Patents by Inventor Ichiharu Kondo

Ichiharu Kondo 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: 7242065
    Abstract: A pressure sensor includes a sensor chip and a circuit chip. The sensor chip, which is configured to generate an electrical signal representative of a pressure being sensed, has a surface including a sensing area and a plurality of electrical contact pads disposed on the surface. The circuit chip includes a circuit configured to process the electrical signal and has a surface on which a plurality of electrical contact pads of the circuit chip are disposed. The circuit chip is joined to the sensor chip so that the electrical contact pads of the circuit chip are respectively electrically connected to those of the sensor chip, all the electrical contact pads of the circuit chip and the sensor chip are hermetically sealed and isolated from the fluid, and the surfaces of the circuit chip and the sensor chip face each other with the electrical contact pads of the same interposed therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ichiharu Kondo, Hiroaki Tanaka, Inao Toyoda, Makoto Totani
  • Patent number: 7176541
    Abstract: A pressure sensor chip includes a diaphragm and pads. A flexible printed circuit board (FPC) includes a resin sheet having a through-hole and wiring patterns that are formed within the resin sheet and sealed. The resin sheet is press-fitted to the pressure sensor chip such that the diaphragm is bared at the through-hole. The wiring patterns are connected to the pads, and junctions between the wiring patterns and the pads are sealed with the resin sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroaki Tanaka, Inao Toyoda, Ichiharu Kondo, Makoto Totani
  • Patent number: 7168326
    Abstract: A pressure sensor mainly includes a sensor chip, a circuit chip, and a substrate. The sensor chip is configured to generate an electrical signal representative of a pressure being sensed and includes a sensing area and a plurality of contact pads. The circuit chip includes a circuit configured to process the electrical signal and a plurality of contact pads. The substrate includes a resin sheet having an opening and a plurality of conductors within the resin sheet. The substrate is joined to both the sensor chip and circuit chip so that the sensing area of the sensor chip is to be exposed to the pressure being sensed through the opening of the resin sheet, the contact pads of the sensor chip and circuit chip are electrically connected to the conductors of the substrate, and all the contact pads and conductors are hermetically embedded in the resin sheet of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2007
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Inao Toyoda, Hiroaki Tanaka, Ichiharu Kondo, Makoto Totani
  • Publication number: 20060081996
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes: a semiconductor substrate; an aluminum electrode disposed on the surface of the substrate; a protection film disposed on the aluminum electrode and having an opening; and a metallic electrode disposed on a surface of the aluminum electrode through the opening of the protection film. The surface of the aluminum electrode includes a concavity. The concavity has an opening side and a bottom side, which is wider than the opening side. In the device, a concavity and a convexity of the metallic electrode become small.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2005
    Publication date: April 20, 2006
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Keiji Shinyama, Ichiharu Kondo, Kimiharu Kayukawa, Shoji Miura
  • Patent number: 7030496
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate; an aluminum electrode disposed on the substrate; a protection film disposed on the aluminum electrode; an opening disposed on the protection film for exposing the aluminum electrode; and a metal electrode disposed on a surface of the aluminum electrode through the opening. The aluminum electrode includes a concavity disposed under the opening. The aluminum electrode disposed at the concavity has a thickness equal to or larger than a depth of the concavity. The surface of the aluminum electrode includes multiple concavities and multiple convexities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2006
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Keiji Shinyama, Shoji Miura, Ichiharu Kondo
  • Publication number: 20050269654
    Abstract: A pressure sensor chip includes a diaphragm and pads. A flexible printed circuit board (FPC) includes a resin sheet having a through-hole and wiring patterns that are formed within the resin sheet and sealed. The resin sheet is press-fitted to the pressure sensor chip such that the diaphragm is bared at the through-hole. The wiring patterns are connected to the pads, and junctions between the wiring patterns and the pads are sealed with the resin sheet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2005
    Publication date: December 8, 2005
    Inventors: Hiroaki Tanaka, Inao Toyoda, Ichiharu Kondo, Makoto Totani
  • Publication number: 20050210993
