Patents by Inventor Kenneth T. Settlemyer

Kenneth T. Settlemyer 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: 9472402
    Abstract: Increased protection of areas of a chip are provided by both a mask structure of increased robustness in regard to semiconductor manufacturing processes or which can be removed with increased selectivity and controllability in regard to underlying materials, or both. Mask structures are provided which exhibit an interface of a chemical reaction, grain or material type which can be exploited to enhance either or both types of protection. Structures of such masks include TERA material which can be converted or hydrated and selectively etched using a mixture of hydrogen fluoride and a hygroscopic acid or organic solvent, and two layer structures of similar or dissimilar materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2016
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.
    Inventors: Deok-kee Kim, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Jr., Kangguo Cheng, Ramachandra Divakaruni, Carl J. Radens, Dirk Pfeiffer, Timothy J. Dalton, Katherina E. Babich, Arpan P. Mohorowala, Harald Okorn-Schmidt
  • Patent number: 9059000
    Abstract: Increased protection of areas of a chip are provided by both a mask structure of increased robustness in regard to semiconductor manufacturing processes or which can be removed with increased selectivity and controllability in regard to underlying materials, or both. Mask structures are provided which exhibit an interface of a chemical reaction, grain or material type which can be exploited to enhance either or both types of protection. Structures of such masks include TERA material which can be converted or hydrated and selectively etched using a mixture of hydrogen fluoride and a hygroscopic acid or organic solvent, and two layer structures of similar or dissimilar materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2015
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Deok-kee Kim, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Jr., Kangguo Cheng, Ramachandra Divakaruni, Carl J. Radens, Dirk Pfeiffer, Timothy Dalton, Katherina Babich, Arpan P. Mahorowala, Harald Okorn-Schmidt
  • Publication number: 20150004802
    Abstract: Increased protection of areas of a chip are provided by both a mask structure of increased robustness in regard to semiconductor manufacturing processes or which can be removed with increased selectivity and controllability in regard to underlying materials, or both. Mask structures are provided which exhibit an interface of a chemical reaction, grain or material type which can be exploited to enhance either or both types of protection. Structures of such masks include TERA material which can be converted or hydrated and selectively etched using a mixture of hydrogen fluoride and a hygroscopic acid or organic solvent, and two layer structures of similar or dissimilar materials.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2014
    Publication date: January 1, 2015
    Inventors: Deok-kee Kim, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, JR., Kangguo Cheng, Ramachandra Divakaruni, Carl J. Radens, Dirk Pfeiffer, Timothy J. Dalton, Katherina E. Babich, Arpan P. Mohorowala, Harald Okorn-Schmidt
  • Patent number: 8577489
    Abstract: Solutions for diagnosing in-line critical dimension control adjustments in a lithographic process are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes: locating a control structure in a data set representing one of a chip or a kerf; simulating component dimensions within a region proximate to the control structure; determining a difference between the simulated component dimensions within the region and target component dimensions within the region; determining whether the difference exceeds a predetermined tolerance threshold; adjusting a simulation condition in response to determining the difference exceeds the predetermined tolerance threshold; and repeating the simulating of the component dimensions within the region, the determining of the difference, and the determining of whether the difference exceeds the predetermined tolerance threshold in response to the adjusting of the simulation condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: James A. Bruce, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Jr.
  • Patent number: 8499260
    Abstract: Solutions for accounting for photomask deviations in a lithographic process during optical proximity correction verification are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes: identifying a wafer control structure in a data set representing one of a first chip or a kerf; biasing the data set representing the first chip in the case that the wafer control structure is in the data set representing the first chip; biasing the data set representing the kerf or a second chip distinct from the first chip, in the case that the wafer control structure is in the data set representing the kerf or the second chip; simulating formation of the wafer control structure; determining whether the simulated wafer control structure complies with a target control structure; and iteratively adjusting an exposure dose condition in the case that the simulated wafer control structure does not comply with the target control structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: James A. Bruce, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Jr.
  • Publication number: 20120192124
    Abstract: Solutions for accounting for photomask deviations in a lithographic process during optical proximity correction verification are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes: identifying a wafer control structure in a data set representing one of a first chip or a kerf; biasing the data set representing the first chip in the case that the wafer control structure is in the data set representing the first chip; biasing the data set representing the kerf or a second chip distinct from the first chip, in the case that the wafer control structure is in the data set representing the kerf or the second chip; simulating formation of the wafer control structure; determining whether the simulated wafer control structure complies with a target control structure; and iteratively adjusting an exposure dose condition in the case that the simulated wafer control structure does not comply with the target control structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2011
    Publication date: July 26, 2012
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: JAMES A. BRUCE, KENNETH T. SETTLEMYER, JR.
