US 9,169,975 B2Grant

Systems and methods for mass flow controller verification

Issue Date:2015-10-27

•34 Claims

•9 Drawing Sheets

Abstract

A method and system are disclosed for verifying the flow rate of gas through a mass flow controller, such as a mass flow controller used with a tool for semiconductor or solar cell fabrication. To verify the mass flow rate measured by the mass flow controller, gas passing through the mass flow controller is also passed through a mass flow meter. The measured flow rate through the mass flow controller is compared to the measured flow rate through the mass flow meter and any difference between the two measured flow rates is determined. Depending upon the magnitude of any difference, the flow of gas to the mass flow controller may be altered.

Metadata

Assignee

ASM IP Holding B.V.

Inventors

Michael Christopher Sarin
Rafael Mendez
Gregory M. Bartlett
Eric Hill
Keith R. Lawson
Andy Rosser

Application Information

Application Number:US 13/597,043

Filing Date:2012-08-28

Priority Date:2012-08-28

Art Unit:2856

Classifications

IPC:

G01F25/00F17D1/00

Field of Search:

G01F 25/0007G01F 1/8436G01F 1/8477

Patent Drawings (9 sheets)

Description

[0001] Embodiments of the present application relate to systems and methods for verifying the measured gas flow through a mass flow controller, particularly a mass flow controller used in semiconductor fabrication.

Background

[0002] In semiconductor fabrication, a substrate or wafer is subjected to a number of processes in order to deposit or remove a layer from the wafer. Many of these processes involve the introduction of gases into a reaction chamber containing the wafer. These gases can include, for example, reactive gases introduced to deposit a layer on the substrate. In addition, inert gases can also be introduced to purge reactive gases from the chamber between reactive steps. Systems for introducing gases generally include gas sources (such as gas tanks, bubblers, other liquid and/or solid vaporization devices) connected via piping ultimately to the reaction chamber. Mass flow controllers and valves are adjusted in order to select the type and amount of the desired source gas(es) to introduce into the reaction chamber. Each mass flow controller (“MFC”) is normally calibrated to measure the flow rate of a particular type of process gas at a particular, flow rate or range of flow rates.

[0003] Semiconductor manufacturers have a continuing need to improve process accuracy and repeatability, both on a single tool, and across all tools in a fabrication operation running the same process. Deviations are caused by many factors, but a prime cause of deviation is the accuracy and repeatability of process gas flows controlled by MFCs. Any deviation from the idealized perfect flow for a particular process (caused by an inaccurate MFC, for example) can cause loss of yield and increased costs, and can affect the quality of the finished semiconductor. An MFC whose actual flow rate deviates from its intended flow rate (this deviation is sometimes referred to as “drift”) must be recalibrated or replaced, which leads to tool down time, decreased output and increased costs.

[0004] Some digitally controlled MFCs have accuracy levels reportedly in the range of +/−1% of the desired flow rate when the MFC is new. Devices such as MFVs (mass flow verifiers) or MFMs (mass flow meters) can be used to monitor and verify that the amount of gas entering a tool as measured by an MFC is the actual amount entering the tool, i.e., they verify the MFCs accuracy. MFVs generally have an accuracy of +/−1% and can be used to monitor and verify whether the amount the gas flow rate measured by an MFC has deviated from the actual gas flow through the MFC. However, MFV use is very time consuming, taking up to several days to perform a complete verification. Such a verification is typically performed quarterly, thus not always detecting MFC deviations early enough to avoid the afore-mentioned problems with drift.

[0005] MFMs can also be used to monitor MFC drift and can detect drift much faster. MFCs and MFMs, however, are configured for a particular gas type and a particular flow rate range. It is impractical to include a duplicately configured MFM for each gas type and flow rate range for which each MFC is configured.

[0006] There also has not been a way to improve the accuracy of many tools in a process fabrication using these validation tools, but only the tool within which the MFM or MFV resides.

[0007] A method to verify the actual gas flow through an MFC and reduce process deviation caused by MFC variability, whether for a single tool or from tool to tool within a semiconductor fabrication facility, is highly desired.

Summary

[0008] Embodiments of the present application help verify the accuracy of the measured gas flow through a MFC. Embodiments of the application also allow replacement MFCs to be quickly tested by an MFM prior to installation on a tool, and the gas flow through the MFC verified and calibrated if necessary. Thus, replacement of MFCs would be less likely to cause process deviation. Additionally, some embodiments may operate in conjunction with a reference MFM that can be used on multiple processing tools and multiple MFCS. Among other things, this allows MFMs resident on each tool to be aligned to the “reference” MFM and thereby improve tool to tool matching.

[0009] Exemplary methods and systems according to various aspects of the application may use a single MFM for one MFC or a plurality of MFCs. The method and system preferably include either (a) one MFM used to verify the flow rates for the MFCs for a particular tool, (b) one MFM used to verify the flow rates for MFCs for a plurality of tools, or (c) in a fabrication shop in which multiple tools are running the same process, one MFM can verify the flow rate on each MFC flowing a particular type of gas, regardless of which tool to which each MFC is connected. If one MFM is used to verify the measured gas flow rates for the MFCs for a plurality of tools, the MFCs could each be in fluid communication with the MFM, or the MFM could be moved from tool to tool. Additionally, a single MFM could be used to measure only the same process gas for different MFCs used on different tools. Adjustments to the gas flow rate through an MFC can be made manually, or can be made automatically through a module controller.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010] A more complete understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be derived by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the following illustrative figures.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an alternate system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an alternate system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an alternate system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an alternate system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an alternate system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an alternate system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description of Exemplary Embodiments

[0019] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods and systems for verifying and potentially adjusting the flow rate of process gases to a reaction chamber during semiconductor processing. It is generally desirable for the amount of process gas injected into a reaction chamber to be as accurate as possible. Imperfect control over gas flow rates could contribute to non-uniformities in the physical properties of the finished product, or to wasted gas and increased costs.

[0020] Embodiments of the present disclosure help verify the accuracy of the measured gas flow through a MFC. In various embodiments, the MFM measures the actual gas flow through an MFC, and that measurement is compared to the MFC's own measurement of the gas flow. If the respective measured flow rates are not the same the flow of gas to the MFC may be adjusted. Preferably, the measured gas flow rate through the MFC is within +/−10% or less, +/−2% or less, +/−1% or less or +/−0.05% or less, of the measured gas flow rate through the MFM. If not within the desirable range, the gas flow to the MFC may be adjusted to be within that range.

[0021] Some digital MFCs include a database of flow rates for the active gas and the correlating equivalents in nitrogen gas. By accessing the N₂equivalent table of the MFC one can compare MFC deviations to the N₂flow rate measured by the MFC to the gas flow rate measured by MFV or MFM. The use of a single gas such as nitrogen allows for more accurate comparison since the flows through the MFC and the verification device are output from a common gas, such as N₂. The common gas is flowed through the MFC and an MFM for the comparison. A scaling factor is used to compare the N₂flow measured by the MFM to the N₂flow measured by the MFC (which is configured to its own process gas).

[0022] The measured gas flow of the MFM can also be verified utilizing any suitable method or device, such as additional MFMs, a mass flow verifier or a restrictor conduit. By entering the common gas flow data into a tabulated format, a scaling factor can be derived at a selected number of points near the gas flow required by the particular process. This step-wise scaling is very accurate for the range of flows required by the process. Most importantly, this scaling can be used by a process controller to calibrate the actual MFC flow rate to the measured MFM gas flow rate. The controller can access the offset table and, if necessary, correct the gas flow of each MFC such that the actual gas flow through each MFC be within a desired range of the measured MFM gas flow.

[0023] This process is easily automated, and can be performed quickly and frequently, allowing for tighter control of MFC performance and process repeatability. The fact that this process can be performed more frequently also means it will quickly detect when an MFC is drifting significantly and in need of replacement. A replacement MFC can then be ordered early and be ready for installation at the next scheduled tool maintenance period instead of shutting down the tool solely to replace an MFC, which reduces tool down time.

[0024] This detailed description proceeds by describing how the measured flow rate of gas through an MFC is verified using an MFM. It then refers to the drawings to describe exemplary systems according to the disclosure.

[0025] Each process gas comes from a different source, such as a tank containing the gas, and is transferred via piping or tubing. Each process gas passes through a different MFC than the other process gases, and is then injected into a tool for manufacturing semiconductors. The MFC regulates the amount of process gas injected into the tool. Each MFC is calibrated for a particular gas and for a particular gas flow rate range required by the fabrication process. As an example, in a semiconductor manufacturing process, depending upon the layers to be deposited on the wafer, each of a plurality of MFCs could be programmed to permit a specific flow of a specific gas into the tool in which a semiconductor is fabricated.

[0026] Therefore, the MFC regulates the amount of process gas that enters the tool and is programmed to deliver the amount of gas required for a particular fabrication process. As mentioned previously, the flow rate indicated by MFCs can be incorrect, and it is therefore desirable to utilize systems and methods of the present disclosure to verify that the measured gas flow through the MFC is correct. If it is not correct, then a user has the option to adjust the gas flow to the MFC, or the gas flow could be adjusted automatically.

