With Means To Increase Current Gain Or Operating Frequency Patents (Class 257/593)
  • Publication number: 20080128861
    Abstract: Methods of boosting the performance of bipolar transistor, especially SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors, is provided together with the structure that is formed by the inventive methods. The methods include providing a species-rich dopant region comprising C, a noble gas, or mixtures thereof into at least a collector. The species-rich dopant region forms a perimeter or donut-shaped dopant region around a center portion of the collector. A first conductivity type dopant is then implanted into the center portion of the collector to form a first conductivity type dopant region that is laterally constrained, i.e., confined, by the outer species-rich dopant region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2006
    Publication date: June 5, 2008
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Omer H. Dokumaci, Gregory G. Freeman, Marwan H. Khater, Rajendran Krishnasamy, Kathryn T. Schonenberg
  • Publication number: 20080023796
    Abstract: A conventional semiconductor device, for example, a lateral PNP transistor has a problem that it is difficult to obtain a desired current-amplification factor while maintaining a breakdown voltage characteristic without increasing the device size. In a semiconductor device, that is a lateral PNP transistor, according to the present invention, an N type epitaxial layer is formed on a P type single crystal silicon substrate. The epitaxial layer is used as a base region. Moreover, molybdenum (Mo) is diffused in the substrate and the epitaxial layer. With this structure, the base current is adjusted, and thereby a desired current-amplification factor (hFE) of the lateral PNP transistor is achieved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2007
    Publication date: January 31, 2008
    Applicants: SANYO ELECTRIC CO., LTD., SANYO SEMICONDUCTOR CO., LTD., SANYO SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Keiji Mita, Yasuhiro Tamada, Kentaro Ooka
  • Patent number: 7297991
    Abstract: A bipolar junction transistor includes a dielectric layer formed on a predetermined region of a substrate, an opening formed in the dielectric layer and a portion of the substrate being exposed, a semiconductor layer formed on a sidewall and a bottom of the opening and on a portion of the dielectric layer outside the opening, a spacer formed on the semiconductor layer to define a self-aligned emitter region in the opening, an emitter conductivity layer being filled with the self-aligned emitter region and a PN junction being formed between the emitter conductivity layer and the semiconductor layer, and a salicide layer formed on the emitter conductivity layer and on the portion of the semiconductor layer extending outside the opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2007
    Assignee: United Microelectronics Corp.
    Inventor: Anchor Chen
  • Patent number: 7262484
    Abstract: A method of forming a semiconductor device having two different strains therein is provided. The method includes forming a strain in a first region with a first straining film, and forming a second strain in a second region with a second straining film. Either of the first or second strains may be either tensile or compressive. Additionally the strains may be formed at right angles to one another and may be additionally formed in the same region. In particular a vertical tensile strain may be formed in a base and collector region of an NPN bipolar transistor and a horizontal compressive strain may be formed in the extrinsic base region of the NPN bipolar transistor. A PNP bipolar transistor may be formed with a compression strain in the base and collector region in the vertical direction and a tensile strain in the extrinsic base region in the horizontal direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: James S. Dunn, David L. Harame, Jeffrey B. Johnson, Alvin J. Joseph
  • Patent number: 7211516
    Abstract: The present invention provides a semiconductor device, a method of manufacture therefore and a method for manufacturing an integrated circuit including the same. The semiconductor device, among other elements, may include a substrate (110), as well as a nickel silicide region (170) located over the substrate (110), the nickel silicide region (170) having an amount of indium located therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2007
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Peijun J. Chen, Duofeng Yue, Amitabh Jain, Sue Crank, Thomas D. Bonifield, Homi Mogul
  • Patent number: 7199447
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for improving the high current operation of bipolar transistors while minimizing adverse affects on high frequency response are disclosed. A local implant to increase the doping of the collector at the collector to base interface is achieved by the use of an angled ion implant of collector impurities through the emitter opening. The resulting area of increased collector doping is larger than the emitter opening, which minimizes carrier injection from the emitter to the collector, but is smaller than the area of the base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2007
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael Violette
  • Patent number: 7173274
    Abstract: A SiGe bipolar transistor containing substantially no dislocation defects present between the emitter and collector region and a method of forming the same are provided. The SiGe bipolar transistor includes a collector region of a first conductivity type; a SiGe base region formed on a portion of said collector region; and an emitter region of said first conductivity type formed over a portion of said base region, wherein said collector region and said base region include carbon continuously therein. The SiGe base region is further doped with boron.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jack Oon Chu, Douglas Duane Coolbaugh, James Stuart Dunn, David R. Greenberg, David L. Harame, Basanth Jagannathan, Robb Allen Johnson, Louis D. Lanzerotti, Kathryn Turner Schonenberg, Ryan Wayne Wuthrich
