Patents by Inventor Yuuji Tobisaka

Yuuji Tobisaka 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: 9064929
    Abstract: There is disclosed a method for manufacturing an SOI wafer comprising: a step of implanting at least one of a hydrogen ion and a rare gas ion into a donor wafer to form an ion implanted layer; a step of bonding an ion implanted surface of the donor wafer to a handle wafer; a step of delaminating the donor wafer at the ion implanted layer to reduce a film thickness of the donor wafer, thereby providing an SOI layer; and a step of etching the SOI layer to reduce a thickness of the SOI layer, wherein the etching step includes: a stage of performing rough etching as wet etching; a stage of measuring a film thickness distribution of the SOI layer after the rough etching; and a stage of performing precise etching as dry etching based on the measured film thickness distribution of the SOI layer. There can be provided A method for manufacturing an SOI wafer having high film thickness uniformity of an SOI layer with excellent productivity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shoji Akiyama, Yoshihiro Kubota, Atsuo Ito, Koichi Tanaka, Makoto Kawai, Yuuji Tobisaka
  • Patent number: 8765576
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a laminated substrate is provided. The method includes: forming an oxide film on at least a surface of a first substrate having a hardness of equal to or more than 150 GPa in Young's modulus, and then smoothing the oxide film; implanting hydrogen ions or rare gas ions, or mixed gas ions thereof from a surface of a second substrate to form an ion-implanted layer inside the substrate, laminating the first substrate and the second substrate through at least the oxide film, and then detaching the second substrate in the ion-implanted layer to form a laminated substrate; heat-treating the laminated substrate and diffusing outwardly the oxide film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shoji Akiyama, Atsuo Ito, Yoshihiro Kubota, Koichi Tanaka, Makoto Kawai, Yuuji Tobisaka
  • Patent number: 8268700
    Abstract: There is disclosed a method for manufacturing an SOI wafer comprising at least: implanting a hydrogen ion, a rare gas ion, or both the ions into a donor wafer formed of a silicon wafer or a silicon wafer having an oxide film formed on a surface thereof from a surface of the donor wafer, thereby forming an ion implanted layer; performing a plasma activation treatment with respect to at least one of an ion implanted surface of the donor wafer and a surface of a handle wafer, the surface of the handle wafer is to be bonded to the ion implanted surface; closely bonding these surfaces to each other; mechanically delaminating the donor wafer at the ion implanted layer as a boundary and thereby reducing a film thickness thereof to provide an SOI layer, and performing a heat treatment at 600 to 1000° C.; and polishing a surface of the SOI layer for 10 to 50 nm based on chemical mechanical polishing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2012
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shoji Akiyama, Yoshihiro Kubota, Atsuo Ito, Koichi Tanaka, Makoto Kawai, Yuuji Tobisaka
  • Publication number: 20120228730
    Abstract: A plasma treatment or an ozone treatment is applied to the respective bonding surfaces of the single-crystal Si substrate in which the ion-implanted layer has been formed and the quartz substrate, and the substrates are bonded together. Then, a force of impact is applied to the bonded substrate to peel off a silicon thin film from the bulk portion of single-crystal silicon along the hydrogen ion-implanted layer, thereby obtaining an SOI substrate having an SOI layer on the quartz substrate. A concave portion, such as a hole or a micro-flow passage, is formed on a surface of the quartz substrate of the SOI substrate thus obtained, so that processes required for a DNA chip or a microfluidic chip are applied. A silicon semiconductor element for the analysis/evaluation of a sample attached/held to this concave portion is formed in the SOI layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2012
    Publication date: September 13, 2012
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shoji AKIYAMA, Yoshihiro Kubota, Atsuo Ito, Koichi Tanaka, Makoto Kawai, Yuuji Tobisaka
  • Patent number: 8263478
    Abstract: Hydrogen ions are implanted to a surface (main surface) of the single crystal Si substrate 10 at a dosage of 1.5×1017 atoms/cm2 or higher to form the hydrogen ion implanted layer (ion-implanted damage layer) 11. As a result of the hydrogen ion implantation, the hydrogen ion implanted boundary 12 is formed. The single crystal Si substrate 10 and the low melting glass substrate 20 are bonded together. The bonded substrate is heated at relatively low temperature, 120° C. or higher and 250° C. or lower (below a melting point of the support substrate). Further, an external shock is applied to delaminate the Si crystal film along the hydrogen ion implanted boundary 12 of the single crystal Si substrate 10 out of the heat-treated bonded substrate. Then, the surface of the resultant silicon thin film 13 is polished to remove a damaged portion, so that a semiconductor substrate can be fabricated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shoji Akiyama, Yoshihiro Kubota, Atsuo Ito, Koichi Tanaka, Makoto Kawai, Yuuji Tobisaka
  • Patent number: 8227289
