Applied Materials, Inc.

Other

Alta Devices, Inc.

Jian Ding

Yung-Hee Yvette Lee

Gerald Z Yin

Robert W Wu

Kenneth S Collins

Madhavi R Chandrachood

Raymond Hoiman Hung

Ruiping Wang

Joseph P Caulfield

Nicole Sandlin

Gilad Almogy

Christopher Dennis Bencher

Tetsuya Ishikawa

Jeffrey S Marks

Ji Zhang

Nicolas J Bright

Craig A Roderick

John R Trow

Hain-Ching Liu

Melvin Warren Montgomery

Wendy H Yeh

Alexander Buxbaum

Betty Tang

Zongyu Li

Michael Robert Rice

Manoocher Birang

Mehul B Naik

David Walter Groechel

Alfred W Mak

Hyman J Levinstein

Turgut Sahin

Joshua Chiu-Wing Tsui

Hoiman Raymond Hung

Linlin Yang

Liguang Lan

Cynthia B Brooks

Sum-Yee Betty Tang

Melisa J Buie

Chunshi Cui

Hao A Lu

Karsten Schneider

Tianzong Xu

Axel Walter

Joshua C-w Tsui

A photovoltaic module comprises a back substrate having a plurality of conductive interconnects on top thereof. A conductive interconnect includes a first contact region and a second contact region. The photovoltaic module further comprises a plurality of photovoltaic cells comprising front electrodes disposed on a front surface of a photovoltaic layer on top of back electrodes on top of a support substrate. A plurality of back vias extending through the support substrate of a first cell form an electrical contact between the back electrodes and the second contact region, and a plurality of front vias extending through the support substrate, the back electrodes and the photovoltaic layer of a second cell form an electrical contact between the front electrodes and the first contact region, and is insulated from an electrical contact with the back electrodes and a P side of the photovoltaic layer.

Method for interconnecting solar cells

Method and apparatus for etching a metal layer disposed on a substrate, such as a photolithographic reticle, are provided. In one aspect, a method is provided for processing a substrate including positioning a substrate having a metal layer disposed on an optically transparent material in a processing chamber, introducing a processing gas processing gas comprising an oxygen containing gas, a chlorine containing gas, and a chlorine-free halogen containing gas, and optionally, an inert gas, into the processing chamber, generating a plasma of the processing gas in the processing chamber, and etching exposed portions of the metal layer disposed on the substrate.

Process for etching a metal layer suitable for use in photomask fabrication

Apparatus and methods for efficiently operating on RAID systems. A fast access buffer comprising an off-disk fast access memory module supports RAID operations such as recovery or reconfiguration operations, thereby minimizing or reducing the need for on-disk destructive zones and/or reducing disk drive I/O activities. In some cases the fast access memory module to serves as a read/write cache, reducing the need for frequent disk accesses of a small number of data blocks. Fast off-disk memory such as RAM enables rapid operation on in-buffer data blocks. Access to the material stored in the RAID devices may be enabled, partially enabled or disabled during RAID operations involving the fast access memory module and some data access operations may be synchronized with RAID operations. In some cases, data may be served from the fast access memory module, thereby providing rapid access to material stored in a RAID device during RAID operations.

System and method for adaptive operation of storage capacities of RAID systems

An anti-reflective hard mask layer left on a radiation-blocking layer during fabrication of a reticle provides functionality when the reticle is used in a semiconductor device manufacturing process.

Method of reducing critical dimension bias during fabrication of a semiconductor device

An I/O decoupling system comprising an I/O accelerator coupled between a host interface and a channel interface, wherein the I/O accelerator comprises a host manager, a buffer manager a function manager, and a disk buffer. The host manager is coupled to the host interface to receive a request from a connected host computer. The function manager in response to receiving the request allocates the disk buffer and determines a threshold offset for the buffer while coordinating the movement of data to the disk buffer through the channel interface coupled to the disk buffer.

