Patents by Inventor Souichi Fukaya
Souichi Fukaya 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: 10747098Abstract: A halftone phase shift photomask blank has on a transparent substrate, a first film serving as a halftone phase shift film, a second film serving as a light shielding film, a third film serving as a hard mask film, and a fourth film. The first and third films are formed of silicon-containing materials which are resistant to chlorine base dry etching and removable by fluorine base dry etching. The second and fourth films are formed of silicon-free, chromium-containing materials which are resistant to fluorine base dry etching and removable by chlorine base dry etching.Type: GrantFiled: February 22, 2018Date of Patent: August 18, 2020Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventors: Yukio Inazuki, Souichi Fukaya
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Patent number: 10712654Abstract: A photomask blank has on a transparent substrate, an optional first film, a second film, a third film, and a fourth film. The first and third films are formed of silicon-containing materials which are resistant to chlorine base dry etching and removable by fluorine base dry etching. The second and fourth films are formed of chromium-containing materials which are resistant to fluorine base dry etching and removable by chlorine base dry etching. An etching clear time of the fourth film is longer than an etching clear time of the second film, on chlorine base dry etching.Type: GrantFiled: February 22, 2018Date of Patent: July 14, 2020Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventors: Souichi Fukaya, Yukio Inazuki
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Patent number: 10120274Abstract: In a chamber (50), a quartz substrate (10) having a main surface on which an optical film (20) is formed is put on a susceptor (30). A flash lamp (60) is housed in a lamp house (90), and the optical film (20) is irradiated with flash light through two quartz plates (70a and 70b). A transmittance adjustment region (80) is formed on a surface of the quartz plate (70b) of the two quartz plates (70a and 70b), and the amount of light with which the optical film (20) is irradiated has in-plane distribution. If the optical film (20) is irradiated with the flash light, optical characteristics of the optical film (20) change depending on the received irradiation energy. Hence, for example, the characteristics of the optical film are not uniform, the optical film is irradiated with flash light having such irradiation energy distribution that cancels the in-plane distribution.Type: GrantFiled: January 12, 2017Date of Patent: November 6, 2018Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventors: Souichi Fukaya, Yukio Inazuki
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Publication number: 20180259842Abstract: A halftone phase shift photomask blank has on a transparent substrate, a first film serving as a halftone phase shift film, a second film serving as a light shielding film, a third film serving as a hard mask film, and a fourth film. The first and third films are formed of silicon-containing materials which are resistant to chlorine base dry etching and removable by fluorine base dry etching. The second and fourth films are formed of silicon-free, chromium-containing materials which are resistant to fluorine base dry etching and removable by chlorine base dry etching.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 22, 2018Publication date: September 13, 2018Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Yukio INAZUKI, Souichi FUKAYA
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Publication number: 20180259843Abstract: A photomask blank has on a transparent substrate, an optional first film, a second film, a third film, and a fourth film. The first and third films are formed of silicon-containing materials which are resistant to chlorine base dry etching and removable by fluorine base dry etching. The second and fourth films are formed of chromium-containing materials which are resistant to fluorine base dry etching and removable by chlorine base dry etching. An etching clear time of the fourth film is longer than an etching clear time of the second film, on chlorine base dry etching.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 22, 2018Publication date: September 13, 2018Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Souichi FUKAYA, Yukio INAZUKI
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Patent number: 10040220Abstract: A hard mask film 2 provided on substrate 1 is formed by tin-containing chromium-containing material. In the chromium-containing material including tin, which forms the hard mask film 2, the etching resistance to fluorine-containing dry etching is equal to or higher than the etching resistance of the tin-free chromium-containing material, and it shows a significantly high etching rate as compared with a chromium-containing material free of tin under conditions for chlorine-containing dry etching. As a result, the time for chlorine-containing dry etching is shortened, and damage to a resist pattern is reduced. Thus, high-precision pattern transfer can be performed. The present invention provides a novel technique for increasing etching process-ability by increasing a dry-etching rate of a hard mask film made of a chromium-containing material while assuring a hard mask function of the hard mask film.Type: GrantFiled: August 12, 2016Date of Patent: August 7, 2018Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventors: Souichi Fukaya, Hideo Nakagawa, Kouhei Sasamoto
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Patent number: 9952501Abstract: A photomask blank comprising a transparent substrate (1), an etching stop film (2), a light-shielding film (3), and an etching mask film (4) has on the substrate side a reflectance of up to 35% with respect to exposure light. The etching stop film (2) consists of a first layer (21) which is disposed contiguous to the substrate and functions as an antireflective layer and a second layer (22) functioning as a fluorine-base dry etching-resistant layer, one of the first and second layers is a layer having compressive stress and the other is a layer having tensile stress.Type: GrantFiled: September 2, 2016Date of Patent: April 24, 2018Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventors: Souichi Fukaya, Shinichi Igarashi, Takashi Yoshii
