Patents Examined by Charles L. Bowers
  • Patent number: 5837568
    Abstract: To provide a manufacturing method of thin film transistors (TFT) using poly-silicone and having an LDD structure. In particular, the LDD sections of the TFTs are formed in an improved method so as to achieve a high throughput and stable performance of the TFTs. To be specific, the LD region is doped at a low concentration in the ion implantation method which includes mass spectrometry because high controllability over a dose is required. On the other hand, the source and drain regions are doped at a higher concentration than the LD region in the ion showering method which does not include mass spectrometry. Using the ion showering method, poly-crystal silicon can be doped such that less doping damage is caused thereto. This makes it possible to apply a lower temperature for annealing, such as RTA, to activate doped impurities so as to prevent the substrate from being curved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kiyoshi Yoneda, Yoshihiro Morimoto, Kiichi Hirano, Koji Suzuki, Masaru Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 5837606
    Abstract: In order to obtain a semiconductor device having an internal wire of low resistance, a conductive layer whose surface is silicified is provided in a surface of a semiconductor substrate. A conductor whose surface is silicified is provided on the semiconductor substrate in proximity to the conductive layer. This semiconductor device is provided with an internal wiring layer, which is formed by a titanium film and a titanium silicide layer for electrically connecting the surface of the conductive layer and a surface of an end of the conductor with each other, to cover a side wall surface and a bottom surface of a contact hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takehisa Yamaguchi, Hidekazu Oda
  • Patent number: 5837590
    Abstract: A vertical PNP transistor and method for making it provide a transistor in a surface layer (12), which may be an epitaxial layer, of P- type conductivity at a surface of a substrate (11) of P+ type conductivity. An isolation region (14) of N- type conductivity in the P- surface layer (12) contains a collector region (25) of P- type conductivity. A base region (30) of N type conductivity is contained in the collector region (25), and an emitter region (40) of P+ type conductivity is contained in the base region (30). The base region (30) may be provided with a higher N type impurity concentration than a P type impurity concentration of the collector region (25). At least the collector region (25) and the base region (30) may be self aligned. The collector region (25) may be of thickness of about 2.2 .mu.m, the base region (30) of thickness of about 0.1 .mu.m, and the emitter region (40) of thickness of about 0.4 .mu.m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Lawrence F. Latham, Theresa M. Keller
  • Patent number: 5837561
    Abstract: A method for fabricating transparent substrate vertical cavity surface emitting lasers ("VCSEL"s) using wafer bonding is described. The VCSELs have their active layers located much more closely to a heat sink than is possible in known absorbing substrate VCSELs. The improved heat transport from the active layer to the heat sink permits higher current operation with increased light output as a result of the lower thermal impedance of the system. Alternatively, the same light output can be obtained from the wafer bonded VCSEL at lower drive currents. Additional embodiments use wafer bonding to improve current crowding, current and/or optical confinement in a VCSEL and to integrate additional optoelectronic devices with the VCSEL.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventors: Fred A. Kish, Jr., Richard P. Schneider, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5837609
    Abstract: A fully additive method of applying a circuit pattern to a three-dimensional, nonconductive part comprises: pretreating the surface of the part; pad-printing a surface catalyst in a solvent carrier onto the surface in the shape of a desired circuit pattern; and applying an electroless copper deposit onto the surface catalyst, thereby providing a copper layer on the surface in the desired circuit pattern shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: Michael George Todd, Robert Edward Belke, Jr., Andrew Zachary Glovatsky
  • Patent number: 5837585
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a method of fabricating flash memory cell for use in semiconductor memories. A nitrogen implantation step is added in the process to increase the performance of the device. The nitrogen implanted tunnel oxide exhibits a much higher electron conduction efficiency than the prior art tunnel oxides in both injection polarities. The value of charge-to-breakdown voltage of the nitrogen implanted tunnel oxide is also much larger than the narrow tunnel oxide. In addition, the electron trapping rate of the nitrogen implantation tunnel oxide is very small even under a very large electron fluence stressing (100 C/cm.sup.2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Shye-Lin Wu, Bu-Chin Chung
