Patents by Inventor Hiroaki Shishido
Hiroaki Shishido 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).
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Publication number: 20130230795Abstract: A photomask blank is for use in manufacturing a photomask to be applied with exposure light having a wavelength of 200 nm or less. The photomask blank has a light-transmitting substrate and a light-shielding film formed thereon. The light-shielding film has a light-shielding layer containing a transition metal and silicon and a front-surface antireflection layer formed contiguously on the light-shielding layer and made of a material containing at least one of oxygen and nitrogen. The light-shielding film has a front-surface reflectance of a predetermined value or less for the exposure light and has a property capable of controlling the change width of the front-surface reflectance at the exposure wavelength to be within 2% when the thickness of the front-surface antireflection layer changes in the range of 2 nm. The material of the front-surface antireflection layer having a refractive index n and an extinction coefficient k capable of achieving such property is selected.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 1, 2013Publication date: September 5, 2013Inventors: Hiroyuki IWASHITA, Atsushi KOMINATO, Masahiro HASHIMOTO, Hiroaki SHISHIDO
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Patent number: 8524421Abstract: In a mask blank for manufacturing a transfer mask, the mask blank has a light-shielding film on a transparent substrate. The light-shielding film is made of a material containing tantalum as a main metal component and includes a highly oxidized layer which has an oxygen content of 60 at % or more and which is formed as a surface layer of the light-shielding film. The highly oxidized layer is placed on a side opposite to a transparent substrate side.Type: GrantFiled: March 30, 2011Date of Patent: September 3, 2013Assignee: Hoya CorporationInventors: Osamu Nozawa, Hiroaki Shishido, Toshiyuki Suzuki
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Patent number: 8512916Abstract: A photomask blank for producing a photomask to which an ArF excimer laser light is applied. The blank includes a light transmissive substrate on which a thin film having a multilayer structure is provided. The thin film has a light-shielding film in which a back-surface antireflection layer, a light-shielding layer and a front-surface antireflection layer are laminated in this order. The light-shielding layer comprises chromium and nitrogen, and the chromium content is more than 50 atomic %. The front-surface antireflection layer and the back-surface antireflection layer each has an amorphous structure made of a material comprising chromium, nitrogen, oxygen and carbon. The chromium content ratio of the front-surface antireflection layer and the back-surface antireflection layer is 40 atomic % or less. A first sum of nitrogen content and oxygen content of the back-surface antireflection layer is less than a second sum of nitrogen content and oxygen content of the front-surface antireflection layer.Type: GrantFiled: March 31, 2009Date of Patent: August 20, 2013Assignee: Hoya CorporationInventors: Hiroyuki Iwashita, Hiroaki Shishido, Atsushi Kominato, Masahiro Hashimoto, Morio Hosoya
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Patent number: 8507155Abstract: A photomask blank for a photomask used with an ArF excimer laser. The photo mask has a light transmissive substrate with a surface on which a light-shielding film is formed. The light-shielding film has a laminated structure comprising a back-surface antireflection layer, a light-shielding layer and a front-surface antireflection layer. The thickness of the entire light-shielding film is 70 nm or less. The back-surface antireflection layer comprises a film containing a metal and having first etching rate. The front-surface antireflection layer comprises a film containing a metal and having a third etching rate. The light-shielding layer comprises a film containing the same metal as that contained in the back-surface antireflection layer or the front-surface antireflection layer, with a second etching rate that is lower than the first and third etching rates. The thickness of the light-shielding layer is 45% or less of the thickness of the entire light-shielding film.Type: GrantFiled: March 31, 2009Date of Patent: August 13, 2013Assignee: Hoya CorporationInventors: Hiroyuki Iwashita, Hiroaki Shishido, Atsushi Kominato, Masahiro Hashimoto
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Patent number: 8435704Abstract: In a mask blank for manufacturing a transfer mask adapted to exposure light having a wavelength of 200 nm or less, the mask blank has a light-shielding film on a transparent substrate. The light-shielding film is made of a material containing tantalum as a main metal component and includes a highly oxidized layer which has an oxygen content of 60 at % or more and which is formed as a surface layer of the light-shielding film, that is placed on a side opposite to a transparent substrate side.Type: GrantFiled: September 3, 2010Date of Patent: May 7, 2013Assignee: Hoya CorporationInventors: Osamu Nozawa, Hiroaki Shishido