  • Publication number: 20120191234
    Abstract: Solutions for diagnosing in-line critical dimension control adjustments in a lithographic process are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes: locating a control structure in a data set representing one of a chip or a kerf; simulating component dimensions within a region proximate to the control structure; determining a difference between the simulated component dimensions within the region and target component dimensions within the region; determining whether the difference exceeds a predetermined tolerance threshold; adjusting a simulation condition in response to determining the difference exceeds the predetermined tolerance threshold; and repeating the simulating of the component dimensions within the region, the determining of the difference, and the determining of whether the difference exceeds the predetermined tolerance threshold in response to the adjusting of the simulation condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2011
    Publication date: July 26, 2012
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: James A. Bruce, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, JR.
  • Patent number: 7718993
    Abstract: A method for producing predetermined shapes in a crystalline Si-containing material that have substantially uniform straight sides or edges and well-defined inside and outside corners is provided together with the structure that is formed utilizing the method of the present invention. The inventive method utilizes conventional photolithography and etching to transfer a pattern, i.e., shape, to a crystalline Si-containing material. Since conventional processing is used, the patterns have the inherent limitations of rounded corners. A selective etching process utilizing a solution of diluted ammonium hydroxide is used to eliminate the rounded corners providing a final shape that has substantially straight sides or edges and substantially rounded corners.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas W. Dyer, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, James J. Toomey, Haining Yang
  • Patent number: 7696539
    Abstract: A method of fabrication and a field effect device structure are presented that reduce source/drain capacitance and allow for device body contact. A Si based material pedestal is produced, the top surface and the sidewalls of which are oriented in a way to be substantially parallel with selected crystallographic planes of the pedestal and of a supporting member. The pedestal is wet etched with an anisotropic solution containing ammonium hydroxide. The sidewalls of the pedestal become faceted forming a segment in the pedestal with a reduced cross section. The dopant concentration in the reduced cross section segment is chosen to be sufficiently high for it to provide for electrical continuity through the pedestal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2010
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Yujun Li, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Jr., Jochen Beintner
  • Patent number: 7670901
    Abstract: A method of fabricating a bottle trench and a bottle trench capacitor. The method including: providing a substrate; forming a trench in the substrate, the trench having sidewalls and a bottom, the trench having an upper region adjacent to a top surface of the substrate and a lower region adjacent to the bottom of the trench; forming an oxidized layer of the substrate in the bottom region of the trench; and removing the oxidized layer of the substrate from the bottom region of the trench, a cross-sectional area of the lower region of the trench greater than a cross-sectional area of the upper region of the trench.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2010
    Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation, Infineon Technologies North America Corp., Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Oh-Jung Kwon, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Jr., Ravikumar Ramachandran, Min-Soo Kim
  • Patent number: 7666741
    Abstract: A method is presented for fabricating a non-planar field effect device. The method includes the production of a Si based material Fin structure that has a top surface substantially in parallel with a {111} crystallographic plane of the Si Fin structure, and the etching of the Si Fin structure with a solution which contains ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH). In this manner, due to differing etch rates in ammonium hydroxide of various Si based material crystallographic planes, the corners on the Fin structure become clipped, and angles between the horizontal and vertical planes of the Fin structure increase. A FinFET device with clipped, or rounded, corners is then fabricated to completion. In a typical embodiment the FinFET device is selected to be a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Yujun Li, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Jr., Jochen Beintner
  • Patent number: 7563670
    Abstract: A method of forming a vertical DRAM device. A lower trench is filled with polycrystalline or amorphous semiconductor for a capacitor. An upper trench portion has exposed sidewalls of single-crystal semiconductor. The method then includes etching the single-crystal semiconductor sidewalls to widen the upper trench portion beyond the exposed upper surface of the semiconductor fill of the capacitor to form exposed regions of single-crystal semiconductor on a bottom portion of the upper trench adjacent to the exposed upper surface of the semiconductor fill. A trench top insulating layer is deposited on the bottom portion of the upper trench, over the upper surface of the semiconductor fill and over the adjacent regions of single-crystal semiconductor. The method then includes forming a vertical gate dielectric layer, wherein the trench top insulating layer extends below the vertical gate insulating layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2009
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Kangguo Cheng, Richard O. Henry, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7497959
    Abstract: Increased protection of areas of a chip are provided by both a mask structure of increased robustness in regard to semiconductor manufacturing processes or which can be removed with increased selectivity and controllability in regard to underlying materials, or both. Mask structures are provided which exhibit an interface of a chemical reaction, grain or material type which can be exploited to enhance either or both types of protection. Structures of such masks include TERA material which can be converted or hydrated and selectively etched using a mixture of hydrogen fluoride and a hygroscopic acid or organic solvent, and two layer structures of similar or dissimilar materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2009
