| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| 7611751 |
Vapor deposition of metal carbide films |
November 3, 2009 |
| Methods of forming metal carbide thin films are provided. According to preferred embodiments, metal carbide thin films are formed in an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process by alternately and sequentially contacting a substrate in a reaction space with spatially and temporally separated |
| 7608549 |
Method of forming non-conformal layers |
October 27, 2009 |
| In one aspect, non-conformal layers are formed by variations of plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition, where one or more of pulse duration, separation, RF power on-time, reactant concentration, pressure and electrode spacing are varied from true self-saturating reactions to operate |
| 7608526 |
Strained layers within semiconductor buffer structures |
October 27, 2009 |
| A semiconductor workpiece including a substrate, a relaxed buffer layer including a graded portion formed on the substrate, and at least one strained transitional layer within the graded portion of the relaxed buffer layer and method of manufacturing the same. The at least one strain |
| 7601224 |
Method of supporting a substrate in a gas cushion susceptor system |
October 13, 2009 |
| An apparatus and method to position a wafer onto a wafer holder and to maintain a uniform wafer temperature is disclosed. The wafer holder or susceptor comprises a recess or pocket whose surface includes a grid containing a plurality of grid grooves that separate protrusions. A plura |
| 7598170 |
Plasma-enhanced ALD of tantalum nitride films |
October 6, 2009 |
| Methods of controllably producing conductive tantalum nitride films are provided. The methods comprise contacting a substrate in a reaction space with alternating and sequential pulses of a tantalum source material, plasma-excited species of hydrogen and nitrogen source material. The |
| 7597574 |
Lamp fasteners for semiconductor processing reactors |
October 6, 2009 |
| A heat lamp which has captured fasteners that can attach the lamp inside a radiantly heated semiconductor processing reactor. The fasteners are captured within eyelet terminals on each end of the lamp, thereby rotatably securing the fasteners to the lamp. The eyelet terminals may hav |
| 7595271 |
Polymer coating for vapor deposition tool |
September 29, 2009 |
| Described herein is an apparatus useful for depositing a material on a substrate. At least one component of the apparatus comprises a protective coating, which facilitates the cleaning and/or removal of the deposited material from the component. Also described are methods for depositing |
| 7595270 |
Passivated stoichiometric metal nitride films |
September 29, 2009 |
| Methods for forming passivated stoichiometric metal nitride films are provided along with structures incorporating such films. The preferred methods include contacting a substrate with alternating and sequential pulses of a metal source chemical, one or more plasma-excited species of |
| 7585752 |
Process for deposition of semiconductor films |
September 8, 2009 |
| Chemical vapor deposition processes utilize chemical precursors that allow for the deposition of thin films to be conducted at or near the mass transport limited regime. The processes have high deposition rates yet produce more uniform films, both compositionally and in thickness, than |
| 7585142 |
Substrate handling chamber with movable substrate carrier loading platform |
September 8, 2009 |
| An apparatus for processing substrates may include a substrate handling chamber having a substrate load port on a side wall, and a movable platform movably engaged with the handling chamber between a first position and a second position. The first position is such that a substrate ca |
| 7571893 |
Valve with high temperature rating |
August 11, 2009 |
| A valve comprises a valve seat and a movable diaphragm. The valve seat defines a fluid orifice and is formed at least partially of polybenzimidazole. The diaphragm is sized and configured to bear against the fluid orifice to substantially block fluid flow through the orifice. The val |
| 7569284 |
Incorporation of nitrogen into high k dielectric film |
August 4, 2009 |
| A high k dielectric film and methods for forming the same are disclosed. The high k material includes two peaks of impurity concentration, particularly nitrogen, such as at a lower interface and upper interface, making the layer particularly suitable for transistor gate dielectric ap |
| 7547615 |
Deposition over mixed substrates using trisilane |
June 16, 2009 |
