Patents by Inventor Kumiko Murayama

Kumiko Murayama 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: 8476149
    Abstract: A silicon wafer produced from a silicon single crystal ingot grown by Czochralski process is subjected to rapid heating/cooling thermal process at a maximum temperature (T1) of 1300° C. or more, but less than 1380° C. in an oxidizing gas atmosphere having an oxygen partial pressure of 20% or more, but less than 100%. The silicon wafer according to the invention has, in a defect-free region (DZ layer) including at least a device active region of the silicon wafer, a high oxygen concentration region having a concentration of oxygen solid solution of 0.7×1018 atoms/cm3 or more and at the same time, the defect-free region contains interstitial silicon in supersaturated state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2013
    Assignee: Global Wafers Japan Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiromichi Isogai, Takeshi Senda, Eiji Toyoda, Kumiko Murayama, Koji Izunome, Susumu Maeda, Kazuhiko Kashima, Koji Araki, Tatsuhiko Aoki, Haruo Sudo, Yoichiro Mochizuki, Akihiko Kobayashi, Senlin Fu
  • Patent number: 8399341
    Abstract: The invention is to provide a method for heat treating a silicon wafer reducing grown-in defects while suppressing generation of slip during RTP and improving surface roughness of the wafer. The method performing a first heat treatment while introducing a rare gas, the first heat treatment comprising the steps of rapidly heating the wafer to T1 of 1300° C. or higher and the melting point of silicon or lower, keeping the wafer at T1, rapidly cooling the wafer to T2 of 400-800° C. and keeping the wafer at T2; and performing a second heat treatment while introducing an oxygen gas in an amount of 20-100 vol. %, the second heat treatment comprising the steps of keeping the wafer at T2, rapidly heating the wafer from T2 to T3 of 1250° C. or higher and the melting point of silicon or lower, keeping the wafer at T3 and rapidly cooling the wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Covalent Materials Corporation
    Inventors: Takeshi Senda, Hiromichi Isogai, Eiji Toyoda, Kumiko Murayama, Koji Araki, Tatsuhiko Aoki, Haruo Sudo, Koji Izunome, Susumu Maeda, Kazuhiko Kashima
  • Patent number: 8252700
    Abstract: In a method of heat treating a wafer obtained by slicing a silicon single crystal ingot manufactured by the Czochralski method, a rapid heating/cooling heat treatment is carried out by setting a holding time at an ultimate temperature of 1200° C. or more and a melting point of silicon or less to be equal to or longer than one second and to be equal to or shorter than 60 seconds in a mixed gas atmosphere containing oxygen having an oxygen partial pressure of 1.0% or more and 20% or less and argon, and an oxide film having a thickness of 9.1 nm or less or 24.3 nm or more is thus formed on a surface of the silicon wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: Covalent Materials Corporation
    Inventors: Takeshi Senda, Hiromichi Isogai, Eiji Toyoda, Kumiko Murayama, Koji Araki, Tatsuhiko Aoki, Haruo Sudo, Koji Izunome, Susumu Maeda, Kazuhiko Kashima
  • Publication number: 20120184091
    Abstract: The invention is to provide a method for heat treating a silicon wafer reducing grown-in defects while suppressing generation of slip during RTP and improving surface roughness of the wafer. The method performing a first heat treatment while introducing a rare gas, the first heat treatment comprising the steps of rapidly heating the wafer to T1 of 1300° C. or higher and the melting point of silicon or lower, keeping the wafer at T1, rapidly cooling the wafer to T2 of 400-800° C. and keeping the wafer at T2; and performing a second heat treatment while introducing an oxygen gas in an amount of 20-100 vol. %, the second heat treatment comprising the steps of keeping the wafer at T2, rapidly heating the wafer from T2 to T3 of 1250° C. or higher and the melting point of silicon or lower, keeping the wafer at T3 and rapidly cooling the wafer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 17, 2010
    Publication date: July 19, 2012
    Applicant: Covalent Materials Corporation