Input/output decoupling system method having a cache for exchanging data between non-volatile storage and plurality of clients having asynchronous transfers

Process for etching photomasks

We have reduced the critical dimension bias for reticle fabrication. Pattern transfer to the radiation-blocking layer of the reticle substrate essentially depends upon use of a hard mask to which the pattern is transferred from a photoresist. The photoresist pull back which occurs during pattern transfer to the hard mask is minimalized. In addition, a hard mask material having anti-reflective properties which are matched to the reflective characteristics of the radiation-blocking layer enables a reduction in critical dimension size and an improvement in the pattern feature integrity in the hard mask itself. An anti-reflective hard mask layer left on the radiation-blocking layer provides functionality when the reticle is used in a semiconductor device manufacturing process.

Reticle fabrication using a removable hard mask

Methods and apparatus for controlling the critical dimensions and monitoring the phase shift angles of photomasks. Critical dimensions measurement data before wafer processing and after wafer processing are collected by an integrated metrology tool to adjust the process recipe, to determine if the critical dimensions are in specification and to determine if additional etching is required. Phase shift angle and uniformity across substrate measurement after wafer processing are collected by an integrated metrology tool to determine if the phase shift angle and its uniformity are in specification. The real time process recipe adjustment and determination if additional etching is requires allow tightening of the process control. The phase shift angle and uniformity monitoring allows in-line screening of phase shift photomasks.

Integrated phase angle and optical critical dimension measurement metrology for feed forward and feedback process control

A high plasma density etch process for etching an oxygen-containing layer overlying a non-oxygen containing layer on a workpiece in a plasma reactor chamber, by providing a chamber ceiling overlying the workpiece and containing a semiconductor material, supplying into the chamber a process gas containing etchant precursor species, polymer precursor species and hydrogen, applying plasma source power into the chamber, and cooling the ceiling to a temperature range at or below about 150 degrees C. The etchant and polymer precursor species contain fluorine, and the chamber ceiling semiconductor material includes a fluorine scavenger precursor material. Preferably, the process gas includes at least one of CHF and CH F . Preferably, the process gas further includes a species including an inert gas, such as HeH or Ar. If the chamber is of the type including a heated fluorine scavenger precursor material, this material is heated to well above the polymer condensation temperature, while the ceiling is cooled. In some cases, the plasma source power applicator is an inductive antenna overlying the semiconductor ceiling, and the ceiling has a cooling/heating apparatus contacting the ceiling through semiconductor rings. The inductive antenna in this case constitutes inductive elements between adjacent ones of the semiconductor rings.

Low ceiling temperature process for a plasma reactor with heated source of a polymer-hardening precursor material

A dielectric etch process applicable etching a dielectric layer with an underlying stop layer. It is particularly though not necessarily applicable to forming a dual-damascene interconnect structure by a counterbore process, in which a deep via is etched prior to the formation of a trench connecting two of more vias. A single metallization fills the dual-damascene structure. The substrate is formed with a lower stop layer, a lower dielectric layer, an upper stop layer, and an upper dielectric layer. For example, the dielectric layers may be silicon dioxide, and the stop layers, silicon nitride. The initial deep via etch includes at least two substeps. A first substep includes a non-selective etch through the upper stop layer followed by a second substep of selectively etching through the lower dielectric layer and stopping on the lower stop layer. The first substep may be preceded by yet another substep including a selective etch part ways through the upper dielectric layer. For the oxide/nitride compositions, the selective etch is based on a fluorocarbon and argon chemistry, preferably with a lean etchant of CHF combined with a polymer former, such as C F , C F , or CH F , and the non-selective etch includes a fluorocarbon or hydrocarbon, argon and an oxygen-containing gas, such as CO. The counterbore etch is preferably performed in a high-density plasma reactor which allows the plasma source region to be powered separately from a sheath bias located adjacent to the wafer pedestal.

