Patents Examined by Rodney G. McDonald
  • Patent number: 11538673
    Abstract: A sputtering target-backing plate assembly obtained by bonding a sputtering target and a backing plate using a brazing material, wherein a braze bonding layer which bonds the sputtering target and the backing plate contains a material having thermal conductivity that is higher than that of the brazing material in an amount of 5 vol % or more and 50 vol % or less, and a thickness of the braze bonding layer is 100 ?m or more and 700 ?m or less. An object is to prevent the seepage of the brazing material while maintaining the thickness of the braze bonding layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: JX NIPPON MINING & METALS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ryosuke Sakashita, Yosuke Endo, Naoki Ise, Hiroshi Takamura
  • Patent number: 11532469
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a thin-film-deposition equipment with shielding device, which includes a reaction chamber, a carrier and a shielding device. The shielding device includes a first-carry arm, a second-carry arm, a first-shield member, a second-shield member and a driver. The driver interconnects the first-carry arm and the second first-carry arm, for driving and swinging the first-shield member and the second-shield member to move in opposite directions via the first-carry arm and the second first-carry arm. During a cleaning process, the driver swings the shield members toward each other into a shielding state for covering the carrier, such that to prevent polluting the carrier during the process of cleaning the thin-film-deposition equipment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: SKY TECH INC.
    Inventors: Jing-Cheng Lin, Yu-Te Shen
  • Patent number: 11530476
    Abstract: The invention provides a device for sputtering comprising a main magnet, two secondary magnets mounted on two sides of the main magnet symmetrically, and a shell. The two secondary magnets face to each other in ends with the same polarity in a line. The shell is cylindrical and contains the main magnet and the secondary magnets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: APPLIED NANO TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE, INC.
    Inventors: Tien-Chun Cheng, Wen-Pin Lai, Hsin-Hsuan Huang, Yu-Ching Huang, Ta-Jung Su
  • Patent number: 11527391
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a position-detectable shielding device, which includes a first-shield member, a second-shield member, a driver and two position sensors. The driver includes a motor, an outer tube and a main shaft within the outer tube. The motor is connected to the first-shield member and the second-shield member, respectively via the outer tube and the main shaft. Such that, the motor drives and swings the two shield members between a shielding state and an open state. The two position sensors are respectively disposed for detecting that the outer tube has rotated to a first position where the first-shield member is in the open state, and for detecting that the outer tube has rotated to a second position where the first-shield member is in the shielding state, thereby to confirm that the two shield members are exactly at the preset shielding state or the open state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: SKY TECH INC.
    Inventors: Jing-Cheng Lin, Yu-Te Shen
  • Patent number: 11512386
    Abstract: A deposition apparatus for cutting tools with a coating film capable of depositing the coating film in an appropriate temperature condition is provided. The deposition apparatus includes: a deposition chamber in which a coating film is formed on the cutting tools; a pre-treatment chamber and post-treatment chamber, each of which is connected to the deposition chamber through a vacuum valve; and a conveying line that conveys the cutting tools from the pre-treatment chamber to the post-treatment chamber going through the deposition chamber, the in-line deposition apparatus using a conveyed carrier on which rods supporting cutting tools are provided in a standing state along a conveying direction. The deposition chamber includes: a deposition region; a conveying apparatus; a heating region; and a carrier-waiting region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI MATERIALS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masao Kawamura, Toshikatsu Sudo, Atsushi Shinboya
  • Patent number: 11501994
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes a process chamber having a substrate input port, a support disposed in the process chamber and on which a substrate is mounted, an inner edge ring disposed adjacent to the support and having a smaller width than that of the substrate input port, and an outer edge ring disposed adjacent to the inner edge ring and having a greater width than that of the substrate input port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ja Woo Lee
  • Patent number: 11492696
    Abstract: A method of producing a semiconductor laminate film includes forming a semiconductor layer containing silicon and germanium on a silicon substrate by a sputtering method. In the sputtering method, a film formation temperature of the semiconductor layer is less than 500° C., and a film formation pressure of the semiconductor layer ranges from 1 mTorr to 11 mTorr, or, a film formation temperature of the semiconductor layer is less than 600° C., and a film formation pressure of the semiconductor layer is equal to or more than 2 mTorr and less than 5 mTorr. The sputtering method uses a sputtering gas having a volume ratio of a hydrogen gas of less than 0.1%, and the semiconductor layer satisfies a relationship of t?0.881×x?4.79, where t represents a thickness (nm) of the semiconductor layer, and x represents a ratio of the number of germanium atoms to a sum of the number of silicon atoms and the number of germanium atoms in the semiconductor layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Suda, Takahiro Tsukamoto, Akira Motohashi, Kyohei Degura, Katsumi Okubo, Takuma Yagi, Akifumi Kasamatsu, Nobumitsu Hirose, Toshiaki Matsui