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Patent number: 8431290Abstract: A photomask blank is for use in manufacturing a photomask to be applied with exposure light having a wavelength of 200 nm or less. The photomask blank has a light-transmitting substrate and a light-shielding film formed thereon. The light-shielding film has a light-shielding layer containing a transition metal and silicon and a front-surface antireflection layer formed contiguously on the light-shielding layer and made of a material containing at least one of oxygen and nitrogen. The light-shielding film has a front-surface reflectance of a predetermined value or less for the exposure light and has a property capable of controlling the change width of the front-surface reflectance at the exposure wavelength to be within 2% when the thickness of the front-surface antireflection layer changes in the range of 2 nm. The material of the front-surface antireflection layer having a refractive index n and an extinction coefficient k capable of achieving such property is selected.Type: GrantFiled: October 27, 2009Date of Patent: April 30, 2013Assignee: Hoya CorporationInventors: Hiroyuki Iwashita, Atsushi Kominato, Masahiro Hashimoto, Hiroaki Shishido
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Patent number: 8404406Abstract: The present invention provides a photomask blank in which a light-shielding film consisting of a plurality of layers is provided on a light transmissive substrate, wherein a layer that is provided to be closest to the front surface is made of CrO, CrON, CrN, CrOC or CrOCN, and wherein the atom number density of the front-surface portion of the light-shielding film is 9×1022 to 14×1022 atms/cm3.Type: GrantFiled: March 31, 2009Date of Patent: March 26, 2013Assignee: Hoya CorporationInventors: Hiroyuki Iwashita, Hiroaki Shishido, Atsushi Kominato, Masahiro Hashimoto
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Publication number: 20130071777Abstract: Provided are a phase shift mask blank that is improved in the irradiation durability of a light-semitransmissive film (phase shift film), made of a material containing mainly a transition metal, silicon, and nitrogen, to exposure light having a wavelength of 200 nm or less and thus can improve the mask lifetime, a method of manufacturing such a phase shift mask blank, and a phase shift mask. The phase shift mask blank is used for manufacturing a phase shift mask adapted to be applied with ArF excimer laser exposure light. The phase shift mask blank has a light-semitransmissive film on a transparent substrate. The light-semitransmissive film is an incomplete nitride film containing mainly a transition metal, silicon, and nitrogen. The content ratio of the transition metal to the transition metal and the silicon in the light-semitransmissive film is less than 9%.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 8, 2011Publication date: March 21, 2013Applicant: HOYA CORPORATIONInventors: Osamu Nozawa, Hiroaki Shishido, Kazuya Sakai
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Publication number: 20130059236Abstract: The present invention is the mask blank includes a glass substrate and a thin film formed on a main surface of the glass substrate, the thin film includes a material containing tantalum and substantially no hydrogen, and the mask blank has a invasion suppressive film between the main surface of the glass substrate and the thin film which suppresses hydrogen from being invaded from the glass substrate into the thin film.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 6, 2012Publication date: March 7, 2013Applicant: HOYA CORPORATIONInventors: Hiroaki SHISHIDO, Osamu NOZAWA, Atsushi KOMINATO
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Patent number: 8329364Abstract: The present invention provides a photomask blank used for producing a photomask to which an ArF excimer laser light is applied, wherein: a light-shielding film is provided on a light transmissive substrate; the light-shielding film has a laminated structure in which a lower layer, an interlayer and an upper layer are laminated in this order from the side close to the light transmissive substrate; the thickness of the entire light-shielding film is 60 nm or less; the lower layer is made of a film containing a metal and has a first etching rate; the upper layer is made of a film containing a metal and has a third etching rate; the interlayer is made of a film containing the same metal as that contained in the lower layer or the upper layer and has a second etching rate that is lower than the first etching rate and the third etching rate; and the thickness of the interlayer is 30% or less of the thickness of the entire light-shielding film.Type: GrantFiled: June 25, 2009Date of Patent: December 11, 2012Assignee: Hoya CorporationInventors: Hiroyuki Iwashita, Hiroaki Shishido, Atsushi Kominato, Masahiro Hashimoto