[0027] Some exemplary embodiments may include an MFC that is calibrated to one type of gas (sometimes referred to herein as a second gas) and an MFM that is calibrated to a different type of gas (sometimes referred to herein as a first gas). The second gas to which the MFC is calibrated is usually a process gas used in a tool for manufacturing semiconductors. Such process gases may include, but are not limited to, SiH₄, GeH₄, GeH₄/H₂, SiHCL₃, Si₃H₈and H₂. The first gas to which the MFM is calibrated is a different gas, usually an inert gas because process gases can corrode the MFM. Some gases for which MFMs are usually calibrated, and that can be used to verify the flow through an MFC, are nitrogen, hydrogen and helium. Nitrogen is most preferred, but any suitable gas could be used. In some embodiments, a single MFM, which is calibrated for a single gas, can be used to verify the accuracy of a plurality of MFCs, wherein each MFC is calibrated for a different process gas.

[0028] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the gas for which the MFM is calibrated (the “first gas”) is passed through both the MFC and the MFM and a gas flow rate is measured by each. Because the MFC is calibrated to measure the flow of the second gas, not the first gas, its measurement is adjusted according to a scaling factor according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The scaling factor is applied to the measured flow of the first gas through the MFC in order to provide the true measurement of the first gas through the MFC. This true measurement is compared to the gas flow rate measured by the MFM to verify whether it is correct. The scaling factor can be obtained or derived from any suitable source or method. In one preferred embodiment the scaling factor for the process gas flowed through an MFC to N₂is programmed into the MFC and can be retrieved by a software program interfacing with the MFC.

[0029] An example of a table showing the results of utilizing a method according to aspects of the present disclosure is reproduced below. This table shows values verified by an MFM for an MFC calibrated for H₂and for a maximum flow of 30 liters per minute:

[0030]


MFC 3: N-SRC (3 slm H₂)
N2 Equiv	Inlet Prs (MPa)	Set Point	% Setpoint	MFM Prs (T)	MFM	ATM Prs (T)	Δ	% Δ

0.303	0.204	0.30	10.00%	721	0.300	725.1	−0.003	−1.12%
0.599	0.201	0.60	20.00%	727	0.595	725.0	−0.004	−0.63%
0.892	0.209	0.90	30.00%	731	0.887	725.1	−0.005	−0.53%
1.184	0.209	1.20	40.00%	722	1.188	725.0	0.004	0.35%
1.477	0.207	1.50	50.00%	723	1.483	724.9	0.006	0.41%
1.770	0.206	1.80	60.00%	724	1.777	724.9	0.007	0.40%
2.066	0.205	2.10	70.00%	726	2.075	724.9	0.009	0.44%
2.366	0.204	2.40	80.00%	727	2.378	724.9	0.012	0.51%
2.674	0.203	2.70	90.00%	729	2.686	724.9	0.012	0.43%
2.995	0.202	3.00	100.00%	731	3.008	724.9	0.013	0.43%

[0031] The first column, designated as “N₂Equivalent,” is a programed value resident in the MFC. It is the N₂equivalent flow rate through the MFC when the MFC is adjusted to flow a set amount of process gas.

[0032] The second column, designated as “Inlet Prs (MPa),” is an actual measurement of the gas inlet pressure at the MFC. This measurement is not required to practice the embodiments disclosed herein, and is simply used to show that the MFC is being operated at the proper pressure.

[0033] The third column, designated as “Set Point,” designates a set point on the MFC for the volume of process gas per minute (in this case liters per minute) the MFC is supposed to flow.

[0034] The fourth column, marked “% Setpoint,” designates the percentage of the MFC full scale set point the Set Point in the third column is. Here, the full scale flow of the MFC is 3 liters per minute of H₂, so the first Set Point of 0.300 liters per minute is 10% of the full scale flow.

[0035] The fifth column, designated as “MFM Prs (T),” is the inlet pressure to the MFM measured in Torr. The purpose of measuring this is only to show that the MFM is being operated at the proper pressure.

[0036] The sixth column, designated as “MFM,” is the measured flow of N₂gas through the MFM.

[0037] The seventh column, designated as “ATM Prs (T),” is the measured pressure at the outlet of the MFM, and this should be common to all measurements since the outlet is to the exhaust.

[0038] The eighth column, designated as “D,” (delta) is the difference in the value in the first column subtracted from the value in the sixth column (in the same row). This shows the difference between the actual N₂flow rate measured by the MFM and the intended flow rate for the MFC.

[0039] The ninth column, designated as “% D,” (% delta) is the percentage of the difference shown in the eighth column.

[0040] MFCs operating in conjunction with embodiments of the present disclosure may be configured for any type of gas and any desired flow rate. Preferably, all MFCs are calibrated for a specific range of N₂corresponding to the desired flow range for the MFC. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a software program interfacing with an MFC can provide a set point (or a percentage of the maximum flow rate for the MFC) and retrieve the N₂equivalent flow rate for the MFC.

[0041] For the example described in the table above, the N₂equivalent flow rate for at a set point of 3.00 liters (or 100% of the MFC's maximum flow rate) of H₂is 2.995. Likewise, the N₂equivalent flow rate at a set point of 1.5 liters (or 50% of the MFC's maximum flow rate) is 1.477. Similarly, the MFC's N₂equivalent flow rate at a set point of 0.30 liters (10% the maximum flow rate) is 0.303.

[0042] The MFC's intended flow rate at each set point can be compared to a measured value from an MFM, as shown in the eighth column. In the above example, when the MFC reads a flow rate of 2.995, which should correspond to a flow rate of 3.00 liters of H₂, the MFM indicates the flow rate is actually 3.008 liters, or a difference of 0.43%. If desired, the flow rate of the MFC may be adjusted such that its actual rate of flow more closely matches the desired flow rate. In many semiconductor processing systems, however, a certain range of inaccuracy from an MFC may be acceptable. In some embodiments, for example, an accepted tolerance for MFC accuracy may be +/−1%. In such cases, the MFC's output for most of the set points in the above example would be acceptable. For the 0.30 liter (10%) set point, however, the MFC is off by −1.12%, which would require an adjustment to the MFC's flow rate in such a scenario. Otherwise, too much or too little of a process gas can lead to defects in the semiconductor devices being fabricated. In accordance with embodiments of this disclosure, adjustments to the MFC's flow rate may be made automatically or manually and at any point during the process.

[0043] Adjustment of the input to an MFC may be +/−10% or more as desired to correct for an inaccurate flow rate measured by the MFC. Such adjustment may be performed manually or automatically. In some exemplary embodiments, in response to detecting a flow rate that is inaccurate in excess of a predetermined threshold compared to a flow rate measurement from an MFM results in an automatic adjustment to the input set point to the MFC. Methods operating in conjunction with the embodiments of the present disclosure may generate an alert to an operator of the semiconductor processing tool that an automatic adjustment has been made in response to drift in an MFC, or request confirmation from the operator before adjusting the MFC.

[0044] An option to this process is to manifold a single MFM to a cluster set of tools that are served by a common wafer handling platform. There could be 1, 2, 3, 4 or more process tools connected to a common MFM manifold. Thus, a specific type of MFC on one tool could be compared to the same MFC on another tool, and the step wise scaling would thus be to a common referenced MFM. MFM repeatability is much better than its accuracy, typically on the range of +/−0.2%. Thus, matching of various process tool gas performance within a single wafer platform could reduce variation from the typical +/−1% to +/−0.2%, an improvement of 500%. This improved matching would improve wafer yields and save money for manufacturers.

[0045] In embodiments of the present disclosure, a “reference” MFM may be moved from platform to platform to perform the step wise scaling routine at each platform. This is a longer process since gas line leak check would be required when the MFM is installed or removed from a system, but would allow platform to platform matching of +/−0.2%. This is a highly desirable improvement and will reduce costs to a semiconductor fabricator across multiple tool sets in their fab.

[0046] The creation of the step wise scaling, via accessing the N₂equivalents table in each MFC, and comparing to the MFM flows in N₂, can be done manually or automatically. In some exemplary embodiments, these and other processes may be performed by software operating on a computer system, such as system 800 depicted in FIG. 8 and described in more detail below.

[0047] Turning now to the figures, where the purpose is to describe exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and not limit same, FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of system 1.

[0048] System 1 has a plurality (four) MFCs 2 that can be either connected to (also called in fluid communication with) an MFM 4, which is called the first position, or connected to a tool 4, which is called the second position. It will be understood that when an MFC 2 is in the first position, it individually communicates with the MFM 4 over a given time period because the MFM4 cannot simultaneously verify the measured gas flow rate through a plurality of MFCs 2.

[0049] In system 1, a structure of any suitable type, which is referred to herein as a valve, alters the flow of gas exiting an MFC2 to move through either the tool 6 or the MFM4. When the flow of gas moves through the MFM4, the measured flow rate of the MFC2 is verified by the measured flow rate through the MFM4 as described herein. Preferably, gas exiting the MFM4 goes to a suitable exhaust (not shown).

[0050] FIG. 2 shows an alternate system 10 of the present disclosure that is in all respects the same as system 1. MFCs 12 correspond to MFCs 2, MFM 14 corresponds to MFM 4, and tool 16 corresponds to tool 6. The added structure in system 10 is an MFV or other verification device 18, which verifies the flow rate of gas as measured by MFM 14. Device 18 can be an MFV or a calibration tube, each of which is known by those skilled in the relevant art, but have not been known previously to be used in this manner.

