Patents Examined by John D. Smith
  • Patent number: 4626446
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for determining the deposition capability of an electroless metal plating bath by monitoring the difference in instantaneous electrical potential between a pair of test coupons immersed in the bath in which one coupon is seeded to initiate plating thereon of the bath metal and the other coupon has a surface of the bath metal. The magnitude of the difference in potential and its change with respect to time during concurrent immersion of both coupons indicate the probable rate and quality of the bath deposition onto work pieces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 1985
    Date of Patent: December 2, 1986
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Robert J. Capwell, Robert G. Rickert
  • Patent number: 4626450
    Abstract: A process for producing semiconductor devices having excellent electric characteristics such as high threshold voltage Vth and small leakage current, maintaining high yields while preventing the occurrence of thermal etching at the time of heat-treatment to form a well diffusion layer in semiconductor devices such as CMOS IC's. Namely, a semiconductor wafer having a silicon dioxide film formed on the main surface thereof is heat-treated at a high temperature in an inert gas atmosphere. In this case, oxygen is contained in small amounts in the inert gas, so that pinholes formed in the silicon dioxide film are buried therein by the action of oxygen gas. Therefore, thermal etching is not generated by the high temperature inert gas, and the yields of semiconductor devices can be increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 1985
    Date of Patent: December 2, 1986
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akihiko Tani, Takashi Aoyagi, Shuji Ikeda, Kouichi Nagasawa
  • Patent number: 4624862
    Abstract: An improved p-type semiconductor alloy film, an improved substantially intrinsic amorphous semiconductor alloy film, improved photovoltaic and photoresponsive devices incorporating such films and r.f. and microwave glow discharge methods for fabricating same. The improved semiconductor alloy films preferably include at least silicon deposited by the glow discharge of a compound containing at least silicon and a boron species that remains substantially monoatomic as it is incorporated into the silicon matrix. The p-type film is particularly stable, is characterized by a non-narrowed band gap, reduced bulk stress, improved morphology, growth and adhesion and reduced peeling and cracking. The substantially intrinsic film is characterized by substantially reduced Staebler-Wronski degradation. The method includes the novel step of introducing a boron species that does not form higher order boron hydrides or other boron polymers or oligomers in the glow discharge plasma.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 1984
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1986
    Assignee: Energy Conversion Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Chi C. Yang, Ralph Mohr, Stephen Hudgens, Annette Johncock, Prem Nath
  • Patent number: 4624864
    Abstract: This process consists of depositing a first conductive coating on the complete circuit, depositing on said coating a filling material used for filling the contact hole, the surface of said material being substantially planar, carrying out an anisotropic etching of said filling material so as to expose those parts of the first conductive coating located outside the contact hole and only retaining that part of said filling material which fills the contact hole, depositing on the structure obtained a second conductive coating in which the interconnection line will be formed, producing in the second conductive coating a resin mask used for defining the dimensions of the line, eliminating those parts of the second and first conductive coatings which are free from the mask and eliminating the mask.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 1985
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1986
    Assignee: Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique
    Inventor: Joel Hartmann
  • Patent number: 4624863
    Abstract: A bipolar memory cell is fabricated by forming diodes 60 and 65 on top of the transistors Q1 and Q2 formed in the underlying substrate 10. Metal silicide 30 overlies strips 34 and 35 of doped polycrystalline silicon 25, 28, 37, and 38 to cross-couple the bases and collectors of the two transistors Q1 and Q2 forming the memory cell. The metal silicide 30 shorts PN junctions 29 in polycrystalline 23. Two further strips 50 and 52, each comprising a sandwich of P type polycrystalline silicon 42, metal silicide 45, and N conductivity type polycrystalline silicon 47, are formed to couple the cross-coupled bases and collectors to respective diodes 60 and 65. The diodes 60 and 65 are formed by depositing metal 62 and 64 in electrical contact with the underlying N type polycrystalline silicon 47.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1985
    Date of Patent: November 25, 1986
    Assignee: Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventor: Madhukar B. Vora
  • Patent number: 4623556
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for forming a continuous glass coating which is free of pinholes, cracks, and the like over the surface of an electrical device. In the method disclosed, a mixture consisting essentially of an organic vehicle which is reactive with a suitable plasma to form gaseous reaction products at a temperature below the thermal decomposition temperature of the organic vehicle and a glass frit having a glass transition temperature above the thermal degradation temperature is applied in a layer over the surface of a completed electrical device. The applied layer of the mixture is then subjected to a suitable plasma at a temperature below the thermal degradation temperature of the organic vehicle for a time sufficient to remove the organic vehicle from the layer. The layer is then heated to or above the glass transition temperature of the glass frit until the glass frit fuses and forms a continuous defect-free glass coating over the surface of the electrical device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 1985
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1986
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventors: Richard Brown, Franco N. Sechi
  • Patent number: 4622917