    Abstract: A pressure sensor mainly includes a sensor chip, a circuit chip, and a substrate. The sensor chip is configured to generate an electrical signal representative of a pressure being sensed and includes a sensing area and a plurality of contact pads. The circuit chip includes a circuit configured to process the electrical signal and a plurality of contact pads. The substrate includes a resin sheet having an opening and a plurality of conductors within the resin sheet. The substrate is joined to both the sensor chip and circuit chip so that the sensing area of the sensor chip is to be exposed to the pressure being sensed through the opening of the resin sheet, the contact pads of the sensor chip and circuit chip are electrically connected to the conductors of the substrate, and all the contact pads and conductors are hermetically embedded in the resin sheet of the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2005
    Publication date: September 29, 2005
    Inventors: Inao Toyoda, Hiroaki Tanaka, Ichiharu Kondo, Makoto Totani
  • Publication number: 20050205950
    Abstract: A pressure sensor includes a sensor chip and a circuit chip. The sensor chip, which is configured to generate an electrical signal representative of a pressure being sensed, has a surface including a sensing area and a plurality of electrical contact pads disposed on the surface. The circuit chip includes a circuit configured to process the electrical signal and has a surface on which a plurality of electrical contact pads of the circuit chip are disposed. The circuit chip is joined to the sensor chip so that the electrical contact pads of the circuit chip are respectively electrically connected to those of the sensor chip, all the electrical contact pads of the circuit chip and the sensor chip are hermetically sealed and isolated from the fluid, and the surfaces of the circuit chip and the sensor chip face each other with the electrical contact pads of the same interposed therebetween.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2005
    Publication date: September 22, 2005
    Inventors: Ichiharu Kondo, Hiroaki Tanaka, Inao Toyoda, Makoto Totani
  • Publication number: 20050034526
    Abstract: A method of plating a semiconductor wafer while maintaining a uniform thickness of the plated film, preventing the precipitation on the back surface of the wafer and preventing the contamination in the subsequent steps. In directly forming connection terminals on the aluminum electrodes on the semiconductor wafer, the non-electrolytic plating is effected in a state where the back surface of the wafer is covered with an insulator. The insulator is preferably a glass substrate which is a part constituting the product. A semiconductor type sensor exhibits improved corrosion resistance against a corrosive medium. The semiconductor type sensor has, in a semiconductor substrate, a structural portion for detecting the physical quantity or the chemical component of a corrosive medium and an electric quantity conversion element, and has pads which are the output terminals for sending the detected electric signals to an external unit, wherein the pads are protected by a precious metal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2004
    Publication date: February 17, 2005
    Inventors: Keiji Shinyama, Yositugu Abe, Hiroaki Tanaka, Inao Toyoda, Yoshifumi Watanabe, Ichiharu Kondo
  • Publication number: 20050006778
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate; an aluminum electrode disposed on the substrate; a protection film disposed on the aluminum electrode; an opening disposed on the protection film for exposing the aluminum electrode; and a metal electrode disposed on a surface of the aluminum electrode through the opening. The aluminum electrode includes a concavity disposed under the opening. The aluminum electrode disposed at the concavity has a thickness equal to or larger than a depth of the concavity. The surface of the aluminum electrode includes multiple concavities and multiple convexities.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2004
    Publication date: January 13, 2005
    Inventors: Keiji Shinyama, Shoji Miura, Ichiharu Kondo
  • Patent number: 6548386
    Abstract: Metallic films are formed on a silicon substrate on which an insulation film and a conductive portion are exposed. The metallic films include a first metallic film directly contacting the insulation film and the conductive portion and a second metallic film disposed on the first metallic film as a stress adjustment film to control a stress at an interface between the first metallic film and the underlying member. Accordingly, an adhesion between the first metallic film and the insulation film can be controlled to be smaller than that between the first metallic film and the conductive portion. Then, the metallic film is removed from the insulation film by an adhesive sheet selectively while remaining on the conductive portion. As a result, the metallic film can be patterned stably and readily at low cost.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2003
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Ichiharu Kondo, Yasuo Ishihara, Shuichi Nagahaka, Takeshi Miyajima
  • Patent number: 5876861