[0051] FIG. 3 shows an alternate system 20 of the present disclosure. MFCs 22 correspond to MFCs 2, and MFMs 24 correspond to MFMs 4 in system 1. In system 20, there are at least three MFMs 24. When in the first position the gas entering each individual MFC 22 is passed through the plurality of MFMs 24 to verify the measured gas flow rate through the MFC. If one of the MFMs is not functioning properly, its measurement of the gas flow rate will be different than that of the other two (or more) MFMs. In that case, the measured flow rate through the MFC could be verified if two of the three MFMs measure essentially the same flow rate, even though one of the MFMs may measure a different flow rate, and the malfunctioning MFM 24 can be repaired or replaced.

[0052] FIG. 4 shows a system 30 wherein the MFM 34 is positioned in the gas flow paths that enter tool 36. In this embodiment, MFCs 32 correspond to MFCs 2, MFM 34 corresponds to MFM 4, tool 36 corresponds to tool 6, and MFV 38 corresponds to MFV 18. In this embodiment, MFM is constructed so that it is not easily corroded by the process gases passing through the MFCs 32, and the process gases pass through MFM 34 and into tool 36. When verifying the accuracy of the measured gas flow through any of the MFCs 32, a common gas is used as explained above, and the gas flow exiting MFM 34 is preferably routed to an exhaust rather than into tool 36 (although it could be routed to tool 35, which would later purge the common gas). MFV 38 is, as the other MFVs described herein, an optional feature.

[0053] FIG. 5 shows an alternate system 40 of the present disclosure wherein there are at least three MFMs 44 upstream of the MFCs 42 and tool 46. In this embodiment each process gas would flow from a source (not shown) through the plurality of MFMs 44 and then be routed from the last MFM 44 to the MFC calibrated for that process gas. These MFMs must be designed and constructed to withstand the corrosive effect of the process gases.

[0054] To verify the accuracy of any MFC 42, instead of flowing process gas, another gas such as nitrogen would be flowed through the MFMs 44 and the MFC 42 to be verified. During the verification process, gas exiting the MFC would be routed to an exhaust instead of tool 46.

[0055] FIG. 6 shows an alternate system 50 according to the present disclosure. System 50 has a plurality of tools 56A, 56B and 56C. Each of the plurality of tools has a plurality (four per tool in this embodiment) of MFCs 52A-52L, each of which receive process gas from a source (not shown) and inject the process gas into the associated tool (56A, 56B, or 56C).

[0056] In this embodiment there is a single MFM to verify the flow rates of each MFC. As explained herein the flow rate of the MFCs are verified one at a time. System 50 may have a controller that automatically verifies the flow rate of each MFC on a predetermined schedule. As with other embodiments described herein, MFM 54 may be connected to an MFV or other verification device 58 to verify the accuracy of the gas flow rate measured by MFM 54.

[0057] FIG. 7 shows an alternate system 60 according to the present disclosure. In system 60 there is a MFM used to verify a plurality of MFCs wherein each MFC associated with an MFM is calibrated for the same gas.

[0058] System 60 includes a plurality of tools (two in this example) 66A and 66B. Each of the tools includes a plurality of MFCs, which as shown is four MFCs per tool. System 60 simulates a fabrication shop wherein the same process gases are being injected into each tool. Therefore, MFC 62A and 62E are each calibrated for the same gas, which is a different gas from which the other MFCs are calibrated. MFC 62B and 62F are also calibrated for the same gas, which is a different gas from which the other MFCs are calibrated. MFCs 62C and 62G are calibrated for the same gas, which is a different gas from which the other MFCs are calibrated. Finally, MFCs 62D and 62H are calibrated for the same gas, which is a different gas from which the other MFCs are calibrated.

[0059] As shown, each plurality of MFCs calibrated for the same gas have their gas flow rate verified by an MFM (64A-64D) that is not used to verify the gas flow rate of an MFC calibrated for a different gas. Optionally, each MFM can be connected to an MFV or other verification device (68A-68D) to verify the gas flow rate measured by the MFM.

[0060] As previously described, to verify the measured gas flow rate through an MFC, which is done one at a time by each MFM, a first gas such as nitrogen is flowed through the MFC and then through the MFM. The verification and potential adjustment is performed as described above.

[0061] FIG. 8 depicts an embodiment of an exemplary system 800 according to various aspects of the present disclosure. In this exemplary embodiment, system 800 includes a computer system 805 comprising a processor 810, memory 820, and user interface 830. The computer system 805 communicates with a semiconductor processing tool 840, which may include any of the semiconductor processing tools described in conjunction with FIGS. 1-7 above.

[0062] The computer system 805 may store a software program configured to perform the methods described herein in the memory 820, and run the software program using the processor 810. The computer system 805 may include any number of individual processors 810 and memories 820. Information and commands of any kind may be communicated between the computer system 805 and a user via the user interface 830. Such information may also be communicated between the computer system 805 and the semiconductor processing tool 840 (e.g., through a network such as the Internet).

[0063] The computer system 800 may control, or gather information from, any of the components in tool 840, including any MFC or MFM operating in conjunction with embodiments of the present disclosure. The user interface 830 may include various peripheral devices (such as monitors and printers), as well as any suitable control devices (such as a mouse and keyboard) to allow users to control and interact with software operating on the computer system 805. The computer system 805 may include any number of other components, devices, and/or systems.

[0064] The particular implementations shown and described above are illustrative of the exemplary embodiments and their best mode and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Indeed, for the sake of brevity, conventional data storage, data transmission, and other functional aspects of the systems may not be described in detail. Methods illustrated in the various figures may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps may be performed in any suitable order without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. Many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in a practical system.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method of verifying the flow rate of gas through a mass flow controller, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) measuring a flow of a first gas through a mass flow controller that is calibrated for a second gas,

(b) measuring the actual flow of the first gas through at least three mass flow meters,

wherein each of a first mass flow meter, a second mass flow meter and a third mass flow meter are calibrated for the first gas,

wherein the first flow meter is configured to measure a first actual flow, the second flow meter is configured to measure a second actual flow, and the third flow meter is configured to measure a third actual flow;

(c) comparing the first actual flow, the second actual flow, and the third actual flow to determine a match between at least two of the first actual flow, the second actual flow, and the third actual flow;

(d) determining a control flow based on the comparing;

(e) based on the second gas for which the mass flow controller is calibrated, select a scaling factor to apply to the measured flow of the first gas through the mass flow controller;

(f) scale the measured flow of the first gas through the mass flow controller using the scaling factor to determine a scaled measured flow of the first gas through the mass flow controller;

(g) compare the scaled measured flow of the first gas through the mass flow controller to the control flow; and

(h) determine the difference between the scaled measured flow of the first gas through the mass flow controller to the control flow,

wherein the first gas and the second gas selectively flow through the mass flow meter or to a tool.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein in response to the control flow being different from the scaled measured flow through the mass flow controller and outside a range, the flow of gas sent to the mass flow controller is adjusted.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the measured flow of gas through the mass flow controller is adjusted to one of the group consisting of: (a) +/−10% or less of the control flow, (b) +/−2% or less of the control flow, (c) +/−1% or less of the control flow; or (d) +/−0.5% of the control flow.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein in response to the difference between the measured flow through the first mass flow controller being different than the control flow, an alert is sent to a user.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the verification steps are performed for a plurality of scaled measured flow rates for a single mass flow controller.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the verification steps are performed for a plurality of scaled measured flow rates for each of a plurality of mass flow controllers.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the scaling factor is programmed into the mass flow controller and is accessed by a user.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein there is a different scaling factor for each gas flow rate.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein each different scaling factor is programmed into the mass flow controller and is accessible to a user.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the first gas is selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, hydrogen and helium.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the second gas is selected from the group consisting of: SiH₄, GeH₄, GeH₄/H₂, SiHCL₃, Si₃H₈and H₂.

12. The method of claim 1 that further includes a mass flow verifier in fluid communication with the mass flow meter and that further includes the step of the mass flow verifier verifying control flow of the first gas that is measured by the plurality of mass flow meters.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least three mass flow meters are in series and in fluid communication, and wherein the first gas exits the mass flow controller and passes through each of the mass flow meters in order to verify the measured flow of first gas passing through the mass flow controller.

14. The method of claim 1 that further includes a calibration tube in fluid communication with the mass flow meter and further comprises the step of directing at least some of the first gas from the mass flow meter through the calibration tube to verify the measured flow of the first gas through the mass flow meter.

15. The method of claim 2 wherein the flow of gas sent to the mass flow controller is adjusted manually by a user.

16. The method of claim 2 wherein the flow of gas to the mass flow controller is adjusted electronically by the mass flow meter sending a signal to a controller.

17. The method of claim 1 that further includes the step of purging the second gas from the mass flow controller prior to verifying the measured flow rate of the first gas through the mass flow controller.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein gas exiting the mass flow controller is re-routed from a tool to the mass flow meter in order to verify the measured flow rate of the first gas through the mass flow controller.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein there is a plurality of mass flow controllers, one of the plurality of mass flow controllers is calibrated for the second gas, and each of the other of the plurality of mass flow controllers is calibrated for a gas other than the first gas, and each of the plurality of mass flow controllers can be individually connected to the mass flow meter to verify the measured flow rate of the first gas through each of the mass flow controllers.

20. The method of claim 18 that further includes the step of the mass flow meter automatically verifying the measured flow of first gas through each of the mass flow controllers on a predetermined time schedule.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein each of the mass flow controllers includes scaling factors and each of the scaling factors is based upon the type of gas regulated by the mass flow controller and the flow rate of the gas through the gas flow controller.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein there is a plurality of mass flow controllers servicing a first tool and a plurality of mass flow controllers servicing a second tool, and the gas flow rate through each of the mass flow controllers is verified by the plurality of mass flow meters.