    Abstract: A method for producing a single crystal silicon solar cell including the steps of: implanting ions into a single crystal silicon substrate; conducting a surface activating treatment for at least one of: the ion implanting surface of the single crystal silicon substrate, and a surface of the transparent insulator substrate; bonding the ion implanting surface of the single crystal silicon substrate and the transparent insulator substrate to each other, such that the surface(s) subjected to the surface activating treatment is/are used as a bonding surface(s); applying an impact to the ion implanted layer; and forming a plurality of diffusion regions having a second conductivity type at the delaminated surface side of the single crystal silicon layer, such that a plurality of first conductivity-type regions and second conductivity-type regions are present at the delaminated surface of the single crystal silicon layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2012
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsuo Ito, Shoji Akiyama, Makoto Kawai, Koichi Tanaka, Yuuji Tobisaka, Yoshihiro Kubota
  • Patent number: 8227290
    Abstract: A method for producing a single crystal silicon solar cell including the steps of: implanting ions into a single crystal silicon substrate through an ion implanting surface thereof; closely contacting the single crystal silicon substrate and a transparent insulator substrate with each other via a transparent adhesive while using the ion implanting surface as a bonding surface; curing the transparent adhesive; applying an impact to the ion implanted layer to mechanically delaminate the single crystal silicon substrate; forming a plurality of diffusion regions having a second conductivity type at the delaminated surface side of the single crystal silicon layer, such that a plurality of first conductivity-type regions and second conductivity-type regions are present at the delaminated surface of the single crystal silicon layer; forming pluralities of individual electrodes on the pluralities of first and second conductivity-type regions, respectively; and forming collector electrodes for the individual electrode
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2012
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsuo Ito, Shoji Akiyama, Masahiro Furuya, Makoto Kawai, Koichi Tanaka, Yoshihiro Kubota, Yuuji Tobisaka
  • Publication number: 20120118354
    Abstract: A single crystal silicon solar cell including a stack having at least a light-reflecting film, a single crystal silicon layer, a transparent adhesive layer, and a transparent insulator substrate; a plurality of areas of a first conductivity type and a plurality of areas of a second conductivity type formed in a surface of the silicon layer near the light-reflecting film; a plurality of pn junctions formed in a plane direction of the silicon layer; a plurality of first individual electrodes, each being formed on each one of the plurality of areas of the first conductivity type, and a plurality of second individual electrodes, each being formed on each one of the plurality of areas of the second conductivity type; and a first collector electrode for connecting the plurality of first individual electrodes and a second collector electrode for connecting the plurality of second individual electrodes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2011
    Publication date: May 17, 2012
    Applicant: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Atsuo ITO, Shoji AKIYAMA, Makoto KAWAI, Kouichi TANAKA, Yuuji TOBISAKA, Yoshihiro KUBOTA
  • Patent number: 8129612
    Abstract: There is disclosed a method for manufacturing a single-crystal silicon solar cell including the steps of: implanting a hydrogen ion or a rare gas ion into a single-crystal silicon substrate; forming a transparent insulator layer on a metal substrate; performing a surface activation treatment with respect to at least one of the ion implanted surface and a surface of the transparent insulator layer; bonding these surfaces; mechanically delaminating the single-crystal silicon substrate to provide a single-crystal silicon layer; forming a plurality of second conductivity type diffusion regions in the delaminated surface side of the single-crystal silicon layer so that a plurality of first conductivity type regions and the plurality of second conductivity regions are present in the delaminated surface of the single-crystal silicon layer; respectively forming a plurality of individual electrodes on the plurality of first and second conductivity type regions of the single-crystal silicon layer; forming respective co
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2012
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsuo Ito, Shoji Akiyama, Makoto Kawai, Koichi Tanaka, Yuuji Tobisaka, Yoshihiro Kubota
  • Patent number: 8119903
    Abstract: There is disclosed a single crystal silicon solar cell includes the steps of: implanting hydrogen ions or rare gas ions to a single crystal silicon substrate; performing surface activation on at least one of an ion-implanted surface of the single crystal silicon substrate and a surface of a transparent insulator substrate; bonding the ion-implanted surface of the single crystal silicon substrate and the transparent insulator substrate with the surface-activated surface being set as a bonding surface; applying an impact onto the ion implanted layer to mechanically delaminate the single crystal silicon substrate to form a single crystal silicon layer; forming a plurality of diffusion regions having a second conductivity type on the delaminated plane side of the single crystal silicon layer; forming a plurality of first conductivity type regions and a plurality of second conductivity type regions on the delaminated plane of the single crystal silicon layer; and forming a light reflection film that covers the plu