  • Patent number: 5837563
    Abstract: The method for making a charge coupled device includes: forming a semiconductor region 24 of a first conductivity type; forming gate regions 28 and 30 overlying and separated from the semiconductor region 24; forming clocked barrier implants 36 and 38 of a second conductivity type in the semiconductor region 24 and aligned to the gate regions 36 and 38; depositing a semiconductor layer 70 overlying and separated from the semiconductor region 24 and the gate regions 28 and 30; removing a portion of the semiconductor layer 70 leaving semiconductor side walls 40 and 42 coupled to the gate regions 28 and 30.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Jaroslav Hynecek
  • Patent number: 5837594
    Abstract: Used nearer to a MOS transistor (25, 29(1), 29(2)) together with another capacitor electrode (39) with a dielectric film (37) interposed for use in a DRAM, a capacitor electrode is manufactured to include a conductor pole (53) and a tray-shaped conductor layer (55) which is held by the conductor pole and to include a plate portion (57) extended perpendicular to a pole axis and having a plate periphery and a peripheral portion (59) extended parallel to the pole axis from the plate periphery towards a pole end. Preferably, the tray-shaped conductor layer is held by the pole on a plurality of levels. A planar conductor layer may additionally be held at the pole end perpendicular to the pole axis. Word (41) and bit (49) lines are embedded in an insulator layer (43, 51) for the capacitor and the transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1998
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Ichiroh Honma, Hirohito Watanabe
  • Patent number: 5834329
    Abstract: A ridge wavegide laser diode, with an inverse mesa structure, resistant to heat and improved in the adhesion of a contact metal to a contact layer, which can be obtained by forming a polyimide spacer in such a way that polyimide remains only at the lower part of the corner of the inverse mesa structure. In the diode, the contact metal is minimally broken off at the opposite sides of the mesa structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ang Seo Kim, Don Soo Kim, Sang Yong Lee, Young Kun Sin
  • Patent number: 5834357
    Abstract: A capacitor includes a first electrode in which a first material layer composed of a conductive oxide and a second material layer formed of a conductive material are alternately stacked. The side surface of the second material layer is recessed to form a fin-shaped structure and the second material layer is etched to have a width shorter than that of the first material layer. The capacitor also includes a second electrode and a dielectric material formed between the first electrode and the second electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Chang-seok Kang
  • Patent number: 5834372
    Abstract: A method for pretreating a semiconductor surface, comprising the steps of: placing a titanium nitride substrate in a reaction chamber and subjecting the reaction chamber to vacuum; purging the reaction chamber with an inert gas selected from the group consisting of N.sub.2, Ar and He and evacuating the reaction chamber into 1 mTorr or lower; treating the surface of the titanium nitride substrate with a reaction gas comprising WF; charging a reducing gas and a source gas for deposition material to form a thin film on the titanium nitride substrate, by which the nucleation rate of deposition material and the number of nucleation sites on the substrate can be increased and a thin film with a uniform thickness and high density can be formed on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: LG Semicon., Ltd.
    Inventor: Young Chong Lee
  • Patent number: 5834379
    Abstract: A process for synthesizing wide band gap materials, specifically, GaN, employs plasma-assisted and thermal nitridation with NH.sub.3 to convert GaAs to GaN. Thermal assisted nitridation with NH.sub.3 can be employed for forming layers of substantial thickness (on the order of 1 micron) of cubic and hexagonal GaN on a GaAs substrate. Plasma-assisted nitridation of NH.sub.3 results in formation of predominantly cubic GaN, a form particularly useful in optoelectronic devices. Preferably, very thin GaAs membranes are employed to permit formation thereon of GaN layers of any desired thickness without concern for critical thickness constraints. The thin membranes are preferably formed either with an epitaxial bonding technique, or by undercut etching.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: Cornell Research Foundation, Inc.
