ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 13 -- United States Patent no. 12,525,461, issued on Jan. 13, was assigned to Google LLC (Mountain View, Calif.).
"Hard mask liftoff processes" was invented by Brian James Burkett (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and John Mark Kreikebaum (Santa Barbara, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A substrate, a first layer disposed on the substrate, and a second layer disposed on the first layer are provided. An opening is etched through the second layer to the first layer. A first portion of the first layer is etched through the opening using a first etchant, to expose a surface of the substrate through the opening. A feature is deposited on the surface of the substrate through the op...