Patents by Inventor Yukio Inazuki

Yukio Inazuki 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).

  • HALFTONE PHASE SHIFT MASK BLANK, HALFTONE PHASE SHIFT MASK, AND PATTERN EXPOSURE METHOD
    Publication number: 20160291456
    Abstract: In a halftone phase shift mask blank comprising a transparent substrate and a halftone phase shift film thereon, the halftone phase shift film is composed of a silicon base material consisting of silicon, nitrogen and 0-6 at % of oxygen, has a refractive index n of at least 2.4, an extinction coefficient k of 0.4-0.7, and a thickness of 40-67 nm. The halftone phase shift film is thin enough to be advantageous for photomask pattern formation, has chemical resistance against chemical cleaning, and maintains a necessary phase shift for phase shift function and a necessary transmittance for halftone function.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2016
    Publication date: October 6, 2016
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takuro KOSAKA, Yukio INAZUKI
  • PHASE SHIFT MASK BLANK, PHASE SHIFT MASK, AND BLANK PREPARING METHOD
    Publication number: 20160291453
    Abstract: In a phase shift mask blank comprising a transparent substrate and a phase shift film deposited thereon and having a phase shift of 150-200° with respect to sub-200 nm light, the phase shift film is composed of a silicon base material consisting of silicon, nitrogen and optionally oxygen, has a thickness of up to 70 nm, and provides a warpage change of up to 0.2 ?m in a central region of a surface of the substrate before and after the deposition of the phase shift film on the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2016
    Publication date: October 6, 2016
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yukio INAZUKI, Takuro KOSAKA
  • HALFTONE PHASE SHIFT MASK BLANK AND HALFTONE PHASE SHIFT MASK
    Publication number: 20160291452
    Abstract: A halftone phase shift mask blank is provided comprising a transparent substrate and a halftone phase shift film which is composed of a silicon base material having a Si+N+O content of at least 90 at %, a Si content of 30-70 at %, a N+O content of 30-60 at %, and an O content of up to 30 at %, and has a thickness of up to 70 nm. The halftone phase shift film is thin enough for mask pattern processing, undergoes minimal pattern size variation degradation upon exposure to sub-200 nm radiation, and maintains a necessary phase shift and transmittance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2016
    Publication date: October 6, 2016
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kouhei SASAMOTO, Takuro KOSAKA, Yukio INAZUKI, Hideo KANEKO
  • MASK BLANK AND MAKING METHOD
    Publication number: 20160266485
    Abstract: In a mask blank comprising a transparent substrate and a single layer or multilayer film formed thereon, the film is formed only on the front surface of the substrate, but not on the side surface, chamfer, front surface-chamfer boundary, and back surface-chamfer boundary. The mask blank contains few particle defects, especially the number of particle defects with a certain size is zero.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2016
    Publication date: September 15, 2016
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yukio INAZUKI, Hideo KANEKO
  • Method for manufacturing photomask blank
    Patent number: 9400422
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a photomask blank obtained by forming a resist film after performing a silylation process on a silicon-containing inorganic film and provides a method for manufacturing a photomask blank having at least a silicon-containing inorganic film over a transparent substrate and a resist film on the inorganic film, comprising: forming the silicon-containing inorganic film; heat treating the formed silicon-containing inorganic film at a temperature more than 200° C. under an atmosphere containing oxygen; performing a silylation process after the heat treatment; and then forming the resist film by application. The method can inhibit generation of defects due to resist residues or the like after development.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2016
    Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takashi Yoshii, Yoshio Kawai, Yukio Inazuki, Satoshi Watanabe, Akira Ikeda, Toyohisa Sakurada, Hideo Kaneko
  • Halftone phase shift photomask blank, halftone phase shift photomask and pattern exposure method
    Patent number: 9366951
    Abstract: A halftone phase shift photomask blank comprising a transparent substrate and a halftone phase shift film is provided. The phase shift film consists of Si and N, or Si, N and O, and is free of transition metals. The phase shift film has a thickness of 40-70 nm, offers a transmittance of 10-40% and a phase shift of 150-200° relative to light of wavelength up to 200 nm, and is resistant to cleaning chemicals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yukio Inazuki, Toyohisa Sakurada, Hideo Kaneko, Takuro Kosaka, Kouhei Sasamoto
  • PHOTOMASK BLANK
    Publication number: 20160077424
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2015
    Publication date: March 17, 2016
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Souichi FUKAYA, Yukio INAZUKI
