Patents by Inventor Kenji Okita

Kenji Okita 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: 20230408356
    Abstract: A differential pressure measuring device and a differential pressure measurement method that can measure the difference between the pressure in an on-floor area and the pressure in an under-floor area even when the differential pressure is small. The device includes a differential pressure measuring unit, a first pipe of which one end is connected to a first port, and a second pipe of which one end is connected to a second port; and a cup to which the other end of the second pipe is connected and which forms a space for measuring the pressure in the under-floor area on the grating floor plate. The distance in a device height direction between the other end of the first pipe and the other end of the second pipe is fixed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2021
    Publication date: December 21, 2023
    Applicant: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji OKITA
  • Patent number: 11305319
    Abstract: A device for cleaning the inside of a monocrystalline pulling apparatus includes a main tube unit to be inserted into a pull chamber and an inner surface cleaning mechanism that is provided at an upper part of the main tube unit and cleans the inner surface of the pull chamber. The main tube unit includes a retreat/housing section into which a seed chuck provided at the lower end of a wire retreats and which houses the seed chuck therein, and a continuous extension mechanism that is provided at the lower part of the main tube unit and to which a plurality of extension rods are capable of being added and joined. Accordingly, the inner surface of the pull chamber is efficiently cleaned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji Okita
  • Patent number: 11198161
    Abstract: A cleaning device for cleaning the inside of a monocrystal pulling apparatus includes a main tube part that is capable of being inserted into a pull chamber and a wire cleaning mechanism that is provided at an upper portion of the main tube part and is configured to clean a pulling wire to be inserted into the main tube part. The main tube part includes a continuous extension mechanism that adds together and joins a plurality of joint tube parts in an axial direction and allows the plurality of joint tube parts to be sealed and connected to each other. Accordingly, the cleaning device is configured to efficiently clean the wire by preventing powdery dust from adhering thereto again.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji Okita
  • Publication number: 20200001335
    Abstract: A device for cleaning the inside of a monocrystalline pulling apparatus includes a main tube unit to be inserted into a pull chamber and an inner surface cleaning mechanism that is provided at an upper part of the main tube unit and cleans the inner surface of the pull chamber. The main tube unit includes a retreat/housing section into which a seed chuck provided at the lower end of a wire retreats and which houses the seed chuck therein, and a continuous extension mechanism that is provided at the lower part of the main tube unit and to which a plurality of extension rods are capable of being added and joined. Accordingly, the inner surface of the pull chamber is efficiently cleaned.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2018
    Publication date: January 2, 2020
    Applicant: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji OKITA
  • Publication number: 20190388943
    Abstract: A cleaning device for cleaning the inside of a monocrystal pulling apparatus includes a main tube part that is capable of being inserted into a pull chamber and a wire cleaning mechanism that is provided at an upper portion of the main tube part and is configured to clean a pulling wire to be inserted into the main tube part. The main tube part includes a continuous extension mechanism that adds together and joins a plurality of joint tube parts in an axial direction and allows the plurality of joint tube parts to be sealed and connected to each other. Accordingly, the cleaning device is configured to efficiently clean the wire by preventing powdery dust from adhering thereto again.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2017
    Publication date: December 26, 2019
    Applicant: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji OKITA
  • Patent number: 10458044
    Abstract: Dust that is accumulated in an exhaust passage provided in a chamber, the exhaust passage for discharging gas in the chamber of a semiconductor crystal manufacturing device, is removed by being sucked from the outside of the chamber. Moreover, an opening and closing valve for cleaning that is detachably attached to an opening of the exhaust passage, the opening facing the chamber, is opened and closed intermittently in a suction state. Furthermore, the opening and closing valve for cleaning is driven by a valve driving unit. The dust accumulated in the exhaust passage is removed efficiently, whereby the time required to clean the exhaust passage is shortened and fluctuations of the pressure inside the chamber when a semiconductor crystal is manufactured are suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji Okita
  • Patent number: 10000863
    Abstract: A method for cleaning a single crystal pulling apparatus according to the present invention includes preparing a dummy crucible that simulates a crucible and includes a dummy liquid surface simulating a liquid surface of material melt in the crucible and a first dummy ingot simulating a single crystal ingot in process of being pulled up from the liquid surface of the material melt, and supplying gas in a state in which the dummy crucible is installed in a decompressed chamber of the single crystal pulling apparatus to generate a flow of the gas affected by the dummy crucible and detach foreign substances adhering to a wall surface of the chamber or parts in the chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2018
    Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji Okita
  • Publication number: 20180016701
    Abstract: A method for cleaning a single crystal pulling apparatus according to the present invention includes preparing a dummy crucible that simulates a crucible and includes a dummy liquid surface simulating a liquid surface of material melt in the crucible and a first dummy ingot simulating a single crystal ingot in process of being pulled up from the liquid surface of the material melt, and supplying gas in a state in which the dummy crucible is installed in a decompressed chamber of the single crystal pulling apparatus to generate a flow of the gas affected by the dummy crucible and detach foreign substances adhering to a wall surface of the chamber or parts in the chamber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2016
    Publication date: January 18, 2018
    Applicant: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji OKITA
  • Publication number: 20170314162
    Abstract: Dust that is accumulated in an exhaust passage provided in a chamber, the exhaust passage for discharging gas in the chamber of a semiconductor crystal manufacturing device, is removed by being sucked from the outside of the chamber. Moreover, an opening and closing valve for cleaning that is detachably attached to an opening of the exhaust passage, the opening facing the chamber, is opened and closed intermittently in a suction state. Furthermore, the opening and closing valve for cleaning is driven by a valve driving unit. The dust accumulated in the exhaust passage is removed efficiently, whereby the time required to clean the exhaust passage is shortened and fluctuations of the pressure inside the chamber when a semiconductor crystal is manufactured are suppressed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2017
    Publication date: November 2, 2017
    Applicant: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji OKITA
  • Patent number: 9738992
    Abstract: Dust that is accumulated in an exhaust passage provided in a chamber, the exhaust passage for discharging gas in the chamber of a semiconductor crystal manufacturing device, is removed by being sucked from the outside of the chamber. Moreover, an opening and closing valve for cleaning that is detachably attached to an opening of the exhaust passage, the opening facing the chamber, is opened and closed intermittently in a suction state. Furthermore, the opening and closing valve for cleaning is driven by a valve driving unit. The dust accumulated in the exhaust passage is removed efficiently, whereby the time required to clean the exhaust passage is shortened and fluctuations of the pressure inside the chamber when a semiconductor crystal is manufactured are suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji Okita
  • Publication number: 20130306109
    Abstract: Dust that is accumulated in an exhaust passage provided in a chamber, the exhaust passage for discharging gas in the chamber of a semiconductor crystal manufacturing device, is removed by being sucked from the outside of the chamber. Moreover, an opening and closing valve for cleaning that is detachably attached to an opening of the exhaust passage, the opening facing the chamber, is opened and closed intermittently in a suction state. Furthermore, the opening and closing valve for cleaning is driven by a valve driving unit. The dust accumulated in the exhaust passage is removed efficiently, whereby the time required to clean the exhaust passage is shortened and fluctuations of the pressure inside the chamber when a semiconductor crystal is manufactured are suppressed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2011
    Publication date: November 21, 2013
    Applicant: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji Okita
  • Publication number: 20120034147
    Abstract: After removing organic matters and forming a silicon oxide film by ozone-oxidizing a silicon powder in silicon sludge, the ozone is removed and the resulting sludge is dispersed into hydrochloric acid for dissolving metal impurities thereinto. Then, the supernatant liquid of the hydrochloric acid is removed, and the silicon oxide film is dissolved with hydrofluoric acid after being rinsed with ultrapure water, so that the metal impurities in the surface layer of the silicon powder are removed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2010
    Publication date: February 9, 2012
    Applicant: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji Okita
  • Publication number: 20100129941
    Abstract: In order to uniformize a film thickness distribution of a layer (e.g., an SOI layer) having predetermined film thickness formed on a surface of a silicon wafer, a processing method includes an oxidation step of forming a natural oxide film on a surface of the SOI layer and an etching step of removing, with etching liquid, the natural oxide film formed in a local thick film portion of the SOI layer while leaving a part (e.g., 1 ? to 2 ?) of the thickness. Since a main surface of the SOI layer is converted into the natural oxide film, the natural oxide film can be easily etched with hydrofluoric acid and etching processing can be locally performed. Therefore, the film thickness distribution of the SOI layer can be accurately uniformized by subjecting the thick film portion of the SOI layer to the etching processing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2009
    Publication date: May 27, 2010
    Applicant: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji OKITA
  • Publication number: 20100029087