  • Patent number: 7141865
    Abstract: A Low Noise semiconductor amplifier structure formed from layers of differently doped semiconductor material. This structure when properly biased will amplify voltage signals applied to the input terminal (Base1 or signal-base), and provide the same signal, amplified at the terminal designated as the output or collector. The semiconductor material can be any of a number of semiconductor materials, Germanium, Silicon, Gallium-Arsenide or any material with suitable semi-conducting properties. The structure can be any BJT (Bipolar Junction Transistor) form. The presence of an additional, distinct highly doped layer indicated as Base2 in the BJT form, provides an electrical noise suppression function. This inhibits intrinsic electrical noise, and improves the high frequency performance of the device in conjunction with an external capacitor connected to this new Base2 (or anti-base) region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2006
    Inventor: James Rodger Leitch
  • Patent number: 7126171
    Abstract: A bipolar transistor of the present invention comprises a collector layer made of an n-type semiconductor and an emitter layer made of an n-type semiconductor provided on this collector layer. A gate layer for injecting p-type carriers (holes) into the emitter layer is provided on the emitter layer. A p-type carrier retaining layer is formed between the collector layer and the emitter layer. The p-type carrier retaining layer temporarily retains the p-type carriers that are injected from the gate layer into the emitter layer and diffused in the emitter layer and reach the p-type carrier retaining layer. The bipolar transistor has a structure whose performance is not influenced by sheet resistance of the base layer, and is able to exhibit a high current gain even in a high-frequency region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2006
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: John Kevin Twynam
  • Patent number: 6984593
    Abstract: A method of forming semiconductor device treating a surface of a substrate to produce a discontinuous growth of a material on the surface through rapid thermal oxidation of the substrate surface at a temperature of less than about 700° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2006
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Arne W. Ballantine, Douglas D. Coolbaugh, Steve S. Williams
  • Patent number: 6979885
    Abstract: In a semiconductor substrate with a top surface, a PN junction between a first region of one conductivity type formed by masked diffusion into a semiconductor from the surface and a second region of opposite conductivity type formed into a first portion of the first region from the surface. The improvement comprising edges of the first region being spaced from associated edges of the second region such that the doping concentration of the first region at the surface intersection of corners of the junction between the first and second regions is lower than it is at some other location in the first region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2005
    Assignee: Intersil Americas Inc.
    Inventor: James D. Beasom
  • Patent number: 6949799
    Abstract: A semiconductor structure including a substrate, a device layer and a contact arranged on the substrate, comprises an ESD protective means, arranged between the substrate and the contact, such, that in the ESD case a breakthrough from the ESD protective means to the contact occurs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2005
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Klaus Diefenbeck, Klaus Gnannt, Jakob Huber, Ulrich Krumbein
  • Patent number: 6930373
    Abstract: The circuit has a power stage (LE) with heat generating components mounted around at least one component that generates less heat mounted in an inner region. The heat generating components are connected to at least one conducting metal body (K1) that is mounted on a cooling body (KK) in electrically insulated manner to cool the components. The cooling body encloses the inner region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2005
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Gerd Auerswald, Kurt Gross, Michael Kirchberger, Stefan Kulig, Hans Rappl
  • Patent number: 6903440
    Abstract: In order to provide an electronic component of a high frequency current suppression type, which can completely suppress a high frequency current to prevent an electromagnetic interference from occurring even when it is used at a high frequency, and a bonding wire for the same, the semiconductor integrated circuit device (IC) (17) operates at a high speed in using at a high frequency band, and a predetermined number of terminals (19) are provided with a high frequency current suppressor (21) for attenuating a high frequency current passing through the terminals themselves. This high frequency current suppressor (21) is a thin film magnetic substance having a range from 0.3 to 20 (?m) in thickness, and is disposed on the entire surface of each terminal (19), covering a mounting portion to be mounted on a printed wiring circuit board (23) for mounting IC (17) and an edge including a connecting portion to a conductive pattern (25) disposed on the printed wiring circuit board (23).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2005
    Assignee: Nec Tokin Corp.