  • HALFTONE PHASE SHIFT PHOTOMASK BLANK AND MAKING METHOD
    Publication number: 20160033858
    Abstract: A halftone phase shift photomask blank comprising a transparent substrate and a halftone phase shift film consisting of silicon, nitrogen and optional oxygen, and providing a phase shift of 150°-200° relative to light of wavelength up to 200 nm. The phase shift film includes at least one layer meeting the formula: 2×O/Si+3×N/Si?3.5 wherein Si is a silicon content (at %), N is a nitrogen content (at %), and O is an oxygen content (at %). The phase shift film exhibits satisfactory in-plane uniformity of transmittance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2015
    Publication date: February 4, 2016
    Applicant: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takuro KOSAKA, Yukio INAZUKI, Hideo KANEKO, Toyohisa SAKURADA
  • DESIGNING OF PHOTOMASK BLANK AND PHOTOMASK BLANK
    Publication number: 20160033859
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: July 16, 2015
    Publication date: February 4, 2016
    Applicant: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kouhei SASAMOTO, Hideo KANEKO, Yukio INAZUKI, Souichi FUKAYA
  • BINARY PHOTOMASK BLANK, PREPARATION THEREOF, AND PREPARATION OF BINARY PHOTOMASK
    Publication number: 20160018729
    Abstract: A binary photomask blank has a light-shielding film on a transparent substrate, the light-shielding film composed mainly of transition metal M and Si, or M, Si and N, and having an optical density of at least 3.0. The light-shielding film includes a layer containing M, Si and N so as to meet the formula: B?0.68×A+0.23 wherein A is an atomic ratio M/Si and B is an atomic ratio N/Si, and has a thickness of up to 47 nm. The binary photomask blank has a thin light-shielding film capable of fully shielding exposure light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2015
    Publication date: January 21, 2016
    Applicant: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yukio INAZUKI, Takuro KOSAKA, Kazuhiro NISHIKAWA
  • Photomask making method, photomask blank and dry etching method
    Patent number: 9164374
    Abstract: A photomask is manufactured by providing a photomask blank comprising a transparent substrate, a phase shift film, and a light-shielding film, the phase shift film and the light-shielding film including silicon base material layers, a N+O content in the silicon base material layer of the phase shift film differing from that of the light-shielding film, and chlorine dry etching the blank with oxygen-containing chlorine gas in a selected O/Cl ratio for selectively etching away the silicon base material layer of the light-shielding film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shinichi Igarashi, Hideo Kaneko, Yukio Inazuki, Kazuhiro Nishikawa
  • Photomask blank and method for manufacturing photomask
    Patent number: 9091931
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a photomask blank wherein a second film is stacked on a first film, the first film containing chromium and which is not substantially etched by the dry etching using fluorine and which is etchable by the dry etching using oxygen-containing chlorine, and the second film containing no chromium and which is etchable by dry etching using fluorine and dry etching using oxygen-containing chlorine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignees: TOPPAN PRINTING CO., LTD., SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yosuke Kojima, Hiroki Yoshikawa, Yukio Inazuki, Ryuji Koitabashi
  • PHOTOMASK BLANK, PROCESS FOR PRODUCTION OF PHOTOMASK, AND CHROMIUM-CONTAINING MATERIAL FILM
    Publication number: 20150192849
    Abstract: In the chromium-containing material film of the present invention, an element is added thereto and is capable of bringing a mixture of the element and the chromium into a liquid phase at a temperature of 400° C. or lower. The use of such a chromium-containing material film as an optical film (e.g., a light-shielding film, an etching mask film, or an etching stopper film) of a photo mask blank can achieve an improvement in chlorine-dry etching while retaining the same optical characteristics and the like as those of the conventional chromium-containing material film, thereby increasing the patterning precision.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 8, 2015
    Publication date: July 9, 2015
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroki YOSHIKAWA, Souichi Fukaya, Yukio Inazuki, Tsuneo Yamamoto, Hideo Nakagawa
  • SPUTTER DEPOSITION METHOD, SPUTTERING SYSTEM, MANUFACTURE OF PHOTOMASK BLANK, AND PHOTOMASK BLANK
    Publication number: 20150159264
    Abstract: A film is sputter deposited on a substrate by providing a vacuum chamber (3) with first and second targets (1, 2) such that the sputter surfaces (11, 21) of the first and second targets (1, 2) may face the substrate (5) and be arranged parallel or oblique to each other, simultaneously supplying electric powers to the first and second targets (1, 2), and depositing sputtered particles on the substrate while controlling sputtering conditions such that the rate at which sputtered particles ejected from one target reach the sputter surface of the other target and deposit thereon is not more than the rate at which the sputtered particles are removed from the other target by sputtering.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 5, 2014
