Patents by Inventor Guenter Schwab

Guenter Schwab 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).

  • Patent number: 9230794
    Abstract: Semiconductor wafers are cleaned, dried, and hydrophilized the following steps in the order stated: a) treating the semiconductor wafer with a liquid aqueous solution containing hydrogen fluoride, the semiconductor wafer rotating about its center axis at least occasionally, and b) drying the semiconductor wafer by rotation of the semiconductor wafer about its center axis at a rotational speed of 1000 to 5000 revolutions per minute in an ozone-containing atmosphere, the liquid aqueous solution containing hydrogen fluoride flowing away from the semiconductor wafer on account of the centrifugal force generated by the rotation, and the surface of the semiconductor wafer being hydrophilized by ozone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: SILTRONIC AG
    Inventors: Guenter Schwab, Clemens Zapilko, Thomas Buschhardt, Diego Feijoo
  • Patent number: 8685270
    Abstract: A method for producing a semiconductor wafer sliced from a single crystal includes rounding an edge using a grinding disk containing abrasives with an average grain size of 20.0-60.0 ?m. A first simultaneous double-side material-removing process is performed wherein the semiconductor wafers are processed between two rotating ring-shaped working disks, each working disk having a working layer containing abrasives having an average grain size of 5.0-20.0 ?m, wherein the semiconductor wafer is placed in a cutout in one of a plurality of carriers rotatable by a rolling apparatus such that the semiconductor wafer lies in a freely movable manner in the carrier and the wafer is movable on a cycloidal trajectory. A second simultaneous double-side material-removing process is performed including processing the semiconductor wafers between two rotating ring-shaped working disks, each working disk having a working layer containing abrasives having an average grain size of 0.5-15.0 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2014
    Assignee: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Juergen Schwandner, Thomas Buschhardt, Diego Feijoo, Michael Kerstan, Georg Pietsch, Guenter Schwab
  • Patent number: 8580046
    Abstract: Semiconductor wafers are treated in a liquid container filled at least partly with a solution containing hydrogen fluoride, such that surface oxide dissolves, are transported out of the solution along a transport direction and dried, and are then treated with an ozone-containing gas to oxidize the surface of the semiconductor wafer, wherein part of the semiconductor wafer surface comes into contact with the ozone-containing gas while another part of the surface is still in contact with the solution, and wherein the solution and the ozone-containing gas are spatially separated such that they do not come into contact with one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignee: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Guenter Schwab, Diego Feijoo, Thomas Buschhardt, Hans-Joachim Luthe, Franz Sollinger
  • Patent number: 8372213
    Abstract: Semiconductor wafers are treated in a liquid container filled at least partly with a solution containing hydrogen fluoride, such that surface oxide dissolves, are transported out of the solution along a transport direction and dried, and are then treated with an ozone-containing gas to oxidize the surface of the semiconductor wafer, wherein part of the semiconductor wafer surface comes into contact with the ozone-containing gas while another part of the surface is still in contact with the solution, and wherein the solution and the ozone-containing gas are spatially separated such that they do not come into contact with one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2013
    Assignee: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Guenter Schwab, Diego Feijoo, Thomas Buschhardt, Hans-Joachim Luthe, Franz Sollinger
  • Patent number: 8070882
    Abstract: A method for the wet-chemical treatment of a semiconductor wafer involves: a) rotating a semiconductor wafer; b) applying a cleaning liquid comprising gas bubbles having a diameter of 100 ?m or less to the rotating wafer such that a liquid film forms on the wafer; c) exposing the rotating semiconductor wafer to a gas atmosphere containing a reactive gas; and d) removing the liquid film from the wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2011
    Assignee: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Guenter Schwab, Clemens Zapilko, Thomas Buschhardt, Diego Feijoo, Teruo Haibara, Yoshihiro Mori
  • Patent number: 7972963
