Patents by Inventor Matthew E Colburn

Matthew E Colburn 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).

  • Integration of dense and variable pitch fin structures
    Patent number: 9087792
    Abstract: Semiconductor devices include a first set of fins having a uniform fin pitch that is less than half a minimum fin pitch for an associated lithography process; and a second set of fins having a variable fin pitch that is less the minimum fin pitch for the associated lithography process but greater than half the minimum fin pitch for the associated lithography process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2015
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kangguo Cheng, Matthew E. Colburn, Bruce B. Doris, Ali Khakifirooz
  • INTEGRATION OF DENSE AND VARIABLE PITCH FIN STRUCTURES
    Publication number: 20150170927
    Abstract: Methods for forming semiconductor devices. Methods for forming fin structures include forming first sidewalls around a first set of mandrels. The first set of mandrels is removed and second sidewalls are formed around the first sidewalls and a second set of mandrels. The first sidewalls and the second set of mandrels are removed and an underlying layer around the second sidewalls is etched.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2015
    Publication date: June 18, 2015
    Inventors: Kangguo Cheng, Matthew E. Colburn, Bruce B. Doris, Ali Khakifirooz
  • Process of multiple exposures with spin castable films
    Patent number: 9058997
    Abstract: Methods of multiple exposure in the fields of deep ultraviolet photolithography, next generation lithography, and semiconductor fabrication comprise a spin-castable methodology for enabling multiple patterning by completing a standard lithography process for the first exposure, followed by spin casting an etch selective overcoat layer, applying a second photoresist, and subsequent lithography. Utilizing the etch selectivity of each layer, provides a cost-effective, high resolution patterning technique. The invention comprises a number of double or multiple patterning techniques, some aimed at achieving resolution benefits, as well as others that achieve cost savings, or both resolution and cost savings. These techniques include, but are not limited to, pitch splitting techniques, pattern decomposition techniques, and dual damascene structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2015
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Martin Burkhardt, Sean D. Burns, Matthew E. Colburn
  • Integration of dense and variable pitch fin structures
    Patent number: 9040371
    Abstract: Semiconductor devices and method for forming the same. Methods for forming fin structures include forming a protective layer over a set of mandrels in a variable fin pitch region; forming first sidewalls around a set of mandrels in a uniform fin pitch region; removing the set of mandrels in the uniform fin pitch region; removing the protective layer; forming second sidewalls around the first sidewalls in the uniform fin pitch region and the mandrels in the variable fin pitch region; removing the first sidewalls and the mandrels; and etching an underlying layer around the second sidewalls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kangguo Cheng, Matthew E. Colburn, Bruce B. Doris, Ali Khakifirooz
  • Methods of forming nanoparticles using semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure
    Patent number: 8986596
    Abstract: A method of preparing particles comprises forming by optical lithography a topographic template layer disposed on a surface of a substrate, which is suitable for spin casting. The template layer comprises a non-crosslinked template polymer having a pattern of independent wells therein for molding independent particles. Spin casting a particle-forming composition onto the template layer forms a composite layer comprising the template polymer and the particles disposed in the wells. The composite layer is removed from the substrate using a stripping agent that dissolves the template polymer without dissolving the particles. The particles are then isolated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Joy Cheng, Daniel J. Coady, Matthew E. Colburn, Blake W. Davis, James L. Hedrick, Steven J. Holmes, Hareem T. Maune, Alshakim Nelson
  • INTEGRATION OF DENSE AND VARIABLE PITCH FIN STRUCTURES
    Publication number: 20150041958
    Abstract: Semiconductor devices and method for forming the same. Methods for forming fin structures include forming a protective layer over a set of mandrels in a variable fin pitch region; forming first sidewalls around a set of mandrels in a uniform fin pitch region; removing the set of mandrels in the uniform fin pitch region; removing the protective layer; forming second sidewalls around the first sidewalls in the uniform fin pitch region and the mandrels in the variable fin pitch region; removing the first sidewalls and the mandrels; and etching an underlying layer around the second sidewalls.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2013
    Publication date: February 12, 2015
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kangguo Cheng, Matthew E. Colburn, Bruce B. Doris, Ali Khakifirooz
  • INTEGRATION OF DENSE AND VARIABLE PITCH FIN STRUCTURES
    Publication number: 20150041812
    Abstract: Semiconductor devices include a first set of fins having a uniform fin pitch that is less than half a minimum fin pitch for an associated lithography process; and a second set of fins having a variable fin pitch that is less the minimum fin pitch for the associated lithography process but greater than half the minimum fin pitch for the associated lithography process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2013
    Publication date: February 12, 2015
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kangguo Cheng, Matthew E. Colburn, Bruce B. Doris, Ali Khakifirooz
  • Interconnect structures with engineered dielectrics with nanocolumnar porosity
    Patent number: 8901741
