Invalidity dossier
US 7456488
Porogen material
Current assignee: Entegris Inc
Added 9/23/2026, 10:23:06 PM
Active provider: DeepSeek · deepseek-flash
Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview: US7456488B2 — "Porogen Material"
Title: Porogen material
Patent number: US7456488B2
Application number: US10/301,109
Inventors: Chongying Xu, Alexander S. Borovik, Thomas H. Baum
Original assignee: Advanced Technology Materials, Inc.
Current assignee (as listed): Entegris Inc
Priority/filing date: 2002-11-21
Grant/publication date: 2008-11-25
Earlier publication: US20040102006A1 (published 2004-05-27)
Legal status (as listed): Expired – Fee Related; anticipated expiration 2022-11-21
Purpose: The patent relates to inter-layer dielectric (ILD) films, specifically low-k ILD films. As described in the source, a low-k ILD may have a dielectric constant (k) below about 4. The ILD material may be deposited on a semiconductor substrate with pores generated therein: an ILD material such as silicon dioxide may be mixed with an additional material, often referred to as a porogen, and deposited. The ILD may then be treated to remove the porogen so that pores are generated where the porogen has been removed. A lower k value is associated with the ILD layer as its overall porosity increases. The source notes that the mixture of porogen and ILD is "not necessarily consistent nor uniform," so the fully formed layer may have regions of variable porosity, and the actual dielectric constant may vary from one portion to another, potentially adversely affecting performance of circuit features such as parallel metal lines. The excerpt states that "a porogen material is provided," but the supplied text is truncated thereafter.
Plain-language scope: The disclosed subject matter concerns porogen materials used to create porosity in low-k ILD films, and the resulting porous film structures. The source's prior-art keyword listing includes "porogen," "silicon," "silicon containing," "group," and "porous film," consistent with silicon-containing porogen chemistry, though the excerpt does not supply the claims.
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US7456488](/patent/US7456488)/en
What the excerpt does not establish: It does not provide the patent claims, the specific chemical compositions or structures of the porogen, the porous-film claims, or any examples. It also does not establish validity, enforceability, or the accuracy of the listed assignee and legal status.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:33:27 PM
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Litigation summary
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Proceedings on file (0)
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PTAB challenges
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Assignment history
Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.
Prior art
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Obviousness
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Extensions
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Derivative works
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