Patents by Inventor Tomoko Wake

Tomoko Wake 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: 6930037
    Abstract: This invention relates to a process for forming a metal interconnect comprising the steps of forming a concave in an insulating film formed on a substrate, forming a barrier metal film on the insulating film, forming an interconnect metal film over the whole surface such that the concave is filled with the metal and then polishing the surface of the substrate by chemical mechanical polishing, characterized in that the polishing step comprises a first polishing step of polishing the surface such that the interconnect metal film partially remains on the surface other than the concave and a second polishing step of polishing the surface using a polishing slurry controlling a polishing-rate ratio of the interconnect metal to the barrier metal to 1 to 3 both inclusive, until the surface of the insulating film other than the concave is substantially completely exposed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2005
    Assignee: NEC Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tsuchiya, Tomoko Wake
  • Patent number: 6867139
    Abstract: A semiconductor device manufacturing method wherein a via-hole is formed in an second inter-layer insulating film covering a lower layer wiring, throughout a surface of which are then formed a barrier film made of Ta (tantalum) and a Cu (copper) film sequentially, after which, first an unnecessary part of the Cu film is removed by a CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) method using such a polishing liquid to which hydrogen peroxide is added by 1.5 weight-percent or more (first polishing step) and then an unnecessary part of the barrier film is removed by a CMP method for using a polishing liquid to which hydrogen peroxide is added by 0.09-1.5 weight-percent and applying a pressure of 4-10 Psi (pounds per square inch) on the barrier film (second polishing step).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2005
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoko Wake
  • Patent number: 6725119
    Abstract: An objective of this invention is to provide a process for selecting rationally and quickly a wet process treatment in which an etchant can be shared based on a minimum preliminary investigation while eliminating cross contamination derived from a newly employed material, in a cleaning-apparatus line configuration in a process for manufacturing a silicon semiconductor device. In advance, an element which is suspected to cause cross contamination is added to an etchant used in a wet processing, a silicon substrate is immersed in the etchant, and then a correlation between a concentration of the element adhesively remaining still on the surface of the silicon substrate after the etchant is washed out with water and a concentration of the dissolved element in the etchant. On the basis of the result, the upper concentration limit of the element remaining by cross contamination is estimated when sharing the etchant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2004
    Assignee: NEC Electronics Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoko Wake
  • Publication number: 20030211742
    Abstract: A CMP process includes the steps of polishing a Cu film of a damascene pattern having the Cu film and an underlying barrier film until the barrier film is exposed, cleaning the exposed surfaces of the Cu film and the barrier film by using aqueous ammonium for removing an organic Cu complex, washing the exposed surfaces of the Cu film and barrier film, and polishing the barrier film and the Cu film until an insulator film is exposed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2003
    Publication date: November 13, 2003
    Inventors: Akira Kubo, Yasuaki Tuchiya, Tomoko Wake
  • Patent number: 6585568
    Abstract: This invention provides a chemical mechanical polishing slurry for polishing a copper-based metal film formed on an insulating film comprising a concave on a substrate, comprising a polishing material, an oxidizing agent and water as well as a benzotriazole compound and a triazole compound. The polishing slurry may be used in CMP to form a reliable damascene electric connection with excellent electric properties at a higher polishing rate, i.e., a higher throughput while preventing dishing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2003
    Assignees: NEC Electronics Corporation, Tokyo Magnetic Printing Co. Ltd
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tsuchiya, Tomoko Wake, Tetsuyuki Itakura, Shin Sakurai, Kenichi Aoyagi
  • Patent number: 6585786
    Abstract: By using a polishing slurry which contains, at least, a polishing grain, an oxidizing agent and a basic amino acid compound, it is possible to suppress dishing and erosion liable to be produced in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) for a copper-based metal film when forming a buried interconnection of a copper-based metal on a barrier metal film of a tantalum-based metal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2003
    Assignees: NEC Electronics Corporation, Tokyo Magnetic Printing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tsuchiya, Tomoko Wake, Tetsuyuki Itakura, Shin Sakurai, Kenichi Aoyagi
  • Patent number: 6530968
    Abstract: This invention provides a chemical mechanical polishing slurry for polishing a metal film formed on an insulating film with a concave on a substrate wherein the slurry contains a thickener without an ionic group with an opposite sign to a charge on a polishing material surface to 0.001 wt % or more and less than 0.05 wt % to the total amount of the slurry and has a slurry viscosity of 1 mPa·s to 5 mPa·s both inclusive. The polishing slurry may be used in CMP to form a reliable damascene electric connection with excellent electric properties at a higher polishing rate, i.e., a higher throughput while preventing dishing or erosion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2003
    Assignees: NEC Electronics Corporation, Tokyo Magnetic Printing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tsuchiya, Tomoko Wake, Tetsuyuki Itakura, Shin Sakurai, Kenichi Aoyagi
  • Publication number: 20020187640
    Abstract: A semiconductor device manufacturing method wherein a via-hole is formed in an second inter-layer insulating film covering a lower layer wiring, throughout a surface of which are then formed a barrier film made of Ta (tantalum) and a Cu (copper) film sequentially, after which, first an unnecessary part of the Cu film is removed by a CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) method using such a polishing liquid to which hydrogen peroxide is added by 1.5 weight-percent or more (first polishing step) and then an unnecessary part of the barrier film is removed by a CMP method for using a polishing liquid to which hydrogen peroxide is added by 0.09-1.5 weight-percent arid applying a pressure of 4-10 Psi (pounds per square inch) on the barrier film (second polishing step).
