Patents Examined by Michelle Estrada
  • Patent number: 8263458
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present technology are directed toward charge trapping region process margin engineering for charge trapping field effect transistor. The techniques include forming a plurality of shallow trench isolation regions on a substrate, wherein the tops of the shallow trench isolation regions extend above the substrate by a given amount. A portion of the substrate is oxidized to form a tunneling dielectric region. A first set of one or more nitride layers are deposited on the tunneling dielectric region and shallow trench isolation regions, wherein a thickness of the first set of nitride layers is approximately half of the given amount that the tops of the shallow trench isolation regions extend above the substrate. A portion of the first set of nitride layers is etched back to the tops of the trench isolation regions. A second set of one or more nitride layers is deposited on the etched back first set of nitride layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Assignee: Spansion LLC
    Inventors: Tung-Sheng Chen, Shenqing Fang
  • Patent number: 8211803
    Abstract: Methods are disclosed, such as those involving increasing the density of isolated features in an integrated circuit. Also disclosed are structures associated with the methods. In one or more embodiments, contacts are formed on pitch with other structures, such as conductive interconnects. The interconnects may be formed by pitch multiplication. To form the contacts, in some embodiments, a pattern corresponding to some of the contacts is formed in a selectively definable material such as photoresist. The features in the selectively definable material are trimmed to desired dimensions. Spacer material is blanket deposited over the features in the selectively definable material and the deposited material is then etched to leave spacers on sides of the features. The selectively definable material is removed to leave a mask defined by the spacer material. The pattern defined by the spacer material may be transferred to a substrate, to form on pitch contacts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2012
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Gurtej Sandhu, Mark Kiehlbauch, Steve Kramer, John Smythe
  • Patent number: 8186962
    Abstract: A leading edge part of a fan rotating blade for taking air thereinto is provided with a vertical hub portion positioned on the hub side so as to be substantially perpendicular to a fan rotary shaft, a backward mid-span portion inclined toward the downstream side from the hub side to the mid-span portion, and a forward inclined tip portion inclined toward the upstream side from the mid-span side to the tip portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2012
    Assignee: IHI Corporation
    Inventors: Takeshi Murooka, Ikuhisa Mizuta
  • Patent number: 8147196
    Abstract: A turbine airfoil usable in a turbine engine with a cooling system and a compliant dual wall configuration configured to enable thermal expansion between inner and outer layers while eliminating stress formation in the outer layer is disclosed. The compliant dual wall configuration may be formed a dual wall formed from inner and outer layers separated by a support structure. The outer layer may be a compliant layer configured such that the outer layer may thermally expand and thereby reduce the stress within the outer layer. The outer layer may be formed from a nonplanar surface configured to thermally expand. In another embodiment, the outer layer may be planar and include a plurality of slots enabling unrestricted thermal expansion in a direction aligned with the outer layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: Siemens Energy, Inc.
    Inventors: Christian X. Campbell, Jay A. Morrison
  • Patent number: 8137072
    Abstract: A turbine blade is disclosed. The turbine blade may have an airfoil extending from a first surface of a turbine platform. The turbine blade may further have a first side pocket of the turbine platform that is configured to substantially entirely house a first moveable seal between a forward wall of the first side pocket and an aft wall of the first side pocket. The first side pocket may have a convex surface, extending between the forward wall and the aft wall, and a concave surface. The turbine blade may also have a second side pocket of the turbine platform configured to receive a portion of a second moveable seal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Solar Turbines Inc.
