Patents Examined by Lan Vinh
  • Patent number: 11499071
    Abstract: The disclosure provides chemical mechanical polishing compositions and methods for polishing polysilicon films with high removal rates. The compositions include 1) an abrasive; 2) at least one compound of structure (I): 3) at least one compound of structure (II): and 4) water; in which the composition does not include tetramethylammonium hydroxide or a salt thereof. The variables n, R1-R7, X, Y, and Z1-Z3 in structures (I) and (II) are defined in the Specification. The synergistic effect of the compounds of structures (I) and (II) in these chemical mechanical polishing compositions leads to high polysilicon films material removal rate during polishing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Fujifilm Electronic Materials U.S.A., Inc.
    Inventors: Alexei P. Leonov, Abhudaya Mishra
  • Patent number: 11495468
    Abstract: An etching method includes: preparing a compound in a processing space in which an etching target is accommodated; and etching the etching target with a mask film formed thereon, under an environment where the compound exists. The etching of the etching target includes etching the etching target under an environment where hydrogen (H) and fluorine (F) exist when the etching target contains silicon nitride (SiN), and etching the etching target under an environment where nitrogen (N), hydrogen (H), and fluorine (F) exist when the etching target contains silicon (Si). The compound includes at least one halogen element selected from a group consisting of carbon (C), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), and iodine (I).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Takahiro Yokoyama, Maju Tomura, Yoshihide Kihara, Masanobu Honda
  • Patent number: 11491605
    Abstract: The invention provides a method for polishing or planarizing a substrate. First, the method comprises attaching a polymer-polymer composite polishing pad to a polishing device. The polishing pad has a polymer matrix and fluoropolymer particles embedded in the polymeric matrix. The fluoropolymer particles have a zeta potential more negative than the polymeric matrix. Cationic particle-containing slurry is applied to the polishing pad. Conditioning the polymer-polymer composite polishing pad exposes the fluoropolymer particles to the polishing surface and creates fluoropolymer-containing debris particles in the slurry. Polishing or planarizing the substrate with the increased electronegativity from the fluoropolymer at the polishing surface and in the fluoropolymer-containing debris particles stabilizes the cationic particle-containing slurry to decreases the precipitation rate of the cationic particle-containing slurry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials CMP Holdings, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew R. Gadinski, Mohammad T. Islam, Nan-Rong Chiou, Youngrae Park, George C. Jacob
  • Patent number: 11492512
    Abstract: To provide a polishing composition suitable for the use of polishing a polishing object having a film containing a silicon material having a silicon-silicon bond formed on a pattern containing an insulating film by a CMP method to form circuit patterns containing the silicon material and capable of also suppressing a remarkable reduction in polishing removal rate. A polishing composition of this invention contains abrasives, a first water-soluble polymer containing a polymer compound containing a lactam ring and having a weight average molecular weight of less than 300,000, a second water-soluble polymer containing a polymer compound containing a lactam ring and having a weight average molecular weight smaller than that of the first water-soluble polymer, a basic compound, and water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: FUJIMI INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Yukinobu Yoshizaki, Ayano Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 11495466
    Abstract: A processing method of a wafer includes a resist film coating step of coating either one surface of a front surface and a back surface with a resist film containing an ultraviolet absorber, a laser beam irradiation step of irradiating the side of the one surface with a laser beam absorbed by the wafer and removing part of the wafer and the resist film along planned dividing lines, a plasma etching step of supplying a gas in a plasma state to the side of the one surface and removing an exposed region of the wafer exposed along the planned dividing lines through plasma etching, and a check step of irradiating plural positions on the side of the one surface of the wafer with ultraviolet rays and detecting light emission of the resist film to measure the thickness of the resist film and check a coating state of the resist film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: DISCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hideyuki Sandoh, Minoru Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11488836
    Abstract: A method of processing a substrate is provided. The substrate includes an etching target region and a patterned region. The patterned region is provided on the etching target region. In the method, an organic film is formed on a surface of the substrate. Subsequently, the etching target region is etched by plasma generated from a processing gas. The organic film is formed in a state that the substrate is placed in a processing space within a chamber. When the organic film is formed, a first gas containing a first organic compound is supplied toward the substrate, and then, a second gas containing a second organic compound is supplied toward the substrate. An organic compound constituting the organic film is generated by polymerization of the first organic compound and the second organic compound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Masahiro Tabata, Toru Hisamatsu, Sho Kumakura, Ryuichi Asako, Shinya Ishikawa, Masanobu Honda
  • Patent number: 11482450