Plasma etch process in a single inter-level dielectric etch

An integrated in situ oxide etch process particularly useful for a counterbore dual-damascene structure over copper having in one inter-layer dielectric level a lower nitride stop layer, a lower oxide dielectric, a lower nitride stop layer, an upper oxide dielectric layer, and an anti-reflective coating (ARC). The process is divided into a counterbore etch and a trench etch with photolithography for each, and each step is preferably performed in a high-density plasma reactor having an inductively coupled plasma source primarily generating the plasma and a capacitively coupled pedestal supporting the wafer and producing the bias power. The counterbore etch preferably includes at least four substeps of opening the ARC, etching through the upper oxide and nitride layers, selectively etching the lower oxide layer but stopping on the lower nitride layer, and a post-etch treatment for removing residue. The trench etch preferably includes the five substeps of opening the ARC, etching through the upper oxide layer but stopping on the upper nitride layers, a first post-etch treatment for removing residue, a nitride removal of the exposed portions of the upper and lower nitride layers, and a second post-etch treatment for remaining further residues. The oxide etches selective to nitride are accomplished using a fluorocarbon chemistry with high bias and a high temperature for a silicon-based scavenger for fluorine placed next to the plasma. The nitride etches and removal are accomplished by adding an oxygen-containing gas to a fluorocarbon. The final nitride removal is accomplished with very low bias power to increase selectivity to nitride and reduce sputtering of the underlying copper. The post-etch treatments are oxygen plasmas with zero bias power.

In-situ integrated oxide etch process particularly useful for copper dual damascene

A plasma etch process, particularly applicable to an self-aligned contact etch in a high-density plasma for selectively etching oxide over nitride, although selectivity to silicon is also achieved. In the process, a fluoropropane or a fluoropropylene is a principal etching gas in the presence of a substantial amount of an inactive gas such as argon. Good nitride selectivity has been achieved with hexafluoropropylene (C F ), octafluoropropane (C F ), heptafluoropropane (C HF ), hexafluoropropane (C H F ). The process may use one or more of the these gases in proportions to optimize selectivity and a wide process window. Difluoromethane (CH F ) or other fluorocarbons may be combined with the above gases, particularly with C F for optimum selectivity over other materials without the occurrence of etch stop in narrow contact holes and with a wide process window.

Plasma process for selectively etching oxide using fluoropropane or fluoropropylene

An integrated self aligned contact process includes oxide etch with high oxide etch rate, integrated selective oxide etch and nitride liner removal with high selectivity to corner nitride with the ability to remove the bottom nitride liner, and stripping of all polymer and photoresist. C,F,and CH,F,are used for the high selectivity oxide etch step. The unique behavior of CH,F,in high density plasma allows polymer protection to form on the nitride corner/sidewall while at the same time etching the bottom nitride.

Integrated self aligned contact etch

A plasma etching process for etching a carbon-based low-k dielectric layer in a multi-layer inter-level dielectric. The low-k dielectric may be divinyl siloxane-benzocyclobutene (BCB), which contains about 4% silicon, the remainder being carbon, hydrogen, and a little oxygen. The BCB etch uses an etching gas of oxygen, a fluorocarbon, and nitrogen and no argon. An N,/O,ratio of between 1:1 and 3:1 produces vertical walls in the BCB. In a dual-damascene structure, the inter-level dielectric includes two BCB layers, each underlaid by a respective stop layer. Photolithography with an organic photoresist needs a hard mask of silicon oxide or nitride over the upper BCB layer. After the BCB etch has cleared all the photoresist, the bias power applied to the cathode supporting the wafer needs to be set to a low value while the separately controlled plasma source power is set reasonably high, thereby reducing faceting of the exposed hard mask. Chamber pressures of no more than 5 milliTorr increase the selectivity of BCB over photoresist. Substrate temperatures of less than 0&deg; C. increase the BCB etch rate. A low fluorocarbon flow increases the etch rate, but a minimum amount of fluorocarbon is required for the silicon component of BCB. In a counterbore dual-damascene etch, the lower stop layer is composed of nitride, and the preferred fluorocarbon is difluoroethane (CH,F,). A silicon-free carbon-based low-k dielectric can be etched under similar chamber conditions with a etching gas of oxygen and nitrogen in about equal amounts but including no fluorocarbon nor argon.

High-density plasma etching of carbon-based low-k materials in a integrated circuit

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Jian Ding