23. The method of claim 1 that further includes a plurality of tools and a plurality of mass flow controllers associated with each tool, wherein each mass flow controller associated with each tool is calibrated for a gas that is different from the gas for which each other mass flow controller associated with that tool is calibrated, and each of the plurality of tools has at least one mass flow controller calibrated for the same gas as at least one of the plurality of mass flow controllers for another of the plurality of tools is calibrated, and wherein the plurality of mass flow meters verifies the measured flow rates of the first gas through each of the mass flow controllers.

24. The method of claim 1 that further comprises the steps of:

(a) Verifying by the plurality of mass flow meters the flow rate of the first gas through at least one mass flow controller for a first tool; and

(b) Verifying by plurality of mass flow meters the flow rate of the first gas through at least one mass flow controller at a second tool.

25. The method of claim 24 that further comprises the step of physically moving at least one of the plurality of mass flow meters from the first tool to the second tool.

26. A system for verifying the flow rate of gas through a mass flow controller, the system comprising:

(a) a mass flow controller fluidly coupled to a tool, wherein the mass flow controller is calibrated for a second gas and configured to measure the flow rate for a first gas;

(b) a storage device including one or more scaling factors to scale the flow rate of the second gas to a flow rate of a first gas;

(c) a plurality of mass flow meters configured to measure a first actual flow, a second actual flow, and a third actual flow for the first gas flowing therethrough,

wherein the mass flow controller is interposed between the mass flow meter and the tool;

(d) a controller configured to compare the first actual flow, the second actual flow, and the third actual flow to determine a match between at least two of the first actual flow, the second actual flow, and the third actual flow, the controller configured to determine a control flow based on the match; and

(e) a valve having a first position wherein gas exiting the mass flow controller is directed through the plurality of mass flow meters and a second position wherein gas exiting the mass flow controller is not directed through the plurality of mass flow meters,

whereby when the valve is in its first position the measured amount of first gas flow rate through the mass flow controller can be verified by utilizing the scaling factor and comparing the control flow from the plurality of mass flow meters.

27. The system of claim 26 that further includes a gas flow verification device connected to the plurality of mass flow meters to verify that the control flow measured through the plurality of mass flow meters is correct.

28. The system of claim 26 wherein the gas flow verification device is selected from the group consisting of: a mass flow verifier and a calibration tube.

29. The system of claim 26 wherein there is a plurality of mass flow controllers, and gas from only one mass flow controller is directed through the plurality of mass flow meters at any given time.

30. The system of claim 26 wherein when the valve is in its second position, gas exiting the mass flow controller enters a tool for making semiconductors or solar cells.

31. The system of claim 26 that further includes an automated system for adjusting the gas flow to the mass flow controller if there is a predetermined difference between the measured amount of gas flow through the mass flow controller and the control flow.

32. The system of claim 26 wherein there is a plurality of mass flow controllers servicing a first tool and a plurality of mass flow controllers servicing a second tool, and the gas flow rate through each of the mass flow controllers is verified by the plurality of mass flow meters.

33. The system of claim 26 that further includes a plurality of tools and a plurality of mass flow controllers associated with each tool, wherein each mass flow controller associated with each tool is calibrated for a gas that is different from the gas for which each other mass flow controller associated with that tool is calibrated, and each of the plurality of tools has at least one mass flow controller calibrated for the same gas as at least one of the plurality of mass flow controllers for another of the plurality of tools is calibrated, and wherein the plurality of mass flow meters verifies the measured flow rates of the first gas through each of the mass flow controllers that is calibrated for the same gas.

34. A system for verifying the flow rate of gases, the system comprising:

a first tool;

a first mass flow controller in fluid communication with the first tool,

wherein the first mass flow controller is calibrated for a second gas;

a mass flow meter in fluid communication with the first mass flow controller,

wherein the mass flow meter is calibrated for a first gas;

a second tool;

a second mass flow controller in fluid communication with the second tool and the mass flow meter,

wherein the second mass flow controller is calibrated for the second gas;

the mass flow meter is configured to determine and compare an actual flow rate of the first gas from the first mass flow controller and the second mass flow controller; and

a controller configured to determine at least one of a control flow or a scaling factor based on the actual flow rate of the first gas from the first mass flow controller and the second mass flow controller.

Patent Citations (484)

