Patents Examined by Robert Carpenter
  • Patent number: 9570635
    Abstract: The present invention discloses in detail a semiconductor device and a patterning method for the plated electrode thereof. By using the laser ablation method according to the prior art, the semiconductor substrate below the ARC is damaged by direct destructive burning. According to the present invention, an additional protection layer is inserted between the ARC and the semiconductor substrate. Then a laser is used for heating and liquefying the protection layer below the ARC, and thus separating the ARC from the liquefied protection layer underneath and forming pattered openings. Afterwards, by a plating process, nickel and copper can plated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: Atomic Energy Council—Institute of Nuclear Energy Research
    Inventors: Yu-Han Su, Wei-Yang Ma, Tsun-Neng Yang, Cheng-Dar Lee
  • Patent number: 9570477
    Abstract: A thin film transistor (“TFT”) array panel includes; an insulation substrate, a TFT disposed on the insulation substrate and including a drain electrode, a passivation layer covering the TFT and including a contact portion disposed therein corresponding to the drain electrode, a partition comprising an organic material disposed on the passivation layer, and including a transverse portion, a longitudinal portion, and a contact portion disposed on the drain electrode, a color filter disposed on the passivation layer and disposed in a region defined by the partition, an organic capping layer disposed on the partition and the color filter, and a pixel electrode disposed on the organic capping layer, and connected to the drain electrode through the contact portion of the passivation layer and the contact portion of the partition, wherein a contact hole is formed in the organic capping layer corresponding to the contact portion of the passivation layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kwang-Ho Lee, Jang-Soo Kim, Hong-Suk Yoo, Sang-Soo Kim, Shi-Yul Kim, Jae-Hyoung Youn
  • Patent number: 9564355
    Abstract: An interconnect and a method of forming an interconnect for a semiconductor device is provided. Conductive lines having different widths are formed. Wider conductive lines are used where the design includes an overlying via, and narrower lines are used in which an overlying via is not included. An overlying dielectric layer is formed and trenches and vias are formed extending through the overlying dielectric layer to the wider conductive lines. Voids or air gaps may be formed adjacent select conductive lines, such as the narrower lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Chih-Yuan Ting
  • Patent number: 9559273
    Abstract: A light-emitting package structure is provided, including an encapsulant, an light-emitting component embedded the encapsulant and having a light-emitting side and a non-emitting side opposing the light-emitting side, a dam embedded and exposed from the encapsulant, and a phosphor layer covering the light-emitting side and the dam. The non-emitting side has a plurality of electrodes. Since the heat generated by the phosphor layer can be transmitted to an outside region of the light-emitting package structure through the dam, the etiolation of the encapsulant can thus be prevented. A method of fabricating the light-emitting package structure is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: ACHROLUX INC.
    Inventors: Peiching Ling, DeZhong Liu
  • Patent number: 9516428
    Abstract: A MEMS acoustic transducer includes a substrate having a cavity therethrough, and a conductive back plate unit including a plurality of conductive perforated back plate portions which extend over the substrate cavity. A dielectric spacer arranged on the back plate unit between adjacent conductive perforated back plate portions, and one or more graphene membranes are supported by the dielectric spacer and extend over the conductive perforated back plate portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2016
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Alfons Dehe, Guenther Ruhl
  • Patent number: 9490353
    Abstract: This disclosure describes a switch having a collector, base, emitter, and an intrinsic region between the collector and base. The intrinsic region increases the efficiency of the switch and reduces losses. The collector, base, and emitter each have respective terminals, and an AC component of current passing through the base terminal is greater than an AC component of current passing through the emitter terminal. Additionally, in an on-state a first alternating current between the base and collector terminals is greater than a second alternating current between the collector and emitter terminals. In other words, AC passes primarily between collector and base as controlled by a DC current between the base and emitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Gideon Van Zyl, Gennady G. Gurov
  • Patent number: 9490408
    Abstract: A wafer-scale apparatus and method is described for the automation of forming, aligning and attaching two-dimensional arrays of microoptic elements on semiconductor and other image display devices, backplanes, optoelectronic boards, and integrated optical systems. In an ordered fabrication sequence, a mold plate comprised of optically designed cavities is formed by reactive ion etching or alternative processes, optionally coated with a release material layer and filled with optically specified materials by an automated fluid-injection and defect-inspection subsystem. Optical alignment fiducials guide the disclosed transfer and attachment processes to achieve specified tolerances between the microoptic elements and corresponding optoelectronic devices and circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Lawrence Jacobowitz, Stephen Buchwalter, Casimer DeCusatis, Peter A. Gruber, Da-Yuan Shih
  • Patent number: 9490414
    Abstract: A thermoelectric module and methods for making and applying same provide an integrated, layered structure comprising first and second, thermally conductive, surface volumes, each in thermal communication with a separate respective first and second electrically conductive patterned trace layers, and an array of n-type and p-type semiconducting elements embedded in amorphous silica dielectric and electrically connected between the first and second patterned trace layers forming a thermoelectric circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Inventor: L. Pierre de Rochemont