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Patent number: 8304147Abstract: The present invention provides a photomask blank used for producing a photomask to which an ArF excimer laser light is applied, wherein: a light-shielding film is provided on a light transmissive substrate; the light-shielding film has a laminated structure in which a back-surface antireflection layer, a light-shielding layer and a front-surface antireflection layer are laminated in this order from the side close to the light transmissive substrate; the thickness of the entire light-shielding film is 60 nm or less; the back-surface antireflection layer is made of a film containing a metal and has a first etching rate; the front-surface antireflection layer is made of a film containing a metal and has a third etching rate; the light-shielding layer is made of a film containing the same metal as that contained in the back-surface antireflection layer or the front-surface antireflection layer and has a second etching rate that is lower than the first etching rate and the third etching rate; and the thickness ofType: GrantFiled: March 31, 2009Date of Patent: November 6, 2012Assignee: Hoya CorporationInventors: Hiroyuki Iwashita, Hiroaki Shishido, Atsushi Kominato, Masahiro Hashimoto
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Publication number: 20110305978Abstract: The present invention provides a photomask blank for producing a photomask to which an ArF excimer laser light is applied, wherein: a thin film having a multilayer structure is provided on a light transmissive substrate; and the uppermost layer of the thin film has an amorphous structure made of a material comprising chromium and at least one of nitrogen, oxygen and carbon.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 31, 2009Publication date: December 15, 2011Applicant: HOYA CORPORATIONInventors: Hiroyuki Iwashita, Hiroaki Shishido, Atsushi Kominato, Masahiro Hashimoto, Morio Hosoya
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Publication number: 20110244373Abstract: In a mask blank for manufacturing a transfer mask adapted to exposure light having a wavelength of 200 nm or less, the mask blank has a light-shielding film on a transparent substrate. The light-shielding film is made of a material containing tantalum as a main metal component and includes a highly oxidized layer which has an oxygen content of 60 at % or more and which is formed as a surface layer of the light-shielding film, that is placed on a side opposite to a transparent substrate side.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 3, 2010Publication date: October 6, 2011Applicant: HOYA CORPORATIONInventors: Osamu NOZAWA, Hiroaki SHISHIDO
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Publication number: 20110244375Abstract: In a mask blank for manufacturing a transfer mask, the mask blank has a light-shielding film on a transparent substrate. The light-shielding film is made of a material containing tantalum as a main metal component and includes a highly oxidized layer which has an oxygen content of 60 at % or more and which is formed as a surface layer of the light-shielding film. The highly oxidized layer is placed on a side opposite to a transparent substrate side.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 30, 2011Publication date: October 6, 2011Applicant: HOYA CORPORATIONInventors: Osamu NOZAWA, Hiroaki SHISHIDO, Toshiyuki SUZUKI
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Publication number: 20110212392Abstract: A photomask blank is for use in manufacturing a photomask to be applied with exposure light having a wavelength of 200 nm or less. The photomask blank has a light-transmitting substrate and a light-shielding film formed thereon. The light-shielding film has a light-shielding layer containing a transition metal and silicon and a front-surface antireflection layer formed contiguously on the light-shielding layer and made of a material containing at least one of oxygen and nitrogen. The light-shielding film has a front-surface reflectance of a predetermined value or less for the exposure light and has a property capable of controlling the change width of the front-surface reflectance at the exposure wavelength to be within 2% when the thickness of the front-surface antireflection layer changes in the range of 2 nm. The material of the front-surface antireflection layer having a refractive index n and an extinction coefficient k capable of achieving such property is selected.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 27, 2009Publication date: September 1, 2011Applicant: HOYA CORPORATIONInventors: Hiroyuki Iwashita, Atsushi Kominato, Masahiro Hashimoto, Hiroaki Shishido