Patent	Date	Inventor	Cited By
US2745640(A)	1956-05-01	Cushman	Applicant
US2990045(A)	1959-09-01	Root	Applicant
US3833492(A)	1974-09-01	Bollyky	Applicant
US3854443(A)	1974-12-01	Baerg	Applicant
US3862397(A)	1975-01-01	Anderson et al.	Applicant
US3887790(A)	1975-06-01	Ferguson	Applicant
US4054071(A)	1977-10-01	Patejak	Applicant
US4058430(A)	1977-11-01	Suntola et al.	Applicant
US4145699(A)	1979-03-01	Hu et al.	Applicant
US4176630(A)	1979-12-01	Elmer	Applicant
US4181330(A)	1980-01-01	Kojima	Applicant
US4194536(A)	1980-03-01	Stine et al.	Applicant
US4322592(A)	1982-03-01	Martin	Applicant
US4389973(A)	1983-06-01	Suntola et al.	Applicant
US4393013(A)	1983-07-01	McMenamin	Applicant
US4436674(A)	1984-03-01	McMenamin	Applicant
US4499354(A)	1985-02-01	Hill et al.	Applicant
US4512113(A)	1985-04-01	Budinger	Applicant
US4570328(A)	1986-02-01	Price et al.	Applicant
USD288556(S)	1987-03-01	Wallgren	Applicant
US4653541(A)	1987-03-01	Oehlschlaeger et al.	Applicant
US4722298(A)	1988-02-01	Rubin et al.	Applicant
US4735259(A)	1988-04-01	Vincent	Applicant
US4753192(A)	1988-06-01	Goldsmith et al.	Applicant
US4789294(A)	1988-12-01	Sato et al.	Applicant
US4821674(A)	1989-04-01	deBoer et al.	Applicant
US4827430(A)	1989-05-01	Aid et al.	Examiner
US4882199(A)	1989-11-01	Sadoway et al.	Applicant
US4986215(A)	1991-01-01	Yamada	Applicant
US4991614(A)	1991-02-01	Hammel	Applicant
US5062386(A)	1991-11-01	Christensen	Applicant
US5074017(A)	1991-12-01	Toya et al.	Applicant
US5119760(A)	1992-06-01	McMillan et al.	Applicant
US5167716(A)	1992-12-01	Boitnott et al.	Applicant
US5199603(A)	1993-04-01	Prescott	Applicant
US5221556(A)	1993-06-01	Hawkins et al.	Applicant
US5242539(A)	1993-09-01	Kumihashi et al.	Applicant
US5243195(A)	1993-09-01	Nishi	Applicant
US5326427(A)	1994-07-01	Jerbic	Applicant
US5380367(A)	1995-01-01	Bertone	Applicant
US5421893(A)	1995-06-01	Perlov	Applicant
US5422139(A)	1995-06-01	Shinriki et al.	Applicant
US5518549(A)	1996-05-01	Hellwig	Applicant
US5595606(A)	1997-01-01	Fujikawa et al.	Applicant
US5616947(A)	1997-04-01	Tamura	Applicant
US5632919(A)	1997-05-01	MacCracken et al.	Applicant
US5681779(A)	1997-10-01	Pasch et al.	Applicant
US5695567(A)	1997-12-01	Kordina	Applicant
US5730801(A)	1998-03-01	Tepman	Applicant
US5732744(A)	1998-03-01	Barr et al.	Applicant
US5736314(A)	1998-04-01	Hayes et al.	Applicant
US5796074(A)	1998-08-01	Edelstein et al.	Applicant
US5836483(A)	1998-11-01	Disel	Applicant
US5837320(A)	1998-11-01	Hampden-Smith et al.	Applicant
US5855680(A)	1999-01-01	Soininen et al.	Applicant
US5920798(A)	1999-07-01	Higuchi et al.	Applicant
US5979506(A)	1999-11-01	Aarseth	Applicant
US6013553(A)	2000-01-01	Wallace	Applicant
US6015465(A)	2000-01-01	Kholodenko et al.	Applicant
US6035101(A)	2000-03-01	Sajoto et al.	Applicant
US6060691(A)	2000-05-01	Minami et al.	Applicant
US6074443(A)	2000-06-01	Venkatesh	Applicant
US6083321(A)	2000-07-01	Lei et al.	Applicant
US6086677(A)	2000-07-01	Umotoy et al.	Applicant
US6122036(A)	2000-09-01	Yamasaki et al.	Applicant
US6125789(A)	2000-10-01	Gupta et al.	Applicant
US6129044(A)	2000-10-01	Zhao et al.	Applicant
US6148761(A)	2000-11-01	Majewski et al.	Applicant
US6160244(A)	2000-12-01	Ohashi	Applicant
US6161500(A)	2000-12-01	Kopacz et al.	Applicant
US6201999(B1)	2001-03-01	Jevtic	Applicant
US6274878(B1)	2001-08-01	Li et al.	Applicant
US6287965(B1)	2001-09-01	Kang et al.	Applicant
US6302964(B1)	2001-10-01	Umotoy et al.	Applicant
US6312525(B1)	2001-11-01	Bright et al.	Applicant
USD451893(S)	2001-12-01	Robson	Applicant
USD452220(S)	2001-12-01	Robson	Applicant
US6326597(B1)	2001-12-01	Lubomirsky et al.	Applicant
US6342427(B1)	2002-01-01	Choi et al.	Applicant
US6367410(B1)	2002-04-01	Leahey et al.	Applicant
US6368987(B1)	2002-04-01	Kopacz et al.	Applicant
US6383566(B1)	2002-05-01	Zagdoun	Applicant
US6410459(B2)	2002-06-01	Blalock et al.	Applicant
US6420279(B1)	2002-07-01	Ono et al.	Applicant
US6454860(B2)	2002-09-01	Metzner et al.	Applicant
US6478872(B1)	2002-11-01	Chae et al.	Applicant
US6482331(B2)	2002-11-01	Lu et al.	Applicant
US6483989(B1)	2002-11-01	Okada et al.	Applicant
US6511539(B1)	2003-01-01	Raaijmakers	Applicant
US6521295(B1)	2003-02-01	Remington	Applicant
US6534395(B2)	2003-03-01	Werkhoven et al.	Applicant
US6569239(B2)	2003-05-01	Arai et al.	Applicant
US6579833(B1)	2003-06-01	McNallan et al.	Applicant
US6590251(B2)	2003-07-01	Kang et al.	Applicant
US6594550(B1)	2003-07-01	Okrah	Applicant
US6598559(B1)	2003-07-01	Vellore et al.	Applicant
US6627503(B2)	2003-09-01	Ma et al.	Applicant
US6633364(B2)	2003-10-01	Hayashi	Applicant
US6645304(B2)	2003-11-01	Yamaguchi	Applicant
US6648974(B1)	2003-11-01	Ogliari et al.	Applicant
US6673196(B1)	2004-01-01	Oyabu	Applicant
US6682973(B1)	2004-01-01	Paton et al.	Applicant
US6709989(B2)	2004-03-01	Ramdani et al.	Applicant
US6710364(B2)	2004-03-01	Guldi et al.	Applicant
US6734090(B2)	2004-05-01	Agarwala et al.	Applicant
US6820570(B2)	2004-11-01	Kilpela et al.	Applicant
US6821910(B2)	2004-11-01	Adomaitis et al.	Applicant
US6824665(B2)	2004-11-01	Shipley et al.	Applicant
US6847014(B1)	2005-01-01	Benjamin et al.	Applicant
US6858524(B2)	2005-02-01	Haukka et al.	Applicant
US6858547(B2)	2005-02-01	Metzner	Applicant
US6863019(B2)	2005-03-01	Shamouilian	Applicant
US6874480(B1)	2005-04-01	Ismailov	Examiner
US6875677(B1)	2005-04-01	Conley, Jr. et al.	Applicant
US6884066(B2)	2005-04-01	Nguyen et al.	Applicant
US6884319(B2)	2005-04-01	Kim	Applicant
US6889864(B2)	2005-05-01	Lindfors et al.	Applicant
US6909839(B2)	2005-06-01	Wang et al.	Applicant
US6930059(B2)	2005-08-01	Conley, Jr. et al.	Applicant
US6935269(B2)	2005-08-01	Lee et al.	Applicant
US6955836(B2)	2005-10-01	Kumagai et al.	Applicant
US6972478(B1)	2005-12-01	Waite et al.	Applicant
US7045430(B2)	2006-05-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US7053009(B2)	2006-05-01	Conley, Jr. et al.	Applicant
US7071051(B1)	2006-07-01	Jeon et al.	Applicant
US7115838(B2)	2006-10-01	Kurara et al.	Applicant
US7122085(B2)	2006-10-01	Shero et al.	Applicant
US7129165(B2)	2006-10-01	Basol et al.	Applicant
US7132360(B2)	2006-11-01	Schaeffer et al.	Applicant
US7135421(B2)	2006-11-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US7147766(B2)	2006-12-01	Uzoh et al.	Applicant
US7172497(B2)	2007-02-01	Basol et al.	Applicant
US7192824(B2)	2007-03-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US7192892(B2)	2007-03-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US7195693(B2)	2007-03-01	Cowans	Applicant
US7204887(B2)	2007-04-01	Kawamura et al.	Applicant
US7205247(B2)	2007-04-01	Lee et al.	Applicant
US7235501(B2)	2007-06-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US7238596(B2)	2007-07-01	Kouvetakis et al.	Applicant
USD553104(S)	2007-10-01	Oohashi et al.	Applicant
US7298009(B2)	2007-11-01	Yan et al.	Applicant
USD557226(S)	2007-12-01	Uchino et al.	Applicant
US7312494(B2)	2007-12-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US7329947(B2)	2008-02-01	Adachi et al.	Applicant
US7357138(B2)	2008-04-01	Ji et al.	Applicant
US7393418(B2)	2008-07-01	Yokogawa	Applicant
US7393736(B2)	2008-07-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US7402534(B2)	2008-07-01	Mahajani	Applicant
US7405166(B2)	2008-07-01	Liang et al.	Applicant
US7405454(B2)	2008-07-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US7414281(B1)	2008-08-01	Fastow	Applicant
US7431966(B2)	2008-10-01	Derderian et al.	Applicant
US7437060(B2)	2008-10-01	Wang et al.	Applicant
US7442275(B2)	2008-10-01	Cowans	Applicant
US7489389(B2)	2009-02-01	Shibazaki	Applicant
USD593969(S)	2009-06-01	Li	Applicant
US7547363(B2)	2009-06-01	Tomiyasu et al.	Applicant
US7575968(B2)	2009-08-01	Sadaka et al.	Applicant
US7589003(B2)	2009-09-01	Kouvetakis et al.	Applicant
US7601223(B2)	2009-10-01	Lindfors et al.	Applicant
US7601225(B2)	2009-10-01	Tuominen et al.	Applicant
US7640142(B2)	2009-12-01	Tachikawa et al.	Applicant
US7651583(B2)	2010-01-01	Kent et al.	Applicant
USD609655(S)	2010-02-01	Sugimoto	Applicant
US7678197(B2)	2010-03-01	Maki	Applicant
USD614153(S)	2010-04-01	Fondurulia et al.	Applicant
US7720560(B2)	2010-05-01	Menser et al.	Applicant
US7723648(B2)	2010-05-01	Tsukamoto et al.	Applicant
US7740705(B2)	2010-06-01	Li	Applicant
