Abstract: A method of forming a capacitor includes, a) providing a node to which electrical connection to a capacitor is to be made; b) providing a first electrically conductive capacitor plate over the node, the capacitor plate comprising conductively doped polysilicon; c) providing a predominately amorphous electrically conductive layer over the first capacitor plate; d) providing a capacitor dielectric layer over the amorphous electrically conductive layer; and e) providing a second electrically conductive capacitor plate over the capacitor dielectric layer. A capacitor construction is also disclosed. The invention has greatest utility where the polysilicon layer covered with the amorphous conductive layer is a roughened outer layer, such as provided with hemispherical grain polysilicon. The preferred amorphous electrically conductive layer is metal organic chemical vapor deposited TiCXNyOZ, where “x”is in the range of from 0.01 to 0.5, and “y” is in the range of from 0.99 to 0.

Abstract: A trench capacitor cell, in accordance with the present invention, includes a trench having an outer electrode formed in a substrate adjacent to the trench. A storage node is formed in the trench and capacitively coupled to the outer electrode. A center node is capacitively coupled to the storage node, and the storage node surrounds the center node within the trench. The center node includes a portion extending from the trench for connecting to a potential to provide charge retention in the storage node during operation.

Abstract: A field effect transistor with an enhanced dielectric constant gate insulator including spaced apart source and drain terminals positioned on a substrate structure so as to define a gate area therebetween. A layer of laterally strained, enhanced dielectric constant dielectric material is epitaxially grown on the substrate structure in the gate area, and a gate metal is positioned on the layer of dielectric material to form a gate terminal in the gate area.

Abstract: Provided are a self-aligned semiconductor fuse structure, a method of making such a fuse structure, and apparatuses incorporating such a fuse structure. The fuse break point, that point at which the electrical link of which the fuse is part is severed by a laser beam, is self-aligned by the use of photolithographically patterned dielectric and a heat sink material. The self-alignment allows the size and location of the break point to be more forgiving of the laser beam size and alignment. This has several advantages, including allowing photolithographic control and effective size reduction of the laser spot irradiating the fuse material and surrounding structure. This permits reduced fuse pitch, increasing density and the efficiency of use of chip area, and results in reduced thermal exposure, which causes less damage to chip. In addition, laser alignment is less critical and therefore less time-consuming, which increases throughput in fabrication.

Abstract: In a thin film transistor (TFT), a mask is formed on a gate electrode, and a porous anodic oxide is formed in both sides of the gate electrode using a relatively low voltage. A barrier anodic oxide is formed between the gate electrode and the porous anodic oxide and on the gate electrode using a relatively high voltage. A gate insulating film is etched using the barrier anodic oxide as a mask. The porous anodic oxide is selectively etched after etching barrier anodic oxide, to obtain a region of an active layer on which the gate insulating film is formed and the other region of the active layer on which the gate insulating film is not formed. An element including at least one of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon is introduced into the region of the active layer at high concentration in comparison with a concentration of the other region of the active layer. Further, N- or P-type impurity is introduced into the active layer.

Abstract: A trench-gate power device, for example a MOSFET, has a semiconductor body (10), for example of monocrystalline silicon, comprising a plurality of side-by-side body regions (3) which accommodate parallel conduction channels (12) adjacent the trench-gate structure (33,23,20) of the device. The channels (12) are connected in parallel between a first main electrode (21) which is common to side-by-side source regions (1) and a second region (2) which is common to the side-by-side body regions (3). The side-by-side source regions (1) comprise a layer (11) of narrow-bandgap semiconductor material (SixGe(1−x)) which is deposited on a major surface (10a) of the body (10) to form a source p-n heterojunction (31) with the side-by-side body regions (3) of the body (10). This narrow-bandgap semiconductor material (SixGe(1−x)) serves to suppress second breakdown of the power device, so improving its ruggedness.