    Abstract: Methods of forming a slurry and methods of performing a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process utilized in manufacturing semiconductor devices, as described herein, may be performed on semiconductor devices including integrated contact structures with ruthenium (Ru) plug contacts down to a semiconductor substrate. The slurry may be formed by mixing a first abrasive, a second abrasive, and a reactant with a solvent. The first abrasive may include a first particulate including titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles and the second abrasive may include a second particulate that is different from the first particulate. The slurry may be used in a CMP process for removing ruthenium (Ru) materials and dielectric materials from a surface of a workpiece resulting in better WiD loading and planarization of the surface for a flat profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Chia Hsuan Lee, Chun-Wei Hsu, Chia-Wei Ho, Chi-Hsiang Shen, Li-Chieh Wu, Jian-Ci Lin, Chi-Jen Liu, Yi-Sheng Lin, Yang-Chun Cheng, Liang-Guang Chen, Kuo-Hsiu Wei, Kei-Wei Chen
  • Patent number: 11482423
    Abstract: In certain embodiments, a method for processing a semiconductor substrate includes receiving a semiconductor substrate that includes a film stack. The film stack includes first and second germanium-containing layers and a first silicon layer positioned between the first and second germanium-containing layers. The method includes selectively etching the first silicon layer by exposing the film stack to a plasma that includes fluorine agents and nitrogen agents. The plasma etches the first silicon layer, and causes a passivation layer to be formed on exposed surfaces of the first and second germanium-containing layers to inhibit etching of the first and second germanium-containing layers during exposure of the film stack to the plasma.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Pingshan Luan, Aelan Mosden
  • Patent number: 11479720
    Abstract: A composition for etching and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method including an etching process of using the composition for etching, are provided. The composition for etching includes a first inorganic acid; any one first additive selected from the group consisting of phosphorous acid, an organic phosphite, a hypophosphite, and mixtures thereof; and a solvent. The composition for etching is a high-selectivity composition for etching that can selectively remove a nitride film while minimizing the etch rate for an oxide film and does not have a problem such as particle generation, which adversely affects device characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Inventors: Jung Hun Lim, Jin Uk Lee, Jae Wan Park
  • Patent number: 11473199
    Abstract: A patterned backside stress compensation film having different stress in different sectors is formed on a backside of a substrate to reduce combination warpage of the substrate. The film can be formed by employing a radio frequency electrode assembly including plurality of conductive plates that are biased with different RF power and cause local variations in the plasma employed to deposit the backside film. Alternatively, the film may be deposited with uniform stress, and some of its sectors are irradiated with ultraviolet radiation to change the stress of these irradiated sectors. Yet alternatively, multiple backside deposition processes may be sequentially employed to deposit different backside films to provide a composite backside film having different stresses in different sectors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: SANDISK TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventors: Seiji Shimabukuro, Makoto Tsutsue
  • Patent number: 11474429
    Abstract: A method of producing a substrate with a fine uneven pattern is a method of producing a substrate having a fine uneven pattern on a surface thereof, the method including a step (a) of preparing a laminate provided with a substrate and a first resin layer provided on the substrate and having a first fine uneven pattern formed on a surface thereof; and a step (b) of forming a second fine uneven pattern corresponding to the first fine uneven pattern on the surface of the substrate by etching the surface of the first fine uneven pattern using the first resin layer as a mask, in which the first resin layer is formed of a resin composition (P) including a fluorine-containing cyclic olefin polymer (A) or a cured product of the resin composition (P).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: MITSUI CHEMICALS, INC.
    Inventors: Takashi Oda, Hisanori Ohkita, Yasuhisa Kayaba
  • Patent number: 11459656
    Abstract: A method for forming a fluorinated oxostannate film involves vaporizing a volatile fluorinated alkyltin compound having at least two hydrolytically sensitive functional groups or at least two reactive functional groups which are sensitive to oxidation at a temperature greater than 200° C.; providing a substrate; physisorbing or chemisorbing the fluorinated alkyltin compound onto the substrate; and exposing the physisorbed or chemisorbed fluorinated alkyltin compound to a sequence of hydrolysis, irradiation, and/or oxidation steps to form the fluorinated oxostannate thin film on the substrate. Fluorinated alkyltin compounds having formula (I) are also described, in which Rf is a fluorinated or partially fluorinated linear or branched alkyl group having about 1 to about 5 carbon atoms, X is a dialkylamino group having about 1 to about 4 carbon atoms, and n is 1 or 2: (RfCH2)nSnX(4-n)??(I).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: GELEST, INC
    Inventors: Barry C. Arkles, Youlin Pan, Jonathan D. Goff, Li Yang
  • Patent number: 11459486
