Patents by Inventor Kiyofumi Sakaguchi

Kiyofumi Sakaguchi 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).

  • Process for producing semiconductor member, process for producing solar cell, and anodizing apparatus
    Publication number: 20040055894
    Abstract: In a process for producing a semiconductor member, and a solar cell, making use of a thin-film crystal semiconductor layer, the process comprises the steps of: (1) anodizing the surface of a first substrate to form a porous layer at least on one side of the substrate, (2) forming a semiconductor layer at least on the-surface of the porous layer, (3) removing the semiconductor layer at its peripheral region, (4) bonding a second substrate to the surface of the semiconductor layer, (5) separating the semiconductor layer from the first substrate at the part of the porous layer, and (6) treating the surface of the first substrate after separation and repeating the above steps (1) to (5).
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2003
    Publication date: March 25, 2004
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukiko Iwasaki, Shoji Nishida, Kiyofumi Sakaguchi, Noritaka Ukiyo
  • Method and apparatus for separating sample
    Publication number: 20040058537
    Abstract: This invention is to improve the reproducibility and yield in separating a bonded substrate stack. A bonded substrate stack having a porous layer inside is held by substrate holding portions 105 and 106, and a fluid is injected from a nozzle to the porous layer of the bonded substrate stack, thereby separating the bonded substrate stack at the porous layer. The variation in pressure of the fluid is suppressed within a predetermined range by a servo-driven pump.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2003
    Publication date: March 25, 2004
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kazutaka Yanagita, Kiyofumi Sakaguchi
  • Substrate and manufacturing method therefor
    Publication number: 20040048091
    Abstract: This invention includes a step of forming the first substrate which has a semiconductor region and an insulating region on its surface and a step of coating the first substrate with a single-crystal semiconductor layer. In the coating step, a single-crystal semiconductor is longitudinally grown in the semiconductor region and then laterally grown to manufacture a substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2003
    Publication date: March 11, 2004
    Inventors: Nobuhiko Sato, Kiyofumi Sakaguchi
  • Substrate and manufacturing method therefor
    Publication number: 20040048454
    Abstract: There is provided a method of manufacturing a substrate which has a partial insulating layer under a semiconductor layer. After the first substrate (10c) is formed, it is bonded to the second substrate (20), thereby forming a bonded substrate stack (30). Then, the bonded substrate stack (30) is split at a separation layer (15). In the step of forming the first substrate (10c), a partial insulating layer (12a) is formed on the substrate, a single-crystal Si layer (13) is grown in the partial insulating layer (12a), and a polysilicon layer (14) is grown on the partial insulating layer (12a). After that, ions are implanted into the substrate, thereby forming the separation layer (15) inside the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2003
    Publication date: March 11, 2004
    Inventor: Kiyofumi Sakaguchi
  • Sample processing system
    Publication number: 20040045679
    Abstract: This invention is to provide a processing system suitable for manufacturing an SOI substrate. A processing system includes a scalar robot for conveying a bonded substrate stack held by a robot hand, and a centering apparatus, separating apparatus, inverting apparatus, and cleaning/drying apparatus disposed at substantially equidistant positions from a driving shaft of the scalar robot. When the robot hand is pivoted about the driving shaft in the horizontal plane and moved close to or away from the driving shaft, a bonded substrate stack or separated substrate is conveyed among the processing apparatuses.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2003
    Publication date: March 11, 2004
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kazutaka Yanagita, Kazuaki Ohmi, Kiyofumi Sakaguchi
  • Substrate and manufacturing method therefor
    Publication number: 20040040492
    Abstract: A partial SOI substrate is obtained by performing a step of forming a partial insulating layer on the first substrate, a step of selectively growing the first semiconductor layer on an exposed portion of the first substrate, a step of growing the second semiconductor layer in the partial insulating layer on the first semiconductor layer, and a step of forming a bonded substrate by bonding the second substrate to the second semiconductor layer of the first substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2003
    Publication date: March 4, 2004
    Inventor: Kiyofumi Sakaguchi
  • Method of separation of semiconductor device
    Patent number: 6677183
    Abstract: This invention provides a method of manufacturing a thin-film semiconductor device by a smaller number of processes with reduced influence on a device formation layer at the time of separation. This manufacturing method includes the step of preparing a member having, on a separation layer, a semiconductor film having a semiconductor element and/or semiconductor integrated circuit, the step of forming kerfs from the semiconductor film side of the member, and the separation step of, after the kerf formation step, separating a desired region of the semiconductor element and/or semiconductor integrated circuit from the member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kiyofumi Sakaguchi, Takao Yonehara
