Patents Examined by Joseph C Nicely
  • Patent number: 11569377
    Abstract: A semiconductor device according to an embodiment includes: a first electrode; and a substrate including a first surface in contact with the first electrode and a second surface provided opposite to the first surface, the first surface including a first groove including a first length and a second length shorter than the first length, the first length in a first direction parallel to the first surface, the second length in a second direction parallel to the first surface, the second direction intersecting with the direction, wherein the substrate includes a semiconductor layer having first conductive type, a first semiconductor region provided between the semiconductor layer and the second surface, the first semiconductor region having second conductive type, a second semiconductor region provided between the first semiconductor region and the second surface, the second semiconductor region having first conductive type higher than an impurity concentration of the semiconductor layer, and a second electrode pr
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignees: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA, TOSHIBA ELECTRONIC DEVICES & STORAGE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hideharu Kojima
  • Patent number: 11569338
    Abstract: A display is provided. The display device includes a display area and a non-display area located around the display area; a base layer; an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) that is located on the base layer in the display area; and a first crack detection line that is located on the base layer in the non-display area; wherein the first crack detection line comprises a first line that extends substantially in a first direction along a first edge of the display area, a second line that is separated from the first line and extends substantially in the first direction, and a third line that is connected to an end of the first line and an end of the second line, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the first line in a second direction crossing the first direction is inversely tapered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Inventors: Hun Kim, Yong Jin Kim, Soon Jung Wang, Keun Soo Lee, Jae Ho Lee, Kyung Chan Chae
  • Patent number: 11569364
    Abstract: A semiconductor structure and a method of forming the same are provided. In an embodiment, a semiconductor structure includes a first plurality of channel members over a backside dielectric layer, a second plurality of channel members over the backside dielectric layer, a silicide feature disposed in the backside dielectric layer, and a source/drain feature disposed over the silicide feature and extending between the first plurality of channel members and the second plurality of channel members. The silicide feature extends through an entire depth of the backside dielectric layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Chen-Hung Tsai, Chen-Ming Lee, Fu-Kai Yang, Mei-Yun Wang
  • Patent number: 11563013
    Abstract: A memory device includes a substrate, first semiconductor fin, second semiconductor fin, first gate structure, second gate structure, first gate spacer, and a second gate spacer. The first gate structure crosses the first semiconductor fin. The second gate structure crosses the second semiconductor fin, the first gate structure extending continuously from the second gate structure, in which in a top view of the memory device, a width of the first gate structure is greater than a width of the second gate structure. The first gate spacer is on a sidewall of the first gate structure. The second gate spacer extends continuously from the first gate spacer and on a sidewall of the second gate structure, in which in the top view of the memory device, a width of the first gate spacer is less than a width of the second gate spacer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hsin-Wen Su, Chih-Chuan Yang, Shih-Hao Lin, Yu-Kuan Lin, Lien-Jung Hung, Ping-Wei Wang
  • Patent number: 11563135
    Abstract: Provided are a light-receiving element which has more capability of detecting wavelengths than that of existing silicon light-receiving elements and a unit pixel of an image sensor by using it. The light-receiving element includes: a light-receiving unit which is floated or connected to external voltage and absorbs light; an oxide film which is formed to come in contact with a side of the light-receiving unit; a source and a drain which stand off the light-receiving unit with the oxide film in between and face each other; a channel which is formed between the source and the drain and forms an electric current between the source and the drain; and a wavelength expanding layer which is formed in at least one among the light-receiving unit, the oxide film and the channel and forms a plurality of local energy levels by using strained silicon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Inventor: Hoon Kim
  • Patent number: 11563102
    Abstract: In a method of manufacturing a negative capacitance structure, a dielectric layer is formed over a substrate. A first metallic layer is formed over the dielectric layer. After the first metallic layer is formed, an annealing operation is performed, followed by a cooling operation. A second metallic layer is formed. After the cooling operation, the dielectric layer becomes a ferroelectric dielectric layer including an orthorhombic crystal phase. The first metallic film includes a oriented crystalline layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Chun-Chieh Lu, Carlos H. Diaz, Chih-Sheng Chang, Cheng-Yi Peng, Ling-Yen Yeh
  • Patent number: 11563095
    Abstract: A semiconductor device including: a first S/D arrangement including a silicide-sandwiched portion of a corresponding active region having a silicide-sandwiched configuration, a first portion of a corresponding metal-to-drain/source (MD) contact structure, a first via-to-MD (VD) structure, and a first buried via-to-source/drain (BVD) structure; a gate structure over a channel portion of the corresponding active region; and a second S/D arrangement including a first doped portion of the corresponding active region; and at least one of the following: an upper contact arrangement including a first silicide layer over the first doped portion, a second portion of the corresponding MD contact structure; and a second VD structure; or a lower contact arrangement including a second silicide layer under the first doped portion, and a second BVD structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Chung-Hui Chen, Tung-Tsun Chen, Jui-Cheng Huang