US7780440(B2)	2010-08-01	Shibagaki et al.	Applicant
US7833353(B2)	2010-11-01	Furukawahara et al.	Applicant
US7838084(B2)	2010-11-01	Derderian et al.	Applicant
US7851019(B2)	2010-12-01	Tuominen et al.	Applicant
US7884918(B2)	2011-02-01	Hattori	Applicant
USD634719(S)	2011-03-01	Yasuda et al.	Applicant
US8041197(B2)	2011-10-01	Kasai et al.	Applicant
US8055378(B2)	2011-11-01	Numakura	Applicant
US8071451(B2)	2011-12-01	Berry	Applicant
US8071452(B2)	2011-12-01	Raisanen	Applicant
US8072578(B2)	2011-12-01	Yasuda	Applicant
US8076230(B2)	2011-12-01	Wei	Applicant
US8076237(B2)	2011-12-01	Uzoh	Applicant
US8082946(B2)	2011-12-01	Laverdiere et al.	Applicant
US8092604(B2)	2012-01-01	Tomiyasu et al.	Applicant
US8137462(B2)	2012-03-01	Fondurulia et al.	Applicant
US8147242(B2)	2012-04-01	Shibagaki et al.	Applicant
US8216380(B2)	2012-07-01	White et al.	Applicant
US8278176(B2)	2012-10-01	Bauer et al.	Applicant
US8282769(B2)	2012-10-01	Iizuka	Applicant
US8287648(B2)	2012-10-01	Reed et al.	Applicant
US8293016(B2)	2012-10-01	Bahng et al.	Applicant
US8309173(B2)	2012-11-01	Tuominen et al.	Applicant
US8323413(B2)	2012-12-01	Son	Applicant
US8367528(B2)	2013-02-01	Bauer et al.	Applicant
US8372204(B2)	2013-02-01	Nakamura	Applicant
US8444120(B2)	2013-05-01	Gregg et al.	Applicant
US8506713(B2)	2013-08-01	Takagi	Applicant
USD691974(S)	2013-10-01	Osada et al.	Applicant
US8608885(B2)	2013-12-01	Goto et al.	Applicant
US8683943(B2)	2014-04-01	Onodera et al.	Applicant
US8711338(B2)	2014-04-01	Liu et al.	Applicant
USD705745(S)	2014-05-01	Kurs et al.	Applicant
US8726837(B2)	2014-05-01	Patalay et al.	Applicant
US8728832(B2)	2014-05-01	Raisanen et al.	Applicant
US8802201(B2)	2014-08-01	Raisanen et al.	Applicant
USD716742(S)	2014-11-01	Jang et al.	Applicant
US8877655(B2)	2014-11-01	Shero et al.	Applicant
US8883270(B2)	2014-11-01	Shero et al.	Applicant
US8986456(B2)	2015-03-01	Fondurulia et al.	Applicant
US8993054(B2)	2015-03-01	Jung et al.	Applicant
US9005539(B2)	2015-04-01	Halpin et al.	Applicant
US9017481(B1)	2015-04-01	Pettinger et al.	Applicant
US9018111(B2)	2015-04-01	Milligan et al.	Applicant
US9021985(B2)	2015-05-01	Alokozai et al.	Applicant
US9029253(B2)	2015-05-01	Milligan et al.	Applicant
US9096931(B2)	2015-08-01	Yednak et al.	Applicant
US2001/0017103(A1)	2001-08-01	Takeshita et al.	Applicant
US2001/0046765(A1)	2001-11-01	Cappellani et al.	Applicant
US2002/0001974(A1)	2002-01-01	Chan	Applicant
US2002/0011210(A1)	2002-01-01	Satoh et al.	Applicant
US2002/0064592(A1)	2002-05-01	Datta et al.	Applicant
US2002/0098627(A1)	2002-07-01	Pomarede et al.	Applicant
US2002/0108670(A1)	2002-08-01	Baker et al.	Applicant
US2002/0115252(A1)	2002-08-01	Haukka et al.	Applicant
US2002/0172768(A1)	2002-11-01	Endo et al.	Applicant
US2002/0187650(A1)	2002-12-01	Blalock et al.	Applicant
US2003/0019580(A1)	2003-01-01	Strang	Applicant
US2003/0025146(A1)	2003-02-01	Narwankar et al.	Applicant
US2003/0040158(A1)	2003-02-01	Saitoh	Applicant
US2003/0042419(A1)	2003-03-01	Katsumata et al.	Applicant
US2003/0066826(A1)	2003-04-01	Lee et al.	Applicant
US2003/0075925(A1)	2003-04-01	Lindfors et al.	Applicant
US2003/0094133(A1)	2003-05-01	Yoshidome et al.	Applicant
US2003/0111963(A1)	2003-06-01	Tolmachev et al.	Applicant
US2003/0141820(A1)	2003-07-01	White et al.	Applicant
US2003/0168001(A1)	2003-09-01	Sneh	Applicant
US2003/0180458(A1)	2003-09-01	Sneh	Applicant
US2003/0228772(A1)	2003-12-01	Cowans	Applicant
US2003/0232138(A1)	2003-12-01	Tuominen et al.	Applicant
US2004/0009679(A1)	2004-01-01	Yeo et al.	Applicant
US2004/0013577(A1)	2004-01-01	Ganguli et al.	Applicant
US2004/0018307(A1)	2004-01-01	Park et al.	Applicant
US2004/0018750(A1)	2004-01-01	Sophie et al.	Applicant
US2004/0023516(A1)	2004-02-01	Londergan et al.	Applicant
US2004/0036129(A1)	2004-02-01	Forbes et al.	Applicant
US2004/0077182(A1)	2004-04-01	Lim et al.	Applicant
US2004/0101622(A1)	2004-05-01	Park et al.	Applicant
US2004/0106249(A1)	2004-06-01	Huotari	Applicant
US2004/0144980(A1)	2004-07-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US2004/0168627(A1)	2004-09-01	Conley et al.	Applicant
US2004/0169032(A1)	2004-09-01	Murayama et al.	Applicant
US2004/0198069(A1)	2004-10-01	Metzner et al.	Applicant
US2004/0200499(A1)	2004-10-01	Harvey et al.	Applicant
US2004/0219793(A1)	2004-11-01	Hishiya et al.	Applicant
US2004/0221807(A1)	2004-11-01	Verghese et al.	Applicant
US2004/0266011(A1)	2004-12-01	Lee et al.	Applicant
US2005/0008799(A1)	2005-01-01	Tomiyasu et al.	Applicant
US2005/0019026(A1)	2005-01-01	Wang et al.	Applicant
US2005/0020071(A1)	2005-01-01	Sonobe et al.	Applicant
US2005/0023624(A1)	2005-02-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US2005/0054228(A1)	2005-03-01	March	Applicant
US2005/0066893(A1)	2005-03-01	Soininen	Applicant
US2005/0070123(A1)	2005-03-01	Hirano	Applicant
US2005/0072357(A1)	2005-04-01	Shero	Applicant
US2005/0092249(A1)	2005-05-01	Kilpela et al.	Applicant
US2005/0100669(A1)	2005-05-01	Kools et al.	Applicant
US2005/0106893(A1)	2005-05-01	Wilk	Applicant
US2005/0110069(A1)	2005-05-01	Kil et al.	Applicant
US2005/0123690(A1)	2005-06-01	Derderian et al.	Applicant
US2005/0173003(A1)	2005-08-01	Laverdiere et al.	Applicant
US2005/0187647(A1)	2005-08-01	Wang et al.	Applicant
US2005/0212119(A1)	2005-09-01	Shero et al.	Applicant
US2005/0214457(A1)	2005-09-01	Schmitt et al.	Applicant
US2005/0214458(A1)	2005-09-01	Meiere	Applicant
US2005/0218462(A1)	2005-10-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US2005/0229848(A1)	2005-10-01	Shinriki	Applicant
US2005/0229972(A1)	2005-10-01	Hoshi et al.	Applicant
US2005/0241176(A1)	2005-11-01	Shero et al.	Applicant
US2005/0263075(A1)	2005-12-01	Wang et al.	Applicant
US2005/0271813(A1)	2005-12-01	Kher et al.	Applicant
US2005/0282101(A1)	2005-12-01	Adachi	Applicant
US2005/0287725(A1)	2005-12-01	Kitagawa	Applicant
US2006/0013946(A1)	2006-01-01	Park et al.	Applicant
US2006/0014384(A1)	2006-01-01	Lee et al.	Applicant
US2006/0019033(A1)	2006-01-01	Muthukrishnan et al.	Applicant
US2006/0024439(A2)	2006-02-01	Tuominen et al.	Applicant
US2006/0046518(A1)	2006-03-01	Hill et al.	Applicant
US2006/0051925(A1)	2006-03-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US2006/0060930(A1)	2006-03-01	Metz et al.	Applicant
US2006/0062910(A1)	2006-03-01	Meiere	Applicant
US2006/0063346(A1)	2006-03-01	Lee et al.	Applicant
US2006/0068125(A1)	2006-03-01	Radhakrishnan	Applicant
US2006/0110934(A1)	2006-05-01	Fukuchi	Applicant
US2006/0113675(A1)	2006-06-01	Chang et al.	Applicant
US2006/0128168(A1)	2006-06-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US2006/0148180(A1)	2006-07-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US2006/0163612(A1)	2006-07-01	Kouvetakis et al.	Applicant
US2006/0193979(A1)	2006-08-01	Meiere et al.	Applicant
US2006/0208215(A1)	2006-09-01	Metzner et al.	Applicant
US2006/0213439(A1)	2006-09-01	Ishizaka	Applicant
US2006/0223301(A1)	2006-10-01	Vanhaelemeersch et al.	Applicant
US2006/0226117(A1)	2006-10-01	Bertram et al.	Applicant
US2006/0228888(A1)	2006-10-01	Lee et al.	Applicant
US2006/0240574(A1)	2006-10-01	Yoshie	Applicant
US2006/0257563(A1)	2006-11-01	Doh et al.	Applicant
US2006/0257584(A1)	2006-11-01	Derderian et al.	Applicant
US2006/0258078(A1)	2006-11-01	Lee et al.	Applicant
US2006/0266289(A1)	2006-11-01	Verghese et al.	Applicant
US2007/0010072(A1)	2007-01-01	Bailey et al.	Applicant
US2007/0020953(A1)	2007-01-01	Tsai et al.	Applicant
US2007/0022954(A1)	2007-02-01	Iizuka et al.	Applicant
US2007/0028842(A1)	2007-02-01	Inagawa et al.	Applicant
US2007/0031598(A1)	2007-02-01	Okuyama et al.	Applicant
US2007/0031599(A1)	2007-02-01	Gschwandtner et al.	Applicant
US2007/0037412(A1)	2007-02-01	Dip et al.	Applicant
US2007/0042117(A1)	2007-02-01	Kupurao et al.	Applicant
US2007/0049053(A1)	2007-03-01	Mahajani	Applicant
US2007/0059948(A1)	2007-03-01	Metzner et al.	Applicant
US2007/0065578(A1)	2007-03-01	McDougall	Applicant
US2007/0066010(A1)	2007-03-01	Ando	Applicant
US2007/0077355(A1)	2007-04-01	Chacin et al.	Applicant
US2007/0084405(A1)	2007-04-01	Kim	Applicant
US2007/0096194(A1)	2007-05-01	Streck et al.	Applicant
US2007/0116873(A1)	2007-05-01	Li et al.	Applicant