    Inventors: Shigeyoshi Yoshida, Hiroshi Ono, Koji Kamei
  • Patent number: 6897547
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a low resistance semiconductor substrate, a high resistance semiconductor layer formed on the substrate, an insulation layer formed on the semiconductor layer, and a transistor element composed of a collector region, abase region, and an emitter region formed in the semiconductor layer. The device further includes an emitter electrode formed in the insulation layer to be connected to the emitter region, a sub-emitter electrode formed in the insulation layer connected to the emitter electrode, a low resistance impurity-diffusion region formed in the semiconductor layer such that the sub-emitter electrode is connected to the substrate through the impurity-diffusion region, a base electrode formed in the insulation layer to be connected to the base region, and a base-bonding pad formed on the insulation layer to be connected to the base electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2005
    Assignee: NEC Compound Semiconductor Devices, Ltd.
    Inventor: Kouzi Hayasi
  • Patent number: 6891249
    Abstract: A method and system for providing a bipolar power transistor on a semiconductor device is disclosed. The method and system comprise providing a semiconductor substrate. The method and system includes providing an emitter base structure in the power device. The method and system further includes providing at least one oxidized slot through the emitter base structure and into the semiconductor substrate utilizing the highly inefficient portion of the emitter for this structure, thus wasted space is utilized to provide a power buss ground. This results in a smaller transistor for a given current. This is provided without any extra steps. This approach results in lower operating temperatures for a given current as compared to standard approaches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2005
    Assignee: Micrel, Inc.
    Inventor: John Durbin Husher
  • Patent number: 6891250
    Abstract: A base contact section of a planar structure electrically connecting a base electrode to a base region of a bipolar transistor is constructed of a repeating structure in a plan view, in which a high impurity concentration region of the same conductivity type as that of the base region and a region of the reverse conductivity type from that of the base region or low concentration region of the same conductivity type as that of the base region, arranged in an alternately manner starting with a high impurity concentration region of the same conductivity type as that of the base region from an emitter region side. With such a structure, accumulation of minor carriers in the base contact section can be suppressed, a high switching speed can be achieved and reduction in power consumption can be realized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2005
    Assignee: Rohm Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazuhisa Sakamoto
  • Patent number: 6881988
    Abstract: A heterojunction bipolar transistor has a raised breakdown voltage and restrains the rising characteristic of IC-VCE characteristic from degrading. The collector region includes first, second, and third collector layers of semiconductor. The first collector layer is made of a doped or undoped semiconductor in such a way as to contact the sub-collector region. The second collector layer is made of a doped or undoped semiconductor having a narrower band gap than the first collector layer in such a way as to contact the base region. The third collector layer has a higher doping concentration than the second collector layer in such a way as to be located between or sandwiched by the first collector layer and the second collector layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2005
    Assignee: NEC Compound Semiconductor Devices, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takaki Niwa, Hidenori Shimawaki, Koji Azuma, Naoto Kurosawa
  • Patent number: 6867477
    Abstract: According to one exemplary embodiment, a bipolar transistor comprises a base having a top surface. The bipolar transistor might be a lateral PNP bipolar transistor and the base may comprise, for example, N type single crystal silicon. The bipolar transistor further comprises an emitter having a top surface, where the emitter is situated on the top surface of the base. The emitter may comprise P+ type single crystal silicon-germanium, for example. The bipolar transistor further comprises an electron barrier layer situated directly on the top surface of the emitter. The electron barrier layer will cause an increase in the gain, or beta, of the bipolar transistor. The electron barrier layer may be a dielectric such as, for example, silicon oxide. In another embodiment, a floating N+ region, instead of the electron barrier layer, is utilized to increase the gain of the bipolar transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2005
    Assignee: Newport Fab, LLC
    Inventors: Jie Zheng, Peihua Ye, Marco Racanelli
  • Patent number: 6838350
    Abstract: A method for fabricating a bipolar transistor includes forming a first region of a first conductivity type in a semiconductor structure to form a collector region and forming a second region of a second conductivity type in the first region to form a base region. A first mask is applied including an opening defining an emitter region of the bipolar transistor. The method further includes a triple implantation process using the first mask. Thus, a third region of the first conductivity type is formed in the first region and overlaid the second region. A fourth region of the second conductivity type is formed in the second region and is more heavily doped than the second region. A fifth region of the first conductivity type is formed in the second region and above the fourth region. The fifth region forms the emitter region of the bipolar transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2005
    Assignee: Micrel, Inc.