    Abstract: A polished semiconductor wafer has a front surface and a back surface and an edge R, which is located at a distance of a radius from a center of the semiconductor wafer, forms a periphery of the semiconductor wafer and is part of a profiled boundary of the semiconductor wafer. The maximum deviation of the flatness of the back surface from an ideal plane in a range between R-6 mm and R-1 mm of the back surface is 0.7 ?m or less. A process for producing the semiconductor wafer, comprises at least one treatment of the semiconductor wafer with a liquid etchant and at least one polishing of at least a front surface of the semiconductor wafer, the etchant flowing onto a boundary of the semiconductor wafer during the treatment, and the boundary of the semiconductor wafer which faces the flow of etchant being at least partially shielded from being struck directly by the etchant. The shielding extends in the direction of a thickness d of the semiconductor wafer and is at least d+100 ?m long.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2011
    Assignee: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Thomas Teuschler, Guenter Schwab, Maximilian Stadler
  • Patent number: 7938911
    Abstract: Semiconductor wafers are cleaned using a cleaning solution containing an alkaline ammonium component in an initial composition, wherein the semiconductor wafer is brought into contact with the cleaning solution in an individual-wafer treatment, and in the course of cleaning hydrogen fluoride is added as further component to the cleaning solution, and the cleaning solution has at the end of cleaning, a composition that differs from the initial composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Clemens Zapilko, Thomas Buschhardt, Diego Feijoo, Guenter Schwab
  • Publication number: 20110097975
    Abstract: A method for producing a semiconductor wafer sliced from a single crystal includes rounding an edge using a grinding disk containing abrasives with an average grain size of 20.0-60.0 ?m. A first simultaneous double-side material-removing process is performed wherein the semiconductor wafers are processed between two rotating ring-shaped working disks, each working disk having a working layer containing abrasives having an average grain size of 5.0-20.0 ?m, wherein the semiconductor wafer is placed in a cutout in one of a plurality of carriers rotatable by a rolling apparatus such that the semiconductor wafer lies in a freely movable manner in the carrier and the wafer is movable on a cycloidal trajectory. A second simultaneous double-side material-removing process is performed including processing the semiconductor wafers between two rotating ring-shaped working disks, each working disk having a working layer containing abrasives having an average grain size of 0.5-15.0 ?m.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2010
    Publication date: April 28, 2011
    Applicant: SILTRONIC AG
    Inventors: Juergen SCHWANDNER, Thomas BUSCHHARDT, Diego FEIJOO, Michael KERSTAN, Georg PIETSCH, Guenter SCHWAB
  • Publication number: 20100139706
    Abstract: Semiconductor wafers are treated in a liquid container filled at least partly with a solution containing hydrogen fluoride, such that surface oxide dissolves, are transported out of the solution along a transport direction and dried, and are then treated with an ozone-containing gas to oxidize the surface of the semiconductor wafer, wherein part of the semiconductor wafer surface comes into contact with the ozone-containing gas while another part of the surface is still in contact with the solution, and wherein the solution and the ozone-containing gas are spatially separated such that they do not come into contact with one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2009
    Publication date: June 10, 2010
    Applicant: SILTRONIC AG
    Inventors: Guenter Schwab, Diego Feijoo, Thomas Buschhardt, Hans-Joachim Luthe, Franz Sollinger
  • Publication number: 20090145457
    Abstract: A method for the wet-chemical treatment of a semiconductor wafer involves: a) rotating a semiconductor wafer; b) applying a cleaning liquid comprising gas bubbles having a diameter of 100 ?m or less to the rotating wafer such that a liquid film forms on the wafer; c) exposing the rotating semiconductor wafer to a gas atmosphere containing a reactive gas; and d) removing the liquid film from the wafer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2008
    Publication date: June 11, 2009
    Applicant: SILTRONIC AG
    Inventors: Guenter Schwab, Clemens Zapilko, Thomas Buschhardt, Diego Feijoo, Teruo Haibara, Yoshihiro Mori
  • Patent number: 7538008