US2007/0134942(A1)	2007-06-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US2007/0146621(A1)	2007-06-01	Yeom	Applicant
US2007/0155138(A1)	2007-07-01	Tomasini et al.	Applicant
US2007/0163440(A1)	2007-07-01	Kim et al.	Applicant
US2007/0166457(A1)	2007-07-01	Yamoto et al.	Applicant
US2007/0175397(A1)	2007-08-01	Tomiyasu et al.	Applicant
US2007/0209590(A1)	2007-09-01	Li	Applicant
US2007/0232501(A1)	2007-10-01	Tonomura	Applicant
US2007/0237697(A1)	2007-10-01	Clark	Applicant
US2007/0249131(A1)	2007-10-01	Allen et al.	Applicant
US2007/0252244(A1)	2007-11-01	Srividya et al.	Applicant
US2007/0264807(A1)	2007-11-01	Leone et al.	Applicant
US2008/0006208(A1)	2008-01-01	Ueno et al.	Applicant
US2008/0029790(A1)	2008-02-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US2008/0054332(A1)	2008-03-01	Kim et al.	Applicant
US2008/0057659(A1)	2008-03-01	Forbes et al.	Applicant
US2008/0075881(A1)	2008-03-01	Won et al.	Applicant
US2008/0085226(A1)	2008-04-01	Fondurulia et al.	Applicant
US2008/0113096(A1)	2008-05-01	Mahajani	Applicant
US2008/0113097(A1)	2008-05-01	Mahajani et al.	Applicant
US2008/0124908(A1)	2008-05-01	Forbes et al.	Applicant
US2008/0149031(A1)	2008-06-01	Chu et al.	Applicant
US2008/0176375(A1)	2008-07-01	Erben et al.	Applicant
US2008/0216077(A1)	2008-09-01	Emani et al.	Applicant
US2008/0224240(A1)	2008-09-01	Ahn et al.	Applicant
US2008/0233288(A1)	2008-09-01	Clark	Applicant
US2008/0237572(A1)	2008-10-01	Chui et al.	Applicant
US2008/0248310(A1)	2008-10-01	Kim et al.	Applicant
US2008/0261413(A1)	2008-10-01	Mahajani	Applicant
US2008/0282970(A1)	2008-11-01	Heys et al.	Applicant
US2008/0315292(A1)	2008-12-01	Ji et al.	Applicant
US2009/0000550(A1)	2009-01-01	Tran et al.	Applicant
US2009/0011608(A1)	2009-01-01	Nabatame	Applicant
US2009/0020072(A1)	2009-01-01	Mizunaga et al.	Applicant
US2009/0029564(A1)	2009-01-01	Yamashita et al.	Applicant
US2009/0035947(A1)	2009-02-01	Horii	Applicant
US2009/0061644(A1)	2009-03-01	Chiang et al.	Applicant
US2009/0085156(A1)	2009-04-01	Dewey et al.	Applicant
US2009/0093094(A1)	2009-04-01	Ye et al.	Applicant
US2009/0095221(A1)	2009-04-01	Tam et al.	Applicant
US2009/0107404(A1)	2009-04-01	Ogliari et al.	Applicant
US2009/0122293(A1)	2009-05-01	Shibazaki	Applicant
US2009/0136668(A1)	2009-05-01	Gregg et al.	Applicant
US2009/0139657(A1)	2009-06-01	Lee et al.	Applicant
US2009/0211523(A1)	2009-08-01	Kuppurao et al.	Applicant
US2009/0211525(A1)	2009-08-01	Sarigiannis et al.	Applicant
US2009/0239386(A1)	2009-09-01	Suzaki et al.	Applicant
US2009/0242957(A1)	2009-10-01	Ma et al.	Applicant
US2009/0246374(A1)	2009-10-01	Vukovic	Applicant
US2009/0261331(A1)	2009-10-01	Yang et al.	Applicant
US2009/0277510(A1)	2009-11-01	Shikata	Applicant
US2009/0283041(A1)	2009-11-01	Tomiyasu et al.	Applicant
US2009/0289300(A1)	2009-11-01	Sasaki et al.	Applicant
US2010/0024727(A1)	2010-02-01	Kim et al.	Applicant
US2010/0025796(A1)	2010-02-01	Dabiran	Applicant
US2010/0055312(A1)	2010-03-01	Kato et al.	Applicant
US2010/0075507(A1)	2010-03-01	Chang et al.	Applicant
US2010/0102417(A1)	2010-04-01	Ganguli et al.	Applicant
US2010/0124610(A1)	2010-05-01	Aikawa et al.	Applicant
US2010/0130017(A1)	2010-05-01	Luo et al.	Applicant
US2010/0162752(A1)	2010-07-01	Tabata et al.	Applicant
US2010/0170441(A1)	2010-07-01	Won et al.	Applicant
US2010/0193501(A1)	2010-08-01	Zucker et al.	Applicant
US2010/0230051(A1)	2010-09-01	Iizuka	Applicant
US2010/0255198(A1)	2010-10-01	Cleary et al.	Applicant
US2010/0275846(A1)	2010-11-01	Kitagawa	Applicant
US2010/0294199(A1)	2010-11-01	Tran et al.	Applicant
US2010/0307415(A1)	2010-12-01	Shero et al.	Applicant
US2010/0322604(A1)	2010-12-01	Fondurulia et al.	Applicant
US2011/0000619(A1)	2011-01-01	Suh	Applicant
US2011/0061810(A1)	2011-03-01	Ganguly et al.	Applicant
US2011/0070380(A1)	2011-03-01	Shero et al.	Applicant
US2011/0089469(A1)	2011-04-01	Merckling	Applicant
US2011/0097901(A1)	2011-04-01	Banna et al.	Applicant
US2011/0108194(A1)	2011-05-01	Yoshioka et al.	Applicant
US2011/0236600(A1)	2011-09-01	Fox et al.	Applicant
US2011/0239936(A1)	2011-10-01	Suzaki et al.	Applicant
US2011/0254052(A1)	2011-10-01	Kouvetakis	Applicant
US2011/0256734(A1)	2011-10-01	Hausmann et al.	Applicant
US2011/0275166(A1)	2011-11-01	Shero et al.	Applicant
US2011/0308460(A1)	2011-12-01	Hong et al.	Applicant
US2012/0024479(A1)	2012-02-01	Palagashvili et al.	Applicant
US2012/0070136(A1)	2012-03-01	Koelmel et al.	Applicant
US2012/0070997(A1)	2012-03-01	Larson	Applicant
US2012/0090704(A1)	2012-04-01	Laverdiere et al.	Applicant
US2012/0098107(A1)	2012-04-01	Raisanen et al.	Applicant
US2012/0114877(A1)	2012-05-01	Lee	Applicant
US2012/0156108(A1)	2012-06-01	Fondurulia et al.	Applicant
US2012/0160172(A1)	2012-06-01	Wamura et al.	Applicant
US2012/0240858(A1)	2012-09-01	Taniyama et al.	Applicant
US2012/0270393(A1)	2012-10-01	Pore et al.	Applicant
US2012/0289053(A1)	2012-11-01	Holland et al.	Applicant
US2012/0295427(A1)	2012-11-01	Bauer	Applicant
US2012/0304935(A1)	2012-12-01	Oosterlaken et al.	Applicant
US2012/0318334(A1)	2012-12-01	Bedell et al.	Applicant
US2012/0321786(A1)	2012-12-01	Satitpunwaycha et al.	Applicant
US2013/0023129(A1)	2013-01-01	Reed	Applicant
US2013/0081702(A1)	2013-04-01	Mohammed et al.	Examiner
US2013/0104988(A1)	2013-05-01	Yednak et al.	Applicant
US2013/0104992(A1)	2013-05-01	Yednak et al.	Applicant
US2013/0115383(A1)	2013-05-01	Lu et al.	Applicant
US2013/0126515(A1)	2013-05-01	Shero et al.	Applicant
US2013/0129577(A1)	2013-05-01	Halpin et al.	Applicant
US2013/0230814(A1)	2013-09-01	Dunn et al.	Applicant
US2013/0256838(A1)	2013-10-01	Sanchez et al.	Applicant
US2013/0264659(A1)	2013-10-01	Jung	Applicant
US2013/0292676(A1)	2013-11-01	Milligan et al.	Applicant
US2013/0292807(A1)	2013-11-01	Raisanen et al.	Applicant
US2013/0330911(A1)	2013-12-01	Huang et al.	Applicant
US2014/0000843(A1)	2014-01-01	Dunn et al.	Applicant
US2014/0014644(A1)	2014-01-01	Akiba et al.	Applicant
US2014/0020619(A1)	2014-01-01	Vincent et al.	Applicant
US2014/0027884(A1)	2014-01-01	Fang et al.	Applicant
US2014/0036274(A1)	2014-02-01	Marquardt et al.	Applicant
US2014/0060147(A1)	2014-03-01	Sarin et al.	Applicant
US2014/0067110(A1)	2014-03-01	Lawson et al.	Applicant
US2014/0073143(A1)	2014-03-01	Alokozai et al.	Applicant
US2014/0077240(A1)	2014-03-01	Roucka et al.	Applicant
US2014/0084341(A1)	2014-03-01	Weeks	Applicant
US2014/0087544(A1)	2014-03-01	Tolle	Applicant
US2014/0103145(A1)	2014-04-01	White et al.	Applicant
US2014/0120487(A1)	2014-05-01	Kaneko	Applicant
US2014/0159170(A1)	2014-06-01	Raisanen et al.	Applicant
US2014/0175054(A1)	2014-06-01	Carlson et al.	Applicant
US2014/0217065(A1)	2014-08-01	Winkler et al.	Applicant
US2014/0220247(A1)	2014-08-01	Haukka et al.	Applicant
US2014/0225065(A1)	2014-08-01	Rachmady et al.	Applicant
US2014/0251953(A1)	2014-09-01	Winkler et al.	Applicant
US2014/0251954(A1)	2014-09-01	Winkler et al.	Applicant
US2014/0346650(A1)	2014-11-01	Raisanen et al.	Applicant
US2015/0004316(A1)	2015-01-01	Thompson et al.	Applicant
US2015/0014632(A1)	2015-01-01	Kim et al.	Applicant
US2015/0024609(A1)	2015-01-01	Milligan et al.	Applicant
US2015/0048485(A1)	2015-02-01	Tolle	Applicant
US2015/0091057(A1)	2015-04-01	Xie et al.	Applicant
US2015/0096973(A1)	2015-04-01	Dunn et al.	Applicant
US2015/0132212(A1)	2015-05-01	Winkler et al.	Applicant
US2015/0140210(A1)	2015-05-01	Jung et al.	Applicant
US2015/0147877(A1)	2015-05-01	Jung	Applicant
US2015/0167159(A1)	2015-06-01	Halpin et al.	Applicant
US2015/0184291(A1)	2015-07-01	Alokozai et al.	Applicant
US2015/0187568(A1)	2015-07-01	Pettinger et al.	Applicant
CN1563483(A)	2005-01-01		Applicant
CN101330015	2008-12-01		Applicant
CN101522943	2009-09-01		Applicant
CN101423937	2011-09-01		Applicant
EP2036600	2009-03-01		Applicant
JP7283149	1995-10-01		Applicant
JP8335558	1996-12-01		Applicant
JP2001342570	2001-12-01		Applicant
JP2004014952(A)	2004-01-01		Applicant
JP2004091848	2004-03-01		Applicant
JP2004538374	2004-12-01		Applicant
JP2005507030	2005-03-01		Applicant
JP2006186271	2006-07-01		Applicant
JP2008527748	2008-07-01		Applicant
TW1226380	2005-01-01		Applicant
TW200701301(A)	2007-01-01		Applicant
WO2006056091(A1)	2006-06-01		Applicant
WO2006/078666	2006-07-01		Applicant

