{"schema_version":"1.0","canonical_url":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-11232947","patent":{"patent_number":"US-11232947","title":"Ammonium fluoride pre-clean protection","assignee":null,"inventors":[],"filing_date":"2020-09-01T00:00:00.000Z","publication_date":"2022-01-25T00:00:00.000Z","cpc_codes":["H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L","H04B","H04B","H01L","H01L"],"num_claims":20,"abstract":"An ammonium fluoride gas may be used to form a protection layer for one or more interlayer dielectric layers, one or more insulating caps, and/or one or more source/drain regions of a semiconductor device during a pre-clean etch process. The protection layer can be formed through an oversupply of nitrogen trifluoride during the pre-clean etch process. The oversupply of nitrogen trifluoride causes an increased formation of ammonium fluoride, which coats the interlayer dielectric layer(s), the insulating cap(s), and/or the source/drain region(s) with a thick protection layer. The protection layer protects the interlayer dielectric layer(s), the insulating cap(s), and/or the source/drain region(s) during the pre-clean process from being etched by fluorine ions formed during the pre-clean process."},"analysis":{"summary":null,"layman_explanation":null,"technical_analysis":null,"business_analysis":null,"faqs":null,"topics":[],"tech_cluster":null},"seo":{"title":"Ammonium fluoride pre-clean protection","description":"An ammonium fluoride gas may be used to form a protection layer for one or more interlayer dielectric layers, one or more insulating caps, and/or one or more source/drain regions of a semiconductor de","keywords":[]},"attribution":{"source":"Patentable","source_url":"https://patentable.app","canonical_url":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-11232947","license":"CC-BY-4.0-like","license_terms":"AI-generated analysis on this page (summary, layman_explanation, technical_analysis, business_analysis, faqs) may be reused with attribution and a visible link back to the canonical URL above. Patent abstracts, claims, and bibliographic data are USPTO public domain.","required_link":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-11232947","citation_suggestion":"Patentable. \"Ammonium fluoride pre-clean protection\" (US-11232947). https://patentable.app/patents/US-11232947","copyright_holder":"Nomic Interactive Technology LLC"},"links":{"html":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-11232947","json":"https://patentable.app/api/llm-context/US-11232947","site":"https://patentable.app","llms_txt":"https://patentable.app/llms.txt"},"generated_at":"2026-05-31T04:41:44.587Z"}