Patents by Inventor Fumio Iwamoto

Fumio Iwamoto has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20230266677
    Abstract: A target supply system includes a load lock chamber configured to contain a solid target substance, a solid target supply pipe connected to the load lock chamber, a pressure regulator configured to regulate an externally supplied gas pressure, a gas pressure supply pipe connected to the pressure regulator, a melting tank connected to both the solid target supply pipe and the gas pressure supply pipe, and configured to melt the solid target substance supplied from the load lock chamber via the solid target supply pipe to generate a liquid target substance, a nozzle configured to discharge the liquid target substance by a gas pressure supplied from the pressure regulator to the melting tank via the gas pressure supply pipe, and a buffer tank configured to communicate with the melting tank and supply a gas pressure thereto when the solid target substance is supplied to the melting tank.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2023
    Publication date: August 24, 2023
    Applicant: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Fumio IWAMOTO, Atsushi UEDA, Takayuki YABU
  • Patent number: 11659646
    Abstract: A target supply device may include a tank configured to store a target substance, a pressure adjuster configured to adjust a pressure in the tank, a filter configured to filter the target substance in the tank, a nozzle configured to output a droplet of the target substance having passed through the filter, a droplet detector configured to detect outputting of the droplet from the nozzle, and a processor configured to control the pressure adjuster so that a pressure-increasing speed of the pressure in the tank is higher after detection of outputting of the droplet than before detection of outputting of the droplet, during a period in which the pressure in the tank is increased to a target pressure from a pressure at which outputting of the droplet is detected by the droplet detector for the first time after installation of the target supply device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Koji Yamasaki, Fumio Iwamoto
  • Publication number: 20230142875
    Abstract: An EUV light generation apparatus to generate EUV light by irradiating a target with pulse laser light to turn the target into plasma includes a chamber, a target supply unit configured to supply the target to a plasma generation region in the chamber, a pulse laser device configured to generate pulse laser light to be radiated to the target, and a processor configured to change a generation frequency of the target generated by the target supply unit to a natural number multiple of an irradiation frequency of the pulse laser light based on a size of the target or related information related to the size of the target.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2022
    Publication date: May 11, 2023
    Applicant: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Fumio IWAMOTO, Yutaka SHIRAISHI
  • Patent number: 11395398
    Abstract: An extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus may include a chamber; a droplet generator configured to sequentially supply a first droplet of target substance to a plasma generation region in the chamber; and a gas flow generation device having a gas outlet for causing gas to flow along a travel direction of the first droplet around at least a part of a trajectory of the first droplet. Here, the droplet generator includes a vibrating element configured to generate, by applying vibration to a nozzle through which the target substance is output, a plurality of second droplets each having smaller volume than the first droplet and to cause the second droplets to be combined to generate the first droplet, and the gas outlet is located downstream, on a trajectory direction of the first droplet, of a position where the second droplets are combined and the first droplet is generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventor: Fumio Iwamoto
  • Patent number: 11360391
    Abstract: A target supply device includes a tank body portion holding a target substance; a communication portion connected to the tank body portion and including a filter that filters the melted target substance and a nozzle that discharges the target substance having passed through the filter; a main heater that heats the tank body portion; a sub-heater that heats the communication portion; and a control unit, the control unit being configured to set the main heater to a temperature higher than a melting point of the target substance before the target substance is melted, to set the sub-heater to a temperature lower than the melting point of the target substance until the target substance in the tank body portion is melted, and to set the sub-heater to a temperature higher than the melting point of the target substance after the target substance in the tank body portion is melted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Fumio Iwamoto, Yutaka Shiraishi, Tsukasa Hori
  • Publication number: 20220159818
    Abstract: A target supply device may include a tank configured to store a target substance, a pressure adjuster configured to adjust a pressure in the tank, a filter configured to filter the target substance in the tank, a nozzle configured to output a droplet of the target substance having passed through the filter, a droplet detector configured to detect outputting of the droplet from the nozzle, and a processor configured to control the pressure adjuster so that a pressure-increasing speed of the pressure in the tank is higher after detection of outputting of the droplet than before detection of outputting of the droplet, during a period in which the pressure in the tank is increased to a target pressure from a pressure at which outputting of the droplet is detected by the droplet detector for the first time after installation of the target supply device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 4, 2021
    Publication date: May 19, 2022
    Applicant: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Koji YAMASAKI, Fumio IWAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20220110204