  • Patent number: 9490357
    Abstract: A HEMT device comprising a III-Nitride material substrate, the surface of which follows a plane that is not parallel to the C-plane of the III-Nitride material; an epitaxial layer of III-Nitride material grown on said substrate; a recess etched in said epitaxial layer, having at least one plane wall parallel to a polar plane of the III-Nitride material; a carrier supply layer formed on a portion of the plane wall of the recess, such that a 2DEG region is formed along the portion of the plane wall of the recess; a doped source region formed at the surface of said epitaxial layer such that the doped source region is separated from said 2DEG region by a channel region of the epitaxial layer; a gate insulating layer formed on the channel region of the epitaxial layer; and a gate contact layer formed on the gate insulating layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: HRL Laboratories, LLC
    Inventors: Sameh G. Khalil, Andrea Corrion, Karim S. Boutros
  • Patent number: 9484450
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a vertical drift region over a drain contact region, abutted on opposite sides by RESURF trenches. A split gate is disposed over the vertical drift region. A first portion of the split gate is a gate of an MOS transistor and is located over a body of the MOS transistor over a first side of the vertical drift region. A second portion of the split gate is a gate of a channel diode and is located over a body of the channel diode over a second, opposite, side of the vertical drift region. A source electrode is electrically coupled to a source region of the channel diode and a source region of the MOS transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Christopher Boguslaw Kocon, Simon John Molloy, John Manning Savidge Neilson, Hideaki Kawahara
  • Patent number: 9484386
    Abstract: An integrated circuit includes a substrate, a plurality of photo detectors formed in the substrate, and a diffraction grating having multiple sections disposed over the plurality of photo detectors. Each section of the diffraction grating has a respective periodic width for a respective target wavelength. The diffraction grating has at least two different target wavelengths. The diffraction grating is interlaced with filters. The filters in each section of the diffraction grating are configured to pass a respective electromagnetic wave with the respective target wavelength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hsin-Chieh Chang
  • Patent number: 9455346
    Abstract: The demand for increased performance and shrinking geometry from ICs has brought the introduction of multi-gate devices including finFET devices. Inducing a higher tensile strain/stress in a region provides for enhanced electron mobility, which may improve performance. High temperature processes during device fabrication tend to relax the stress on these strain inducing layers. The present disclosure relates to a method of forming a strain inducing layer or cap layer at the RPG (replacement poly silicon gate) stage of a finFET device formation process. In some embodiments, the strain inducing layer is doped to reduce the external resistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Zhiqiang Wu, Yi-Ming Sheu, Tzer-Min Shen, Chun-Fu Cheng, Hong-Shen Chen
  • Patent number: 9450547
    Abstract: A system and method for packaging a semiconductor device that includes a wall to reduce electromagnetic coupling is presented. A semiconductor device has a substrate on which a first circuit and a second circuit are formed proximate to each other. An isolation wall of electrically conductive material is located between the first circuit and the second circuit, the isolation wall being configured to reduce inductive coupling between the first and second circuits during an operation of the semiconductor device. Several types of isolation walls are presented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
    Inventors: Margaret A. Szymanowski, Sarmad K. Musa, Fernando A. Santos, Mahesh K. Shah
  • Patent number: 9450082
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a vertical MOS transistor with a plurality of parallel RESURF drain trenches separated by a constant spacing in a vertical drain drift region. The vertical MOS transistor has chamfered corners; each chamfered corner extends across at least five of the drain trenches. A RESURF termination trench surrounds the drain trenches, separated from sides and ends of the drain trenches by distances which are functions of the drain trench spacing. At the chamfered corners, the termination trench includes external corners which extend around an end of a drain trench which extends past an adjacent drain trench, and includes internal corners which extend past an end of a drain trench which is recessed from an adjacent drain trench. The termination trench is separated from the drain trenches at the chamfered corners by distances which are also functions of the drain trench spacing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Hideaki Kawahara, Christopher Boguslaw Kocon, Simon John Molloy, Jayhoon Chung, John Manning Savidge Neilson
  • Patent number: 9431508
    Abstract: When forming field effect transistors according to the gate-first HKMG approach, the cap layer formed on top of the gate electrode had to be removed before the silicidation step, resulting in formation of a metal silicide layer on the surface of the gate electrode and of the source and drain regions of the transistor. The present disclosure improves the manufacturing flow by skipping the gate cap removal process. Metal silicide is only formed on the source and drain regions. The gate electrode is then contacted by forming an aperture through the gate material, leaving the surface of the gate metal layer exposed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2016
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.