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Deok-kee Kim, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Jr., Kangguo Cheng, Ramachandra Divakaruni, Carl J. Radens, Dirk Pfeiffer, Timothy Dalton, Katherina Babich, Arpan P. Mahorowala, Harald Okorn-Schmidt
  • Publication number: 20080261128
    Abstract: Increased protection of areas of a chip are provided by both a mask structure of increased robustness in regard to semiconductor manufacturing processes or which can be removed with increased selectivity and controllability in regard to underlying materials, or both. Mask structures are provided which exhibit an interface of a chemical reaction, grain or material type which can be exploited to enhance either or both types of protection. Structures of such masks include TERA material which can be converted or hydrated and selectively etched using a mixture of hydrogen fluoride and a hygroscopic acid or organic solvent, and two layer structures of similar or dissimilar materials.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2008
    Publication date: October 23, 2008
    Inventors: Deok-kee Kim, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Kangguo Cheng, Ramachandra Divakaruni, Carl J. Radens, Dirk Pfeiffer, Thimothy Dalton, Katherina Babich, Arpan P. Mahorowala, Harald Okorn-Schmidt
  • Publication number: 20080246059
    Abstract: A method of fabrication and a field effect device structure are presented that reduce source/drain capacitance and allow for device body contact. A Si based material pedestal is produced, the top surface and the sidewalls of which are oriented in a way to be substantially parallel with selected crystallographic planes of the pedestal and of a supporting member. The pedestal is wet etched with an anisotropic solution containing ammonium hydroxide. The sidewalls of the pedestal become faceted forming a segment in the pedestal with a reduced cross section. The dopant concentration in the reduced cross section segment is chosen to be sufficiently high for it to provide for electrical continuity through the pedestal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2008
    Publication date: October 9, 2008
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yujun Li, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Jochen Beintner
  • Patent number: 7434185
    Abstract: A method for implementing an ORC process to facilitate physical verification of an integrated circuit (IC) graphical design. The method includes partitioning the IC graphical design data into files by a host machine such that the files correspond to regions of interest or partitions with defined margins, dispersing the partitioned data files to available cpus within the network, processing of each job by the cpu receiving the file, wherein artifacts arising from bisection of partitioning margins during the partitioning, including cut-induced false errors, are detected and removed, and the shape-altering effects of such artifact errors are minimized and transmitting the results of processing at each cpu to the host machine for aggregate processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Daria R. Dooling, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Jr., Jacek G. Smolinski, Stephen D. Thomas, Ralph J. Williams
  • Publication number: 20080242021
    Abstract: A method of fabricating a bottle trench and a bottle trench capacitor. The method including: providing a substrate; forming a trench in the substrate, the trench having sidewalls and a bottom, the trench having an upper region adjacent to a top surface of the substrate and a lower region adjacent to the bottom of the trench; forming an oxidized layer of the substrate in the bottom region of the trench; and removing the oxidized layer of the substrate from the bottom region of the trench, a cross-sectional area of the lower region of the trench greater than a cross-sectional area of the upper region of the trench.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2008
    Publication date: October 2, 2008
    Inventors: Oh-Jung Kwon, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Ravikumar Ramachandran, Min-Soo Kim
  • Publication number: 20080230868
    Abstract: A method for producing predetermined shapes in a crystalline Si-containing material that have substantially uniform straight sides or edges and well-defined inside and outside corners is provided together with the structure that is formed utilizing the method of the present invention. The inventive method utilizes conventional photolithography and etching to transfer a pattern, i.e., shape, to a crystalline Si-containing material. Since conventional processing is used, the patterns have the inherent limitations of rounded corners. A selective etching process utilizing a solution of diluted ammonium hydroxide is used to eliminate the rounded corners providing a final shape that has substantially straight sides or edges and substantially rounded corners.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 24, 2008
    Publication date: September 25, 2008
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Thomas W. Dyer, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, James J. Toomey, Haining Yang
  • Patent number: 7410844
    Abstract: A method of fabrication and a field effect device structure are presented that reduce source/drain capacitance and allow for device body contact. A Si based material pedestal is produced, the top surface and the sidewalls of which are oriented in a way to be substantially parallel with selected crystallographic planes of the pedestal and of a supporting member. The pedestal is wet etched with an anisotropic solution containing ammonium hydroxide. The sidewalls of the pedestal become faceted forming a segment in the pedestal with a reduced cross section. The dopant concentration in the reduced cross section segment is chosen to be sufficiently high for it to provide for electrical continuity through the pedestal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Yujun Li, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Jr., Jochen Beintner
  • Patent number: 7390745
    Abstract: A method for producing predetermined shapes in a crystalline Si-containing material that have substantially uniform straight sides or edges and well-defined inside and outside corners is provided together with the structure that is formed utilizing the method of the present invention. The inventive method utilizes conventional photolithography and etching to transfer a pattern, i.e., shape, to a crystalline Si-containing material. Since conventional processing is used, the patterns have the inherent limitations of rounded corners. A selective etching process utilizing a solution of diluted ammonium hydroxide is used to eliminate the rounded corners providing a final shape that has substantially straight sides or edges and substantially rounded corners.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas W. Dyer, Kenneth T. Settlemyer, Jr., James J. Toomey, Haining Yang