Richard Paul Conti, 58118 Early St, Morristown, NJ 07960

6531412, Mar 11, 2003

Aug 10, 2001

09/928209

Richard A. Conti - Katonah NY
Daniel C. Edelstein - White Plains NY
Gill Yong Lee - Wappingers Falls NY

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY
Infineon Technologies AG - Munich

H01C 2131

438778, 438695, 438697, 438712, 438723, 438761, 438781, 438618, 438620, 438622, 438626, 438627, 438628, 42725528, 42725539, 427255393, 427569, 427578, 427579

A method is described for forming a low-k dielectric film, in particular, a pre-metal dielectric (PMD) on a semiconductor wafer which has good gap-filling characteristics. The method uses a thermal sub-atmospheric CVD process that includes a carbon-containing organometallic precusor such as TMCTS or OMCTS, an ozone-containing gas, and a source of dopants for gettering alkali elements and for lowering the reflow temperature of the dielectric while attaining the desired low-k and gap-filling properties of the dielectric film. Phosphorous is a preferred dopant for gettering alkali elements such as sodium. Additional dopants for lowering the reflow temperature include, but are not limited to boron, germanium, arsenic, fluorine or combinations thereof.

6570256, May 27, 2003

Jul 20, 2001

09/910380

Richard A. Conti - Mount Kisco NY
Prakash Chimanlal Dev - Plano TX
David M. Dobuzinsky - New Windsor NY
Daniel C. Edelstein - White Plains NY
Gill Y. Lee - Wappingers Falls NY
Padraic C. Shafer - Beacon NY
Alexander Simpson - Wappingers Falls NY
Peter Wrschka - Wappingers Falls NY

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

H01L 2348

257761, 257760, 257752, 257 72, 257762, 257767, 438624, 438622

A structure and method for an insulator layer having carbon-graded layers above a substrate is disclosed, wherein the concentration of carbon increases in each successive carbon-graded layer above the substrate. The insulator comprises a low-k dielectric having a dielectric constant less than 3. 3. The carbon-graded layer increases adhesion between the substrate and the insulator and between the insulator and the conductor layer. The structure may also include stabilization interfaces between the carbon-graded layers. More specifically, the carbon-graded layers include a first layer adjacent the substrate having a carbon content between about 5% and 20%, a second layer above the first layer having a carbon content between about 10% and 30%, and a third layer above the second layer having a carbon content between about 20% and 40%.

6740539, May 25, 2004

Feb 13, 2003

10/366149

Richard A. Conti - Mount Kisco NY
Prakash Chimanlal Dev - Plano TX
David M. Dobuzinsky - New Windsor NY
Daniel C. Edelstein - White Plains NY
Gill Y. Lee - Wappingers Falls NY
Padraic C. Shafer - Beacon NY
Alexander Simpson - Wappingers Falls NY
Peter Wrschka - Wappingers Falls NY

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY
Infineon Technologies A.G.

H01L 5140

438 99, 438624, 438780

A structure and method for an insulator layer having carbon-graded layers above a substrate is disclosed, wherein the concentration of carbon increases in each successive carbon-graded layer above the substrate. The insulator comprises a low-k dielectric having a dielectric constant less than 3. 3. The carbon-graded layer increases adhesion between the substrate and the insulator and between the insulator and the conductor layer. The structure may also include stabilization interfaces between the carbon-graded layers. More specifically, the carbon-graded layers include a first layer adjacent the substrate having a carbon content between about 5% and 20%, a second layer above the first layer having a carbon content between about 10% and 30%, and a third layer above the second layer having a carbon content between about 20% and 40%.

6911378, Jun 28, 2005

Jun 24, 2003

10/604060

Richard A. Conti - Katonah NY, US
Kenneth Davis - Newburgh NY, US
John A. Fitzsimmons - Poughkeepsie NY, US
David L. Rath - Stormville NY, US
Daewon Yang - Fishkill NY, US

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

H01L021/322

438475, 438622, 438761, 438783, 438473, 438474, 438795, 438800, 257645, 257651, 257958

A process for providing regions of substantially lower fluorine content in a fluorine-containing dielectric comprises exposing the fluorine-containing dielectric to a reactive species to form volatile byproducts.