    Inventors: Takeshi Senda, Hiromichi Isogai, Eiji Toyoda, Kumiko Murayama, Koji Araki, Tatsuhiko Aoki, Haruo Sudo, Koji Izunome, Susumu Maeda, Kazuhiko Kashima
  • Patent number: 7977219
    Abstract: In a manufacturing method for a silicon wafer, a first heat treatment process is performed on the silicon wafer while introducing a first gas having an oxygen gas in an amount of 0.01 vol. % or more and 1.00 vol. % or less and a rare gas, and a second heat treatment process is performed while stopping introducing the first gas and introducing a second gas having an oxygen gas in an amount of 20 vol. % or more and 100 vol. % or less and a rare gas. In the first heat treatment process, the silicon wafer is rapidly heated to first temperature of 1300° C. or higher and a melting point of silicon or lower at a first heating rate, and kept at the first temperature. In the second heat treatment process, the silicon wafer is kept at the first temperature, and rapidly cooled from the first temperature at a first cooling rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2011
    Assignee: Covalent Materials Corporation
    Inventors: Hiromichi Isogai, Takeshi Senda, Eiji Toyoda, Kumiko Murayama, Koji Izunome, Susumu Maeda, Kazuhiko Kashima
  • Publication number: 20100197146
    Abstract: In a method of heat treating a wafer obtained by slicing a silicon single crystal ingot manufactured by the Czochralski method, a rapid heating/cooling heat treatment is carried out by setting a holding time at an ultimate temperature of 1200° C. or more and a melting point of silicon or less to be equal to or longer than one second and to be equal to or shorter than 60 seconds in a mixed gas atmosphere containing oxygen having an oxygen partial pressure of 1.0% or more and 20% or less and argon, and an oxide film having a thickness of 9.1 nm or less or 24.3 nm or more is thus formed on a surface of the silicon wafer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 21, 2010
    Publication date: August 5, 2010
    Applicant: COVALENT MATERIALS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takeshi Senda, Hiromichi Isogai, Eiji Toyoda, Kumiko Murayama, Koji Araki, Tatsuhiko Aoki, Haruo Sudo, Koji Izunome, Susumu Maeda, Kazuhiko Kashima
  • Publication number: 20100055884
    Abstract: In a manufacturing method for a silicon wafer, a first heat treatment process is performed on the silicon wafer while introducing a first gas having an oxygen gas in an amount of 0.01 vol. % or more and 1.00 vol. % or less and a rare gas, and a second heat treatment process is performed while stopping introducing the first gas and introducing a second gas having an oxygen gas in an amount of 20 vol. % or more and 100 vol. % or less and a rare gas. In the first heat treatment process, the silicon wafer is rapidly heated to first temperature of 1300° C. or higher and a melting point of silicon or lower at a first heating rate, and kept at the first temperature. In the second heat treatment process, the silicon wafer is kept at the first temperature, and rapidly cooled from the first temperature at a first cooling rate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2009
    Publication date: March 4, 2010
    Inventors: Hiromichi Isogai, Takeshi Senda, Eiji Toyoda, Kumiko Murayama, Koji Izunome, Susumu Maeda, Kazuhiko Kashima
  • Publication number: 20100038757
    Abstract: A silicon wafer produced from a silicon single crystal ingot grown by Czochralski process is subjected to rapid heating/cooling thermal process at a maximum temperature (T1) of 1300° C. or more, but less than 1380° C. in an oxidizing gas atmosphere having an oxygen partial pressure of 20% or more, but less than 100%. The silicon wafer according to the invention has, in a defect-free region (DZ layer) including at least a device active region of the silicon wafer, a high oxygen concentration region having a concentration of oxygen solid solution of 0.7×1018 atoms/cm3 or more and at the same time, the defect-free region contains interstitial silicon in supersaturated state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2009
    Publication date: February 18, 2010
    Inventors: Hiromichi Isogai, Takeshi Senda, Eiji Toyoda, Kumiko Murayama, Koji Izunome, Susumu Maeda, Kazuhiko Kashima, Koji Araki, Tatsuhiko Aoki, Haruo Sudo, Yoichiro Mochizuki, Akihiko Kobayashi, Senlin Fu