Patents Examined by Margaret D Klunk
  • Patent number: 9011703
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a touch screen panel includes forming first and second conductive layers on a substrate, forming a photosensitive layer on the second conductive layer, exposing the photosensitive layer using a first mask having a first light shielding pattern that corresponds to sensing electrodes and lines to be formed, removing the photosensitive layer at the first exposed portion, sequentially removing the second and first conductive layers at the first exposed portion using the first remaining photosensitive layer as a mask, exposing the photosensitive layer using a second mask having a second light shielding pattern that corresponds to the lines to be formed, removing the photosensitive layer at the second exposed portion, removing the second conductive layer at the second exposed portion using the second remaining photosensitive layer as a mask, thereby forming the sensing electrodes and the lines, and removing the second remaining photosensitive layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Sang-Min Baek
  • Patent number: 9005460
    Abstract: The present invention provides methods of selectively removing one or more graphene layers from a graphene material by: (1) applying a metal to a surface of the graphene material; and (2) applying a hydrogen containing solution to the surface of the graphene material that is associated with the metal. The hydrogen containing solution dissolves the metal along with one or more layers of graphene associated with the metal, thereby removing the layer(s) of graphene from the graphene material. In some embodiments, the hydrogen containing solution is an acidic solution, such as hydrochloric acid. In some embodiments, the metal is zinc. In some embodiments, the methods of the present invention are utilized to selectively remove one or more layers of graphene from one or more targeted sites on the surface of a graphene material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: William Marsh Rice University
    Inventors: James M. Tour, Ayrat M. Dimiev, Dmitry V. Kosynkin
  • Patent number: 8999177
    Abstract: Out-of-plane microneedle manufacturing process comprising the simultaneous creation of a network of microneedles and the creation of a polygonal shaped hat (2) above each microneedle (1) under formation, said process comprising the following steps: providing bridges (3) between the hats (3), maintaining the bridges (3) during the remaining microneedle manufacturing steps, removing the bridges (3), together with the hats (2), when the microneedles (1) are formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: Debiotech S.A.
    Inventors: Astrid Cachemaille, Francois Cannehan
  • Patent number: 8980113
    Abstract: A method for chemical mechanical polishing of a substrate includes polishing the substrate at a stock removal rate of greater than about 2.5 ?/min to achieve a Ra of not greater than about 5.0 ?. The substrate can be a III-V substrate or a SiC substrate. The polishing utilizes a chemical mechanical polishing slurry comprising ultra-dispersed diamonds and at least 80 wt % water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Saint-Gobain Ceramics & Plastics, Inc.
    Inventors: Jun Wang, Ronald W. Laconto, Andrew G. Haerle
  • Patent number: 8962492
    Abstract: A method to thin an initial silicon-on-insulator substrate that has a layer of silicon oxide buried between a silicon carrier substrate and a silicon surface layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Soitec
    Inventors: Patrick Reynaud, Ludovic Ecarnot, Khalid Radouane
  • Patent number: 8961805
    Abstract: A method for performing dry etching on a metal film containing Pt via a mask layer includes performing dry etching on the metal film by generating a plasma of an etching gas including a gaseous mixture of H2 gas, CO2 gas, methane gas and rare gas. With the dry etching method, it is possible to make a vertical sidewall of a hole or trench more vertical without using a halogen gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Eiichi Nishimura, Takashi Sone
  • Patent number: 8937017
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention relate to a substrate etching method and apparatus. In one embodiment, a method for etching a substrate in a plasma etch reactor is provided that include flowing a backside process gas between a substrate and a substrate support assembly, and cyclically etching a layer on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2015
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Alan Cheshire, Stanley Detmar
  • Patent number: 8926859
    Abstract: A polishing composition for a silicon wafer includes a macromolecular compound, an abrasive, and an aqueous medium. The macromolecular compound includes a constitutional unit (a1) represented by the following general formula (1), a constitutional unit (a2) represented by the following general formula (2), and a constitutional unit (a3) represented by the following general formula (3). The total of the constitutional unit (a3) is 0.001 to 1.5 mol % of all the constitutional units of the macromolecular compound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Kao Corporation