    Abstract: A method for forming an interconnect structure with nanocolumnar intermetal dielectric is described involving the construction of an interconnect structure using a solid dielectric, and introducing a regular array of vertically aligned nanoscale pores through stencil formation and etching to form a hole array and subsequently pinching off the tops of the hole array with a cap dielectric. Variations of the method and means to construct a multilevel nanocolumnar interconnect structure are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Matthew E. Colburn, Satya V. Nitta, Sampath Purushothaman, Charles Black, Kathryn Guarini
  • Sidewall image transfer process
    Patent number: 8883649
    Abstract: An improved method of performing sidewall spacer imager transfer is presented. The method includes forming a set of sidewall spacers next to a plurality of mandrels, the set of sidewall spacers being directly on top of a hard-mask layer; transferring image of at least a portion of the set of sidewall spacers to the hard-mask layer to form a device pattern; and transferring the device pattern from the hard-mask layer to a substrate underneath the hard-mask layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Yunpeng Yin, John C. Arnold, Matthew E. Colburn, Sean D. Burns
  • GRAPHO-EPITAXY DSA PROCESS WITH DIMENSION CONTROL OF TEMPLATE PATTERN
    Publication number: 20140322917
    Abstract: A method for defining a template for directed self-assembly (DSA) materials includes patterning a resist on a stack including an ARC and a mask formed over a hydrophilic layer. A pattern is formed by etching the ARC and the mask to form template lines which are trimmed to less than a minimum feature size (L). Hydrophobic spacers are formed on the template lines and include a fractional width of L. A neutral brush layer is grafted to the hydrophilic layer. A DSA material is deposited between the spacers and annealed to form material domains in a form of alternating lines of a first and a second material wherein the first material in contact with the spacers includes a width less than a width of the lines. A metal is added to the domains forming an etch resistant second material. The first material and the spacers are removed to form a DSA template pattern.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2014
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Inventors: Jassem A. Abdallah, Matthew E. Colburn, Steven J. Holmes, Chi-Chun Liu
  • DSA grapho-epitaxy process with etch stop material
    Patent number: 8859433
    Abstract: A method for defining a template for directed self-assembly (DSA) materials includes forming an etch stop layer on a neutral material, forming a mask layer on the etch stop layer and forming an anti-reflection coating (ARC) on the mask layer. A resist layer is patterned on the ARC using optical lithography to form a template pattern. The ARC and the mask layer are reactive ion etched down to the etch stop layer in accordance with the template pattern to form a template structure. The ARC is removed from the mask layer and the template structure is trimmed to reduce a width of the template structure. A wet etch is performed to remove the etch stop layer to permit the neutral material to form an undamaged DSA template for DSA materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jassem A. Abdallah, Matthew E. Colburn, Steven J. Holmes, Daiji Kawamura, Chi-Chun Liu, Muthumanickam Sankarapandian, Yunpeng Yin
  • Grapho-epitaxy DSA process with dimension control of template pattern
    Patent number: 8853085
    Abstract: A method for defining a template for directed self-assembly (DSA) materials includes patterning a resist on a stack including an ARC and a mask formed over a hydrophilic layer. A pattern is formed by etching the ARC and the mask to form template lines which are trimmed to less than a minimum feature size (L). Hydrophobic spacers are formed on the template lines and include a fractional width of L. A neutral brush layer is grafted to the hydrophilic layer. A DSA material is deposited between the spacers and annealed to form material domains in a form of alternating lines of a first and a second material wherein the first material in contact with the spacers includes a width less than a width of the lines. A metal is added to the domains forming an etch resistant second material. The first material and the spacers are removed to form a DSA template pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jassem A. Abdallah, Matthew E. Colburn, Steven J. Holmes, Chi-Chun Liu
  • DSA GRAPHO-EPITAXY PROCESS WITH ETCH STOP MATERIAL
    Publication number: 20140256145
    Abstract: A method for defining a template for directed self-assembly (DSA) materials includes forming an etch stop layer on a neutral material, forming a mask layer on the etch stop layer and forming an anti-reflection coating (ARC) on the mask layer. A resist layer is patterned on the ARC using optical lithography to form a template pattern. The ARC and the mask layer are reactive ion etched down to the etch stop layer in accordance with the template pattern to form a template structure. The ARC is removed from the mask layer and the template structure is trimmed to reduce a width of the template structure. A wet etch is performed to remove the etch stop layer to permit the neutral material to form an undamaged DSA template for DSA materials.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2013
    Publication date: September 11, 2014
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: JASSEM A. ABDALLAH, MATTHEW E. COLBURN, STEVEN J. HOLMES, DAIJI KAWAMURA, CHI-CHUN LIU, MUTHUMANICKAM SANKARAPANDIAN, YUNPENG YIN
  • Circuit structure with low dielectric constant regions
    Patent number: 8772941
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a circuit includes the step of providing a first wiring level comprising first wiring level conductors separated by a first wiring level dielectric material. A first dielectric layer with a plurality of interconnect openings and a plurality of gap openings is formed above the first wiring level. The interconnect openings and the gap openings are pinched off with a pinching dielectric material to form relatively low dielectric constant (low-k) volumes in the gap openings. Metallic conductors comprising second wiring level conductors and interconnects to the first wiring level conductors are formed at the interconnect openings while maintaining the relatively low-k volumes in the gap openings. The gap openings with the relatively low-k volumes reduce parasitic capacitance between adjacent conductor structures formed by the conductors and interconnects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Lawrence A. Clevenger, Matthew E. Colburn, Louis C. Hsu, Wai-Kin Li