    Abstract: There are provided a polishing composition that gives, in the step of polishing a wafer, a flat polished surface having a reduced height difference between a central region and a peripheral region (laser mark region) of the wafer, and a method for producing a wafer using the polished composition. A polishing composition comprising water, silica particles, an alkaline substance, and an amphoteric surfactant of formula (1): wherein R1 is a C10-20 alkyl group, or a C1-5 alkyl group containing an amide group; R2 and R3 are each independently a C1-9 alkyl group; and X?is a C1-5 anionic organic group containing a carboxylate ion or a sulfonate ion. Silica particles in the form of an aqueous dispersion of silica particles having a mean primary particle diameter of 5 to 100 nm may be used. A method for producing a wafer, wherein in the step of polishing a wafer, polishing is performed until a height difference between a central region and a peripheral region of the wafer becomes 100 nm or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: NISSAN CHEMICAL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroaki Sakaida, Eiichiro Ishimizu
  • Patent number: 11462416
    Abstract: Provided is a plasma processing method for plasma etching an etching target film formed on a sample. The method includes a protective film forming step of selectively forming a protective film on an upper portion of a pattern formed on the sample and adjusting a width of the formed protective film such that a distribution of the width of the formed protective film in a surface of the sample becomes a desired distribution, and a step of plasma etching the etching target film after the protective film forming step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
    Inventors: Miyako Matsui, Kenichi Kuwahara, Tatehito Usui, Hiroyuki Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 11456180
    Abstract: An etching method of an exemplary embodiment involves providing a substrate in a chamber of a plasma treatment system. The substrate includes a silicon-containing film. The method further involves etching the silicon-containing film by a chemical species in plasma generated from a process gas in the chamber. The process gas contains a halogen gas component and phosphorous gas component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Takahiro Yokoyama, Maju Tomura, Yoshihide Kihara, Ryutaro Suda, Takatoshi Orui
  • Patent number: 11450531
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an atomic layer etching method for etching a surface of a substrate by using an atomic layer etching apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: WONIK IPS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jun Hyuck Kwon, Jin Sung Chun, Sang Jun Park, Byung Chul Cho, Kwang Seon Jin
  • Patent number: 11447660
    Abstract: A polishing composition for use in polishing an object to be polished, which comprises abrasive grains, a dispersing medium, and an additive, wherein the abrasive grains are surface-modified, the additive is represented by the following formula 1: wherein in the formula 1, X1 is O or NR4, X2 is a single bond or NR5, R1 to R5 are each independently a hydrogen atom; a hydroxy group; a nitro group; a nitroso group; a C1-4 alkyl group optionally substituted with a carboxyl group, an amino group, or a hydroxy group; or CONH2; with the proviso that R2 and R5 may form a ring; when X2 is a single bond, R3 is not a hydrogen atom, or R1 to R3 are not a methyl group; and when X2 is NR5 and three of R1 to R3 and R5 are a hydrogen atom, the other one is not a hydrogen atom or a methyl group; and a pH is 5.0 or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: FUJIMI INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Satoru Yarita, Yukinobu Yoshizaki
  • Patent number: 11442357
    Abstract: Provided is a mask blank, including a phase shift film. The phase shift film has a structure where a first layer and a second layer are stacked in this order from a side of the transparent substrate. The first layer is provided in contact with a surface of the transparent substrate. Refractive indexes n1 and n2 of the first layer and the second layer, respectively, at a wavelength of an exposure light of an ArF excimer laser satisfy the relation n1<n2. Extinction coefficients k1 and k2 of the first layer and the second layer, respectively, at a wavelength of the exposure light satisfy the relation k1<k2. Film thicknesses d1 and d2 of the first layer and the second layer, respectively, satisfy the relation d1<d2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: HOYA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hitoshi Maeda, Hiroaki Shishido, Masahiro Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 11437244
    Abstract: A dry etching gas composition is used which contains a saturated or unsaturated hydrofluorocarbon compound (excluding 1,2,2,3-pentafluorocyclobutane and 1,1,2,2-tetrafluorocyclobutane) represented by a general formula (1): CxHyFz (where x, y, and z are integers that satisfy 2?x?4, y+z?2x+2, and 0.5<z/y<2). Use of the etching gas composition containing the above-described hydrofluorocarbon makes it possible to selectively etch a nitrogen-containing silicon-based film (b1) with respect to a silicon oxide film, a non-silicon-based mask material, or a polycrystalline silicon film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: KANTO DENKA KOGYO CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Korehito Kato, Yoshihiko Iketani, Yukinobu Shibusawa, Hisashi Shimizu
  • Patent number: 11434391
    Abstract: Provided are a polishing composition capable of effectively reducing or eliminating a step difference on a surface of an object to be polished consisting of a single material, a method of using such a polishing composition, and a method of producing a substrate. The polishing composition of the present invention contains an abrasive grain, a pH adjusting agent, a dispersing medium, and at least one kind of first water-soluble polymer having a lactam structure and at least one kind of second water-soluble polymer containing an alkylene oxide represented by the following Formula (I) in the structure, CxH2xOn??(I) (in the Formula (I), X is an integer of 3 or more and n is an integer of 2 or more.).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: FUJIMI INCORPORATED
    Inventor: Jingzhi Chen