    Inventors: Martin E. Garnett, Peter Zhang, Steve McCormack, Ji-hyoung Yoo
  • Patent number: 6815801
    Abstract: The present invention provides a vertical bipolar transistor 110, a method of manufacture therefor, and an integrated circuit including the same. The vertical bipolar transistor 110 may include, in one embodiment, a second epitaxial layer 140 located over a first epitaxial layer 130, wherein the second epitaxial layer includes at least two dopant profiles 143, 147. The vertical bipolar transistor 110 may further include a collector 154, a base 156 and an emitter 158 located over or within the second epitaxial layer 140.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2004
    Assignee: Texas Instrument Incorporated
    Inventors: Gregory G. Romas, Darrel C. Oglesby, Jr., Scott F. Jasper, Philip Najfus, Venkatesh Govindaraju, ChunLiang Yeh, James Lisenby
  • Patent number: 6809396
    Abstract: An integrated circuit (100) includes high performance complementary bipolar NPN and PNP vertical transistors (10, 20). The NPN transistor is formed on a semiconductor substrate whose surface (24) is doped to form a PNP base region (28, 70). A film (32, 34, 30) is formed on the surface with an opening (42) over an edge of the base region. A first conductive spacer (48) is formed along a first sidewall (78) of the opening to define a PNP emitter region (67) within the base region. A second conductive spacer (47) is formed along a second sidewall (76) of the opening to define a PNP collector region (66).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2004
    Assignee: Semiconductor Components Industries, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Peter J. Zdebel, Misbahul Azam, Gary H. Loechelt, James R. Morgan, Julio C. Costa
  • Patent number: 6806555
    Abstract: A semiconductor component and a method for fabricating it includes a substrate and an epitaxial layer situated thereon and integrating at least a first and a second bipolar component in the layer. The first and second bipolar components have a buried layer and different collector widths. The buried layer of the second component has a larger layer thickness than that of the first component; exactly one epitaxial layer is provided. The different collector widths produced as a result thereof are influenced by the outdiffusion of the dopant of the buried layers by other substances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2004
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Jakob Huber, Wolfgang Klein
  • Patent number: 6787879
    Abstract: According to a disclosed embodiment, a gas is supplied at a certain partial pressure for a chemical reaction with a top surface of a base in a transistor. The top surface of the base is heated to a certain temperature to promote the chemical reaction. For example, the gas can be oxygen, the base can be an epitaxial single crystal silicon-germanium base of a heterojunction bipolar transistor (“HBT”), and the chemical reaction can be oxidation of the silicon in the top surface of the silicon-germanium base. In one embodiment of the invention, the partial pressure of oxygen is maintained at 0.1 atmosphere and the top surface of the base is heated using rapid thermal processing (“RTP”) to a temperature of 500° C. The chemical reaction forms a dielectric layer on the top surface of the base. For example, using oxygen as stated above, a dielectric layer of silicon oxide (“interfacial oxide”) is formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2004
    Assignee: Newport Fab, LLC
    Inventors: Pankaj N. Joshi, Klaus F. Schuegraf
  • Patent number: 6780710
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a mask ROM for storing quaternary data enables short turn around time, makes refining cell sizes simple, and enables stable reading of data. Gaps are formed between word lines in the memory cell transistors and two diffusion areas. Impurities are doped into these gaps in accordance with quaternary write data when data is written. A current runs between these diffusion areas only when one of these two areas into which impurities have been doped is used as a drain. Accordingly, quaternary data can be read by a first reading when the first diffusion area is a source and the other diffusion area is a drain, and by reading a second reading when the first diffusion area is used as a drain and the other diffusion area as a source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2004
    Assignee: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Noboru Egawa, Hitoshi Kokubun
  • Patent number: 6777780
    Abstract: The invention relates to a trench bipolar transistor structure, having a base 7, emitter 9 and collector 4, the latter being divided into a higher doped region 3 and a lower doped drift region 5. An insulated gate 11 is provided to deplete the drift region 5 when the transistor is switched off. The gate 11 and/or doping levels in the drift region 5 are arranged to provide a substantially uniform electric field in the drift region in this state, to minimise breakdown. In particular, the gate 11 may be seminsulating and a voltage applied along the gate between connections 21,23.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2004
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventors: Raymond J. E. Hueting, Jan W. Slotboom, Petrus H. C. Magnee
  • Patent number: 6770953
    Abstract: A bipolar transistor is provided in which the product of base-collector capacitance and collector resistance can be reduced through a layout optimization, which leads to an improvement of the critical transistor parameters. The bipolar transistor has an emitter formed from a plurality of emitter elements, a plurality of base contacts and a plurality of collector contacts, these elements being provided in a specific arrangement with respect to one another for the formation of the transistor layout. The invention provides for the emitter to have at least one closed emitter configuration, the at least one emitter configuration bounding at least one emitter inner space, which can in turn be divided into a plurality of partial spaces. At least one of the base contacts is arranged in the emitter inner space, while at least one other base contact and the collector contacts are arranged outside the emitter configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2004
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Josef Boeck, Klaus Aufinger, Markus Zeiler
  • Patent number: 6764918
    Abstract: A structure and method of making an NPN heterojunction bipolar transistor (100) includes a semiconductor substrate (11) with a first region (82) containing a dopant (86) for forming a base region of the transistor. A second region (84) adjacent to the first region is used to form an emitter region of the transistor. An interstitial trapping material (81) reduces diffusion of dopants in the base region during subsequent thermal processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2004
    Assignee: Semiconductor Components Industries, L.L.C.
