Patents by Inventor Peter Keswick
Peter Keswick 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).
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Patent number: 7901976Abstract: A method is provided for forming a borderless contact to a local interconnect (LI) line on a substrate. Generally, the method includes steps of (i) depositing a nitride layer over a number of LI lines on the substrate, to substantially cover the LI lines; (ii) etching the nitride layer to form spacers adjacent to sidewalls of at least one of the number of LI lines and to expose at least a portion of a top surface of the LI line; (iii) depositing an inter-layer dielectric, such as an oxide, over the number of LI lines on the substrate and the spacers formed adjacent thereto; and (iv) performing a contact etch to etch contact openings through the inter-layer dielectric to expose the portion of the top surface of the underlying LI line. Other embodiments are also disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: May 15, 2007Date of Patent: March 8, 2011Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor CorporationInventors: Sriram Viswanathan, Vinay Krishna, Peter Keswick, Daniel Amzen
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Patent number: 7112834Abstract: A method of making a semiconductor structure includes etching an anti-reflective coating layer at a pressure of 10 millitorr or less; etching a nitride layer with a first nitride etch plasma having a first F:C ratio; and etching the nitride layer with a second nitride etch plasma having a second F:C ratio. The first F:C ratio is greater than the second F:C ratio.Type: GrantFiled: March 2, 2004Date of Patent: September 26, 2006Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor CorporationInventors: Benjamin Schwarz, Chan-Lon Yang, Kiyoko Ikeuchi, Peter Keswick, Lien Lee
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Patent number: 6699795Abstract: A method of making a semiconductor structure includes etching an anti-reflective coating layer at a pressure of 10 millitorr or less; etching a nitride layer with a first nitride etch plasma having a first F:C ratio; and etching the nitride layer with a second nitride etch plasma having a second F:C ratio. The first F:C ratio is greater than the second F:C ratio.Type: GrantFiled: March 15, 2002Date of Patent: March 2, 2004Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corp.Inventors: Benjamin Schwarz, Chan-Lon Yang, Kiyoko Ikeuchi, Peter Keswick, Lien Lee
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Patent number: 6440866Abstract: A general method of the invention is to provide a polymer-hardening precursor piece (such as silicon, carbon, silicon carbide or silicon nitride, but preferably silicon) within the reactor chamber during an etch process with a fluoro-carbon or fluoro-hydrocarbon gas, and to heat the polymer-hardening precursor piece above the polymerization temperature sufficiently to achieve a desired increase in oxide-to-silicon etch selectivity. Generally, this polymer-hardening precursor or silicon piece may be an integral part of the reactor chamber walls and/or ceiling or a separate, expendable and quickly removable piece, and the heating/cooling apparatus may be of any suitable type including apparatus which conductively or remotely heats the silicon piece.Type: GrantFiled: June 16, 2000Date of Patent: August 27, 2002Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Kenneth S. Collins, Michael Rice, David W. Groechel, Gerald Zheyao Yin, Jon Mohn, Craig A. Roderick, Douglas Buchberger, Chan-Lon Yang, Yuen-Kui Wong, Jeffrey Marks, Peter Keswick
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Patent number: 6218312Abstract: A general method of the invention is to provide a polymer-hardening precursor piece (such as silicon, carbon, silicon carbide or silicon nitride, but preferably silicon) within the reactor chamber during an etch process with a fluoro-carbon or fluoro-hydrocarbon gas, and to heat the polymer-hardening precursor piece above the polymerization temperature sufficiently to achieve a desired increase in oxide-to-silicon etch selectivity. Generally, this polymer-hardening precursor or silicon piece may be an integral part of the reactor chamber walls and/or ceiling or a separate, expendable and quickly removable piece, and the heating/cooling apparatus may be of any suitable type including apparatus which conductively or remotely heats the silicon piece.Type: GrantFiled: October 8, 1998Date of Patent: April 17, 2001Assignee: Applied Materials Inc.Inventors: Kenneth S. Collins, Michael Rice, David W. Groechel, Gerald Zheyao Yin, Jon Mohn, Craig A. Roderick, Douglas Buchberger, Chan-Lon Yang, Yuen-Kui Wong, Jeffrey Marks, Peter Keswick
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Patent number: 6194325Abstract: A plasma etch process is described for the etching of oxide with a high selectivity to nitride, including nitride formed on uneven surfaces of a substrate, e.g., on sidewalls of steps on an integrated circuit structure. The addition of one or more hydrogen-containing gases, preferably one or more hydrofluorocarbon gases, to one or more fluorine-substituted hydrocarbon etch gases and a scavenger for fluorine, in a plasma etch process for etching oxide in preference to nitride, results in a high selectivity to nitride which is preserved regardless of the topography of the nitride portions of the substrate surface. In a preferred embodiment, one or more oxygen-bearing gases are also added to reduce the overall rate of polymer deposition on the chamber surfaces and on the surfaces to be etched, which can otherwise reduce the etch rate and cause excessive polymer deposition on the chamber surfaces. The fluorine scavenger is preferably an electrically grounded silicon electrode associated with the plasma.Type: GrantFiled: December 4, 1995Date of Patent: February 27, 2001Assignee: Applied Materials Inc.Inventors: Chan Lon Yang, Jeffrey Marks, Nicolas Bright, Kenneth S. Collins, David Groechel, Peter Keswick