  • Patent number: 11492697
    Abstract: Embodiments of process kits for use in plasma process chambers are provided herein. In some embodiments, a process kit for use in a process chamber includes an annular body having an upper portion and a lower portion extending downward and radially inward from the upper portion, wherein the annular body includes an inner surface having a first segment that extends downward, a second segment that extends radially outward from the first segment, a third segment that extends downward from the second segment, a fourth segment that extends radially outward from the third segment, a fifth segment that extends downward from the fourth segment, a sixth segment that extends radially inward from the fifth segment, a seventh segment that extends downward from the sixth segment, and an eighth segment that extends radially inward from the seventh segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Kirankumar Neelasandra Savandaiah, Keith A. Miller, Srinivasa Rao Yedla, Chandrashekar Kenchappa, Martin Lee Riker
  • Patent number: 11492694
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an oxide sintered material that can be used suitably as a sputtering target for forming an oxide semiconductor film using a sputtering method, a method of producing the oxide sintered material, a sputtering target including the oxide sintered material, and a method of producing a semiconductor device 10 including an oxide semiconductor film 14 formed using the oxide sintered material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Miki Miyanaga, Kenichi Watatani, Hideaki Awata
  • Patent number: 11482403
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a thin-film-deposition equipment for detecting shielding mechanism, which includes a reaction chamber, a carrier, a shielding mechanism and two distance sensors. The carrier and the shielding mechanism is partially disposed within the reaction chamber. The shielding mechanism includes two shield unit and a driver. The driver interconnects and drives the two shield units to sway in opposite directions and into an open state and a shielding state. Each of the two shield unit is disposed with a reflective surface for each of the two distance sensors to respectively project optical beams onto and detect a distances therebetween when the two shield units are operated in the shielding state, such that to confirm that the shielding mechanism is in the shielding state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: SKY TECH INC.
    Inventors: Jing-Cheng Lin, Yu-Te Shen
  • Patent number: 11476101
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a thin-film-deposition equipment with double-layer shielding device, which includes a reaction chamber, a carrier and a double-layer shielding device. The double-layer shielding device includes a first-shield member, a second-shield member, a first-guard plate, a second-guard plate and a driver. The first-guard plate is disposed on the first-shield member, the second-guard plate is disposed on the second-shield member. The driver interconnects the two shield members for driving and swinging the two shield members to move in opposite directions. During a cleaning process, the driver swings the two shield members toward each other into a shielding state for covering the carrier, the two guard plates thereon also approach each other to cover the shield members, such that to effectively prevent polluting the carrier during the process of cleaning the thin-film-deposition equipment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: SKY TECH INC.
    Inventors: Jing-Cheng Lin, Yu-Te Shen
  • Patent number: 11474440
    Abstract: Method of and apparatus for repairing an optical element disposed in a vacuum chamber while the optical element is in the vacuum chamber. An exposed surface of the optical element is exposed to an ion flux generated by an ion source to remove at least some areas of the surface that have been damaged by exposure to the environment within the vacuum chamber. The method and apparatus are especially applicable to repair multilayer mirrors serving as collectors in systems for generating EUV light for use in semiconductor photolithography.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: ASML Netherlands B.V.
    Inventor: Alexander I. Ershov
  • Patent number: 11476100
    Abstract: The present disclosure is a substrate-processing chamber with a shielding mechanism, which includes a reaction chamber, a substrate carrier, a storage chamber and a shielding mechanism. The reaction chamber is connected to the storage chamber, the substrate carrier is within the reaction chamber. The shielding mechanism includes at least one guide unit, at least one connecting seat, a shield and at least one drive arm. The drive arm is connected to the shield for driving the shield to move between the storage chamber and the reaction chamber. During a deposition process, the drive arm drives the shield to move into the storage space. During a cleaning process, the drive arm moves the shield to move into the reaction chamber for prevent pollution to the substrate carrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: SKY TECH INC.