    Inventors: Masahiko Suzuki, Mami Okamura, Toshiaki Oi
  • Patent number: 8900477
    Abstract: Provided are a metal-polishing liquid that comprises an oxidizing agent, an oxidized-metal etchant, a protective film-forming agent, a dissolution promoter for the protective film-forming agent, and water; a method for producing it; and a polishing method of using it. Also provided are materials for the metal-polishing liquid, which include an oxidized-metal etchant, a protective film-forming agent, and a dissolution promoter for the protective film-forming agent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Chemical Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Uchida, Tetsuya Hoshino, Hiroki Terazaki, Yasuo Kamigata, Naoyuki Koyama, Yoshio Honma, Seiichi Kondoh
  • Patent number: 8900473
    Abstract: The CMP polishing liquid of the present invention contains 1,2,4-triazole, a phosphoric acid, an oxidant, and abrasive particles. The polishing method of the present invention is a substrate polishing method for polishing a substrate with a polishing cloth while supplying a CMP polishing liquid between the substrate and the polishing cloth, in which the substrate is a substrate having a palladium layer, and the CMP polishing liquid is a CMP polishing liquid containing 1,2,4-triazole, a phosphoric acid, an oxidant, and abrasive particles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi Chemical Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisataka Minami, Ryouta Saisyo, Hiroshi Ono
  • Patent number: 8901004
    Abstract: A method of producing plurality of etched features in an electronic device is disclosed that avoids micro-loading problems thus maintaining more uniform sidewall profiles and more uniform critical dimensions. The method comprises performing a first time-divisional plasma etch process step within a plasma chamber to a first depth of the plurality of etched features, and performing a flash process step to remove any polymers from exposed surfaces of the plurality of etched features without requiring an oxidation step. The flash process step is performed independently of the time-divisional plasma etch step. A second time-divisional plasma etch process step is performed within the plasma chamber to a second depth of the plurality of etched features. The method may be repeated until a desired etch depth is reached.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Tom Kamp, Qian Fu, I. C. Jang, Linda Braly, Shenjian Liu
  • Patent number: 8894877
    Abstract: A liquid composition for wet etching has improved selectivity for polysilicon over silicon dioxide, even when the polysilicon is heavily doped and/or the silicon dioxide is a low temperature oxide. The composition comprises 0.05-0.4 percent by weight hydrofluoric acid, 15-40 percent by weight nitric acid, 55-85 percent by weight sulfuric acid and 2-20 percent by weight water. A method and apparatus for wet etching using the composition are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: Lam Research AG
    Inventor: Stefan Detterbeck
  • Patent number: 8871109
    Abstract: A donor wafer, for example of silicon, has an irregular surface following cleaving of a lamina from the surface, for example by exfoliation following implant of hydrogen and/or helium ions to define a cleave plane. Pinholes in the lamina leave column asperities at the exfoliated surface of the donor wafer, and the beveled edge may leave an edge asperity which fails to exfoliate. To prepare the surface of the donor wafer for reuse, mechanical grinding removes the column and edge asperities, and minimal additional thickness. Following cleaning, growth and removal of an oxide layer at the surface rounds remaining peaks. The smoothed surface is well adapted to bonding to a receiver element and exfoliation of a new lamina. A variety of devices may be fabricated from the lamina, for example a photovoltaic cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Assignee: GTAT Corporation
    Inventors: Gopal Prabhu, Kathy J. Jackson, Orion Leland, Aditya Agarwal
  • Patent number: 8828256
    Abstract: A method for making a carbon nanotube film includes the steps of providing an array of carbon nanotubes, treating the array of carbon nanotubes by plasma, and pulling out a carbon nanotube film from the array of carbon nanotubes treated by the plasma.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignees: Tsinghua University, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Chen Feng, Kai Liu, Yong-Chao Zhai, Kai-Li Jiang, Shou-Shan Fan
  • Patent number: 8778210