    Inventor: Gary H. Loechelt
  • Patent number: 6759674
    Abstract: According to one exemplary embodiment, a heterojunction bipolar transistor comprises a base having a concentration of a first material at a first depth, where the first material impedes the diffusion of a base dopant. The first material also causes a change in band gap at the first depth in the base. According to this exemplary embodiment, the base further includes a concentration of a second material, where the concentration of second material increases at the first depth so as to counteract the change in band gap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2004
    Assignee: Newport Fab, LLC
    Inventors: Greg D. U'Ren, Klaus F. Schuegraf, Marco Racanelli
  • Patent number: 6759694
    Abstract: A phototransistor structure is disclosed. A sidewall is grown on the collector side and under the base. The surface of the sidewall is formed with a sidewall contact. When the contact is connected to an external voltage, the holes accumulated at the junction of the base and emitter can be quickly removed. This solves the problem in the prior art that using a bias between the base and the emitter to remove holes usually results in a large dark current (bias current), power consumption, and diminishing optoelectronic conversion gain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2004
    Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
    Inventors: Yu-Min Hsu, Jin-Wei Shi, Zing-Way Pei, Fon Yuan, Chee-Wee Liu
  • Patent number: 6743662
    Abstract: An RF semiconductor device is fabricated from a starting substrate comprising a polysilicon handle wafer, a buried oxide layer over the polysilicon handle wafer, and a silicon layer over the oxide layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2004
    Assignee: Honeywell International, Inc.
    Inventors: Mohammed A. Fathimulla, Thomas Keyser
  • Patent number: 6740914
    Abstract: A field effect transistor (FET) is disclosed that includes a heat spreader adapted to reduce the thermal resistance and channel operating temperature of a field effect transistor used in a circuit block susceptible to self-heating effects. In one embodiment, regulatory circuit blocks of an integrated circuit, such as phase locked loops, utilize the FET to improve the characteristics of a regulatory output required by other circuit blocks, such as digital logic circuits. In one embodiment the FET is a silicon-on-insulator structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2004
    Assignee: Fujistu Limited
    Inventor: Robert P. Masleid
  • Patent number: 6734476
    Abstract: A power semiconductor device includes a substrate of first conductivity having a dopant concentration of a first level. The substrate is a group III-V compound material. A transitional layer of first conductivity is epitaxially grown over the substrate. The transitional layer has a dopant concentration of a second level and is a group III-V compound material. An epitaxial layer of first conductivity is grown over the transitional layer and has a dopant concentration of a third level. Electrical currents flow through the transitional and epitaxial layers when the device is operating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2004
    Assignee: Ixys Corporation
    Inventors: Stefan Moessner, Markus Weyers
  • Patent number: 6699741
    Abstract: A high frequency bipolar transistor that has a silicon germanium intrinsic base region is formed in a semiconductor fabrication process that forms the extrinsic base regions after the intrinsic base region has been formed. The extrinsic base regions are epitaxially grown single crystal silicon that is doped during the growth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2004
    Assignee: National Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Alexei Sadovnikov, Christopher John Knorr
  • Patent number: 6674150
    Abstract: A heterojunction bipolar transistor is fabricated by stacking a Si collector layer, a SiGeC base layer and a Si emitter layer in this order. By making the amount of a lattice strain in the SiGeC base layer on the Si collector layer 1.0% or less, the band gap can be narrower than the band gap of the conventional practical SiGe (the Ge content is about 10%), and good crystalline can be maintained after a heat treatment. As a result, a narrow band gap base with no practical inconvenience can be realized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Takagi, Koichiro Yuki, Kenji Toyoda, Yoshihiko Kanzawa
  • Patent number: 6674148
    Abstract: A method for adjusting the gain or the sensitivity of a lateral component formed in the front surface of a semiconductor wafer, having a first conductivity type, includes not doping or overdoping, according to the first conductivity type, the back surface when it is desired to reduce the gain or sensitivity of the lateral component, and doping according to the second conductivity type, the back surface, when the gain or the sensitivity of the lateral component is to be increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: SGS-Thomson Microelectronics S.A.