    Publication date: June 11, 2015
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kouhei SASAMOTO, Souichi FUKAYA, Hideo NAKAGAWA, Yukio INAZUKI
  • PHOTOMASK BLANK
    Publication number: 20150160549
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: December 5, 2014
    Publication date: June 11, 2015
    Applicant: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kouhei SASAMOTO, Yukio INAZUKI, Souichi FUKAYA, Hideo NAKAGAWA, Hideo KANEKO
  • HALFTONE PHASE SHIFT PHOTOMASK BLANK, HALFTONE PHASE SHIFT PHOTOMASK AND PATTERN EXPOSURE METHOD
    Publication number: 20150125785
    Abstract: A halftone phase shift photomask blank comprising a transparent substrate and a halftone phase shift film is provided. The phase shift film consists of Si and N, or Si, N and O, and is free of transition metals. The phase shift film has a thickness of 40-70 nm, offers a transmittance of 10-40% and a phase shift of 150-200° relative to light of wavelength up to 200 nm, and is resistant to cleaning chemicals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2014
    Publication date: May 7, 2015
    Applicant: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yukio INAZUKI, Toyohisa SAKURADA, Hideo KANEKO, Takuro KOSAKA, Kouhei SASAMOTO
  • Evaluation of etching conditions for pattern-forming film
    Patent number: 8992788
    Abstract: In conjunction with a photomask blank comprising a transparent substrate, a pattern-forming film, and an etch mask film, a set of etching conditions for the pattern-forming film is evaluated by measuring a first etching clear time (C1) taken when the etch mask film is etched under the etching conditions to be applied to the pattern-forming film, measuring a second etching clear time (C2) taken when the pattern-forming film is etched under the etching conditions, and computing a ratio (C1/C2) of the first to second etching clear time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinichi Igarashi, Hiroki Yoshikawa, Yukio Inazuki, Hideo Kaneko
  • PHOTOMASK BLANK AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING PHOTOMASK BLANK
    Publication number: 20150086908
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a photomask blank obtained by forming a resist film after performing a silylation process on a silicon-containing inorganic film and provides a method for manufacturing a photomask blank having at least a silicon-containing inorganic film over a transparent substrate and a resist film on the silicon-containing inorganic film, comprising: forming the silicon-containing inorganic film such that a surface that will contact the resist film has an oxygen concentration not less than 55 atomic percent and not more than 75 atomic percent; performing a silylation process after forming the silicon-containing inorganic film; and then forming the resist film by application. The method can inhibit generation of defects due to resist residues or the like after development.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2014
    Publication date: March 26, 2015
    Inventors: Yukio INAZUKI, Takashi YOSHII, Toyohisa SAKURADA, Akira IKEDA, Hideo KANEKO, Satoshi WATANABE, Yoshio KAWAI
  • METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING PHOTOMASK BLANK
    Publication number: 20150086909
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a photomask blank obtained by forming a resist film after performing a silylation process on a silicon-containing inorganic film and provides a method for manufacturing a photomask blank having at least a silicon-containing inorganic film over a transparent substrate and a resist film on the inorganic film, comprising: forming the silicon-containing inorganic film; heat treating the formed silicon-containing inorganic film at a temperature more than 200° C. under an atmosphere containing oxygen; performing a silylation process after the heat treatment; and then forming the resist film by application. The method can inhibit generation of defects due to resist residues or the like after development.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2014
    Publication date: March 26, 2015
    Inventors: Takashi YOSHII, Yoshio KAWAI, Yukio INAZUKI, Satoshi WATANABE, Akira IKEDA, Toyohisa SAKURADA, Hideo KANEKO
  • Binary photomask blank and binary photomask making method
    Patent number: 8980503
    Abstract: A binary photomask blank has on a transparent substrate a light-shielding film including substrate-side and surface-side compositionally graded layers, having a thickness of 35-60 nm, and composed of a silicon base material containing a transition metal and N and/or O. The substrate-side compositionally graded layer has a thickness of 10-58.5 nm , and a N+O content of 25-40 at % at its lower surface and 10-23 at % at its upper surface. The surface-side compositionally graded layer has a thickness of 1.5-8 nm, and a N+O content of 10-45 at % at its lower surface and 45-55 at % at its upper surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroki Yoshikawa, Yukio Inazuki, Kazuhiro Nishikawa, Hideo Kaneko