    Abstract: Disclosed is a nickel layer formed on a substrate by sputtering, in which nickel layer a percent ratio of an X-ray diffraction peak intensity of the (200) plane of the nickel layer to that of the (111) plane of the nickel layer is not less than 10%. This nickel layer has a reduced stress, and therefore, lessens a bending of a substrate. The nickel layer is formed by a process for sputtering nickel on a substrate, comprising supplying an argon gas into a vacuum chamber, adjusting a pressure of the argon gas in the vacuum chamber to a predetermined value, ionizing the argon gas, bombarding a target containing nickel with the ionized argon gas, to sputter nickel atoms, and depositing the sputtered nickel atoms onto the substrate, wherein the predetermined pressure of the argon gas is not lower than 12 mTorr.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 2, 1999
    Assignee: Nippondenso Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ichiharu Kondo, Takao Yoneyama, Masami Yamaoka, Osamu Takenaka
  • Patent number: 5656858
    Abstract: A semiconductor device, which has a high adhesiveness to the Cu film and the barrier metal at the bump part or LSI wiring part of a flip chip, is disclosed. On a silicon substrate are formed a transistor as a functional element and a bump for making contact with the transistor and an external substrate. On the surface of the silicon substrate is formed a metallic film, and on the metallic film is formed an insulating film, and a part of the metallic film is exposed through a contact hole. On the metallic film within the contact hole is formed a barrier metal made of TiN, and on the barrier metal is formed a bonding layer made of Ti. On the bonding layer is formed a bump growing Cu film, and on the bump growing Cu film is formed a bump structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 12, 1997
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ichiharu Kondo, Chikage Noritake, Yusuke Watanabe
  • Patent number: 5635764
    Abstract: On a rear surface of a semiconductor (10), a contact layer (11), a diffusion preventing layer (12) and a solder joint layer (13) are formed, and this solder joint layer (13) is connected to a mount base (15) by a Pb-Sn solder layer (14). The contact layer (11) is formed of a rare earth metal, its silicide or a composite thereof, the diffusion preventing layer (12) is formed of a ferrous metal, and the solder joint layer (13) is formed of a Ni-Au alloy. By forming the diffusion preventing layer (12) using the ferrous metal, a diffusion of tin in a solder is prevented and by the solder joint layer (13) of the Ni-Au alloy, an excellent solder joint property can be maintained to reduce the number of laminated layers. Further, as a surface treated layer of at least one joint member, the Ni-Au alloy is used and by heating the semiconductor substrate via a solder foil in a reducing atmosphere a high airtightness is obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 3, 1997
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisayoshi Fujikawa, Takeshi Ohwaki, Yasunori Taga, Osamu Takenaka, Kenji Kondo, Takao Yoneyama, Ichiharu Kondo
  • Patent number: 5614291
    Abstract: A semiconductor device, including a nickel layer formed on a semiconductor substrate and a solder layer formed on the nickel layer, and a method of manufacturing such a device are disclosed. The percent ratio of an X-ray diffraction peak intensity of the (200) plane of the nickel layer to that of the (111) plane of the nickel layer is not less than 10%. The nickel layer is sputtered in a condition which a pressure of an argon discharge gas is at least 15 mTorr. The solder layer includes at least tin and lead, and the amount of tin is not more than 30% by weight. The adhesive strength of the resultant semiconductor device is strong.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 25, 1997
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ichiharu Kondo, Yoshiaki Inaguma, Yoshitsugu Sakamoto
  • Patent number: 5360765
    Abstract: A method for forming electrodes with strong adhesion strength for a semiconductor device is provided. The adhesion strength between a Si substrate and a Ti film is made higher than the pulling stress of a Ni film. Before an electrode is formed using sputtering process, the natural oxide film grown on a semiconductor substrate is removed using an Ar reverse sputtering while the top surface of the silicon substrate is converted to an amorphous through a bombardment and introduction of Ar. While Ti is deposited, a Si-Ti amorphous layer is formed in the Si/Ti interface. In this case, the amount of Ar atoms is controlled less than 4.0.times.10.sup.14 atoms/cm.sup.2. The Ar amount also can be controlled by adjusting the conditions such as the output or cathodic voltage of Ar reverse sputtering and decreasing the absolute value of Ar in the amorphous Si layer. Also the Ar amount can be controlled by diffusing Ar atoms into the substrate at more than about 300.degree. C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 1, 1994
    Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ichiharu Kondo, Takao Yoneyama, Masami Yamaoka