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:
Apr. 07, 1998
Filed:
Aug. 22, 1994
Lynn Renee Allen, Camas, WA (US);
John Martin Grant, Vancouver, WA (US);
Sharp Microelectronics Technology, Inc., Camas, WA (US);
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Osaka, JP;
Abstract
Methods and equipment for anisotropic, patterned conversion of copper into selectively removable compounds and for removal of the same are disclosed. In one embodiment a plasma reactor is used to anisotropically convert unmasked portions of a copper layer at low temperature into copper chloride. The copper chloride is removed by one or more of the following steps: (1) solvation by a solvent specific to the copper chloride; (2) vaporizing the copper chloride away; and (3) converting the copper chloride into a volatile, secondary compound. In another embodiment an ion implanter is used to anisotropically convert desired portions of a copper layer into copper oxide. The copper oxide is removed by one or more of the following steps: (1) solvation by a solvent specific to the copper oxide; (2) vaporizing the copper oxide away; and (3) converting the copper oxide into a volatile, secondary compound.