| Trisilane is used in chemical vapor deposition methods to deposit silicon-containing films over mixed substrates. Such methods are useful in semiconductor manufacturing to provide a variety of advantages, including uniform deposition over heterogeneous surfaces, high deposition rates |
| 7514372 |
Epitaxial growth of relaxed silicon germanium layers |
April 7, 2009 |
| A relaxed silicon germanium structure comprises a silicon buffer layer produced using a chemical vapor deposition process with an operational pressure greater than approximately 1 torr. The relaxed silicon germanium structure further comprises a silicon germanium layer deposited over the |
| 7498242 |
Plasma pre-treating surfaces for atomic layer deposition |
March 3, 2009 |
| Method and structures are provided for conformal lining of dual damascene structures in integrated circuits. Preferred embodiments are directed to providing conformal lining over openings formed in porous materials. Trenches are formed in, preferably, insulating layers. The layers are |
| 7498059 |
Method for growing thin films |
March 3, 2009 |
| The invention relates to a method and apparatus for growing a thin film onto a substrate, in which method a substrate placed in a reaction space (21) is subjected to alternately repeated surface reactions of at least two vapor-phase reactants for the purpose of forming a thin film. A |
| 7479460 |
Silicon surface preparation |
January 20, 2009 |
| Methods are provided for producing a pristine hydrogen-terminated silicon wafer surface with high stability against oxidation. The silicon wafer is treated with high purity, heated dilute hydrofluoric acid with anionic surfactant, rinsed in-situ with ultrapure water at room temperature, |
| 7479443 |
Germanium deposition |
January 20, 2009 |
| A method comprises, in a reaction chamber, depositing a seed layer of germanium over a silicon-containing surface at a first temperature. The seed layer has a thickness between about one monolayer and about 1000 .ANG.. The method further comprises, after depositing the seed layer, in |
| 7476627 |
Surface preparation prior to deposition |
January 13, 2009 |
| Methods are provided herein for treating substrate surfaces in preparation for subsequent nucleation-sensitive depositions (e.g., polysilicon or poly-SiGe) and adsorption-driven deposition (e.g. atomic layer deposition or ALD). Prior to depositing, the surface is treated with non-deposit |
| 7465658 |
Oxygen bridge structures and methods to form oxygen bridge structures |
December 16, 2008 |
| A method is proposed for improving the adhesion between a diffusion barrier film and a metal film. Both the diffusion barrier film and the metal film can be deposited in either sequence onto a semiconductor substrate. A substrate comprising a first film, which is one of a diffusion b |
| 7465626 |
Method for forming a high-k dielectric stack |
December 16, 2008 |
| The present invention provides a method for fabricating a dielectric stack in an integrated circuit comprising the steps of (i) forming a high-k dielectric layer on a semiconductor substrate, (ii) subjecting the semiconductor substrate with the high-k dielectric layer to a nitrogen c |
| 7462239 |
Low temperature load and bake |
December 9, 2008 |
| Methods are provided for low temperature, rapid baking to remove impurities from a semiconductor surface prior to in-situ deposition. Advantageously, a short, low temperature process consumes very little of the thermal budget, such that the process is suitable for advanced, high dens |
| 7452757 |
Silicon-on-insulator structures and methods |
November 18, 2008 |
| Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structures are provided by forming a single-crystal insulator over a substrate, followed by heteroepitaxy of a semiconductor layer thereover. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is preferably used to form an amorphous insulator, followed by solid phase epitaxy to |
| 7449071 |
Wafer holder with peripheral lift ring |
November 11, 2008 |
| A wafer holder for supporting a wafer within a CVD processing chamber includes a vertically moveable lift ring configured to support the bottom peripheral surface of the wafer, and an inner plug having a top flat surface configured to support the wafer during wafer processing. The lift |
| 7438760 |
Methods of making substitutionally carbon-doped crystalline Si-containing materials by chemical |
October 21, 2008 |
| Methods of making Si-containing films that contain relatively high levels of substitutional dopants involve chemical vapor deposition using trisilane and a dopant precursor. Extremely high levels of substitutional incorporation may be obtained, including crystalline silicon films that |