  • Patent number: 11551977
    Abstract: A method of forming a semiconductor structure is provided. The method includes forming a gate structure over an active region of a substrate, forming an epitaxial layer comprising first dopants of a first conductivity type over portions of the active region on opposite sides of the gate structure, applying a cleaning solution comprising ozone and deionized water to the epitaxial layer, thereby forming an oxide layer on the epitaxial layer, forming a patterned photoresist layer over the oxide layer and the gate structure to expose a portion of the oxide layer, forming a contact region including second dopants of a second conductivity type opposite the first conductivity type in the portion of the epitaxial layer not covered by the patterned photoresist layer, and forming a contact overlying the contact region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ke-Ming Chen, Ting-Jung Chang, Hsin-Chen Cheng, Chih-Tsang Tseng
  • Patent number: 11552181
    Abstract: A method for fabricating a semiconductor device includes the steps of: forming a fin-shaped structure on a substrate, forming a gate material layer on the fin-shaped structure, performing an etching process to pattern the gate material layer for forming a gate structure and a silicon residue, performing an ashing process on the silicon residue, and then performing a cleaning process to transform the silicon residue into a polymer stop layer on a top surface and sidewalls of the fin-shaped structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: UNITED MICROELECTRONICS CORP.
    Inventor: Chun-Hsien Lin
  • Patent number: 11552017
    Abstract: In a general aspect, a transistor can include a trench disposed in a semiconductor region and a gate electrode disposed in an upper portion of the trench. The gate electrode can include a first and second gate electrode segments. The transistor can also include a shield electrode having a first shield electrode portion disposed in a lower portion of the trench, and a second shield electrode portion orthogonally extending from the first shield electrode portion in the lower portion of the trench to the upper portion of the trench. The first shield electrode portion can be disposed below the first and second gate electrode segments, and the second shield electrode portion can being disposed between the first and second gate electrode segments. The transistor can also include a patterned buried conductor layer. The first and second gate electrode segments can be electrically coupled via the patterned buried conductor layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventors: Prasad Venkatraman, Gary Horst Loechelt
  • Patent number: 11545568
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a method of forming a field plate in an elongate active trench of a transistor device is provided. The elongate active trench includes a first insulating material lining the elongate active trench and surrounding a gap and first conductive material filling the gap. The method includes selectively removing a first portion of the first insulating material using a first etch process, selectively removing a portion of the first conductive material using a second etch process, and forming a field plate in a lower portion of the elongate active trench and selectively removing a second portion of the first insulating material using a third etch process. The first etch process is carried out before the second etch process and the second etch process is carried out before the third etch process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventors: Stefan Tegen, Matthias Kroenke
  • Patent number: 11545496
    Abstract: An SRAM (static random access memory) includes a semiconductor substrate; a plurality of PD transistors, each including a first fin structure formed on the semiconductor substrate, a PD gate structure formed across the first fin structure and covering a portion of a top and sidewall surfaces of the first fin structure, and a first source/drain doped layer formed in the first fin structure on both sides of the PD gate structure; a plurality of adjacent transistors, each including a second fin structure formed on the semiconductor substrate and a second source/drain doped layer formed in the second fin structure; an isolation layer, formed on the semiconductor substrate; a fin sidewall film, formed on the isolation layer and covering sidewall surfaces of each PD gate structure; and a first PD dielectric layer, formed on the isolation layer and covering sidewall surfaces of the first source/drain doped layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignees: Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Shanghai) Corporation, Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Beijing) Corporation
    Inventor: Yong Li
  • Patent number: 11545490
    Abstract: A semiconductor structure is provided. The semiconductor structure includes a first gate-all-around FET over a substrate, and the first gate-all-around FET includes first nanostructures and a first gate stack surrounding the first nanostructures. The semiconductor structure also includes a first FinFET adjacent to the first gate-all-around FET, and the first FinFET includes a first fin structure and a second gate stack over the first fin structure. The semiconductor structure also includes a gate-cut feature interposing the first gate stack of the first gate-all-around FET and the second gate stack of the first FinFET.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jin-Aun Ng, Yu-Chao Lin, Tung-Ying Lee
  • Patent number: 11545574
    Abstract: Structures for a single diffusion break and methods of forming a structure for a single diffusion break. A cut is formed in a semiconductor fin. A single diffusion break includes a first dielectric layer in the cut and a second dielectric layer over the first dielectric layer. The first dielectric layer is comprised of a first material, and the second dielectric layer is comprised of a second material having a different composition than the first material. The second dielectric layer includes a first portion over the first dielectric layer and a second portion over the first portion. The first portion of the second dielectric layer has a first horizontal dimension, and the second portion of the second dielectric layer has a second horizontal dimension that is greater than the first horizontal dimension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: GlobalFoundries U.S. Inc.
