deposition step, an etch step and a purge step, which may be repeated a number of cycles to progressively etch the exposed portions of the silicon-containing layer. Unlike conventional pattern transfer processes, the cyclic dry process described herein anisotropically etches the silicon-containing layer with high selectivity to the patterned organic layer. In doing so, the disclosed process improves pattern transfer performance and avoids problems typically seen in conventional pattern transfer processes such as, e.g., CD enlargement, CD distortion and/or complete loss of photoresist.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Yun Han, Peter Ventzek, Alok Ranjan
  • Patent number: 11335590
    Abstract: Disclosed is a semiconductor processing approach wherein a wafer twist is employed to increase etch rate, at select locations, along a hole or space end arc. By doing so, a finished hole may more closely resemble the shape of the incoming hole end. In some embodiments, a method may include providing an elongated contact hole formed in a semiconductor device, and etching the elongated contact hole while rotating the semiconductor device, wherein the etching is performed by an ion beam delivered at a non-zero angle relative to a plane defined by the semiconductor device. The elongated contact hole may be defined by a set of sidewalls opposite one another, and a first end and a second end connected to the set of sidewalls, wherein etching the elongated contact hole causes the elongated contact hole to change from an oval shape to a rectangular shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Glen F. R. Gilchrist, Shurong Liang
  • Patent number: 11295959
    Abstract: There is provided a technique that includes: imaging a gas supply hole configured to supply a plasma-converted gas into a process chamber by using an imaging device disposed in the process chamber; detecting a plasma emission intensity based on an image of the imaged gas supply hole; and determining at least one of whether abnormal plasma discharge has occurred and whether plasma flickering has occurred based on the detected plasma emission intensity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: KOKUSAI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Takeda, Tatsuya Nishino
  • Patent number: 11292939
    Abstract: According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a polishing liquid containing abrasive grains, a hydroxy acid, a polyol, at least one zwitterionic compound selected from the group consisting of an aminocarboxylic acid and an aminosulfonic acid, and a liquid medium, in which a zeta potential of the abrasive grains is positive, an isoelectric point of the aminocarboxylic acid is smaller than 7.0, and pKa of the aminosulfonic acid is larger than 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: SHOWA DENKO MATERIALS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tomohiro Iwano, Takaaki Matsumoto, Tomomi Kukita, Tomoyasu Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 11292938
    Abstract: A process for chemical mechanical polishing a substrate containing cobalt, zirconium oxide, poly-silicon and silicon dioxide, wherein the cobalt, zirconium, and poly-silicon removal rates are selective over silicon dioxide. The chemical mechanical polishing composition includes water, a benzyltrialkyl quaternary ammonium compound, cobalt chelating agent, corrosion inhibitor, colloidal silica abrasive, optionally a biocide and optionally a pH adjusting agent, and a pH greater than 7, and the chemical mechanical polishing compositions are free of oxidizing agents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials CMP Holdings, Inc.
    Inventors: Murali Ganth Theivanayagam, Matthew Richard Van Hanehem, Yi Guo
  • Patent number: 11286403
    Abstract: There are provided a chemical mechanical polishing composition, a chemical mechanical polishing slurry and a method for polishing a substrate that can realize a polishing rate equivalent to or higher than that of the existing polishing agent even if total metal content is decreased, or can realize remarkably higher polishing rate than that of the existing polishing agent when using total metal content identical as before. The chemical mechanical polishing composition comprises an iron-based metal catalyst, and a magnesium-based metal catalyst, wherein the metal content of the iron-based metal catalyst is equal to or greater than the metal content of the magnesium-based metal catalyst.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignee: DONGJIN SEMICHEM CO., LTD
    Inventors: Hyejung Park, Mingun Lee, Jongdai Park, Jaehyun Kim
  • Patent number: 11281106
    Abstract: A storage container storing a treatment liquid for manufacturing a semiconductor is provided, wherein the occurrence of defects on the semiconductor, such as particles, is suppressed and a fine resist pattern or a fine semiconductor element is manufactured. The storage container includes a storage portion that stores a treatment liquid for manufacturing a semiconductor, and the treatment liquid for manufacturing a semiconductor includes one kind or two or more kinds of metal atoms and a total content of particulate metal is 0.01 to 100 mass ppt with respect to a total mass of the treatment liquid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuya Shimizu, Tetsuya Kamimura
  • Patent number: 11270890
    Abstract: Methods for etching features into carbon material using a metal-doped carbon-containing hard mask to reduce and eliminate redeposition of silicon-containing residues are provided herein. Methods involve depositing a metal-doped carbon-containing hard mask over the carbon material prior to etching the carbon material, patterning the metal-doped carbon-containing hard mask, and using the patterned metal-doped carbon-containing hard mask to etch the carbon material such that the use of a silicon-containing mask during etch of the carbon material is eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Amit Jain, Anne Le Gouil, Yasushi Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 11267987
    Abstract: A CMP slurry composition and a method of polishing a metal layer are provided. In some embodiments, the CMP slurry composition includes about 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a metal oxide, and about 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a chelator. The chelator includes a thiol compound or a thiolether compound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Chun-Hung Liao, An-Hsuan Lee, Shen-Nan Lee, Teng-Chun Tsai, Chen-Hao Wu, Huang-Lin Chao
  • Patent number: 11264246
    Abstract: An etching method is provided for selectively etching a first region of silicon oxide with respect to a second region of silicon nitride by performing plasma processing on a target object including the first region and the second region. In the etch method, first, a plasma of a processing gas including a fluorocarbon gas is generated in a processing chamber where the target object is accommodated. Next, the plasma of the processing gas including the fluorocarbon gas is further generated in the processing chamber where the target object is accommodated. Next, the first region is etched by radicals of fluorocarbon contained in a deposit which is formed on the target object by the generation and the further generation of the plasma of the processing gas containing the fluorocarbon gas. A high frequency powers used for the plasma generation is smaller than a high frequency power used for plasma further generation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Hikaru Watanabe, Akihiro Tsuji