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2002
    Publication date: December 12, 2002
    Inventor: Tomoko Wake
  • Patent number: 6478834
    Abstract: By using a polishing slurry which comprises, at least, a polishing grain, an oxidizing agent and a higher-mono-primary amine, it is possible to suppress dishing and erosion liable to be produced in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) for a copper-based metal film when forming a buried interconnection of a copper-based metal on a barrier metal film of a tantalum-based metal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2002
    Assignees: NEC Corp., Tokyo Magnetic Printing Co. Ltd
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tsuchiya, Tomoko Wake, Tetsuyuki Itakura, Shin Sakurai, Kenichi Aoyagi
  • Patent number: 6436811
    Abstract: This invention relates to a process for forming a metal interconnect comprising the steps of forming a concave in an insulating film formed on a substrate, forming a copper-containing metal film over the whole surface such that the concave is filled with the metal and then polishing the copper-containing metal film by chemical mechanical polishing, characterized in that the polishing step is conducted using a chemical mechanical polishing slurry comprising a polishing material, an oxidizing agent and an adhesion inhibitor preventing adhesion of a polishing product to a polishing pad, while contacting the polishing pad to a polished surface with a pressure of at least 27 kPa. This invention allows us to prevent adhesion of a polishing product to a polishing pad and to form a uniform interconnect layer with an improved throughput, even when polishing a large amount of copper-containing metal during a polishing step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2002
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Tomoko Wake, Yasuaki Tsuchiya
  • Publication number: 20020104268
    Abstract: By using a polishing slurry which comprises, at least, a polishing grain, an oxidizing agent and a higher-mono-primary amine, it is possible to suppress dishing and erosion liable to be produced in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) for a copper-based metal film when forming a buried interconnection of a copper-based metal on a barrier metal film of a tantalum-based metal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2001
    Publication date: August 8, 2002
    Applicant: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tsuchiya, Tomoko Wake, Tetsuyuki Itakura, Shin Sakurai, Kenichi Aoyagi
  • Publication number: 20020095872
    Abstract: This invention provides a chemical mechanical polishing slurry for polishing a metal film formed on an insulating film with a concave on a substrate wherein the slurry contains a thickener without an ionic group with an opposite sign to a charge on a polishing material surface to 0.001 wt % or more and less than 0.05 wt% to the total amount of the slurry and has a slurry viscosity of 1 mPa·s to 5 mPa·s both inclusive. The polishing slurry may be used in CMP to form a reliable damascene electric connection with excellent electric properties at a higher polishing rate, i.e., a higher throughput while preventing dishing or erosion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2001
    Publication date: July 25, 2002
    Applicant: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tsuchiya, Tomoko Wake, Tetsuyuki Itakura, Shin Sakurai, Kenichi Aoyagi
  • Publication number: 20020095874
    Abstract: By using a polishing slurry which contains, at least, a polishing grain, an oxidizing agent and a basic amino acid compound, it is possible to suppress dishing and erosion liable to be produced in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) for a copper-based metal film when forming a buried interconnection of a copper-based metal on a barrier metal film of a tantalum-based metal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2001
    Publication date: July 25, 2002
    Applicant: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tsuchiya, Tomoko Wake, Tetsuyuki Itakura, Shin Sakurai, Kenichi Aoyagi
  • Publication number: 20020093002
    Abstract: This invention provides a chemical mechanical polishing slurry for polishing a copper-based metal film formed on an insulating film comprising a concave on a substrate, comprising a polishing material, an oxidizing agent and water as well as a benzotriazole compound and a triazole compound. The polishing slurry may be used in CMP to form a reliable damascene electric connection with excellent electric properties at a higher polishing rate, i.e., a higher throughput while preventing dishing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2001
    Publication date: July 18, 2002
    Applicant: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tsuchiya, Tomoko Wake, Tetsuyuki Itakura, Shin Sakurai, Kenichi Aoyagi
  • Publication number: 20020048958