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for the electroless plating of articles. A tank is provided for sequentially containing the respective constituent baths corresponding to the steps of the electroless plating process. An article to be plated, such as a printed circuit board, is supported in the center of the tank immersed in the constituent bath contained therein. A pair of inwardly facing parallel manifolds are disposed at opposite ends of the tank. The constituent solution is pumped through a nozzle matrix in the inward facing wall of a first manifold onto the article and is simultaneously sucked away from the opposing side of the article through the matrix of the nozzles defined in the inward facing wall of a second manifold. The direction of pumping is alternated for periodically reversing the direction of suction and impingement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 1985
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1986
    Assignee: ETD Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Charles H. Schramm
  • Patent number: 4623517
    Abstract: The invention relates to a not as yet considered kind of corrosion of products made of silicon carbide working in elevated temperatures and discloses a method of preventing this kind of corrosion which begins already at the moderate temperature of about 550.degree. C. and is caused by the formation of carbon monoxide in the pores of the interior of the silicon carbide products in conditions of limited penetration of oxygen into these pores.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 1984
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1986
    Assignee: Biuro Projektow Przemyslu Metali Niezelaznych BIPROMET
    Inventors: Felicjan J. Biolik, Zygmunt A. Morys
  • Patent number: 4623563
    Abstract: A process for producing a polyimide/metallic foil composite film having a curvature radius of at least 25 cm and which is substantially free from curling is described, comprising coating a solution of a polyimide precursor in an organic polar solvent on a 1 to 500 .mu.m thick metallic foil, the polyimide precursor being prepared by reacting a diamine component comprising p-phenylenediamine and an aromatic tetracarboxylic acid component comprising 3,3',4,4'-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride or its derivative; heat-drying the above-prepared coating in the state that the metallic foil is fixed; and then heating it at a high temperature to form a 5 to 200 .mu.m thick polyimide film. This composite film does not substantially curl in either the lengthwise and widthwise directions and is very suitable for use in the production of an electric circuit board.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 1985
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1986
    Assignee: Nitto Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuzuru Noda, Masanori Imai
  • Patent number: 4623554
    Abstract: Method for controlling plating in an electroless plating process. The plating rate is continuously monitored. The plating rate is compared with a set point plating rate. A control voltage is derived proportional to the difference in plating rate and the desired plating rate, the integral of the difference, and the derivative of the difference. The control voltage is applied to a replenishment control for controlling the replenishment rate of a constituent chemical of the plating process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1985
    Date of Patent: November 18, 1986
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corp.
    Inventors: Ronald A. Kaschak, Roy H. Magnuson, Edward J. Yarmchuk
  • Patent number: 4622242
    Abstract: A variable-temperature pressure coating system for optical fibres, particularly for uv-curable primary coatings, includes a gas cylinder (8) for pressurizing a tank (1) of coating material, and a heat exchanger (15) controlling the temperature and thus the viscosity of the coating material supplied to a die chamber (19) through which an optical fibre (18) is passed following drawing. The temperature of the die chamber may also be controlled by the same circuit as the heat exchanger. A valve (14) serves to control flow to the die and to enable priming of the tube (13) by filling with coating material (and removal of air bubbles) prior to supply thereof to the die chamber (19). The system is designed for ease of operator handling together with production of high quality coatings at high speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 1985
    Date of Patent: November 11, 1986
    Assignee: Standard Telephones and Cables Public Limited Company
    Inventor: Malcolm D. Mackay
  • Patent number: 4622239
    Abstract: An apparatus (28) for dispensing solder paste into openings (26-26) in a stencil (24) comprises a housing (30) having a piston (60) slidably mounted therein. A manifold (70), having a successively increasing cross-sectional area, is attached to a side wall (42) of the housing for admitting a viscous material, such as solder paste therein through successively larger sized openings (76-76) so the paste is distributed evenly beneath the piston. A pair of elastomeric blades (50-50) are secured to, and depend from the housing on opposite sides of a slot (46) to contact the stencil (24). Upon the application of a fluid pressure against the piston, paste will be expelled from the slot within a working region (96) between the blades. The blades force paste into the openings in the stencil when the housing is moved thereacross.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 1986
    Date of Patent: November 11, 1986
    Assignee: AT&T Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David Schoenthaler, Thaddeus Wojcik
  • Patent number: 4622240
    Abstract: Nitrous oxide additions to the furnace atmosphere during firing of thick film electrical components minimizes soot deposition from vaporization of vehicle contained in the film paste.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 1985
    Date of Patent: November 11, 1986
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Walter F. Yext, Edward A. Hayduk, Clark K. Fisher
  • Patent number: 4620987