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Publication number: 20110111332Abstract: The present invention provides a photomask blank used for producing a photomask to which an ArF excimer laser light is applied, wherein: a light-shielding film is provided on a light transmissive substrate; the light-shielding film has a laminated structure in which a lower layer, an interlayer and an upper layer are laminated in this order from the side close to the light transmissive substrate; the thickness of the entire light-shielding film is 60 nm or less; the lower layer is made of a film containing a metal and has a first etching rate; the upper layer is made of a film containing a metal and has a third etching rate; the interlayer is made of a film containing the same metal as that contained in the lower layer or the upper layer and has a second etching rate that is lower than the first etching rate and the third etching rate; and the thickness of the interlayer is 30% or less of the thickness of the entire light-shielding film.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 25, 2009Publication date: May 12, 2011Applicant: HOYA CORPORATIONInventors: Hiroyuki Iwashita, Hiroaki Shishido, Atsushi Kominato, Masahiro Hashimoto
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Publication number: 20110104592Abstract: The present invention provides a photomask blank used for producing a photomask to which an ArF excimer laser light is applied, wherein: a light-shielding film is provided on a light transmissive substrate; the light-shielding film has a laminated structure in which a back-surface antireflection layer, a light-shielding layer and a front-surface antireflection layer are laminated in this order from the side close to the light transmissive substrate; the thickness of the entire light-shielding film is 60 nm or less; the back-surface antireflection layer is made of a film containing a metal and has a first etching rate; the front-surface antireflection layer is made of a film containing a metal and has a third etching rate; the light-shielding layer is made of a film containing the same metal as that contained in the back-surface antireflection layer or the front-surface antireflection layer and has a second etching rate that is lower than the first etching rate and the third etching rate; and the thickness ofType: ApplicationFiled: March 31, 2009Publication date: May 5, 2011Applicant: Hoya CorporationInventors: Hiroyuki Iwashita, Hiroaki Shishido, Atsushi Kominato, Masahiro Hashimoto
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Publication number: 20110081605Abstract: The present invention provides a photomask blank in which a light-shielding film consisting of a plurality of layers is provided on a light transmissive substrate, wherein a layer that is provided to be closest to the front surface is made of CrO, CrON, CrN, CrOC or CrOCN, and wherein the atom number density of the front-surface portion of the light-shielding film is 9×1022 to 14×1022 atms/cm3.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 31, 2009Publication date: April 7, 2011Applicant: HOYA CORPORATIONInventors: Hiroyuki Iwashita, Hiroaki Shishido, Atsushi Kominato, Masahiro Hashimoto
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Publication number: 20110070533Abstract: The present invention provides a photomask blank used for producing a photomask to which an ArF excimer laser light is applied, wherein: a light-shielding film is provided on a light transmissive substrate; the light-shielding film has a laminated structure in which a back-surface antireflection layer, a light-shielding layer and a front-surface antireflection layer are laminated in this order from the side close to the light transmissive substrate; the thickness of the entire light-shielding film is 70 nm or less; the back-surface antireflection layer is made of a film containing a metal and has a first etching rate; the front-surface antireflection layer is made of a film containing a metal and has a third etching rate; the light-shielding layer is made of a film containing the same metal as that contained in the back-surface antireflection layer or the front-surface antireflection layer and has a second etching rate that is lower than the first etching rate and the third etching rate; and the thickness ofType: ApplicationFiled: March 31, 2009Publication date: March 24, 2011Inventors: Hiroyuki Iwashita, Hiroaki Shishido, Atsushi Kominato, Masahiro Hashimoto
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Publication number: 20110001972Abstract: An inspection apparatus and method includes a light source, an illuminating unit having a polarization controller and an object lens for illuminating a specimen with light emitted from the light source and passed through the polarization controller and the object lens, a detection unit having a sensor for detecting light from the specimen illuminated by the illuminating unit, a processor which processes a signal output from the sensor so as to detect a defect on the specimen, and a display which displays information output from the processor. The processor processes an image formed from the signal output from the sensor in which the image is reduced in speckle pattern.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 7, 2010Publication date: January 6, 2011Inventors: Hiroaki Shishido, Yasuhiro Yoshitake, Toshihiko Nakata, Shunji Maeda, Minoru Yoshida, Sachio Uto