    Abstract: An extreme ultraviolet light generation apparatus may include a chamber; a droplet generator configured to sequentially supply a first droplet of target substance to a plasma generation region in the chamber; and a gas flow generation device having a gas outlet for causing gas to flow along a travel direction of the first droplet around at least a part of a trajectory of the first droplet. Here, the droplet generator includes a vibrating element configured to generate, by applying vibration to a nozzle through which the target substance is output, a plurality of second droplets each having smaller volume than the first droplet and to cause the second droplets to be combined to generate the first droplet, and the gas outlet is located downstream, on a trajectory direction of the first droplet, of a position where the second droplets are combined and the first droplet is generated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 2, 2021
    Publication date: April 7, 2022
    Applicant: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventor: Fumio IWAMOTO
  • Patent number: 11067907
    Abstract: A target supply device includes a vibrating element driven by a square wave electric signal and configured to generate a droplet of a target substance by vibrating the target substance to be output from a nozzle through a vibration propagating path; a temperature adjusting mechanism configured to adjust, to a specified temperature, a temperature of a vibration propagating path member including at least part of the vibration propagating path; a droplet detecting unit configured to output a signal containing information on a droplet detection interval indicating a time interval of droplets continuously generated; and a control unit configured to determine, based on the droplet detection interval, an operation specified temperature that is the specified temperature of the vibration propagating path member and an operation duty value that is a duty value of the electric signal used for driving the vibrating element when the droplet is irradiated with the laser beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Masaki Nakano, Fumio Iwamoto
  • Publication number: 20200363735
    Abstract: A target supply device includes a vibrating element driven by a square wave electric signal and configured to generate a droplet of a target substance by vibrating the target substance to be output from a nozzle through a vibration propagating path; a temperature adjusting mechanism configured to adjust, to a specified temperature, a temperature of a vibration propagating path member including at least part of the vibration propagating path; a droplet detecting unit configured to output a signal containing information on a droplet detection interval indicating a time interval of droplets continuously generated; and a control unit configured to determine, based on the droplet detection interval, an operation specified temperature that is the specified temperature of the vibration propagating path member and an operation duty value that is a duty value of the electric signal used for driving the vibrating element when the droplet is irradiated with the laser beam.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2020
    Publication date: November 19, 2020
    Applicant: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Masaki NAKANO, Fumio IWAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20200341383
    Abstract: A target supply device includes a tank body portion holding a target substance; a communication portion connected to the tank body portion and including a filter that filters the melted target substance and a nozzle that discharges the target substance having passed through the filter; a main heater that heats the tank body portion; a sub-heater that heats the communication portion; and a control unit, the control unit being configured to set the main heater to a temperature higher than a melting point of the target substance before the target substance is melted, to set the sub-heater to a temperature lower than the melting point of the target substance until the target substance in the tank body portion is melted, and to set the sub-heater to a temperature higher than the melting point of the target substance after the target substance in the tank body portion is melted.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2020
    Publication date: October 29, 2020
    Applicant: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Fumio IWAMOTO, Yutaka SHIRAISHI, Tsukasa HORI
  • Patent number: 10629414
    Abstract: A target supply device may be provided with a tank configured to contain a metal as a target material, a nozzle having a nozzle hole through which the target material is output from the tank, a filter disposed in a communication portion for conducting the target material from the tank to the nozzle hole, a temperature adjuster configured to change the temperature of the target material in the tank, and a controller controlling the temperature adjuster to change the temperature of the target material in the tank such that oxygen in the target material is precipitated as metal oxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignee: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Fumio Iwamoto, Yutaka Shiraishi, Tsukasa Hori, Osamu Wakabayashi
  • Patent number: 10582600
    Abstract: A droplet collection device may include a collecting container, a collision plate arranged in the collecting container and configured such that a droplet supplied from the opening to the collecting container is to collide with the collision plate, and a buffer member arranged on an opening side with respect to the collision plate and configured to mitigate impact of the droplet colliding with the collision plate. The buffer member may have a wire rod bundle configured such that multiple wire rods are bundled and fixed to a plate member. The wire rods may be made of carbon, and the plate member may be made of graphite. The wire rods may be fixed to the plate member with a graphitized adhesive with the wire rods being arranged in one direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Kazukiyo Kamikanna, Fumio Iwamoto
  • Patent number: 10506697
    Abstract: An extreme ultraviolet light generation device may include a chamber in which a target is irradiated with laser light and extreme ultraviolet light is generated, and a target supply unit configured to eject a target into the chamber. The target supply unit may be provided with a nozzle member including an ejection face having an ejection port configured to eject the target into the chamber. An angle ?1 defined by the ejection face and the gravity axis may satisfy a condition of “0 degrees<?1<90 degrees”.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Fumio Iwamoto, Tsukasa Hori, Toshiyuki Hirashita