    Abstract: A surface treatment method for magnetic particles is disclosed, which comprises the steps of activating magnetic particles by application of heat thereto, treating the surface of the magnetic particles with a reactive silane coupling agent, bringing the treated magnetic particles into contact with at least one polymerizable vinyl-type monomer, polymerizing the monomer to form a polymer, and coating the surface of the magnetic particles with the polymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 1984
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1986
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Yamashita, Kenkichi Muto
  • Patent number: 4620990
    Abstract: A method of diffusion impregnation of wooden structures, which include long wooden objects, with a wood preservative, depots with the wood preservative being placed, in a way known per se, within the wood. The characteristic feature of the method is that in sections of the wooden object in which the moisture ratio of the wood is less than substantially 25 % depots with wood preservative dissolved in a hygroscopic liquid are placed and that in sections of the wooden object in which the moisture ratio of the wood is greater than substantially 25 % depots with wood preservative in solid phase are placed. The depots are placed at intermittent distances from each other along the wooden structure so that each long object is impregnated along the whole of its length and right through it.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 1984
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1986
    Inventor: Paul-Erik Dicker
  • Patent number: 4620361
    Abstract: A method for producing a semiconductor device comprises a step of forming a first gate insulation layer on a portion of a single crystal silicon substrate and forming a floating gate of polycrystalline silicon on the first gate insulation layer, a step of forming an oxide layer on the exposed portion of the substrate and on the floating gate, and a step of forming a control gate on the floating gate through the oxide layer. In the formation of the oxide layer, a nitride pattern layer is formed on the floating gate, the entire structure is oxidized by using the nitride pattern layer as a mask, thus forming a protective layer on the exposed portion of the substrate, the nitride pattern layer is removed, and the entire structure is again oxidized, thus forming a second gate insulation layer on the floating gate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 1985
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1986
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Naohiro Matsukawa, Hiroshi Nozawa, Shigeru Morita
  • Patent number: 4620661
    Abstract: A lid for closing an electronic package that exhibits high resistance to corrosion. The lid includes a metal substrate and a multi-layered protective coating which has low porosity when compared to a single layer coating of the same thickness yet has good soldering properties that enables the lid to be hermetically sealed to the package container. The multi-layer coating includes an initial electroplated layer of nickel followed by a thin interlayer of a noble metal and a second layer of nickel electroplated over noble metal. A top layer of gold is then electroplated over the nickel-noble metal-nickel sandwich to complete the lid structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 1985
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1986
    Assignee: Indium Corporation of America
    Inventor: James A. Slatterly
  • Patent number: 4619836
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for fabricating thick film electrical components which are exceptionally uniform in electrical properties and have increased density wherein a thick film ink comprised of (i) an organic vehicle which is reactive with a plasma to form gaseous reaction products at a temperature below its thermal decomposition temperature, (ii) a glass frit having a glass transition temperature above the thermal degradation temperature, and (iii) a particulate material having the desired electrical properties for the thick film electrical component are applied to a suitable substrate in a pattern corresponding to the electrical component. The applied layer is then subjected to a suitable plasma at a temperature below the thermal degradation temperature for a time sufficient to remove the organic vehicle from the applied layer. The resultant layer is then heated at or above the glass transition temperature of the glass frit until the glass frit fuses and forms a composite with the particulate material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 1985
    Date of Patent: October 28, 1986
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventors: Ashok N. Prabhu, Edward J. Conlon, Franco N. Sechi
  • Patent number: 4619839
    Abstract: A method for forming a substantially planar inorganic dielectric layer over a predetermined pattern of electrical interconnects comprises the steps of reacting phosphoric acid and a trivalent metallic halide compound with an aliphatic solvent to form a coating fluid. The coating fluid is then spun onto the semiconductor device to form a layer over the electrical interconnect. The resultant device is then baked at a first temperature to drive off the solvent and then baked at a second, higher temperature, in order to promote the glass forming reaction. This process is repeated as required to form a coating layer having a thickness which exhibits levelling characteristics of such high quality that fine topography can be carried out on succeeding layers of metal in order to form additional interconnect layers with precision.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 1984
    Date of Patent: October 28, 1986
    Assignee: Fairchild Camera & Instrument Corp.
    Inventor: William I. Lehrer
  • Patent number: 4619840
    Abstract: A process and apparatus for the low pressure, cold wall, chemical vapor deposition of refractory metals, such as tungsten on a silicon wafer. The silicon wafer is introduced into a loading lock wherein the pressure is reduced to subatmospheric pressure. The silicon wafer is transferred to a deposition chamber where it is heated to an elevated temperature. A refractory metal carbonyl vapor is introduced into the deposition chamber and dissociates to deposit a refractory metal on the silicon wafer. The wafer is transferred to an unloading lock where it is allowed to cool and is then removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 1983
    Date of Patent: October 28, 1986
    Assignee: Thermco Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Jon C. Goldman, Michael A. Fisk, Michael Diem