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Patent number: 6036877Abstract: A general method of the invention is to provide a polymer-hardening precursor piece (such as silicon, carbon, silicon carbide or silicon nitride, but preferably silicon) within the reactor chamber during an etch process with a fluoro-carbon or fluoro-hydrocarbon gas, and to heat the polymer-hardening precursor piece above the polymerization temperature sufficiently to achieve a desired increase in oxide-to-silicon etch selectivity. Generally, this polymer-hardening precursor or silicon piece may be an integral part of the reactor chamber walls and/or ceiling or a separate, expendable and quickly removable piece, and the heating/cooling apparatus may be of any suitable type including apparatus which conductively or remotely heats the silicon piece.Type: GrantFiled: May 13, 1996Date of Patent: March 14, 2000Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Kenneth S. Collins, Michael Rice, David W. Groechel, Gerald Zheyao Yin, Jon Mohn, Craig A. Roderick, Douglas Buchberger, Chan-Lon Yang, Yuen-Kui Wong, Jeffrey Marks, Peter Keswick
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Patent number: 6024826Abstract: A general method of the invention is to provide a polymer-hardening precursor piece (such as silicon, carbon, silicon carbide or silicon nitride, but preferably silicon) within the reactor chamber during an etch process with a fluoro-carbon or fluoro-hydrocarbon gas, and to heat the polymer-hardening precursor piece above the polymerization temperature sufficiently to achieve a desired increase in oxide-to-silicon etch selectivity. Generally, this polymer-hardening precursor or silicon piece may be an integral part of the reactor chamber walls and/or ceiling or a separate, expendable and quickly removable piece, and the heating/cooling apparatus may be of any suitable type including apparatus which conductively or remotely heats the silicon piece.Type: GrantFiled: October 23, 1996Date of Patent: February 15, 2000Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Kenneth Collins, Michael Rice, David Groechel, Gerald Yin, Jon Mohn, Craig Roderick, Douglas Buchberger, Chan-Lon Yang, Jerry Wong, Jeffrey Marks, Peter Keswick
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Patent number: 5990017Abstract: A general method of the invention is to provide a polymer-hardening precursor piece (such as silicon, carbon, silicon carbide or silicon nitride, but preferably silicon) within the reactor chamber during an etch process with a fluoro-carbon or fluoro-hydrocarbon gas, and to heat the polymer-hardening precursor piece above the polymerization temperature sufficiently to achieve a desired increase in oxide-to-silicon etch selectivity. Generally, this polymer-hardening precursor or silicon piece may be an integral part of the reactor chamber walls and/or ceiling or a separate, expendable and quickly removable piece, and the heating/cooling apparatus may be of any suitable type including apparatus which conductively or remotely heats the silicon piece.Type: GrantFiled: June 25, 1998Date of Patent: November 23, 1999Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Kenneth Collins, Michael Rice, David Groechel, Gerald Yin, Jon Mohn, Craig Roderick, Douglas Buchberger, Chan-Lon Yang, Jerry Wong, Jeffrey Marks, Peter Keswick
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Patent number: 5399237Abstract: A process for etching titanium nitride on a substrate 20 is described. In the process, a substrate 20 having a titanium nitride layer 24c thereon, and an insulative oxide layer 26 on the titanium nitride layer 24c is placed in a process chamber 42. Either a single stage, or a multiple stage version, of the process is then effected to etch the insulative oxide and titanium nitride layers. In the single stage version, the insulative oxide layer 26 and titanium nitride layer 24c are etched in a single stage, by introducing an etchant gas comprising carbon-fluoride gas and carbon-oxide gas into the process chamber 42, and generating a plasma from the etchant gas. The multiple stage version, comprises a first stage in which the insulative oxide layer 26 is etched using a plasma generated from carbon-fluoride gas, and a second stage in which the titanium nitride layer 24c is etched using a plasma generated from an etchant gas comprising carbon-fluoride gas and carbon-oxide gas.Type: GrantFiled: January 27, 1994Date of Patent: March 21, 1995Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Peter Keswick, Jeffrey Marks
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Patent number: 5158644Abstract: A reactor chamber self-cleaning process is disclosed which uses a fluorocarbon-containing gas and, preferably, C.sub.2 F.sub.6 in combination with oxygen. The two-step process involves, first, a chamber-wide etch at relatively low pressure and with relatively large separation between the gas inlet manifold and the wafer supports which are the RF electrodes and, second, a local etch step which uses a relatively high chamber pressure and smaller electrode spacing, to complete the cleaning of the RF electrodes.Type: GrantFiled: October 10, 1991Date of Patent: October 27, 1992Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: David Cheung, Peter Keswick, Jerry Wong