Abstract: The present invention provides for use with an integrated circuit, an embedded memory having a transistor in contact with an interconnect formed within a dielectric layer overlaying the transistor. In one embodiment, the embedded memory comprises a capacitor located on the dielectric layer that contacts the interconnect. In this particular embodiment, the capacitor includes a first electrode located on the interconnect wherein the first electrode is a layer of aluminum, aluminum alloy or titanium nitride and substantially free of a titanium layer. In one advantageous embodiment, the first electrode layer is an aluminum alloy. Moreover, the thickness of the first electrode may, of course, varying depending on the design. However, in one is particular embodiment, the first electrode may have a thickness ranging from about 10 nm to about 50 nm.

Abstract: A semiconductor memory device including memory cells with the stacked-capacitor structure that makes it possible to prevent a contact pad from being damaged. This device includes a memory cell area and a peripheral circuit area formed on a semiconductor substrate. An interlayer insulating layer having first and second penetrating holes is formed to cover the entire substrate. A capacitor has lower and upper electrode and a dielectric located between these electrodes. The lower electrode is electrically connected to the first element through the first penetrating hole. Each of the peripheral circuits has a second element, a contact pad electrically connected to the second element, a pad insulating layer formed to cover the contact pad, a pad protection layer formed on the pad insulating layer, and an interconnection conductor electrically connected to the contact pad through a contact hole penetrating the pad protection and pad insulating layers.

Abstract: A nonvolatile memory includes five transistors. The memory has an MOS transistor in series with two pairs of transistors, where each pair includes a floating gate transistor and a metal-oxide-semiconductor transistor electrically connected in parallel. The memory structure may be formed with three levels of silicon-containing or metal-containing layers. The memory structure is less susceptible to read disturb errors compared to a prior art dual-bit nonvolatile memory structure.

Abstract: A method of forming an SRAM cell includes, a) providing a pair of pull-down gates having associated transistor diffusion regions operatively adjacent thereto, one of the diffusion regions of each pull-down gate being electrically connected to the other pull-down gate; b) providing a pair of pull-up resistor nodes for electrical connection with a pair of respective pull-up resistors, the pull-up nodes being in respective electrical connection with one of the pull-down gate diffusion regions and the other pull-down gate; c) providing a first electrical insulating layer outwardly of the resistor nodes; d) providing a pair of contact openings, with respective widths, through the first insulating layer to the pair of resistor nodes; e) providing a second electrical insulating layer over the first layer and to within the pair of contact openings to a thickness which is less than one-half the open widths; f) anisotropically etching the second electrical insulating layer to define respective electrical insulating ann

Abstract: A pair of substrates forming the active matrix liquid crystal display are fabricated from resinous substrates having transparency and flexibility. A thin-film transistor has a semiconductor film formed on a resinous layer formed on one resinous substrate. The resinous layer is formed to prevent generation of oligomers on the surface of the resinous substrate during formation of the film and to planarize the surface of the resinous substrate.

Abstract: A process for fabricating a bipolar transistor on a silicon-on-insulator substrate which includes etching a bipolar transistor area into the substrate, wherein the bipolar transistor area has substantially vertical sidewalls and a bottom, and forming a buried collector in bottom of the bipolar transistor area. Polysilicon sidewalls are formed adjacent to the vertical sidewalls in the bipolar transistor area, wherein the polysilicon sidewalls are connected to the buried collector. The polysilicon sidewalls are oxidized to form a layer of oxidized polysilicon. Oxide sidewalls are formed on the oxidized polysilicon sidewalls, and epitaxial silicon is formed to fill the bipolar transistor area. A base and an emitter are formed for the bipolar transistor, within the epitaxial barrier.

Abstract: A nonvolatile semiconductor memory has memory cells (1) each having an insulated-gate FET that has an information storage part. A semiconductor region (27) is formed at the surface of a channel region of each memory cell. The semiconductor region has the same conductivity type as a channel conductivity type and functions to decrease the strength of an electric field at the surface of the channel region. If the insulated-gate FET is of an n-channel type, the semiconductor region is of an n-type. The semiconductor region suppresses threshold voltage variations among the insulated-gate FETs of the memory cells and prevents soft-writing in the memory cells.

Abstract: A remanent, electrically programmable and erasable, memory device comprises of a MOS type transistor whose gate insulator contains charged mobile species is disclosed. The gate insulator is comprised transversely of a sandwich comprising at least five areas. Two intermediate areas have first band-gap values, and two endmost and a central areas have band gap values greater than the first values.