    Abstract: Compositions useful for the selective removal of silicon nitride materials relative to poly-silicon, silicon oxide materials and/or silicide materials from a microelectronic device having same thereon. The removal compositions include fluorosilicic acid, silicic acid, and at least one organic solvent. Typical process temperatures are less than about 100° C. and typical selectivity for nitride versus oxide etch is about 200:1 to about 2000:1. Under typical process conditions, nickel-based silicides as well as titanium and tantalum nitrides are largely unaffected, and polysilicon etch rates are less than about 1 ? min?1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: Advanced Technology Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Emanuel I. Cooper, Eileen R. Sparks, William R. Bowers, Mark A. Biscotto, Kevin P. Yanders, Michael B. Korzenski, Prerna Sonthalia, Nicole E. Thomas
  • Patent number: 8747682
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a pattern formation method is disclosed. The method includes forming a plurality of regions on a foundation and the plurality of the regions correspond to different pattern sizes. The method includes separating each of a plurality of block copolymers from another one of the plurality of the block copolymers and segregating the each of the plurality of the block copolymers into a corresponding one of the regions. The method includes performing a phase separation of the each of the block copolymers of each of the regions. The method includes selectively removing a designated phase of each of the phase-separated block copolymers to form a pattern of the each of the block copolymers and the pattern has a different pattern size for the each of the regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Kentaro Matsunaga, Tomoya Oori, Eishi Shiobara, Yukiko Sato, Yoshihisa Kawamura
  • Patent number: 8679985
    Abstract: A dry etching method for a silicon nitride film capable of improving throughput is provided. A dry etching method for dry-etching a silicon nitride film 103 includes dry-etching the silicon nitride film 103 without generating plasma by using a processing gas containing at least a hydrogen fluoride gas (HF gas) and a fluorine gas (F2 gas), with respect to a processing target object 100 including the silicon nitride film 103.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2014
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Eiichi Nishimura, Yusuke Shimizu
  • Patent number: 8673788
    Abstract: A method of fabricating a semiconductor device is illustrated. A substrate having a plurality of trenches is provided. The plurality of trenches include trenches having differing widths. A first layer is formed on the substrate including in the plurality of trenches. Forming the first layer creates an indentation in the first layer in a region overlying a trench (e.g., wide trench). A second layer is formed in the indentation. The first layer is etched while the second layer remains in the indentation. The second layer may protect the region of indentation from further reduction in thickness. In an embodiment, the first layer is polysilicon and the second layer is BARC of photoresist.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Chung-Hsiu Cheng, Shih-Hao Wu, Chih-Hsien Hsu, Chia-Chi Chung, Wei-Yueh Tseng
  • Patent number: 8673785
    Abstract: A gas distribution system for supplying different gas compositions to a chamber, such as a plasma processing chamber of a plasma processing apparatus is provided. The gas distribution system can include a gas supply section, a flow control section and a switching section. The gas supply section provides first and second gases, typically gas mixtures, to the flow control section, which controls the flows of the first and second gases to the chamber. The chamber can include multiple zones, and the flow control section can supply the first and second gases to the multiple zones at desired flow ratios of the gases. The gas distribution system can continuously supply the first and second gases to the switching section and the switching section is operable to switch the flows of the first and second gases, such that one of the first and second process gases is supplied to the chamber while the other of the first and second gases is supplied to a by-pass line, and then to switch the gas flows.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Zhisong Huang, Jose Tong Sam, Eric H. Lenz, Rajinder Dhindsa, Reza Sadjadi
  • Patent number: 8669185
    Abstract: A method of tailoring conformality of a film deposited on a patterned surface includes: (I) depositing a film by PEALD or pulsed PECVD on the patterned surface; (II) etching the film, wherein the etching is conducted in a pulse or pulses, wherein a ratio of an etching rate of the film on a top surface and that of the film on side walls of the patterns is controlled as a function of the etching pulse duration and the number of etching pulses to increase a conformality of the film; and (III) repeating (I) and (II) to satisfy a target film thickness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2014
    Assignee: ASM Japan K.K.
    Inventors: Shigeyuki Onizawa, Woo-Jin Lee, Hideaki Fukuda, Kunitoshi Namba