Patents Examined by Shaka White
  • Patent number: 9287189
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatuses for semiconductor devices are provided herein. A semiconductor device includes an array of conductive pads for signals. One or more non-linear compliant springs may be present to route signals from the conductive pads to interconnect pads formed on the semiconductor device to attach bump interconnects. Each non-linear compliant spring may include one or more routing segments. The semiconductor device may be mounted to a circuit board by the bump interconnects. When the semiconductor device operates, heat may be generated by the semiconductor device, causing thermal expansion by the semiconductor device and the circuit board. The semiconductor device and circuit board may expand by different amounts due to differences in their thermal coefficients of expansion. The non-linear compliant springs provide for compliance between the conductive pads and bump interconnects to allow for the different rates of expansion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Milind S. Bhagavat, Javed Iqbal Sandhu, Rezaur Rahman Khan, Teck Yang Tan
  • Patent number: 9287258
    Abstract: At least one of a plurality of transistors which are highly integrated in an element is provided with a back gate without increasing the number of manufacturing steps. In an element including a plurality of transistors which are longitudinally stacked, at least a transistor in an upper portion includes a metal oxide having semiconductor characteristics, a same layer as a gate electrode of a transistor in a lower portion is provided to overlap with a channel formation region of the transistor in an upper portion, and part of the same layer as the gate electrode functions as a back gate of the transistor in an upper portion. The transistor in a lower portion which is covered with an insulating layer is subjected to planarization treatment, whereby the gate electrode is exposed and connected to a layer functioning as source and drain electrodes of the transistor in an upper portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Toshihiko Saito
  • Patent number: 9287210
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes: a first semiconductor-chip including a first electrode; a second semiconductor-chip including a second electrode; and a switch including a core element configured to contract and expand by a temperature change, a heat generation unit configured to heat the core element, a first metal element configured to cover the core element and connected to the first electrode, and a second metal element configured to cover the core element and connected to the second electrode, wherein, when the core element contracts, the first metal element and the second metal element come in contact with each other so that the first semiconductor-chip and the second semiconductor-chip are electrically connected with each other, and when the core element expands, the first metal element and the second metal element become in non-contact with each other so that the first semiconductor-chip and the second semiconductor-chip are electrically separated from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventor: Hajime Kubota
  • Patent number: 9281200
    Abstract: When forming sophisticated semiconductor-based gate electrode structures of transistors, the pre-doping of one type of gate electrode structure may be accomplished after the actual patterning of the electrode material by using an appropriate mask or fill material for covering the active regions and using a lithography mask. In this manner, a high degree of flexibility is provided with respect to selecting an appropriate patterning regime, while at the same time a uniform and superior cross-sectional shape for any type of gate electrode structure is obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2016
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.
    Inventors: Hans-Juergen Thees, Sven Beyer, Martin Mazur, Steffen Laufer
  • Patent number: 9281388
    Abstract: There are disclosed herein various implementations of composite semiconductor devices. In one implementation, such a composite semiconductor device includes a semiconductor on insulator (SOI) substrate including a diode and an insulator layer. The composite semiconductor device also includes a transition body formed over the diode, and a transistor formed over the transition body. The diode is connected across the transistor using through-semiconductor vias, external electrical connectors, or a combination of the two.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2016
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Americas Corp.
