Patents by Inventor Xiaolan Ba

Xiaolan Ba 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: 9613818
    Abstract: Provided herein are methods of depositing bulk tungsten by sequential CVD pulses, such as by alternately pulsing tungsten hexafluoride and hydrogen gas in cycles of temporally separated pulses. Some methods include depositing a tungsten nucleation layer at low pressure followed by deposition of bulk tungsten by sequential CVD to form low stress tungsten films with low fluorine content. Methods described herein may also be performed in combination with non-sequential CVD deposition and fluorine-free tungsten deposition techniques.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Xiaolan Ba, Raashina Humayun, Michal Danek, Lawrence Schloss
  • Patent number: 9580801
    Abstract: Embodiments described herein generally relate to the formation of a UV compatible barrier stack. Methods described herein can include delivering a process gas to a substrate positioned in a process chamber. The process gas can be activated to form an activated process gas, the activated process gas forming a barrier layer on a surface of the substrate, the barrier layer comprising silicon, carbon and nitrogen. The activated process gas can then be purged from the process chamber. An activated nitrogen-containing gas can be delivered to the barrier layer, the activated nitrogen-containing gas having a N2:NH3 ratio of greater than about 1:1. The activated nitrogen-containing gas can then be purged from the process chamber. The above elements can be performed one or more times to deposit the barrier stack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Xiaolan Ba, Weifeng Ye, Mei-yee Shek, Yu Jin, Li-Qun Xia, Deenesh Padhi, Alexandros T. Demos
  • Publication number: 20160351444
    Abstract: Aspects of the methods and apparatus described herein relate to deposition of tungsten nucleation layers and other tungsten-containing films. Various embodiments of the methods involve exposing a substrate to alternating pulses of a tungsten precursor and a reducing agent at low chamber pressure to thereby deposit a tungsten-containing layer on the surface of the substrate. According to various embodiments, chamber pressure may be maintained at or below 10 Torr. In some embodiments, chamber pressure may be maintained at or below 7 Torr, or even lower, such as at or below 5 Torr. The methods may be implemented with a fluorine-containing tungsten precursor, but result in very low or undetectable amounts of fluorine in the deposited layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2015
    Publication date: December 1, 2016
    Inventors: Lawrence Schloss, Xiaolan Ba
  • Publication number: 20160351401
    Abstract: Provided herein are methods of depositing bulk tungsten by sequential CVD pulses, such as by alternately pulsing tungsten hexafluoride and hydrogen gas in cycles of temporally separated pulses. Some methods include depositing a tungsten nucleation layer at low pressure followed by deposition of bulk tungsten by sequential CVD to form low stress tungsten films with low fluorine content. Methods described herein may also be performed in combination with non-sequential CVD deposition and fluorine-free tungsten deposition techniques.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2015
    Publication date: December 1, 2016
    Inventors: Xiaolan Ba, Raashina Humayun, Michal Danek, Lawrence Schloss
  • Publication number: 20160071724
    Abstract: Embodiments described herein generally relate to the formation of a UV compatible barrier stack. Methods described herein can include delivering a process gas to a substrate positioned in a process chamber. The process gas can be activated to form an activated process gas, the activated process gas forming a barrier layer on a surface of the substrate, the barrier layer comprising silicon, carbon and nitrogen. The activated process gas can then be purged from the process chamber. An activated nitrogen-containing gas can be delivered to the barrier layer, the activated nitrogen-containing gas having a N2:NH3 ratio of greater than about 1:1. The activated nitrogen-containing gas can then be purged from the process chamber. The above elements can be performed one or more times to deposit the barrier stack.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2014
    Publication date: March 10, 2016
    Inventors: Xiaolan BA, Weifeng YE, Mei-yee SHEK, Yu JIN, Li-Qun XIA, Deenesh PADHI, Alexandros T. DEMOS
  • Publication number: 20160013049
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a method for forming a dielectric barrier layer. The dielectric barrier layer is deposited over a substrate by a plasma enhanced deposition process. In one embodiment, a gas mixture is introduced into a processing chamber. The gas mixture includes a silicon-containing gas, a nitrogen-containing gas, a boron-containing gas, and argon (Ar) gas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2014
    Publication date: January 14, 2016
    Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Weifeng YE, Mei-yee SHEK, Mihaela BALSEANU, Xiaojun ZHANG, Xiaolan BA, Yu JIN, Li-Qun XIA
  • Publication number: 20140273438
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide processes to selectively form a metal layer on a conductive surface, followed by flowing a silicon based compound over the metal layer to form a metal silicide layer. In one embodiment, a substrate having a conductive surface and a dielectric surface is provided. A metal layer is then deposited on the conductive surface. A metal silicide layer is formed as a result of flowing a silicon based compound over the metal layer. A dielectric is formed over the metal silicide layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2014
    Publication date: September 18, 2014
    Inventors: Weifeng YE, Mei-yee Shek, Mihaela Balseanu, Xiaojun Zhang, Xiaolan Ba, Yu Jin, Li-Qun Xia