| 7431767 |
Apparatus and method for growth of a thin film |
October 7, 2008 |
| An improved apparatus and method for substrate layer deposition in which substrate layers are grown by carrier gas delivery of sequential pulses of reactants to the substrate surface. At least one of the reactants comprises excited species, e.g., radicals. In a specific embodiment, the |
| 7427556 |
Method to planarize and reduce defect density of silicon germanium |
September 23, 2008 |
| A method for blanket depositing a SiGe film comprises intermixing a silicon source, a germanium source and an etchant to form a gaseous precursor mixture. The method further comprises flowing the gaseous precursor mixture over a substrate under chemical vapor deposition conditions to |
| 7405453 |
Incorporation of nitrogen into high k dielectric film |
July 29, 2008 |
| A high k dielectric film and methods for forming the same are disclosed. The high k material includes two peaks of impurity concentration, particularly nitrogen, such as at a lower interface and upper interface, making the layer particularly suitable for transistor gate dielectric ap |
| 7404984 |
Method for growing thin films |
July 29, 2008 |
| The invention relates to a method and apparatus for growing a thin film onto a substrate, in which method a substrate placed in a reaction space (21) is subjected to alternately repeated surface reactions of at least two vapor-phase reactants for the purpose of forming a thin film. A |
| 7402504 |
Epitaxial semiconductor deposition methods and structures |
July 22, 2008 |
| Methods for depositing epitaxial films such as epitaxial Ge and SiGe films. During cooling from high temperature processing to lower deposition temperatures for Ge-containing layers, Si or Ge compounds are provided to the substrate. Smooth, thin, relatively defect-free Ge or SiGe lay |
| 7396415 |
Apparatus and methods for isolating chemical vapor reactions at a substrate surface |
July 8, 2008 |
| An apparatus and method for processing a substrate is provided. The apparatus comprises a reaction chamber, a substrate holder within the chamber, and first and second injector components. The reaction chamber has an upstream end and a downstream end, between which the substrate hold |
| 7370848 |
Bubbler for substrate processing |
May 13, 2008 |
| A vaporization chamber for a substrate processing system includes a main body, a cover member and a transition member. The main body is made of aluminum and defines a first inner surface, which defines, at least in part, a cavity. The cover member is also made of aluminum. The cover |
| 7329593 |
Germanium deposition |
February 12, 2008 |
| A method comprises, in a reaction chamber, depositing a seed layer of germanium over a silicon-containing surface at a first temperature. The seed layer has a thickness between about one monolayer and about 1000 .ANG.. The method further comprises, after depositing the seed layer, in |
| 7297641 |
Method to form ultra high quality silicon-containing compound layers |
November 20, 2007 |
| Multiple sequential processes are conducted in a reaction chamber to form ultra high quality silicon-containing compound layers, including silicon nitride layers. In a preferred embodiment, a silicon layer is deposited on a substrate using trisilane as the silicon precursor. A silicon |
| 7289865 |
Optimization algorithm to optimize within substrate uniformities |
October 30, 2007 |
| A method to optimize semiconductor processing equipment (hardware settings and process conditions) to minimize non-uniformities within a wafer based on linescan measurements and a calculation of or prediction for a polar map. Measurements of a metrology value are taken at a number of poi |
| 7285500 |
Thin films and methods of making them |
October 23, 2007 |
| Thin, smooth silicon-containing films are prepared by deposition methods that utilize a silicon containing precursor. In preferred embodiments, the methods result in Si-containing films that are continuous and have a thickness of about 150 .ANG. or less, a surface roughness of about 5 |
| 7273799 |
Deposition over mixed substrates |
September 25, 2007 |
| Chemical vapor deposition methods are used to deposit silicon-containing films over mixed substrates. Such methods are useful in semiconductor manufacturing to provide a variety of advantages, including uniform deposition over heterogeneous surfaces, high deposition rates, and higher |
| 7253084 |
Deposition from liquid sources |
August 7, 2007 |