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2012
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsuo Ito, Shoji Akiyama, Makoto Kawai, Koichi Tanaka, Yuuji Tobisaka, Yoshihiro Kubota
  • Patent number: 8106290
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a single crystal silicon solar cell includes implanting either hydrogen ions or rare-gas ions into a single crystal silicon substrate; bringing the single crystal silicon substrate in close contact with a transparent insulator substrate via a transparent adhesive, with the ion-implanted surface being a bonding surface; curing the transparent adhesive; mechanically delaminating the single crystal silicon substrate to form a single crystal silicon layer; forming a plurality of diffusion areas of a second conductivity type in the delaminated surface side of the single crystal silicon layer, and causing a plurality of areas of a first conductivity type and the plurality of areas of the second conductivity type to be present in the delaminated surface of the single crystal silicon layer; forming each of a plurality of individual electrodes on each one of the plurality of areas of the first conductivity type and on each one of the plurality of areas of the second conductivity type; formin
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsuo Ito, Shoji Akiyama, Makoto Kawai, Kouichi Tanaka, Yuuji Tobisaka, Yoshihiro Kubota
  • Patent number: 8088670
    Abstract: When manufacturing a bonded substrate using an insulator substrate as a handle wafer, there is provided a method for manufacturing a bonded substrate which can be readily removed after carried and after mounted by roughening a back surface of the bonded substrate (corresponding to a back surface of the insulator substrate) and additionally whose front surface can be easily identified like a process of a silicon semiconductor wafer in case of the bonded substrate using a transparent insulator substrate as a handle wafer. There is provided a method for manufacturing a bonded substrate in which an insulator substrate is used as a handle wafer and a donor wafer is bonded to a front surface of the insulator substrate, the method comprises at least that a sandblast treatment is performed with respect to a back surface of the insulator substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shoji Akiyama, Yoshihiro Kubota, Atsuo Ito, Kouichi Tanaka, Makoto Kawai, Yuuji Tobisaka
  • Publication number: 20110290320
    Abstract: A method for producing a single crystal silicon solar cell including the steps of: implanting ions into a single crystal silicon substrate through an ion implanting surface thereof to form an ion implanted layer in the single crystal silicon substrate; forming a transparent electroconductive film on a surface of a transparent insulator substrate; conducting a surface activating treatment for the ion implanting surface of the single crystal silicon substrate and/or a surface of the transparent electroconductive film on the transparent insulator substrate; bonding the ion implanting surface of the single crystal silicon substrate and the surface of the transparent electroconductive film on the transparent insulator substrate to each other; applying an impact to the ion implanted layer; and forming a p-n junction in the single crystal silicon layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2011
    Publication date: December 1, 2011
    Applicant: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Atsuo Ito, Shoji Akiyama, Makoto Kawai, Koichi Tanaka, Yuuji Tobisaka, Yoshihiro Kubota
  • Publication number: 20110290321
    Abstract: A method for producing a single crystal silicon solar cell including the steps of: implanting ions into a single crystal silicon substrate through an ion implanting surface thereof; closely contacting the single crystal silicon substrate and a transparent insulator substrate with each other via a transparent electroconductive adhesive while using the ion implanting surface as a bonding surface; curing and maturing the transparent electroconductive adhesive into a transparent electroconductive film; applying an impact to the ion implanted layer to mechanically delaminate the single crystal silicon substrate to leave a single crystal silicon layer; and forming a p-n junction in the single crystal silicon layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2011
    Publication date: December 1, 2011
    Applicant: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Atsuo Ito, Shoji Akiyama, Makoto Kawai, Koichi Tanaka, Yuuji Tobisaka, Yoshihiro Kubota
  • Publication number: 20110244654
    Abstract: A nitride-based semiconductor crystal and a second substrate are bonded together. In this state, impact is applied externally to separate the low-dislocation density region of the nitride-based semiconductor crystal along the hydrogen ion-implanted layer, thereby transferring (peeling off) the surface layer part of the low-dislocation density region onto the second substrate. At this time, the lower layer part of the low-dislocation density region stays on the first substrate without being transferred onto the second substrate. The second substrate onto which the surface layer part of the low-dislocation density region has been transferred is defined as a semiconductor substrate available by the manufacturing method of the present invention, and the first substrate on which the lower layer part of the low-dislocation density region stays is reused as a substrate for epitaxial growth.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2011