    Abstract: An apparatus for etching a semiconductor wafer of the present invention includes a cylindrical inner bath 1 which stores an etchant, a blow-off nozzle 13 which supplies the etchant from a middle part of a bottom surface 7 of the inner bath 1 toward a middle part of a liquid surface of the etchant, a Bernoulli chuck 41 which holds one surface of the semiconductor wafer W in a noncontact manner, and raising and lowering means 51 which is capable of descending, while keeping the semiconductor wafer W horizontal, to a set height at which the other surface of the semiconductor wafer W to be etched comes into contact with the liquid surface. The inner bath 1 is formed in such a manner that the outside diameter of the inner bath 1 is not more than the outside diameter of the semiconductor wafer W. As a result of this, it is possible to prevent the splash of the etchant when one surface of the wafer is etched, with the wafer held by use of the Bernoulli chuck.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2009
    Publication date: February 4, 2010
    Applicant: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji OKITA
  • Publication number: 20090057811
    Abstract: A SIMOX wafer manufacturing method which is capable of providing etching conditions to prevent surface defects (divots) from being spread. The method includes an oxygen implantation process and a high temperature annealing step for forming a BOX layer, a front surface oxide film etching process to treat a front surface of the wafer at an area in which oxygen is implanted, and a rear surface oxide film etching process to treat a rear surface of the wafer, and oxide film etching conditions in the front and rear oxide film etching processes are controlled differently.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 27, 2008
    Publication date: March 5, 2009
    Applicant: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshio MURAKAMI, Kenji OKITA, Tomoyuki HORA
  • Patent number: 7303629
    Abstract: An apparatus for pulling single crystal comprises a quartz crucible provided in a chamber for storing raw melt of a single crystal, a heater that heats the raw melt of the single crystal, and a crucible driving unit that rotates the quartz crucible. A quartz crucible deformation prevention unit using an arm or gas blowout is provided in the chamber, whereby deformation of a wall part of the quartz crucible during manufacture thereof can be prevented, and a deformed quartz crucible can be repaired.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2007
    Assignee: Sumco Corporation
    Inventor: Kenji Okita
  • Publication number: 20070224778
    Abstract: A SIMOX wafer is produced by implanting oxygen ions into a surface of a Si substrate and then conducting a high-temperature annealing, in which a SOI film having a thickness thicker than a target SOI film thickness is previously formed and a final adjustment of the SOI film thickness is carried out at an etching step arranged separately from a cleaning step.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2007
    Publication date: September 27, 2007
    Inventors: Yoshio Murakami, Kenji Okita
  • Publication number: 20060021567
    Abstract: An apparatus for pulling single crystal comprises a quartz crucible provided in a chamber for storing raw melt of a single crystal, a heater that heats the raw melt of the single crystal, and a crucible driving unit that rotates the quartz crucible. A quartz crucible deformation prevention unit using an arm or gas blowout is provided in the chamber, whereby deformation of a wall part of the quartz crucible during manufacture thereof can be prevented, and a deformed quartz crucible can be repaired.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2005
    Publication date: February 2, 2006
    Applicant: SUMCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kenji Okita
  • Patent number: 6122486
    Abstract: Disclosed is a transmission restricting system which has a transmission interruption controlling means for generating and radiating a magnetic field pattern including a command code to command the transmission interruption to a radio communication terminal equipment in a radio-wave transmission-prohibited area, the transmission interruption controlling means being disposed at the entrance or exit of the radio-wave transmission-prohibited area; a transmission interruption releasing means for generating and radiating a magnetic field pattern including a command code to command the releasing of transmission interruption to the radio communication terminal equipment in the radio-wave transmission-prohibited area, the transmission interruption releasing means being disposed at the entrance or exit of the radio-wave transmission-prohibited area; and a radio communication terminal equipment comprising means for detecting a magnetic field pattern including a command code to command the transmission interruption or th
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2000
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Masahiko Tanaka, Kenji Okita
  • Patent number: 6023475
    Abstract: In a data packet transmission method and an apparatus for realizing the method, data packet transmission/reception is performed between communication apparatuses each having a CPU for controlling an entire operation of the apparatus. An operating efficiency of the CPU of the communication apparatus on a reception side is detected when a data packet transmission/reception request is generated. An optimum data packet length for reception of a data packet is determined in correspondence with the detected operating efficiency, and the communication apparatus on a transmission side is informed of the optimum data packet length. The data packet to be transmitted is assembled to have the optimum data packet length, and the data packet is transmitted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2000
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Masahiko Tanaka, Kenji Okita