    Inventor: Michael A. Briere
  • Patent number: 9275863
    Abstract: In a method of fabricating a semiconductor device having a MISFET of trench gate structure, a trench is formed from a major surface of a semiconductor layer of first conductivity type which serves as a drain region, in a depth direction of the direction of the semiconductor layer, a gate insulating film including a thermal oxide film and a deposited film is formed over the internal surface of the trench, and after a gate electrode has been formed in the trench, impurities are introduced into the semiconductor substrate of first conductivity type to form a semiconductor region of second conductivity type which serves as a channel forming region, and impurities are introduced into the semiconductor region of second conductivity type to form the semiconductor region of first conductivity type which serves as a source region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Sumito Numazawa, Yoshito Nakazawa, Masayoshi Kobayashi, Satoshi Kudo, Yasuo Imai, Sakae Kubo, Takashi Shigematsu, Akihiro Ohnishi, Kozo Uesawa, Kentaro Oishi
  • Patent number: 9276166
    Abstract: A method for forming a light-emitting device of the present application comprises providing a wafer; forming a first plurality of light-emitting elements on the wafer; providing a first connection structure to connect each of the first plurality of light-emitting elements; and applying a current flow to one of the first plurality of light-emitting elements for testing at least one electrical property of the light-emitting element while no current flow is applied to the remaining of the first plurality of light-emitting elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: EPISTAR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Chia-Liang Hsu, Chih-Chiang Lu
  • Patent number: 9263554
    Abstract: Transistors and methods for fabricating the same include forming one or more semiconductor fins on a substrate; covering source and drain regions of the one or more semiconductor fins with a protective layer; annealing uncovered channel portions of the one or more semiconductor fins in a gaseous environment to reduce fin width and round corners of the one or more semiconductor fins; and forming a dielectric layer and gate over the thinned fins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Veeraraghavan S. Basker, Shogo Mochizuki, Tenko Yamashita, Chun-Chen Yeh
  • Patent number: 9257336
    Abstract: According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of plating a TSV hole in a substrate is provided. The TSV hole may include an open end terminating at a conductive pad, a stack of wiring levels, and a plurality of chip interconnects. The method of plating a TSV may include attaching a handler to the plurality of chip interconnects, the handler having a conductive layer in electrical contact with the plurality of chip interconnects; exposing a closed end of the TSV hole, including the conductive pad, to an electrolyte solution; and applying an electrical potential along an electrical path from the conductive layer to the conductive pad causing conductive material from the electrolyte solution to deposit on the conductive pad and within the TSV hole, the electrical path including the conductive layer, the plurality of chip interconnects, the stack of wiring levels and the conductive pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.
    Inventors: Mukta G. Farooq, John A. Fitzsimmons, Troy L. Graves-Abe
  • Patent number: 9252270
    Abstract: Methods of forming a floating body cell (FBC) with faster programming and lower refresh rate and the resulting devices are disclosed. Embodiments include forming a silicon on insulator (SOI) layer on a substrate; forming a band-engineered layer surrounding and/or on the SOI layer; forming a source region and a drain region with at least one of the source region and the drain region being on the band-engineered layer; and forming a gate on the SOI layer, between the source and drain regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2016
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES Singapore Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Shyue Seng Tan, Eng Huat Toh, Elgin Quek
  • Patent number: 9236427
    Abstract: Some embodiments include a method of forming a capacitor. An opening is formed through a silicon-containing mass to a base, and sidewalls of the opening are lined with protective material. A first capacitor electrode is formed within the opening and has sidewalls along the protective material. At least some of the silicon-containing mass is removed with an etch. The protective material protects the first capacitor electrode from being removed by the etch. A second capacitor electrode is formed along the sidewalls of the first capacitor electrode, and is spaced from the first capacitor electrode by capacitor dielectric. Some embodiments include multi-material structures having one or more of aluminum nitride, molybdenum nitride, niobium nitride, niobium oxide, silicon dioxide, tantalum nitride and tantalum oxide. Some embodiments include semiconductor constructions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph Neil Greeley, Duane M. Goodner, Vishwanath Bhat, Vassil N. Antonov, Prashant Raghu
  • Patent number: 9231060
    Abstract: An epitaxial structure includes a substrate having an epitaxial growth surface, a first epitaxial layer, a graphene layer and a second epitaxial layer. The first epitaxial layer is stacked on the epitaxial growth surface. The graphene layer is coated on the first epitaxial layer. The second epitaxial layer is located on the first epitaxial layer and covers the graphene layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignees: Tsinghua University, HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yang Wei, Shou-Shan Fan
  • Patent number: 9231085
    Abstract: FinFET end-implanted-semiconductor structures and methods of manufacture are disclosed herein. The method includes forming at least one mandrel on a silicon layer of a substrate comprising an underlying insulator layer. The method further includes etching the silicon layer to form at least one silicon island under the at least one mandrel. The method further includes ion-implanting sidewalls of the at least one silicon island to form doped regions on the sidewalls. The method further includes forming a dielectric layer on the substrate, a top surface of which is planarized to be coplanar with a top surface of the at least one mandrel. The method further includes removing the at least one mandrel to form an opening in the dielectric layer. The method further includes etching the at least one silicon island to form at least one fin island having doped source and drain regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES INC.