    Abstract: A layer structure comprising a smoothed interlayer and an overlying layer applied on the interlayer, wherein the interlayer is treated with a gaseous etchant containing hydrogen fluoride, a material removal being obtained thereby and the interlayer being smoothed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2009
    Assignee: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Diego Feijoo, Guenter Schwab, Thomas Buschhardt
  • Publication number: 20090071507
    Abstract: Semiconductor wafers are cleaned by forming a first liquid film on a surface of the semiconductor wafer to be cleaned, the first liquid film containing hydrogen fluoride and ozone; replacing the first liquid film with a second aqueous liquid film which contains hydrogen fluoride and ozone, the concentration of hydrogen fluoride in the second liquid film being lower than in the first liquid film; and removing the second liquid film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 27, 2008
    Publication date: March 19, 2009
    Applicant: SILTRONIC AG
    Inventors: Thomas Buschhardt, Clemens Zapilko, Diego Feijoo, Guenter Schwab
  • Publication number: 20090007940
    Abstract: Semiconductor wafers are cleaned using a cleaning solution containing an alkaline ammonium component in an initial composition, wherein the semiconductor wafer is brought into contact with the cleaning solution in an individual-wafer treatment, and in the course of cleaning hydrogen fluoride is added as further component to the cleaning solution, and the cleaning solution has at the end of cleaning, a composition that differs from the initial composition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 17, 2008
    Publication date: January 8, 2009
    Applicant: SILTRONIC AG
    Inventors: Clemens Zapilko, Thomas Buschhardt, Diego Feijoo, Guenter Schwab
  • Publication number: 20080308122
    Abstract: Semiconductor wafers are cleaned, dried, and hydrophilized the following steps in the order stated: a) treating the semiconductor wafer with a liquid aqueous solution containing hydrogen fluoride, the semiconductor wafer rotating about its center axis at least occasionally, and b) drying the semiconductor wafer by rotation of the semiconductor wafer about its center axis at a rotational speed of 1000 to 5000 revolutions per minute in an ozone-containing atmosphere, the liquid aqueous solution containing hydrogen fluoride flowing away from the semiconductor wafer on account of the centrifugal force generated by the rotation, and the surface of the semiconductor wafer being hydrophilized by ozone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2008
    Publication date: December 18, 2008
    Applicant: SILTRONIC AG
    Inventors: Guenter Schwab, Clemens Zapilko, Thomas Buschhardt, Diego Feijoo
  • Publication number: 20080057714
    Abstract: A polished semiconductor wafer has a front surface and a back surface and an edge R, which is located at a distance of a radius from a center of the semiconductor wafer, forms a periphery of the semiconductor wafer and is part of a profiled boundary of the semiconductor wafer. The maximum deviation of the flatness of the back surface from an ideal plane in a range between R-6 mm and R-1 mm of the back surface is 0.7 ?m or less. A process for producing the semiconductor wafer, comprises at least one treatment of the semiconductor wafer with a liquid etchant and at least one polishing of at least a front surface of the semiconductor wafer, the etchant flowing onto a boundary of the semiconductor wafer during the treatment, and the boundary of the semiconductor wafer which faces the flow of etchant being at least partially shielded from being struck directly by the etchant. The shielding extends in the direction of a thickness d of the semiconductor wafer and is at least d+100 ?m long.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 11, 2007
    Publication date: March 6, 2008
    Applicant: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Thomas Teuschler, Guenter Schwab, Maximilian Stadler
  • Publication number: 20060138539
    Abstract: A process for treating a semiconductor wafer with a gaseous medium containing hydrogen fluoride and at least one oxidizing agent which oxidizes the surface of the semiconductor wafer, involves flowing the gaseous medium onto the surface of the semiconductor wafer at a relative velocity in the range from 40 mm/s to 300 m/s. Semiconductor wafers and an SOI wafers prepared by the process have a low roughness and metal concentration in the absence of a subsequent polishing step.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2005
    Publication date: June 29, 2006
    Applicant: Siltronic AG
    Inventors: Maximilian Stadler, Guenter Schwab, Christoph Frey, Peter Stallhofer