  • Sample processing system
    Patent number: 6672358
    Abstract: This invention is to provide a processing system suitable for manufacturing an SOI substrate. A processing system includes a scalar robot for conveying a bonded substrate stack held by a robot hand, and a centering apparatus, separating apparatus, inverting apparatus, and cleaning/drying apparatus disposed at substantially equidistant positions from a driving shaft of the scalar robot. When the robot hand is pivoted about the driving shaft in the horizontal plane and moved close to or away from the driving shaft, a bonded substrate stack or separated substrate is conveyed among the processing apparatuses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazutaka Yanagita, Kazuaki Ohmi, Kiyofumi Sakaguchi
  • Process for producing semiconductor member, process for producing solar cell, and anodizing apparatus
    Patent number: 6664169
    Abstract: In a process for producing a semiconductor member, and a solar cell, making use of a thin-film crystal semiconductor layer, the process includes the steps of: (1) anodizing the surface of a first substrate to form a porous layer at least on one side of the substrate, (2) forming a semiconductor layer at least on the surface of the porous layer, (3) removing the semiconductor layer at its peripheral region, (4) bonding a second substrate to the surface of the semiconductor layer, (5) separating the semiconductor layer from the first substrate at the part of the porous layer, and (6) treating the surface of the first substrate after separation and repeating the above steps (1) to (5).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukiko Iwasaki, Shoji Nishida, Kiyofumi Sakaguchi, Noritaka Ukiyo
  • Display apparatus and producing method therefor
    Publication number: 20030222334
    Abstract: The invention provides a light, thin flexible display of a high performance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2003
    Publication date: December 4, 2003
    Applicant: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Sotomitsu Ikeda, Takao Yonehara, Kiyofumi Sakaguchi
  • Method of manufacturing semiconductor wafer method of using and utilizing the same
    Patent number: 6656271
    Abstract: A process for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer which has superior suitability for mass production and reproducibility. The process comprises the steps of preparing a first member which has a monocrystalline semiconductor layer on a semiconductor substrate with a separation layer arranged therebetween with a semiconductor wafer as the raw material, transferring the monocrystalline semiconductor layer onto a second member which comprises a semiconductor wafer after separating the monocrystalline semiconductor layer through the separation layer, and smoothing the surface of the semiconductor substrate after the transferring step so as to be used as a semiconductor wafer for purposes other than forming the first and second members.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takao Yonehara, Kunio Watanabe, Tetsuya Shimada, Kazuaki Ohmi, Kiyofumi Sakaguchi
  • Method and apparatus for processing composite member
    Patent number: 6653206
    Abstract: A method of processing a composite member having a structure in which a first member having a separation layer inside is brought into tight contact with a second member. The composite member has a projecting portion at which a peripheral edge of the first member projects outside a peripheral edge of the second member. The method includes a detection step of detecting the projecting portion of the composite member using a sensor and a separation step of starting separating the composite member from the projecting portion detected in the detection step and then separating the composite member into two members at the separation layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2003
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazutaka Yanagita, Kazuaki Ohmi, Kiyofumi Sakaguchi, Hirokazu Kurisu
  • Composite member separating method, thin film manufacturing method, and composite member separating apparatus
    Patent number: 6653205
    Abstract: This invention relates to a composite member separating method in which a first member (1) having a separation layer (4) and a transfer layer (5) on the separation layer (4) is bonded to a second member (2) is separated at a position different from the bonding interface between the first member (1) and the second member (2), the method comprising the steps of, applying a force asymmetric with respect to the interface to the end portion of the composite member to form a crack (7A) that runs from the surface of the first member (1) to the separation layer (4) through the transfer layer (5), and then, growing the crack is grown along the separation layer (4) to completely separate the composite member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2003
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazutaka Yanagita, Kazuaki Ohmi, Kiyofumi Sakaguchi
  • Anodizing method and apparatus and semiconductor substrate manufacturing method
    Publication number: 20030205480
    Abstract: A porous layer having a multilayered structure is formed. An Si substrate (102) to be processed is anodized in a first electrolytic solution (141, 151) while being held between an anode (106) and a cathode (104) in an anodizing bath (101). The first electrolytic solution (141, 151) is exchanged with a second electrolytic solution (142, 152). The Si substrate (102) is anodized again, thereby forming a porous layer having a multilayered structure on the Si substrate (102).