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Patent number: 9880459Abstract: In a photomask blank comprising a transparent substrate, a resistance layer, and a conductive layer, the resistivity and thickness of the conductive layer and the resistivity and thickness of the resistance layer are selected so as to meet a specific equation (1). In EB lithography, a ground can be established at a necessary fully low resistance value, and EB writing be carried out at a high accuracy.Type: GrantFiled: July 11, 2016Date of Patent: January 30, 2018Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventors: Kouhei Sasamoto, Souichi Fukaya, Yukio Inazuki
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Patent number: 9851633Abstract: An inorganic material film containing tin within the concentration range of 0.1 atomic percent or higher but no higher than 11.5 atomic percent eliminates the problem in which tin localizes and forms into particles, with the result that these particles turn into defects in an optical film. An inorganic material film for a photomask blank according to the present invention film-formed by sputtering and composed of a chromium-containing material includes a light-shielding layer having electrical conductivity, wherein the light-shielding layer contains 0.1 atomic percent or higher but no higher than 11.5 atomic percent of tin and no higher than 15 atomic percent of oxygen. The lower limit of oxygen concentration is, for example, 3 atomic percent. The inorganic material film has electrical conductivity, which is preferably no higher than 5000 ?/cm2 when evaluated in terms of resistance values.Type: GrantFiled: June 23, 2016Date of Patent: December 26, 2017Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventors: Souichi Fukaya, Kouhei Sasamoto, Hideo Nakagawa
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Patent number: 9798230Abstract: A photomask blank includes a chromium-based material film as a hard mask film containing at least one selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen, wherein a ratio (A/B) of etching rates per unit film thickness is in a range from 0.7 to 0.9, and the chromium-based material film has a tensile stress or compressive stress corresponding to an amount of warp of up to 70 nm. The present invention provides a photomask blank having a thin film of chromium-based material which is enhanced in etch resistance and lowered in film stress. This enables high-accuracy patterning of a chromium-based material film.Type: GrantFiled: September 11, 2015Date of Patent: October 24, 2017Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventors: Souichi Fukaya, Kouhei Sasamoto
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Patent number: 9798229Abstract: A method for designing a photomask blank comprising a transparent substrate and an optical film thereon is provided. The photomask blank is processed into a transmissive photomask having a pattern of optical film such that the film pattern may be transferred when exposure light is transmitted by the photomask. The optical film is selected using a specific reflectance, which is equal to the reflectance divided by the film thickness, as an index.Type: GrantFiled: July 16, 2015Date of Patent: October 24, 2017Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventors: Kouhei Sasamoto, Hideo Kaneko, Yukio Inazuki, Souichi Fukaya
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Patent number: 9689066Abstract: The method for manufacturing a photomask blank according to the present invention, when manufacturing a photomask blank having at least one functional layer on a transparent substrate, in a step of film-formation of such a functional film where the functional film includes a chromium-containing element and an a metallic element that is capable of bringing a mixture of the metallic element and the chromium into a liquid phase at a temperature of 400° C. or lower, a chromium target (target A) and a target (target B) mainly containing at least one kind of the metallic element are simultaneously sputtered (co-sputtered). The present invention provides a technique for manufacturing a functional film having a small variation in its characteristics such as optical density and a low detect, and showing a high etching rate.Type: GrantFiled: May 13, 2013Date of Patent: June 27, 2017Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventors: Hiroki Yoshikawa, Souichi Fukaya, Yukio Inazuki, Hideo Nakagawa
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Publication number: 20170123306Abstract: In a chamber (50), a quartz substrate (10) having a main surface on which an optical film (20) is formed is put on a susceptor (30). A flash lamp (60) is housed in a lamp house (90), and the optical film (20) is irradiated with flash light through two quartz plates (70a and 70b). A transmittance adjustment region (80) is formed on a surface of the quartz plate (70b) of the two quartz plates (70a and 70b), and the amount of light with which the optical film (20) is irradiated has in-plane distribution. If the optical film (20) is irradiated with the flash light, optical characteristics of the optical film (20) change depending on the received irradiation energy. Hence, for example, the characteristics of the optical film are not uniform, the optical film is irradiated with flash light having such irradiation energy distribution that cancels the in-plane distribution.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 12, 2017Publication date: May 4, 2017Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Souichi FUKAYA, Yukio INAZUKI
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Patent number: 9618838Abstract: A photomask blank includes a chromium-based material film as a light-shielding film, wherein the chromium-based material film has an optical density per unit thickness at a wavelength of 193 nm of at least 0.050/nm, and the chromium-based material film has a tensile stress or compressive stress corresponding to an amount of warp of up to 50 nm. The present invention provides a photomask blank having a thin film of chromium-based material which is lowered in film stress while retaining a high optical density per unit film thickness. This enables high-accuracy patterning of a chromium-based material film.Type: GrantFiled: September 11, 2015Date of Patent: April 11, 2017Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventors: Souichi Fukaya, Yukio Inazuki