| A liquid injector is used to vaporize and inject a silicon precursor into a process chamber to form silicon-containing layers during a semiconductor fabrication process. The injector is connected to a source of silicon precursor, which preferably comprises liquid trisilane in a mixtu |
| 7248931 |
Semiconductor wafer position shift measurement and correction |
July 24, 2007 |
| A method and apparatus is provided for determining substrate drift from its nominal or intended position. The apparatus includes at least two fixed reference points. The reference points can be fixed with respect to the processing tool, or with respect to the end effector. As a robotic |
| 7238595 |
Epitaxial semiconductor deposition methods and structures |
July 3, 2007 |
| Methods for depositing epitaxial films such as epitaxial Ge and SiGe films. During cooling from high temperature processing to lower deposition temperatures for Ge-containing layers, Si or Ge compounds are provided to the substrate. Smooth, thin, relatively defect-free Ge or SiGe lay |
| 7235806 |
Wafer edge with light sensor |
June 26, 2007 |
| An apparatus for detecting the presence of a substrate that is carried by an end effector of a substrate handling assembly positioned within a substrate processing system comprises a receiving member that is coupled to an end effector and a light sensor that is operatively coupled to the |
| 7231141 |
High temperature drop-off of a substrate |
June 12, 2007 |
| A substrate to be processed in a high temperature processing chamber is preheated to avoid the problems associated with thermal shock when the substrate is dropped onto a heated susceptor. Preheating is effected by holding the substrate over a susceptor maintained at or near the proc |
| 7208354 |
Deposition of silicon germanium on silicon-on-insulator structures and bulk substrates |
April 24, 2007 |
| Methods are provided for producing SiGe-on-insulator structures and for forming strain-relaxed SiGe layers on silicon while minimizing defects. Amorphous SiGe layers are deposited by CVD from trisilane and GeH.sub.4. The amorphous SiGe layers are recrystallized over silicon by melt or |
| 7202166 |
Surface preparation prior to deposition on germanium |
April 10, 2007 |
| Methods are provided for treating germanium surfaces in preparation for subsequent deposition, particularly gate dielectric deposition by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Prior to depositing, the germanium surface is treated with plasma products or thermally reacted with vapor reactants. |
| 7186630 |
Deposition of amorphous silicon-containing films |
March 6, 2007 |
| Chemical vapor deposition methods are used to deposit amorphous silicon-containing films over various substrates. Such methods are useful in semiconductor manufacturing to provide a variety of advantages, including uniform deposition over heterogeneous surfaces, high deposition rates |
| 7186582 |
Process for deposition of semiconductor films |
March 6, 2007 |
| Chemical vapor deposition processes utilize higher order silanes and germanium precursors as chemical precursors. The processes have high deposition rates yet produce more uniform films, both compositionally and in thickness, than films prepared using conventional chemical precursors. |
| 7186298 |
Wafer support system |
March 6, 2007 |
| A wafer support system comprising a segmented susceptor having top and bottom sections and gas flow passages therethrough. A plurality of spacers projecting from a recess formed in the top section of the susceptor support a wafer in spaced relationship with respect to the recess. A s |
| 7173216 |
LED heat lamp arrays for CVD heating |
February 6, 2007 |
| A reactor chamber is positioned between a top array of LED heat lamps and a bottom array of LED heat lamps. The LED heat lamps forming the top and bottom arrays are individually or controllable in groups such that power output along each array of LED heat lamps can dynamically differ. Th |
| 7169234 |
Apparatus and methods for preventing rotational slippage between a vertical shaft and a support |
January 30, 2007 |
| A substrate support assembly positively secures a substrate holder support to a rotation shaft with respect to rotationally applied forces. A substrate holder support is configured to have an opening in a socket into which, when aligned with an indentation in the rotational shaft to |
| 7169233 |
Reactor chamber |
January 30, 2007 |
| A semiconductor processing chamber having an upper wall, a lower wall, and two side walls. The upper and lower walls each comprise two thin, flat plates that are slightly out of parallel so that the wall has a pitch. The pitches point away from the interior chamber space to enable the |