    Inventors: Jing-Cheng Lin, Ta-Hao Kuo, Yu-Te Shen, Chi-Hung Cheng
  • Patent number: 11476099
    Abstract: In a magnetron sputtering reaction space a magnetron magnetic field is generated. A further magnetic field is generated in the reaction space whereby a resultant magnetic field has a directional component parallel to a target plane which is larger than the directional component of the magnetron magnetic field parallel to the target plane in the reaction space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: EVATEC AG
    Inventors: Hartmut Rohrmann, Claudiu Valentin Falub, Martin Bless
  • Patent number: 11469080
    Abstract: Embodiments of coolant guides for use in magnetron assemblies are provided herein. In some embodiments, a coolant guide for use in a magnetron assembly includes: a body having a guide channel extending through the body, wherein an upper opening of the guide channel corresponding with an upper surface of the body has a first size and a lower opening of the guide channel corresponding with a lower surface of the body has a second size greater than the first size, and wherein the body includes a first pair of outer sidewalls that are substantially parallel to each other and a second pair of outer sidewalls that are angled toward each other; and an upper lip extending away from an upper surface of the body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Dinkesh Huderi Somanna, Brian T. West, Jeonghoon Oh
  • Patent number: 11447398
    Abstract: A garnet compound represented by a general formula (I): Ln3In2Ga3-XAlXO12 (I) (in the formula, Ln represents one or more metal elements selected from La, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu; and X satisfies an expression 0?X<3).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: IDEMITSU KOSAN CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kazuyoshi Inoue, Shigekazu Tomai, Masatoshi Shibata
  • Patent number: 11443925
    Abstract: A substrate support for use in a plasma processing chamber includes a substrate support body, a lifter pin and a lift mechanism. The substrate support body has a pin through-hole and the pin through-hole has a female-threaded inner wall. The lifter pin has a base segment, an intermediate segment, and a leading segment. The lifter pin is inserted into the pin through-hole, the intermediate segment is male-threaded, and the male-threaded intermediate segment is screwable to the female-threaded inner wall. The lift mechanism is configured to vertically move the lifter pin relative to the substrate support body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Takehiro Ueda, Jun Hirose
  • Patent number: 11443943
    Abstract: A sputtering target including an oxide that includes an indium (In) element, a tin (Sn) element, a zinc (Zn) element and an aluminum (Al) element, wherein the oxide includes a homologous structure compound represented by InAlO3(ZnO)m (m is 0.1 to 10) and a bixbyite structure compound represented by In2O3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: Idemitsu Kosam Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuaki Ebata, Nozomi Tajima
  • Patent number: 11427888
    Abstract: A sputtering target material contains one kind or two or more kinds selected from the group consisting of Ag, As, Pb, Sb, Bi, Cd, Sn, Ni, and Fe in a range of 5 massppm or more and 50 massppm or less, in terms of a total content; and a balance consisting of Cu and an inevitable impurity. In the sputtering target material, in a case in which an average crystal grain size calculated as an area average without twins is denoted by X1 (?m), and a maximum intensity of pole figure is denoted by X2, upon an observation with an electron backscatter diffraction method, Expression (1): 2500>19×X1+290×X2 is satisfied, a kernel average misorientation (KAM) of a crystal orientation measured by an electron backscatter diffraction method is 2.0° or less, and a relative density is 95% or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI MATERIALS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Satoru Mori, Satoshi Kumagai, U Tani, Yuuji Sato
  • Patent number: 11414747
    Abstract: A sputtering device includes a processing chamber where a substrate is accommodated, and a slit plate that partitions the processing chamber into a first space where a target member is disposed and a second space where the substrate is disposed. The slit plate includes an inner member having an opening that penetrates therethrough in a thickness direction of the slit plate, and an outer member disposed around the inner member. The inner member is attachable to and detachable from the outer member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Junichi Takei, Hiroshi Sone, Naoyuki Suzuki, Shinji Orimoto