  • Publication number: 20190237303
    Abstract: A target supply device may be provided with a tank configured to contain a metal as a target material, a nozzle having a nozzle hole through which the target material is output from the tank, a filter disposed in a communication portion for conducting the target material from the tank to the nozzle hole, a temperature adjuster configured to change the temperature of the target material in the tank, and a controller controlling the temperature adjuster to change the temperature of the target material in the tank such that oxygen in the target material is precipitated as metal oxide.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 9, 2019
    Publication date: August 1, 2019
    Applicant: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Fumio IWAMOTO, Yutaka SHIRAISHI, Tsukasa HORI, Osamu WAKABAYASHI
  • Publication number: 20190174614
    Abstract: An extreme ultraviolet light generation device may include a chamber in which a target is irradiated with laser light and extreme ultraviolet light is generated, and a target supply unit configured to eject a target into the chamber. The target supply unit may be provided with a nozzle member including an ejection face having an ejection port configured to eject the target into the chamber. An angle ?1 defined by the ejection face and the gravity axis may satisfy a condition of “0 degrees<?1<90 degrees”.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2019
    Publication date: June 6, 2019
    Applicant: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Fumio IWAMOTO, Tsukasa HORI, Toshiyuki HIRASHITA
  • Publication number: 20190150261
    Abstract: A droplet collection device may include a collecting container, a collision plate arranged in the collecting container and configured such that a droplet supplied from the opening to the collecting container is to collide with the collision plate, and a buffer member arranged on an opening side with respect to the collision plate and configured to mitigate impact of the droplet colliding with the collision plate. The buffer member may have a wire rod bundle configured such that multiple wire rods are bundled and fixed to a plate member. The wire rods may be made of carbon, and the plate member may be made of graphite. The wire rods may be fixed to the plate member with a graphitized adhesive with the wire rods being arranged in one direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 10, 2019
    Publication date: May 16, 2019
    Applicant: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Kazukiyo KAMIKANNA, Fumio IWAMOTO
  • Patent number: 10251253
    Abstract: An extreme ultraviolet light generation device may include a chamber in which a target is irradiated with laser light and extreme ultraviolet light is generated, and a target supply unit configured to eject a target into the chamber. The target supply unit may be provided with a nozzle member including an ejection face having an ejection port configured to eject the target into the chamber. An angle ?1 defined by the ejection face and the gravity axis may satisfy a condition of “0 degrees<?1<90 degrees”.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Fumio Iwamoto, Tsukasa Hori, Toshiyuki Hirashita
  • Patent number: 10225917
    Abstract: A target supply device may include a nozzle configured to output a liquid target substance contained in a tank, an excitation element, a droplet detection unit configured to detect a droplet output from the nozzle, a passage time interval measurement unit configured to measure a passage time interval of droplets, and a control unit. The control unit may be configured to set a proper range of the passage time interval, change the duty value of the electric signal to be input to the excitation element, store the passage time interval measurement values of the droplets generated with respect to a plurality of duty values and variation thereof in association with the duty values, and determine an operation duty value based on the variation from among the duty values with which the passage time interval measurement values are within the proper range, among the duty values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Takahisa Fujimaki, Takayuki Yabu, Yuta Takashima, Fumio Iwamoto, Yutaka Shiraishi
  • Patent number: 10143074
    Abstract: A filter may include: a first member having a first surface provided with a channel; and a second member set with a second surface thereof covering the channel. The first member may include a first passable portion that allows a fluid to pass between the first surface and a first space, which is defined beside a surface of the first member opposite to the first surface, through a first area of the channel. The second member may include a second passable portion that allows the fluid to pass between the second surface and a second space, which is defined beside a surface of the second member opposite to the second surface, through a second area of the channel distanced from the first area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Assignee: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Tomohide Ichinose, Fumio Iwamoto, Yutaka Shiraishi, Tsukasa Hori, Hideo Hoshino
  • Publication number: 20180288863
    Abstract: A target supply device may include a nozzle configured to output a liquid target substance contained in a tank, an excitation element, a droplet detection unit configured to detect a droplet output from the nozzle, a passage time interval measurement unit configured to measure a passage time interval of droplets, and a control unit. The control unit may be configured to set a proper range of the passage time interval, change the duty value of the electric signal to be input to the excitation element, store the passage time interval measurement values of the droplets generated with respect to a plurality of duty values and variation thereof in association with the duty values, and determine an operation duty value based on the variation from among the duty values with which the passage time interval measurement values are within the proper range, among the duty values.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2018
    Publication date: October 4, 2018
    Applicant: GIGAPHOTON INC.
    Inventors: Takahisa FUJIMAKI, Takayuki YABU, Yuta TAKASHIMA, Fumio IWAMOTO, Yutaka SHIRAISHI