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Publication number: 20170082917Abstract: A photomask blank comprising a transparent substrate (1), an etching stop film (2), a light-shielding film (3), and an etching mask film (4) has on the substrate side a reflectance of up to 35% with respect to exposure light. The etching stop film (2) consists of a first layer (21) which is disposed contiguous to the substrate and functions as an antireflective layer and a second layer (22) functioning as a fluorine-base dry etching-resistant layer, one of the first and second layers is a layer having compressive stress and the other is a layer having tensile stress.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 2, 2016Publication date: March 23, 2017Applicant: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventors: Souichi FUKAYA, Shinichi IGARASHI, Takashi YOSHII
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Patent number: 9581892Abstract: In a chamber (50), a quartz substrate (10) having a main surface on which an optical film (20) is formed is put on a susceptor (30). A flash lamp (60) is housed in a lamp house (90), and the optical film (20) is irradiated with flash light through two quartz plates (70a and 70b). A transmittance adjustment region (80) is formed on a surface of the quartz plate (70b) of the two quartz plates (70a and 70b), and the amount of light with which the optical film (20) is irradiated has in-plane distribution. If the optical film (20) is irradiated with the flash light, optical characteristics of the optical film (20) change depending on the received irradiation energy. Hence, for example, the characteristics of the optical film are not uniform, the optical film is irradiated with flash light having such irradiation energy distribution that cancels the in-plane distribution.Type: GrantFiled: June 17, 2014Date of Patent: February 28, 2017Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventors: Souichi Fukaya, Yukio Inazuki
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Publication number: 20170031237Abstract: In a photomask blank comprising a transparent substrate, a resistance layer, and a conductive layer, the resistivity and thickness of the conductive layer and the resistivity and thickness of the resistance layer are selected so as to meet a specific equation (1). In EB lithography, a ground can be established at a necessary fully low resistance value, and EB writing be carried out at a high accuracy.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 11, 2016Publication date: February 2, 2017Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Kouhei SASAMOTO, Souichi FUKAYA, Yukio INAZUKI
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Patent number: 9541823Abstract: A photomask blank comprising a transparent substrate and a chromium-containing film deposited thereon is provided. The chromium-containing film comprises at least one CrC compound layer comprising up to 50 at % of Cr, at least 25 at % of O and/or N, and at least 5 at % of C. From the blank, a photomask having a photomask pattern formed on the substrate is produced, the photomask being used in photolithography of forming a resist pattern with a line width of up to 0.1 ?m, using exposure light having a wavelength of up to 250 nm.Type: GrantFiled: December 5, 2014Date of Patent: January 10, 2017Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.Inventors: Kouhei Sasamoto, Yukio Inazuki, Souichi Fukaya, Hideo Nakagawa, Hideo Kaneko
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Publication number: 20170003584Abstract: An inorganic material film containing tin within the concentration range of 0.1 atomic percent or higher but no higher than 11.5 atomic percent eliminates the problem in which tin localizes and forms into particles, with the result that these particles turn into defects in an optical film. An inorganic material film for a photomask blank according to the present invention film-formed by sputtering and composed of a chromium-containing material includes a light-shielding layer having electrical conductivity, wherein the light-shielding layer contains 0.1 atomic percent or higher but no higher than 11.5 atomic percent of tin and no higher than 15 atomic percent of oxygen. The lower limit of oxygen concentration is, for example, 3 atomic percent. The inorganic material film has electrical conductivity, which is preferably no higher than 5000?/cm2 when evaluated in terms of resistance values.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 23, 2016Publication date: January 5, 2017Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Souichi FUKAYA, Kouhei Sasamoto, Hideo Nakagawa
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Publication number: 20160346960Abstract: A hard mask film 2 provided on substrate 1 is formed by tin-containing chromium-containing material. In the chromium-containing material including tin, which forms the hard mask film 2, the etching resistance to fluorine-containing dry etching is equal to or higher than the etching resistance of the tin-free chromium-containing material, and it shows a significantly high etching rate as compared with a chromium-containing material free of tin under conditions for chlorine-containing dry etching. As a result, the time for chlorine-containing dry etching is shortened, and damage to a resist pattern is reduced. Thus, high-precision pattern transfer can be performed. The present invention provides a novel technique for increasing etching process-ability by increasing a dry-etching rate of a hard mask film made of a chromium-containing material while assuring a hard mask function of the hard mask film.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 12, 2016Publication date: December 1, 2016Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Souichi FUKAYA, Hideo Nakagawa, Kouhei Sasamoto