    Publication date: October 6, 2011
    Applicant: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shoji Akiyama, Yoshihiro Kubota, Atsuo Ito, Makoto Kawai, Yuuji Tobisaka, Koichi Tanaka
  • Patent number: 8030118
    Abstract: A method for producing a single crystal silicon solar cell including the steps of: implanting ions into a single crystal silicon substrate through an ion implanting surface thereof; closely contacting the single crystal silicon substrate and a transparent insulator substrate with each other via a transparent electroconductive adhesive while using the ion implanting surface as a bonding surface; curing and maturing the transparent electroconductive adhesive into a transparent electroconductive film; applying an impact to the ion implanted layer to mechanically delaminate the single crystal silicon substrate to leave a single crystal silicon layer; and forming a p-n junction in the single crystal silicon layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2011
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsuo Ito, Shoji Akiyama, Makoto Kawai, Koichi Tanaka, Yuuji Tobisaka, Yoshihiro Kubota
  • Patent number: 8021910
    Abstract: A method for producing a single crystal silicon solar cell including the steps of: implanting ions into a single crystal silicon substrate through an ion implanting surface thereof to form an ion implanted layer in the single crystal silicon substrate; forming a transparent electroconductive film on a surface of a transparent insulator substrate; conducting a surface activating treatment for the ion implanting surface of the single crystal silicon substrate and/or a surface of the transparent electroconductive film on the transparent insulator substrate; bonding the ion implanting surface of the single crystal silicon substrate and the surface of the transparent electroconductive film on the transparent insulator substrate to each other; applying an impact to the ion implanted layer; and forming a p-n junction in the single crystal silicon layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2011
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsuo Ito, Shoji Akiyama, Makoto Kawai, Koichi Tanaka, Yuuji Tobisaka, Yoshihiro Kubota
  • Patent number: 7977209
    Abstract: A heating plate having a smooth surface is placed on a hot plate which constitutes a heating section, and the smooth surface of the heating plate is closely adhered on the rear surface of a single-crystal Si substrate bonded to a transparent insulating substrate. The temperature of the heating plate is kept at 200° C. or higher but not higher than 350° C. When the rear surface of the single-crystal Si substrate bonded to the insulating substrate is closely adhered on the heating plate, the single-crystal Si substrate is heated by thermal conduction, and a temperature difference is generated between the single-crystal Si substrate and the transparent insulating substrate. A large stress is generated between the both substrates due to rapid expansion of the single-crystal Si substrate, thus separation takes place at a hydrogen ion-implanted interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2011
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shoji Akiyama, Yoshihiro Kubota, Atsuo Ito, Makoto Kawai, Yuuji Tobisaka, Koichi Tanaka
  • Patent number: 7972937
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a method by which bonding at a low temperature is possible and an amount of metal contaminants in an SOI film is decreased. An embodiment of the present invention is realized in the following manner. A single crystal silicon substrate 10 surface-activated by a plasma-treatment and a quartz substrate 20 are bonded together at a low temperature, to which an external impact is given to mechanically delaminate silicon film from a single crystal silicon bulk thereby obtaining a semiconductor substrate (SOI substrate) having a silicon film (SOI film) 12. Next, the SOI substrate is subjected to a heat-treatment at a temperature of 600° C. to 1250° C. so that metal impurities accidentally mixed into an interface of the SOI film and the quartz substrate and into the SOI film in such a step as a plasma-treatment are gettered to a surface region of the silicon film 12.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2011
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shoji Akiyama, Yoshihiro Kubota, Atsuo Ito, Makoto Kawai, Yuuji Tobisaka, Koichi Tanaka
  • Publication number: 20110111575
    Abstract: A heating plate having a smooth surface is placed on a hot plate which constitutes a heating section, and the smooth surface of the heating plate is closely adhered on the rear surface of a single-crystal Si substrate bonded to a transparent insulating substrate. The temperature of the heating plate is kept at 200° C. or higher but not higher than 350° C. When the rear surface of the single-crystal Si substrate bonded to the insulating substrate is closely adhered on the heating plate, the single-crystal Si substrate is heated by thermal conduction, and a temperature difference is generated between the single-crystal Si substrate and the transparent insulating substrate. A large stress is generated between the both substrates due to rapid expansion of the single-crystal Si substrate, thus separation takes place at a hydrogen ion-implanted interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 20, 2011
    Publication date: May 12, 2011
    Applicant: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shoji Akiyama, Yoshihiro Kubota, Atsuo Ito, Makoto Kawai, Yuuji Tobisaka, Koichi Tanaka