    Inventors: Brent A. Anderson, Edward J. Nowak
  • Patent number: 9224650
    Abstract: Approaches for backside laser scribe plus front side laser scribe and plasma etch dicing of a wafer or substrate are described. For example, a method of dicing a semiconductor wafer having a plurality of integrated circuits on a front side thereof and metallization on a backside thereof involves patterning the metallization on the backside with a first laser scribing process to provide a first plurality of laser scribe lines on the backside. The method also involves forming a mask on the front side. The method also involves patterning, from the front side, the mask with a second laser scribing process to provide a patterned mask with a second plurality of scribe lines exposing regions of the semiconductor wafer between the integrated circuits, wherein the second plurality of scribe lines is aligned with the first plurality of scribe lines. The method also involves plasma etching the semiconductor wafer through the second plurality of scribe lines to singulate the integrated circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Wei-Sheng Lei, Brad Eaton, Ajay Kumar
  • Patent number: 9214524
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, a gate insulating film formed over the semiconductor substrate, a gate electrode formed on the gate insulating film, a first semiconductor layer which is embedded into a portion on both sides of the gate electrode in the semiconductor substrate, and which includes Si and a 4B group element other than Si, and a second semiconductor layer which is embedded into the portion on both sides of the gate electrode in the semiconductor substrate, so as to be superposed on the first semiconductor layer, and which includes Si and a 4B group element other than Si, wherein the gate electrode is more separated from an end of the first semiconductor layer than from an end of the second semiconductor layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2015
    Assignee: FUJITSU SEMICONDUCTOR LIMITED
    Inventor: Naoyoshi Tamura
  • Patent number: 9214531
    Abstract: A trenched power semiconductor device with enhanced breakdown voltage is provided. The trenched power semiconductor device has a first trench penetrating the body region located between two neighboring gate trenches. A polysilicon structure with a conductivity type identical to that of the body region is located in a lower portion of the first trench and spaced from the body region with a predetermined distance. A dielectric structure is located on the polysilicon structure and at least extended to the body region. Source regions are located in an upper portion of the body region. A heavily doped region located in the body region is extended to the bottom of the body region. A conductive structure is electrically connected to the heavily doped region and the source region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2015
    Assignee: GREAT POWER SEMICONDUCTOR CORP.
    Inventor: Chun-Ying Yeh
  • Patent number: 9208279
    Abstract: A first linear-shaped conductive structure (LCS) forms a gate electrode (GE) of a first transistor of a first transistor type. A second LCS forms a GE of a first transistor of a second transistor type. A third LCS forms a GE of a fourth transistor of the first transistor type. A fourth LCS forms a GE of a fourth transistor of the second transistor type. Transistors of the first transistor type are collectively separated from transistors of the second transistor type by an inner region. Each of the first, second, third, and fourth LCS's has a respective electrical connection area. At least two of the electrical connection areas of the first, second, third, and fourth LCS's are located within the inner region. The first and fourth transistors of the first transistor type and the first and fourth transistors of the second transistor type form part of a cross-coupled transistor configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2015
    Assignee: Tela Innovations, Inc.
    Inventors: Scott T. Becker, Jim Mali, Carole Lambert
  • Patent number: 9202941
    Abstract: A semiconductor unit includes: a first device substrate including a first semiconductor substrate and a first wiring layer, in which the first wiring layer is provided on one surface side of the first semiconductor substrate; a second device substrate including a second semiconductor substrate and a second wiring layer, in which the second device substrate is bonded to the first device substrate, and the second wiring layer is provided on one surface side of the second semiconductor substrate; a through-electrode penetrating the first device substrate and a part or all of the second device substrate, and electrically connecting the first wiring layer and the second wiring layer to each other; and an insulating layer provided in opposition to the through-electrode, and penetrating one of the first semiconductor substrate and the second semiconductor substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2015
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Satoru Wakiyama, Hiroshi Ozaki
  • Patent number: 9202878
    Abstract: A gallium nitride based semiconductor device includes a silicon-based layer doped simultaneously with boron (B) and germanium (Ge) at a relatively high concentration, a buffer layer on the silicon-based layer, and a nitride stack on the buffer layer. A doping concentration of boron (B) and germanium (Ge) may be higher than 1×1019/cm3.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2015
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Young-jo Tak, Jae-kyun Kim, Jun-youn Kim, Jae-won Lee, Hyo-ji Choi
  • Patent number: 9196617
    Abstract: A semiconductor device and a method for fabricating the same are provided to prevent a floating body effect and reduce coupling capacitance between buried bit lines. The semiconductor device comprises a first pillar disposed over a semiconductor substrate and including a vertical channel region, a bit line located in the lower portion of the vertical channel region inside the first pillar and a semiconductor layer extended from the semiconductor substrate to one sidewall of the first pillar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: SK HYNIX INC.
    Inventors: Seung Hwan Kim, Jai Hoon Sim