    Inventors: Stefan Flachowsky, Jan Hoentschel, Roman Boschke
  • Patent number: 9431377
    Abstract: Disclosed are a light emitting device and a method of fabricating the same. The light emitting device comprises a substrate. A plurality of light emitting cells are disposed on top of the substrate to be spaced apart from one another. Each of the light emitting cells comprises a first upper semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a second lower semiconductor layer. Reflective metal layers are positioned between the substrate and the light emitting cells. The reflective metal layers are prevented from being exposed to the outside.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2016
    Assignee: Seoul Viosys Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Won Cheol Seo, Joon Hee Lee, Jong Kyun You, Chang Youn Kim, Jin Cheol Shin, Hwa Mok Kim, Jang Woo Lee, Yeo Jin Yoon, Jong Kyu Kim
  • Patent number: 9431316
    Abstract: A semiconductor device has semiconductor die mounted to a temporary carrier. An encapsulant is deposited over the die and carrier. A channel is formed in a back surface of the die, either while in wafer form or after mounting to the carrier. The channel corresponds to a specific heat generating area of the die. The channel can be straight or curved or crossing pattern. The carrier is removed. An interconnect structure is formed over the encapsulant and die. The semiconductor die are singulated through the encapsulant. A TIM and heat sink are formed over the channel and encapsulant. Alternatively, a conformal plating layer can be formed over the channel and encapsulant. A conductive via can be formed through the encapsulant, and TSV formed through the die. The die with channels can be mounted over a second semiconductor die which is mounted to the interconnect structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2016
    Assignee: STATS ChipPAC Pte. Ltd.
    Inventor: Reza Argenty Pagaila
  • Patent number: 9425077
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for processing semiconductor substrates provides a substrate stage being a rotatable disc with a solid surface and a terraced edge with upper, intermediate and lower portions of increasing diameter. A hollow edge ring rests on the intermediate edge portion and a substrate disposed on the rotatable disc is lifted and transported by robot blades positioned beneath the edge ring and which lift the edge ring which holds the substrate around its edges. The rotatable disc and edge ring find application in MOCVD and other semiconductor manufacturing tools.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2016
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Chih-Chang Hsieh, Yung-Kai Lin, Hsu-Shui Liu, Kai Lo, Chih-Ping Chen, Chian-Kun Chan, Chung-Chieh Hsu, Chih-Kuo Chang, Wei-Ting Hsiao
  • Patent number: 9425306
    Abstract: In a super junction trench power MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) device, a column of p-type dopant in the super junction is separated from a first column of n-type dopant by a first column of oxide and from a second column of n-type dopant by a second column of oxide. In an n-channel device, a gate element for the FET is advantageously situated over the column of p-type dopant; and in a p-channel device, a gate element for the FET is advantageously situated over the column of n-type dopant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2016
    Assignee: Vishay-Siliconix
    Inventors: Yang Gao, Kyle Terrill, Deva Pattanayak, Kuo-In Chen, The-Tu Chau, Sharon Shi, Qufei Chen
  • Patent number: 9419099
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method for fabricating a semiconductor device that includes forming a gate stack over a silicon substrate, forming dummy spacers on sidewalls of the gate stack, isotropically etching the silicon substrate to form recess regions on either side of the gate stack, forming a semiconductor material in the recess regions, the semiconductor material being different from the silicon substrate, removing the dummy spacers, forming spacer layers having an oxide-nitride-oxide configuration over the gate stack and the semiconductor material, and etching the spacer layers to form gate spacers on the sidewalls of the gate stack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2016
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Chen-Pin Hsu, Harry Chuang, Kong-Beng Thei