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2003
    Publication date: November 6, 2003
    Inventors: Kiyofumi Sakaguchi, Nobuhiko Sato
  • Process for producing semiconductor article
    Publication number: 20030203547
    Abstract: A process for producing a semiconductor article is provided which comprises the steps of bonding a film onto a substrate having a porous semiconductor layer, and separating the film from the substrate at the porous semiconductor layer by applying a force to the film in a peeling direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2003
    Publication date: October 30, 2003
    Inventors: Kiyofumi Sakaguchi, Takao Yonehara, Shoji Nishida, Kenji Yamagata
  • SEMICONDUCTOR SUBSTRATE AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING THE SAME USING A COMPOSITE MEMBER HAVING POROUS LAYERS AND VARYING THICKNESS AND POROSITY
    Publication number: 20030190794
    Abstract: In order to constantly produce a uniform SOI substrate without defect at a low cost by preventing destruction of a porous layer prior to separation of bonded substrates and effecting separation of the bonded substrates securely and easily, in a process for producing a semiconductor substrate comprising forming a non-porous semiconductor layer on a first substrate having porous layers formed on a surface thereof, forming an insulating layer on a surface thereof, bonding the insulating layer to a second substrate, and separating the porous layers, thereby transferring the insulating layer and the non-porous semiconductor layer onto the surface of the second substrate, the first porous layer is formed with a low porosity while the second porous layer is made thin to such extent as to be fragile to easily separate the first and the second substrates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 1998
    Publication date: October 9, 2003
    Inventors: KAZUAKI OHMI, TAKAO YONEHARA, KIYOFUMI SAKAGUCHI
  • Sample processing system
    Patent number: 6629539
    Abstract: This invention is to provide a processing system suitable for manufacturing, e.g., an SOI substrate. A processing system includes a turntable on which holding mechanisms for holding bonded substrate stacks are mounted at a substantially equal angular interval, a driving mechanism for pivoting the turntable through a predetermined angle to move the bonded substrate stacks or separated substrates held by said holding mechanisms to operation positions and a centering apparatus, separating apparatus, and cleaning/drying apparatus for processing the bonded substrate stacks or separated substrates at the operation positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2003
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazutaka Yanagita, Kazuaki Ohmi, Kiyofumi Sakaguchi
  • Display device and process of producing the same
    Publication number: 20030179191
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a configuration of a display element and forms switching circuits or peripheral circuits for driving pixels by transferring/disposing a semiconductor circuit formed on another substrate and disposes high performance transistors on the display substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 24, 2002
    Publication date: September 25, 2003
    Applicant: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroshi Matsuda, Takao Yonehara, Etsuro Kishi, Tsutomu Ikeda, Kiyofumi Sakaguchi
  • Substrate and method of manufacturing the same
    Patent number: 6624047
    Abstract: In a method of manufacturing a bonded substrate stack by bonding a first substrate having a porous layer to a second substrate to prepare a bonded substrate stack, and separating the bonded substrate stack into two substrates at the porous layer, defects in the separation step are prevented. A first substrate having a porous layer inside, a single-crystal Si layer on the porous layer, and an SiO2 layer on the single-crystal Si layer is bonded to a second substrate. The outer peripheral portion of the substrate is oxidized to make the outer peripheral edge of the single-crystal Si layer retreat toward the inside to prepare a bonded substrate stack in which the outer peripheral edge of the single-crystal Si layer is located inside the outer peripheral edge of the bonding region. After that, the bonded substrate stack is separated into two substrates at the porous layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2003
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kiyofumi Sakaguchi, Kazuaki Ohmi, Kazutaka Yanagita
  • PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING A SEMICONDUCTOR SUBSTRATE AS WELL AS A SEMICONDUCTOR THIN FILM, AND MULTILAYER STRUCTURE
    Publication number: 20030170990
    Abstract: A process for manufacturing a semiconductor substrate, comprising the step of preparing a first substrate which has a surface layer portion subjected to hydrogen annealing, the separation-layer formation step of implanting ions of hydrogen or the like into the first substrate from the side of the surface layer portion, thereby to form a separation layer, the adhesion step of bonding the first substrate and a second substrate to each other so that the surface layer portion may lie inside, thereby to form a multilayer structure, and the transfer step of separating the multilayer structure by utilizing the separation layer, thereby to transfer the less-defective layer of the surface layer portion onto the second substrate. The less-defective layer is a single-crystal silicon layer in which defects inherent in a bulk wafer, such as COPs and FPDs, are decreased.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 17, 1999
    Publication date: September 11, 2003
    Inventors: KIYOFUMI SAKAGUCHI, TAKAO YONEHARA, NOBUHIKO SATO