Non-Patent Literature (122)

USPTO; Office Action dated Aug. 27, 2010 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/118,596.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Feb. 15, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/118,596.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Aug. 4, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/118,596.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Jun. 16, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/430,751.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Jul. 27, 2011 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/430,751.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Apr. 23, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/763,037.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Jan. 15, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/754,223.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Feb. 26, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/754,223.Applicant
PCT; International Search report and Written Opinion dated Nov. 12, 2010 in Application No. PCT/US2010/030126.Applicant
PCT; International Search report and Written Opinion dated Jan. 12, 2011 in Application No. PCT/US2010/045368.Applicant
PCT; International Search report and Written Opinion dated Feb. 6, 2013 in Application No. PCT/US2012/065343.Applicant
PCT; International Search report and Written Opinion dated Feb. 13, 2013 in Application No. PCT/US2012/065347.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Dec. 6, 2012 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/854,818.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Jan. 10, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/339,609.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Feb. 11, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/339,609.Applicant
Chinese Patent Office; Office Action dated Jan. 10, 2013 is U.S. Appl. No. 201080015699.9.Applicant
Chang et al. Small-Subthreshold-Swing and Low-Voltage Flexible Organic Thin-Film Transistors Which Use HfLaO as the Gate Dielectric; IEEE Electron Device Letters; Feb. 2009; 133-135; vol. 30, No. 2; IEEE Electron Device Society.Applicant
Maeng et al. Electrical properties of atomic layer disposition Hf02 and Hf0xNy on Si substrates with various crystal orientations, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 2008-04, p. H267-H271, vol. 155, No. 4, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Korea.Applicant
Novaro et al. Theoretical Study on a Reaction Pathway of Ziegler-Natta-Type Catalysis, J. Chem. Phys. 68(5), Mar. 1, 1978 p. 2337-2351.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Jul. 14, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/754,223.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Jul. 3, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/102,980.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Jun. 3, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/854,818.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Jul. 2, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/283,408.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Jul. 30, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/284,642.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Jul. 31, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/411,271.Applicant
USPTO Final Office Action dated Jul. 8, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/439,528.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Jun. 18,2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/535,214.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Aug. 8, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/563,066.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Jul. 10, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/612,538.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Jun. 2, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/677,151.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Aug. 13, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/784,362.Applicant
USPTO; Restriction Requirement dated Jun. 26, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/874,708.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated May 29, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 14/183,187.Applicant
Chinese Patent Office; Notice on the Third Office Action dated Jul. 1, 2014 in Application No. 201080036764.6.Applicant
Taiwan Patent Office; Office Action dated Jul. 4, 2014 in Application No. 09/9110,511.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Jun. 28, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/754,223.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Feb. 25, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/754,223.Applicant
USPTO; Restriction Requirement dated Sep. 25, 2012 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/854,818.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Mar. 13, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/854,818.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Aug. 30, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/854,818.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Mar. 26, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/854,818.Applicant
USPTO; Restriction Requirement dated May 8, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/102,980.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Oct. 7, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/102,980.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Mar. 25, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/102,980.Applicant
USPTO; Restriction Requirement dated Dec. 16, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/284,642.Applicant
USPTO; Restriction Requirement dated Apr. 21, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/284,642.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Jan. 28, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/312,591.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated May 14, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/312,591.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated May 17, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/339,609.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Aug. 29, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/339,609.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Dec. 18, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/339,609.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Apr. 7, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/339,609.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Feb. 13, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/411,271.Applicant
USPTO; Restriction Requirement dated Oct. 29, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/439,258.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Mar. 24, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/439,258.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated May 23, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/465,340.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Oct. 30, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/465,340.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Feb. 12, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/465,340.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Dec. 20, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/535,214.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Nov. 15, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/612,538.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Apr. 24, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/784,362.Applicant
Chinese Patent Office; Notice on the First Office Action dated May 24, 2013 in Serial No. 201080036764.6.Applicant
Chinese Patent Office; Notice on the Second Office Action dated Jan. 2, 2014 in Serial No. 201080036764.6.Applicant
Japanese Patent Office; Office Action dated Dec. 25, 2014 in Serial No. 2012-504786.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Aug. 12, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/754,223.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Jul. 16, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/563,066.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Aug. 4, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/677,133.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Jul. 30, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/941,216.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Jun. 29, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/966,782.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Jul. 14, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 14/457,058.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Jul. 6, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 29/447,298.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Jan. 27, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/763,037.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Jan. 29, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/283,408.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Feb. 11, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/284,642.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Jan. 16, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/411,271.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Feb. 12, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/563,066.Applicant
Uspto; Non-Final Office Action dated Feb. 12, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/597,108.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Feb. 26, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/677,151.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Jan. 20, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/941,134.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Feb. 12, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 14/457,058.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Jan. 16, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 14/563,044.Applicant
Chinese Patent Office; Office Action dated Jan. 12, 2015 in Application No. 201080015699.9.Applicant
Chinese Patent Office; Notice on the Third Office Action dated Feb. 9, 2015 in Application No. 201110155056.Applicant
Japanese Patent Office; Office Action dated Dec. 1, 2014 in Application No. 2012-504786.Applicant
Taiwan Patent Office; Office Action dated Dec. 30, 2014 in Application No. 099114330.Applicant
Taiwan Patent Office; Office Action dated Dec. 19, 2014 in Application No. 099127063.Applicant
USPTO; Office Action dated Oct. 8, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 12/763,037.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Sep. 17, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/187,300.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Nov. 26, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/312,591.Applicant
UPPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Oct. 21, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/439,528.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Oct. 23, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/535,214.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Oct. 15, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/597,043.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Nov. 14, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/677,151.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Oct. 9, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/874,708.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Sep. 19, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/791,246.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Sep. 12, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/941,134.Applicant
USPTO; Restriction Requirement dated Sep. 16, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/948,055.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Oct. 30, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/948,055.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Nov. 7, 2014 in U.S. Appl. No. 14/183,187.Applicant
Chinese Patent Office; Notice on the Second Office Action dated Sep. 16, 2014 in Application No. 201110155056.Applicant
Koutsokeras et al. Texture and Microstructure Evolution in Single-Phase TixTal-xN Alloys of Rocksalt Structure. Journal of Applied Physics, 110, pp. 043535-1-043535-6, (2011).Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Apr. 15, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/187,300.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Jun. 17, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/283,408.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Mar. 20, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/312,591.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated May 14, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/312,591.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Jun. 12, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/563,066.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Jun. 1, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/597,108.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Mar. 13, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/597,043.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated May 28, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/651,144.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Apr. 3, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/677,133.Applicant
USPTO; Final Office Action dated Mar. 25, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/791,246.Applicant
USPTO; Notice of Allowance dated Mar. 10, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/874,708.Applicant
USPTO; Restriction Requirement dated Apr. 30, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/941,216.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Apr. 7, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 14/018,345.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Apr. 28, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 14/040,196.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Mar. 19, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 14/079,302.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Mar. 19, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 14/166,462.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Mar. 16, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 14/183,187.Applicant
USPTO; Non-Final Office Action dated Mar. 16, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 29/447,298.Applicant
Bearzotti, et al., “Fast Humidity Response of a Metal Halide-Doped Novel Polymer,” Sensors and Actuators B, 7, pp. 451-454, (1992).Applicant
Crowell, “Chemical Methods of Thin Film Deposition: Chemical Vapor Deposition, Atomic layer Deposition, and Related Technologies,” Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A 21.5, (2003): S88-S95.Applicant
Varma, et al., “Effect of Metal Halides on Thermal, Mechanical, and Electrical Properties of Polypyromelitimide Films,” Journal of Applied Polymer Science, vol. 32, pp. 3987-4000, (1986).Applicant

Abstract