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).

  • SUBSTRATE CLEANING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CLEANING SUBSTRATE FOR SUBSTRATE RELATED TO PHOTOMASK
    Publication number: 20170110355
    Abstract: The present invention provides a substrate cleaning apparatus for a substrate related to a photomask, including a holder for holding only an end face of the substrate, a rotation mechanism for rotating the holder, and a nozzle for supplying liquid at least to the front surface of the substrate rotating with the holder by the rotation mechanism; wherein at least one of the holder has a conductive surface and is earthed. The present invention also provides a method for cleaning a substrate related to a photomask. These inventions can prevent adhesion of contaminants to the substrate when performing a cleaning treatment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 3, 2016
    Publication date: April 20, 2017
    Applicant: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tsuneo NUMANAMI, Yukio INAZUKI, Toyohisa SAKURADA
  • Photomask blank
    Patent number: 9618838
    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: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Souichi Fukaya, Yukio Inazuki
  • PHOTOMASK BLANK
    Publication number: 20170068154
    Abstract: A photomask blank comprising a transparent substrate and a chromium-containing film is provided. The chromium-containing film is constructed by one or more chromium compound layers which are formed of a chromium compound containing Cr, N and optionally O, and have a composition having a Cr content?30 at % and a total Cr+N+O content?93 at %, and meeting the formula: 3Cr?2O+3N. A chromium compound layer meeting a first composition having an N/Cr atomic ratio?0.95, a Cr content?40 at %, a total Cr+N content?80 at %, and an O content?10 at % is included to a thickness of more than 70% to 100% of the overall thickness of the chromium-containing film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 17, 2016
    Publication date: March 9, 2017
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kouhei Sasamoto, Yukio INAZUKI
  • Method of manufacturing photomask blank and photomask blank
    Patent number: 9581892
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Souichi Fukaya, Yukio Inazuki
  • PHOTOMASK BLANK AND METHOD FOR PREPARING PHOTOMASK
    Publication number: 20170031237
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2016
    Publication date: February 2, 2017
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kouhei SASAMOTO, Souichi FUKAYA, Yukio INAZUKI
  • PHOTOMASK BLANK AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING PHOTOMASK BLANK
    Publication number: 20170023855
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a photomask blank having at least a silicon-containing inorganic film over a transparent substrate includes forming the silicon-containing inorganic film such that a surface has an oxygen concentration not less than 55 atomic percent and not more than 75 atomic percent, the silicon-containing inorganic film being an SiO film or an SiON film and serving as a hard mask film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 3, 2016
    Publication date: January 26, 2017
    Applicant: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yukio INAZUKI, Takashi YOSHII, Toyohisa SAKURADA, Akira IKEDA, Hideo KANEKO, Satoshi WATANABE, Yoshio KAWAI
  • Photomask blank
    Patent number: 9541823
    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: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2017
    Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kouhei Sasamoto, Yukio Inazuki, Souichi Fukaya, Hideo Nakagawa, Hideo Kaneko
  • Photomask blank, process for production of photomask, and chromium-containing material film
    Patent number: 9488907
    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: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroki Yoshikawa, Souichi Fukaya, Yukio Inazuki, Tsuneo Yamamoto, Hideo Nakagawa
  • Photomask blank and method for manufacturing photomask blank
    Patent number: 9488906
    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: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yukio Inazuki, Takashi Yoshii, Toyohisa Sakurada, Akira Ikeda, Hideo Kaneko, Satoshi Watanabe, Yoshio Kawai
  • 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
  • METHOD FOR PREPARING HALFTONE PHASE SHIFT PHOTOMASK BLANK
    Publication number: 20160291454
    Abstract: A halftone phase shift film containing Si and N and/or O is deposited on a transparent substrate by reactive sputtering of a Si-containing target with a reactive gas containing N and/or O. One layer is sputter deposited while the reactive gas flow rate is set equal to or lower than the lower limit of the reactive gas flow rate in the hysteresis region, and another layer is sputter deposited while the reactive gas flow rate is set inside the lower and upper limits of the reactive gas flow rate in the hysteresis region. The phase shift film exhibits satisfactory in-plane uniformity of optical properties.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2016
    Publication date: October 6, 2016
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takuro KOSAKA, Yukio INAZUKI
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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