  • METHODS OF FORMING NANOPARTICLES USING SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING INFRASTRUCTURE
    Publication number: 20140138863
    Abstract: A method of preparing particles comprises forming by optical lithography a topographic template layer disposed on a surface of a substrate, which is suitable for spin casting. The template layer comprises a non-crosslinked template polymer having a pattern of independent wells therein for molding independent particles. Spin casting a particle-forming composition onto the template layer forms a composite layer comprising the template polymer and the particles disposed in the wells. The composite layer is removed from the substrate using a stripping agent that dissolves the template polymer without dissolving the particles. The particles are then isolated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2012
    Publication date: May 22, 2014
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Joy Cheng, Daniel J. Coady, Matthew E. Colburn, Blake W. Davis, James L. Hedrick, Steven J. Holmes, Hareem T. Maune, Alshakim Nelson
  • Pneumatic method and apparatus for nano imprint lithography having a conforming mask
    Patent number: 8721952
    Abstract: A method (and apparatus) for nano lithography, includes applying a pneumatic pressure to at least one of a surface of a semi-rigid mask or template and a portion of a surface of a resist-coated workpiece, and, by the applying of the pneumatic pressure, transferring a pattern from the mask to the workpiece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Matthew E. Colburn, Yves C. Martin, Theodore G. van Kessel, Hematha K. Wickramasinghe
  • Simultaneous photoresist development and neutral polymer layer formation
    Patent number: 8715917
    Abstract: A photoresist layer is lithographically exposed to form lithographically exposed photoresist regions and lithographically unexposed photoresist regions. The photoresist layer is developed with a non-polar or weakly polar solvent including a dissolved neutral polymer material. A neutral polymer layer is selectively formed on physically exposed surfaces of a hard mask layer underlying the photoresist layer. The neutral polymer layer has a pattern corresponding to the complement of the area of remaining portions of the photoresist layer. The remaining portions of the photoresist layer are then removed with a polar solvent without removing the neutral polymer layer on the hard mask layer. A block copolymer material can be subsequently applied over the neutral polymer, and the neutral polymer layer can guide the alignment of a phase-separated block copolymer material in a directed self-assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Steven J. Holmes, Jassem Ahmed Abdallah, Joy Cheng, Matthew E. Colburn, Chi-chun Liu
  • SIMULTANEOUS PHOTORESIST DEVELOPMENT AND NEUTRAL POLYMER LAYER FORMATION
    Publication number: 20140099583
    Abstract: A photoresist layer is lithographically exposed to form lithographically exposed photoresist regions and lithographically unexposed photoresist regions. The photoresist layer is developed with a non-polar or weakly polar solvent including a dissolved neutral polymer material. A neutral polymer layer is selectively formed on physically exposed surfaces of a hard mask layer underlying the photoresist layer. The neutral polymer layer has a pattern corresponding to the complement of the area of remaining portions of the photoresist layer. The remaining portions of the photoresist layer are then removed with a polar solvent without removing the neutral polymer layer on the hard mask layer. A block copolymer material can be subsequently applied over the neutral polymer, and the neutral polymer layer can guide the alignment of a phase-separated block copolymer material in a directed self-assembly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 4, 2012
    Publication date: April 10, 2014
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Steven J. Holmes, Jassem Ahmed Abdallah, Joy Cheng, Matthew E. Colburn, Chi-chun Liu
  • Methods of directed self-assembly, and layered structures formed therefrom
    Patent number: 8623458
    Abstract: A layered structure comprising a self-assembled material is formed by a method that includes forming a photochemically, thermally and/or chemically treated patterned photoresist layer disposed on a first surface of a substrate. The treated patterned photoresist layer comprises a non-crosslinked treated photoresist. An orientation control material is cast on the treated patterned photoresist layer, forming a layer containing orientation control material bound to a second surface of the substrate. The treated photoresist and, optionally, any non-bound orientation control material are removed by a development process, resulting in a pre-pattern for self-assembly. A material capable of self-assembly is cast on the pre-pattern. The casted material is allowed to self-assemble with optional heating and/or annealing to produce the layered structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Joy Cheng, Matthew E. Colburn, Stefan Harrer, William D. Hinsberg, Steven J. Holmes, Ho-Cheol Kim, Daniel Paul Sanders
  • Method and material for a thermally crosslinkable random copolymer
    Patent number: 8609238
    Abstract: A structure that comprises a substrate; a cross-linked random free radical copolymer on the substrate; and a self-assembled patterned diblock copolymer film on the random copolymer; wherein the random copolymer is energy neutral with respect to each block of the diblock copolymer film. A method of making the structure is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Matthew E. Colburn, Gregory Breyta