    Inventors: James R. Shealy, James R. Engstrom, Yu-Hwa Lo
  • Patent number: 5834378
    Abstract: A method for substantially improving the photo luminescent performance of a porous semiconductor, involving the steps of providing a bulk semiconductor substrate wafer of a given conductivity, wherein the substrate wafer has a porous semiconductor layer of the same conductivity as the bulk semiconductor substrate wafer, and the porous semiconductor layer is made up of a plurality of pores interspersed within a plurality of nanocrystallites, wherein each of the pores its defined by a pore wall and each of the nanocrystallites has a given thickness. Next, in the method, at least one monolayer layer of passivating material is generated on the pore wall of each of the pores, to passivate the porous semiconductor layer. The one layer of passivating material substantially eliminates dangling bonds and surface states which are associated with the porous semiconductor layer. The resulting passivated porous semiconductor layer exhibits a quantum efficiency of approximately 5 percent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: Kulite Semiconductor Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Anthony D. Kurtz, Jonathan E. Spanier
  • Patent number: 5834322
    Abstract: The method of this invention for heat treatment of a Si single crystal grown by the Czochralski method at a speed of pull of not less than 0.8 mm/min., characterized by heat-treating at a temperature in the range of from 1,150.degree. C. to 1,280.degree. C. a wafer cut out of the Si single crystal thereby producing a Si wafer excellent in oxide film dielectric breakdown voltage characteristic due to elimination of crystal defects. Consequently, this invention ensures production of LSI in a high yield.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Izumi Fusegawa, Hirotoshi Yamagishi, Nobuyoshi Fujimaki, Yukio Karasawa
  • Patent number: 5834348
    Abstract: In a semiconductor device having a ferroelectric capacitor and manufacturing method thereof, a spacer comprising a low dielectric constant material is formed on the side surfaces of a plurality of lower electrodes separated into each cell unit, and a ferroelectric film is formed on the lower electrodes whereon the low dielectric constant material spacer is formed, and an upper electrode is formed on the ferroelectric film, to thereby prevent an error which may be caused between the adjacent lower electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kee-Won Kwon, Chang-Seok Kang
  • Patent number: 5834361
    Abstract: In a method of forming a II-VI compound semiconductor thin film on an InP substrate, a layer of III-V compound semiconductor mixed crystal is first formed on the InP substrate. The desorption rate of a group V element constituting the III-V compound semiconductor mixed crystal at a decomposition temperature of a native oxide layer formed on a surface of the III-V compound semiconductor mixed crystal layer is lower than a desorption rate of P of the InP substrate at a decomposition temperature of a native oxide layer formed on a surface of the InP substrate. A II-VI compound semiconductor thin film layer is formed on the first III-V compound semiconductor mixed crystal layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Kouichi Naniwae, Toru Suzuki
  • Patent number: 5834374
    Abstract: A method for forming thin films and controlling the tensile and compressive stresses and mechanical properties of the thin film. The method includes forming an alloy on a substrate having a solvent metal and a solute, then annealing the substrate and the alloy in one of an oxidizing, nitriding and carborizing ambient so that the ambient reacts with the solute to form respectively one of an oxide, nitride and carbide precipitates of the solute in the solvent. The solute is selected so that the precipitates formed may be used to control the mechanical properties of the solvent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 1995
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Cyril Cabral, Jr., Lawrence Alfred Clevenger, Fran.cedilla.ois Max d'Heurle, Qi-Zhong Hong
  • Patent number: 5830803
    Abstract: The method produces liquid contacts in contact holes on a top side of a semiconductor component. The top side is not wettable by material provided for the liquid contacts. The walls and edges of the contact holes are wettable by the material. The contact holes are filled as follows. The material provided for the liquid contacts is applied to the top side by a doctor blade. There is situated on a longitudinal edge of the doctor blade an adhesion strip which is made of a material which is wettable by the material provided for the liquid contacts. The longitudinal edge of the doctor blade is guided at a distance over the top side. The material provided for the liquid contacts is moved in the form of a cylinder between the adhesion stip and the surface of the component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1998
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Holger Hubner
  • Patent number: 5830773
    Abstract: An isolation technique is provided for improving the overall planarity of trench isolation regions relative to adjacent silicon mesas. The isolation process results in a spaced plurality of field dielectric having an upper surface substantially coplanar with each other and with adjacent silicon mesa upper surfaces. The isolation process is thereby a planarization process used with the shallow trench technique, wherein etch-enhancing ions are forwarded into the fill dielectric at upper elevational regions of that dielectric. When subjected to a subsequent etchant, the dopants cause the higher elevational regions to be removed at a faster rate than the lower elevational regions. Thus, selective placement of dopants and etch removal pre-conditions the fill dielectric upper surface to a more planar surface globally across the entire wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1998
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: William S. Brennan, Robert Dawson, Fred N. Hause, Basab Bandyopadhyay, H. Jim Fulford, Jr., Mark W. Michael
  • Patent number: 5830786
    Abstract: A process for fabricating an electronic circuit by oxidizing the surroundings of a metallic interconnection such as of aluminum, tantalum, and titanium, wherein anodic oxidation is effected at a temperature not higher than room temperature, preferably, at 10.degree. C. or lower, and more preferably, at 0.degree. C. or lower. The surface oxidation rate of a metallic interconnection can be maintained constant to provide a surface free of irregularities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1998
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hongyong Zhang, Hideki Uochi, Shunpei Yamazaki, Yasuhiko Takemura, Minoru Miyazaki, Akane Murakami, Toshimitsu Konuma, Akira Sugawara, Yukiko Uehara