Abstract: A borderless contact to diffusion with respect to gate conductor is provided by employing a double insulating film stack as a mask for defining the gate conductor shapes for the entire chip and providing a relatively thin damage preventing layer on exposed conductive layer following defining the gate conductor shapes. In one embodiment, a borderless contact is provided by forming an insulating layer on a substrate, providing a conductive layer on the insulating layer, providing a second insulating layer on the conductive layer, providing a third insulating layer on the second insulating layer, removing preselected portions of the second and third insulating layers, providing a damage preventing layer in those areas where the second and third insulating layers have been removed, removing preselected portions of the third insulating layer, removing the damage preventing layer, removing exposed portions of the conductive layer, and removing now exposed portions of the second insulating layer.

Abstract: An improved gate electrode provides greater tolerances to higher temperature annealing treatments, and is useful in connection with the formation of self-aligned contacts as are needed for high density embedded DRAM applications. Consistent with one embodiment, a process for manufacturing a polycide transistor gate electrode involves forming a cap dielectric and dielectric spacer, with the electrode exhibiting a reduced diffusion transport of dopants between an underlying doped polysilicon layer and an overlying silicide layer. The reduced transport results from the presence of a thin barrier layer between the doped polysilicon layer and silicide layer, and the gate electrode process forms a thermally-oxidized thin polysilicon side-wall film against the polysilicon layer, the barrier layer, the silicide layer, and the cap dielectric layer. The polysilicon side-wall film is used for blocking substantial oxidation of the barrier film.

Abstract: A thin film transistor which can be used in an LCD display panel includes an insulator substrate, a gate electrode located on the insulator substrate, an insulator film provided on the insulator substrate and the gate electrode, and a polycrystalline silicon film located on the insulator film. A channel is defined in a first portion of the polycrystalline silicon film over the gate electrode, and a drain and a source are defined in second and third portions of the polycrystalline silicon film over the insulator substrate. Grain sizes of the drain and source are equal to or greater than a grain size of the channel.

Abstract: To provide a semiconductor device fuse, which does not damage the lower layer when it is cut by irradiation with a laser beam. In forming a fuse 2 by forming an electroconductive thin film on the surface of a semiconductor substrate and patterning it, a cut part 4 is constituted by installing an expanding part 5 in a narrow-width part 3, and the cut part 4 is cut by irradiation with a laser beam. Even if scattering of the intensity of the laser beam and scattering of the irradiation position occur, no damage occurs in the lower layer, and an electrical element can be formed even at the position directly under the fuse 2. The cut part 4 preferably has a circular shape.

Abstract: An integrated circuit device is provided comprising an integrated circuit pad, an internal integrated circuit, and an ESD protection circuit. The internal integrated circuit is conductively coupled to the integrated circuit pad so as to define a primary electrical path from the integrated circuit pad to the internal integrated circuit. The ESD protection circuit is conductively coupled to the integrated circuit pad so as to define a secondary electrical path from the integrated circuit pad to the ESD protection circuit. The ESD protection circuit comprises a semiconductor structure arranged to define a doped silicon substrate, a drain region, a source region, an electrically insulating region, and a gate structure. The drain region is formed in the silicon substrate and is conductively coupled to the integrated circuit pad via the secondary electrical path. The source region is formed in the silicon substrate and is conductively coupled to a relatively low electrical potential.

Abstract: A thin film semiconductor device comprising a substrate having an insulating surface, gate electrodes disposed on the insulating surface, gate insulating films disposed on upper portions of the gate electrodes, and thin film semiconductors disposed on the gate insulating films and including channel forming regions, source regions and drain regions. Two kinds of thin film semiconductor unit are disposed on the substrate. A first thin film semiconductor unit includes the thin film semiconductor of polycrystal, an insulating film covering an upper portion of the channel forming region, impurity semiconductor films doped with trivalent or pentavalent impurities and covering the source region and the drain region, and conductive films disposed on the impurity semiconductor films. A second thin film semiconductor unit includes the thin film semiconductor of amorphous, and other components similar to the first thin film semiconductor unit.