    Abstract: A CMP process includes the steps of polishing a Cu film of a damascene pattern having the Cu film and an underlying barrier film until the barrier film is exposed, cleaning the exposed surfaces of the Cu film and the barrier film by using aqueous ammonium for removing an organic Cu complex, washing the exposed surfaces of the Cu film and barrier film, and polishing the barrier film and the Cu film until an insulator film is exposed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2001
    Publication date: April 25, 2002
    Inventors: Akira Kubo, Yasuaki Tuchiya, Tomoko Wake
  • Publication number: 20020037642
    Abstract: This invention relates to a process for forming a metal interconnect comprising the steps of forming a concave in an insulating film formed on a substrate, forming a copper-containing metal film over the whole surface such that the concave is filled with the metal and then polishing the copper-containing metal film by chemical mechanical polishing, characterized in that the polishing step is conducted using a chemical mechanical polishing slurry comprising a polishing material, an oxidizing agent and an adhesion inhibitor preventing adhesion of a polishing product to a polishing pad, while contacting the polishing pad to a polished surface with a pressure of at least 27 kPa. This invention allows us to prevent adhesion of a polishing product to a polishing pad and to form a uniform interconnect layer with an improved throughput, even when polishing a large amount of copper-containing metal during a polishing step.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2000
    Publication date: March 28, 2002
    Inventors: Tomoko Wake, Yasuaki Tsuchiya
  • Patent number: 6319801
    Abstract: A method for cleaning a substrate having a patterned metal layer formed thereon includes the step of removing metallic contaminants from the substrate by use of an aqueous solution of carboxylic acid having a chelating action. The aqueous solution contains one of water-soluble carboxylic acid, ammonium carboxylate, and carboxylic acid having an amino group and the the water-soluble carboxylic acid is one of acetic acid, formic acid, citric acid, and oxalic acid. The patterned metal layer is made of one of a transition metal and a compound of a transition metal with one of Si (silicon), N (nitrogen) and O (oxygen).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2001
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Tomoko Wake, Hidemitsu Aoki
  • Publication number: 20010006224
    Abstract: In chemical mechanical polishing of a substrate comprising a tantalum-containing metal film, a slurry for chemical mechanical polishing comprising a silica polishing grain and an inorganic salt in an amount of 0.01 wt % to 10 wt % both inclusive may be used to prevent dishing and erosion, as well as to achieve an improved polishing rate for tantalum without any damage to tantalum.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2000
    Publication date: July 5, 2001
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tsuchiya, Tomoko Wake, Tetsuyuki Itakura, Shin Sakurai, Kenichi Aoyagi
  • Publication number: 20010006841
    Abstract: This invention relates to a process for forming a metal interconnect comprising the steps of forming a concave in an insulating film formed on a substrate, forming a barrier metal film on the insulating film, forming an interconnect metal film over the whole surface such that the concave is filled with the metal and then polishing the surface of the substrate by chemical mechanical polishing, characterized in that the polishing step comprises a first polishing step of polishing the surface such that the interconnect metal film partially remains on the surface other than the concave and a second polishing step of polishing the surface using a polishing slurry controlling a polishing-rate ratio of the interconnect metal to the barrier metal to 1 to 3 both inclusive, until the surface of the insulating film other than the concave is substantially completely exposed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2000
    Publication date: July 5, 2001
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tsuchiya, Tomoko Wake
  • Publication number: 20010006225
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a slurry used for chemical mechanical polishing of a substrate having a copper-containing film at the surface, which slurry contains an abrasive, an oxidizing agent, and an adhesion-inhibitor preventing adhesion of a polishing product to a polishing pad. With the polishing slurry of the present invention, even when the copper-containing metal film to be polished has a large thickness or a large area and therefore the amount of the copper-containing metal to be polished is large, adhesion of polishing product to a polishing pad is suppressed and CMP can be completed satisfactorily in a single polishing operation without discontinuation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2000
    Publication date: July 5, 2001
    Inventors: Yasuaki Tsuchiya, Tomoko Wake, Tetsuyuki Itakura, Shin Sakurai, Kenichi Aoyagi