    Inventors: Haiting Wang, Rinus Lee, Sipeng Gu, Yue Hu
  • Patent number: 11538806
    Abstract: Gate-all-around integrated circuit structures having high mobility, and methods of fabricating gate-all-around integrated circuit structures having high mobility, are described. For example, an integrated circuit structure includes a silicon nanowire or nanoribbon. An N-type gate stack is around the silicon nanowire or nanoribbon, the N-type gate stack including a compressively stressing gate electrode. A first N-type epitaxial source or drain structure is at a first end of the silicon nanowire or nanoribbon. A second N-type epitaxial source or drain structure is at a second end of the silicon nanowire or nanoribbon. The silicon nanowire or nanoribbon has a <110> plane between the first N-type epitaxial source or drain structure and the second N-type epitaxial source or drain structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Roza Kotlyar, Rishabh Mehandru, Stephen Cea, Biswajeet Guha, Dax Crum, Tahir Ghani
  • Patent number: 11538912
    Abstract: A method of forming a semiconductor structure includes following steps. A first isolation is formed between a pair of active regions. A gate structure is formed on the first isolation structure. The active regions are etched to form recesses with curved top surfaces. The active regions are etched again to change each of the curved top surfaces to be a top surface and a sidewall substantially perpendicular to the top surface. A pair of contacts is formed respectively on the active regions, such that each of the contacts has a bottom surface and a sidewall substantially perpendicular to the bottom surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: NANYA TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Sheng-Hwa Lee, Hsiu-Ming Chen
  • Patent number: 11532720
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor layer, a gate structure, a source/drain epitaxial structure, a backside dielectric cap, and an inner spacer. The gate structure wraps around the semiconductor layer. The source/drain epitaxial structure is adjacent the gate structure and electrically connected to the semiconductor layer. The backside dielectric cap is disposed under and in direct contact with the gate structure. The inner spacer is in direct contact with the gate structure and the backside dielectric cap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Cheng-Ting Chung, Hou-Yu Chen, Ching-Wei Tsai
  • Patent number: 11532626
    Abstract: A semiconductor device according to the present disclosure includes a bottom dielectric feature on a substrate, a plurality of channel members directly over the bottom dielectric feature, a gate structure wrapping around each of the plurality of channel members, two first epitaxial features sandwiching the bottom dielectric feature along a first direction, and two second epitaxial features sandwiching the plurality of channel members along the first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jung-Hung Chang, Lo-Heng Chang, Zhi-Chang Lin, Shih-Cheng Chen, Kuo-Cheng Chiang, Chih-Hao Wang
  • Patent number: 11532512
    Abstract: A semiconductor device structure and method for forming the same are provided. The semiconductor device structure includes a first metal layer formed over a substrate and a dielectric layer formed over the first metal layer. The semiconductor device structure further includes an adhesion layer formed in the dielectric layer and over the first metal layer and a second metal layer formed in the dielectric layer. The second metal layer is electrically connected to the first metal layer, and a portion of the adhesion layer is formed between the second metal layer and the dielectric layer. The adhesion layer includes a first portion lining with a top portion of the second metal layer, and the first portion has an extending portion along a vertical direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Che-Cheng Chang, Chih-Han Lin
  • Patent number: 11532485
    Abstract: In a gate last metal gate process for forming a transistor, a dielectric layer is formed over an intermediate transistor structure, the intermediate structure including a dummy gate electrode, typically formed of polysilicon. Various processes, such as patterning the polysilicon, planarizing top layers of the structure, and the like can remove top portions of the dielectric layer, which can result in decreased control of gate height when a metal gate is formed in place of the dummy gate electrode, decreased control of fin height for finFETs, and the like. Increasing the resistance of the dielectric layer to attack from these processes, such as by implanting silicon or the like into the dielectric layer before such other processes are performed, results in less removal of the top surface, and hence improved control of the resulting structure dimensions and performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Su-Hao Liu, Tsan-Chun Wang, Liang-Yin Chen, Jing-Huei Huang, Lun-Kuang Tan, Huicheng Chang