TEGAL CORPORATION Patent applications |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20120021138 | NANOLAYER DEPOSITION PROCESS FOR COMPOSITE FILMS - A NanoLayer Deposition (NLD) process for depositing composite films of tertiary, quaternary, pentanary, and hexary stoichiometric films is provided. The inventive deposition process is a cyclic process consisting of a sequence of thin film deposition and treatment steps to obtain a desired film stoichiometry. The deposition steps are not self-limiting as in atomic layer deposition. In one embodiment for depositing a compound oxide film, the deposition process comprises a first deposition, followed by a hydrogen-containing plasma treatment, a second deposition followed by a hydrogen-containing plasma treatment, and then a third deposition followed by a hydrogen-containing plasma and then an oxygen-containing plasma treatment to produce a stoichiometric quaternary film. The cyclic process is repeated until the desired overall film thickness is achieved. The inventive process is used to fabricate high k dielectric films, ferroelectric films, piezoelectric films, and other complex oxides. | 01-26-2012 |
20110120648 | APPARATUS AND A METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE DEPTH OF ETCHING DURING ALTERNATING PLASMA ETCHING OF SEMICONDUCTOR SUBSTRATES - The present invention provides apparatus for controlling the operation of plasma etching a semiconductor substrate by an alternating etching method, the apparatus comprising:
| 05-26-2011 |
20100285237 | NANOLAYER DEPOSITION USING BIAS POWER TREATMENT - A hybrid deposition process of CVD and ALD, called NanoLayer Deposition (NLD) is provided. The NLD process is a cyclic sequential deposition process, comprising introducing a first plurality of precursors to deposit a thin layer with the deposition process not self limiting, followed by introducing a second plurality of precursors for plasma treating the thin deposited layer. The plasma can be isotropic, anisotropic, or a combination of isotropic and anisotropic to optimize the effectiveness of the treatment of the thin deposited layers. | 11-11-2010 |
20100190353 | NANOLAYER DEPOSITION PROCESS - A hybrid deposition process of CVD and ALD, called NanoLayer Deposition (NLD) is provided. The nanolayer deposition process is a cyclic sequential deposition process, comprising the first step of introducing a first plurality of precursors to deposit a thin film with the deposition process not self-limiting, then a second step of purging the first set of precursors and a third step of introducing a second plurality of precursors to modify the deposited thin film. The deposition step in the NLD process using the first set of precursors is not self limiting and is a function of substrate temperature and process time. The second set of precursors modifies the already deposited film characteristics. The second set of precursors can treat the deposited film such as a modification of film composition, a doping or a removal of impurities from the deposited film. The second set of precursors can also deposit another layer on the deposited film. The additional layer can react with the existing layer to form a compound layer, or can have minimum reaction to form a nanolaminate film. | 07-29-2010 |
20100022030 | DRY ETCH STOP PROCESS FOR ELIMINATING ELECTRICAL SHORTING IN MRAM DEVICE STRUCTURES - The present invention relates generally to semiconductor fabrication and particularly to fabricating magnetic tunnel junction devices. In particular, this invention relates to a method for using the dielectric layer in tunnel junctions as an etch stop layer to eliminate electrical shorting that can result from the patterning process. | 01-28-2010 |
20090246385 | Control of crystal orientation and stress in sputter deposited thin films - A two step thin film deposition process is disclosed to provide for the simultaneous achievement of controlled stress and the achievement of preferred crystalline orientation in sputter-deposited thin films. In a preferred embodiment, a first relatively short deposition step is performed without substrate bias to establish the crystalline orientation of the deposited film followed by a second, typically relatively longer deposition step with an applied rf bias to provide for low or no stress conditions in the growing film. Sputter deposition without substrate bias has been found to provide good crystal orientation and can be influenced through the crystalline orientation of the underlying layers and through the introduction of intentionally oriented seed layers to promote preferred crystalline orientation. Conversely, sputter deposition with substrate bias has been found to provide a means for producing stress control in growing films. | 10-01-2009 |
20090242392 | Stress adjustment in reactive sputtering - In a dual cathode magnetron, an adjustment circuit is provided between a pair of sputter targets having a coaxial (preferably frusto-conical) relationship to modify the distribution of ion and electron currents flowing from the plasma discharge to a substrate residing within a sputter chamber. A stress adjustment circuit is used to modify the ion bombardment of the growing films on the substrate resulting in a mechanism for control of the stress in the deposited films. In a preferred embodiment, the adjustment circuit comprises a variable resistor disposed between an internal shield that acts as a passive anode and a target. The value of the variable resistor influences the plasma discharge current distribution between the split sputter targets and the internal shields, and can effectively be used to adjust the properties of the deposited films. | 10-01-2009 |
20090242388 | Stress adjustment in reactive sputtering - In a dual cathode magnetron, an adjustment circuit is provided between a pair of sputter targets having a coaxial (preferably frusto-conical) relationship to modify the distribution of ion and electron currents flowing from the plasma discharge to a substrate residing within a sputter chamber. A stress adjustment circuit is used to modify the ion bombardment of the growing films on the substrate resulting in a mechanism for control of the stress in the deposited films. In a preferred embodiment, the adjustment circuit comprises a variable resistor disposed between an internal shield that acts as a passive anode and a target. The value of the variable resistor influences the plasma discharge current distribution between the split sputter targets and the internal shields, and can effectively be used to adjust the properties of the deposited films. | 10-01-2009 |
20080318432 | REACTOR WITH HEATED AND TEXTURED ELECTRODES AND SURFACES - A reactor for processing semiconductor wafers with electrodes and other surfaces that can be one of heated, textured and/or pre-coated in order to facilitate adherence of materials deposited thereon, and eliminate the disadvantages resulting from the spaulding, flaking and/or delaminating of such materials which can interfere with semiconductor wafer processing. | 12-25-2008 |