The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 13, 2026
Filed:
Feb. 12, 2024
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Hsinchu, TW;
Chun-Yi Chang, Bade City, TW;
Chunyao Wang, Zhubei City, TW;
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Hsinchu, TW;
Abstract
As deposited, hard mask thin films have internal stress components which are an artifact of the material, thickness, deposition process of the mask layer as well as of the underlying materials and topography. This internal stress can cause distortion and twisting of the mask layer when it is patterned, especially when sub-micron critical dimensions are being patterned. A stress-compensating process is employed to reduce the impact of this internal stress. Heat treatment can be employed to relax the stress, as an example. In another example, a second mask layer with an opposite internal stress component is employed to offset the internal stress component in the hard mask layer.
Data source: USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) public patent records. Weekly synchronization. How IDiyas builds this profile