    Inventors: Hyun Dong Kim, Marius Dumitrascu, Michael Eugene Greenspan, Yungmo Kang, Yong Weon Kim
  • Patent number: 8127713
    Abstract: An apparatus for dispensing fluid during semiconductor substrate processing operations comprises an enclosure having a first side and a second side. The enclosure comprises a first processing station and a second processing station. The second processing station is positioned adjacent to the first processing station. In addition, the substrate processing apparatus includes a first dispense arm configured to deliver a fluid to the first processing station wherein the first dispense arm is positioned between the first side and the first processing station and a second dispense arm configured to deliver the fluid to the second processing station wherein the second dispense arm is positioned between the second side and the second processing station. The substrate processing apparatus also comprises a first rinse arm configured to deliver a rinsing fluid to the first processing station and a second rinse arm configured to deliver the rinsing fluid to the second processing station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2012
    Assignee: Sokudo Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Eric B. Britcher, Yevgeniy Rabinovich, Svetlana Sherman, Masami Ohtani
  • Patent number: 8128375
    Abstract: The monocrystalline turbomachine blade according to the invention that is cast and directionally solidified, is disclosed. The blade includes an airfoil with a leading edge, a pressure face, a suction face, a trailing edge, a skeleton and having a longitudinal axis, the faces and having a neck line, respectively a pressure face neck and a suction face neck relative to the adjacent blade in the turbomachine rotor of which it forms an element; an endpiece of the airfoil, such as a heel or a platform, having an airfoil end face, on the stream side, forming an angle with the axis ZZ; and a connection zone between the airfoil and the airfoil end face. The connection zone forms a fattening of the airfoil. The connection zone extends about the leading edge between a point P1 situated on the suction face of the airfoil upstream of the suction face neck and a point P3 situated on the pressure face of the airfoil upstream of the pressure face neck.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2012
    Assignee: SNECMA
    Inventors: Patrick Joseph Marie Girard, Jean-Claude Marcel Auguste Hanny, Renaud Martet, Olivier Charles Henri Massy, Philippe Jean-Pierre Pabion, Stephanie Dominique Roger
  • Patent number: 8124530
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a rapid annealing method in a mixed structure composed of a heat treatment-requiring material, dielectric layer and conductive layer, comprising that during rapid annealing on a predetermined part of the heat treatment-requiring material, by instantaneously generated intense heat due to Joule heating by application of an electric field to the conductive layer, the potential difference between the heat treatment-requiring material and the conductive layer is set lower than the dielectric break-down voltage of the dielectric layer, thereby preventing generation of arc by dielectric breakdown of the dielectric layer during the annealing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: Ensiltech Corporation
    Inventors: Jae-Sang Ro, Won-Eui Hong
  • Patent number: 8118558
    Abstract: A camber line in a radial section of a runner vane has a curved part extending near the tip of the runner vane is convex toward the front surface of the runner vane. The runner vane is formed in a shape meeting a condition expressed by: ?s<?p, where ?s is the radius of curvature of the back surface of the runner vane and ?p is the radius of curvature of the front surface of the runner vane. The runner vane of this shape suppresses flows toward the tip thereof to moderate the variation of flow velocity in the turning direction. Consequently, loss can be reduced without impeding the recover of pressure in a draft tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2012
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Kazuyuki Nakamura, Norio Ohtake, Sakito Anpuku
  • Patent number: 8118560
    Abstract: A blade surrounded by: a leading edge portion, which is where fluid flows in; a pressure surface which is a concave curve shape concaved along a direction the fluid flows; a suction surface which is a convex curve shape convexed along a direction the fluid flows; and a trailing edge portion, which is where the fluid flows out, in which a disturbance addition portion is provided on the suction surface closer to the leading edge portion than a maximum velocity point, where the flow velocity of the fluid is maximized on the suction surface, for disturbing a laminar flow on the suction surface and for transitioning to a turbulent flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2012
    Assignee: IHI Corporation
    Inventors: Akira Takahashi, Yukie Sasaki, Haruyuki Tanimitsu, Hiroshi Hamazaki
  • Patent number: 8113788
    Abstract: Disclosed is a surface of the blade having a cylindrical root portion, an airfoil portion and a transition portion connecting the root portion with the airfoil portion, wherein the blade comprises a shoulder at the border between the transition portion to the airfoil portion, wherein the blade comprises an element which is arranged substantially at the root portion and/or at the transition portion which creates a slot between the element and the surface of the blade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2012
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Henrik Stiesdal
  • Patent number: 8100658
    Abstract: An axial-flow fluid machine blade which achieves reduction of the frictional loss of the blade and provision of a high surge-resistant property is provided. An axial-flow fluid machine blade 60 used for an axial-flow fluid machine includes a leading edge 61 projecting at the tip portion and the root portion thereof toward the upstream side and a trailing edge 62 projecting at the tip portion, the mid-span portion and the root portion thereof toward the downstream side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Koichiro Iida, Junji Iwatani
  • Patent number: 8100661