6946826, Sep 20, 2005

Nov 21, 2003

10/719052

Richard F. Conti - New Hope PA, US

Heraeus Electro-Nite International N.V. - Houthalen

G01N027/00

324 714

A probe to measure particulates suspended in molten metal includes an inner tube forming a receiving chamber. The tube includes an orifice permitting molten metal to flow into the chamber. A gas passageway extends out of the tube for connection to a vacuum source. A first electrode including a first member extends into the chamber. A second electrode surrounds a portion of the tube. The first and second electrodes connect to a measurement device for measuring changes in the electrical potential produced by particulates passing through the orifice. A liquidus depressing material within the chamber lowers the liquidus temperature of the molten metal and permits a longer period for measuring particulates therein. A second member is connected to the gas passageway at a first end of the second member. A chill block spaced from the liquidus depressing material is attached to a second end of the second member.

7084079, Aug 1, 2006

Nov 18, 2002

10/299357

Richard A. Conti - Katonah NY, US
Daniel C. Edelstein - White Plains NY, US
Gill Yong Lee - Wappingers Falls NY, US

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

H01L 21/469

438786, 438787, 438778, 438758

A method is described for forming a low-k dielectric film, in particular, a pre-metal dielectric (PMD) on a semiconductor wafer which has good gap-filling characteristics. The method uses a thermal sub-atmospheric CVD process that includes a carbon-containing organometallic precusor such as TMCTS or OMCTS, an ozone-containing gas, and a source of dopants for gettering alkali elements and for lowering the reflow temperature of the dielectric while attaining the desired low-k and gap-filling properties of the dielectric film. Phosphorous is a preferred dopant for gettering alkali elements such as sodium. Additional dopants for lowering the reflow temperature include, but are not limited to boron, germanium, arsenic, fluorine or combinations thereof.

7179760, Feb 20, 2007

May 27, 2005

10/908833

Richard A. Conti - Katonah NY, US
Thomas F. Houghton - Marlboro NY, US
Michael F. Lofaro - Hopewell Junction NY, US
Jeffery B. Maxson - New Windsor NY, US
Ann H. McDonald - New Windsor NY, US
Yun-Yu Wang - Poughquag NY, US
Keith Kwong Hon Wong - Wappingers Falls NY, US
Daewon Yang - Hopewell Junction NY, US

International Buisness Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

H01L 21/31
H01L 21/469

438788, 438792

The present invention relates to a bilayer cap structure for interconnect structures that comprise copper metallization or other conductive metallization. Such bilayer cap structure includes a first cap layer formed by an unbiased high density plasma (HDP) chemical vapor deposition process, and a second cap layer over the first cap layer, where the second cap layer is formed by a biased high density plasma (bHDP) chemical vapor deposition process. During the bHDP chemical vapor deposition process, a low AC bias power is applied to the substrate to increase the ion bombardment on the substrate surface and to induce resputtering of the capping material, thereby forming a seamless second cap layer with excellent reactive ion etching (RIE) selectivity.

7462527, Dec 9, 2008

Jul 6, 2005

11/160705

Richard A. Conti - Katonah NY, US
Ronald P. Bourque - Wappingers Falls NY, US
Nancy R. Klymko - Hopewell Junction NY, US
Anita Madan - Danbury CT, US
Michael C. Smits - Poughkeepsie NY, US
Roy H. Tilghman - Stormville NY, US
Kwong Hon Wong - Wappingers Falls NY, US
Daewon Yang - Hopewell Junction NY, US

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY
Novellus Systems, Inc. - San Jose CA

H01L 21/8238

438199, 438792

A method is provided for making a FET device in which a nitride layer overlies the PFET gate structure, where the nitride layer has a compressive stress with a magnitude greater than about 2. 8 GPa. This compressive stress permits improved device performance in the PFET. The nitride layer is deposited using a high-density plasma (HDP) process, wherein the substrate is disposed on an electrode to which a bias power in the range of about 50 W to about 500 W is supplied. The bias power is characterized as high-frequency power (supplied by an RF generator at 13. 56 MHz). The FET device may also include NFET gate structures. A blocking layer is deposited over the NFET gate structures so that the nitride layer overlies the blocking layer; after the blocking layer is removed, the nitride layer is not in contact with the NFET gate structures. The nitride layer has a thickness in the range of about 300-2000 Å.