    Abstract: A wind turbine rotor blade is provided which includes a root end and a tip end located opposite the root end. A leading edge extends from the root end to the tip end. A trailing edge extends from the root end to the tip end. A span direction is defined by a line extending linearly from the root end to the tip end. A chord direction is perpendicular to the span direction and lies in the plane extending through the leading edge and the trailing edge. A shoulder is the point of the maximum chord-wise extension. An airfoil portion extends from the shoulder to the tip end. The airfoil portion comprises a span-wise interval begging before the tip end and extending to or close to the tip end and in which the distribution of the chord-wise extension is increased as compared to the load optimised distribution of the chord-wise extension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Peder Bay Enevoldsen, Søren Hjort, Rune Rubak
  • Patent number: 8093585
    Abstract: Each TFT for driving each of a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix-like configuration is configured using a stagger-type polycrystalline-Si TFT. A gate electrode, which is composed of a high-heat-resistant material capable of resisting high temperature at the time of polycrystalline-Si film formation, is disposed at a lower layer as compared with the polycrystalline-Si layer that forms a channel of each TFT. A gate line, which is composed of a low-resistance material, is disposed at an upper layer as compared with the polycrystalline-Si layer. The gate electrode and the gate line are connected to each other via a through-hole bored in a gate insulation film. Respective configuration components of each organic electro-luminescent element are partially co-used at the time of the line formation, thereby suppressing an increase in the steps, processes, and configuration components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Etsuko Nishimura, Masatoshi Wakagi, Kenichi Onisawa, Mieko Matsumura
  • Patent number: 8083484
    Abstract: A turbine rotor blade for a gas turbine engine including an airfoil and dovetail for mounting the airfoil along a radial axis to a rotor disk inboard of a turbine shroud, the airfoil comprising: a pressure sidewall and a suction sidewall that join together at a leading edge and a trailing edge, the pressure sidewall and suction sidewall extending from a root to a tip plate; a pressure tip wall that extends radially outwardly from the tip plate, traversing from the leading edge to the trailing edge such that the pressure tip wall resides approximately adjacent to the termination of the pressure sidewall; a suction tip wall that extends radially outwardly from the tip plate, traversing from the leading edge to the trailing edge such that the suction tip wall resides approximately adjacent to the termination of the suction sidewall; and one or more tip ribs that extend substantially between the pressure tip wall and the suction tip wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Anca Hatman
  • Patent number: 8079820
    Abstract: A blade module of a modular rotor blade comprising a hollow fiber composite body which extends along a longitudinal blade axis and at least one inlay located at or near a longitudinal end of the fiber composite body is provided. The inlay includes a receptacle which is adapted to receive a threaded fastener and an anchoring portion anchored to the fiber composite body. Further, a modular wind turbine rotor blade which includes at least two blade modules and a method for assembling a modular wind turbine rotor blade are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ronny Stam, Andreas Starke, Bart Veldkamp, Jendrik Meyer
  • Patent number: 8080819
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for LED modules that include an LED die integrated in an LED package with a submount that includes an electronic component for controlling the light emitted by the LED die. The electronic component integrated in the submount may include drive hardware, a network interface, memory, a processor, a switch-mode power supply, a power facility, or another type of electronic component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: Philips Solid-State Lighting Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: George G. Mueller, Kevin J. Dowling, Frederick M. Morgan, Ihor A. Lys
  • Patent number: 8062965
    Abstract: An isotopically-enriched, boron-containing compound comprising two or more boron atoms and at least one fluorine atom, wherein at least one of the boron atoms contains a desired isotope of boron in a concentration or ratio greater than a natural abundance concentration or ratio thereof. The compound may have a chemical formula of B2F4. Synthesis methods for such compounds, and ion implantation methods using such compounds, are described, as well as storage and dispensing vessels in which the isotopically-enriched, boron-containing compound is advantageously contained for subsequent dispensing use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: Advanced Technology Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Kaim, Joseph D. Sweeney, Oleg Byl, Sharad N. Yedave, Edward E. Jones, Peng Zou, Ying Tang, Barry Lewis Chambers, Richard S. Ray
  • Patent number: 8056500
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide apparatus and method for improving gas distribution during thermal processing. One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for processing a substrate comprising a chamber body defining a processing volume, a substrate support disposed in the processing volume, wherein the substrate support is configured to support and rotate the substrate, a gas inlet assembly coupled to an inlet of the chamber body and configured to provide a first gas flow to the processing volume, and an exhaust assembly coupled to an outlet of the chamber body, wherein the gas inlet assembly and the exhaust assembly are disposed on opposite sides of the chamber body, and the exhaust assembly defines an exhaust volume configured to extend the processing volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Ming-Kuei (Michael) Tseng, Norman Tam, Yoshitaka Yokota, Agus Tjandra, Robert Navasca, Mehran Behdjat, Sundar Ramamurthy, Kedarnath Sangam, Alexander N. Lerner
  • Patent number: 8058178
    Abstract: The present invention pertains to methods for removing unwanted material from a semiconductor wafer during wafer manufacturing. More specifically, the invention pertains to stripping photo-resist material and removing etch-related residues from a semiconductor wafer. Methods involve implementing a plasma operation using hydrogen and a weak oxidizing agent, such as carbon dioxide. The invention is effective at stripping photo-resist and removing residues from low-k dielectric material used in Damascene devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Novellus Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Haruhiro Harry Goto, Ilia Kalinovski, Khalid Mohamed