    Inventors: Eric Bernier, Jean-Michel Simonnet
  • Patent number: 6657262
    Abstract: An electronic device, integrated monolithically in a semiconductor substrate and comprising a bipolar transistor connected in series to at least one MOS transistor, the bipolar transistor having a base region that includes a first buried region and a first diffused region extending continuously from the substrate surface down to the buried region, and the diffused region is bordered by an isolation trench region extending in the buried region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.
    Inventor: Davide Patti
  • Patent number: 6657279
    Abstract: The invention relates to a process for making a lateral PNP bipolar electronic device integrated monolithically on a semiconductor substrate together with other bipolar devices of the NPN type, said device being incorporated to an electrically insulated multilayer structure. The device includes a semiconductor substrate doped with impurities of the P type; a first buried layer doped with impurities of the N type to form a base region; and a second layer, overlying the first and having conductivity of the N type, to form an active area with opposite collector and emitter regions being formed in said active area and separated by a base channel region. The width of the base channel region is defined essentially by a contact opening formed above an oxide layer deposited over the base channel region. Advantageously, the contact opening is formed by shifting an emitter mask.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.
    Inventors: Angelo Pinto, Carlo Alemanni
  • Patent number: 6656812
    Abstract: A vertical bipolar transistor includes a semiconductor substrate, an extrinsic collector layer in the semiconductor substrate, an intrinsic collector on the extrinsic collector, a lateral isolating region surrounding an upper part of the intrinsic collector, an offset extrinsic collector well, a base including a semiconductor region above the intrinsic collector and above the lateral isolating region including at least one silicon layer, and a doped emitter surrounded by the base. The doped emitter may include first and second parts. The first part may be formed from single-crystal silicon and in direct contact with the upper surface of the semiconductor region in a predetermined window in the upper surface above the intrinsic collector. The second part may be formed from polycrystalline silicon. The two parts of the emitter may be separated by a separating oxide layer spaced apart from the emitter-base junction of the transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics SA
    Inventors: Michel Marty, Didier Dutartre, Alain Chantre, Sébastien Jouan, Pierre Llinares
  • Patent number: 6653708
    Abstract: A junction isolated Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) transistor device includes a substrate of a first conductivity type and first and second buried layers formed within the substrate and having a second conductivity type opposite from the first conductivity type. First and second well regions of respective first and second conductivity are formed above respective first and second buried layers. An NMOS transistor and PMOS transistor are formed in the respective first and second well regions. The buried layer of the NMOS transistor is at −V (typically ground) and the buried layer of the PMOS transistor is biased at a positive supply voltage and spaced sufficiently from the NMOS transistor to improve single event effects occurrence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2003
    Assignee: Intersil Americas Inc.
    Inventor: Brent R. Doyle
  • Patent number: 6627972
    Abstract: The invention relates to a vertical bipolar transistor and a method for the production thereof. The aim of the invention is to produce a vertical bipolar transistor and to disclose a method for the production thereof, whereby excellent high frequency properties can be obtained for said transistor using the simplest possible production technology involving an implanted epitaxy-free collector and only one polysilicon layer spread over a large surface and which can be easily integrated into a conventional mainstream CMOS process without epitaxially produced trough areas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2003
    Assignee: Institut fuer Halbleiterphysik Frankfurt (Oder) GmbH
    Inventors: Karl-Ernst Ehwald, Dieter Knoll, Bernd Heinemann
  • Publication number: 20030178701
    Abstract: In a semiconductor substrate having a top surface and a PN junction between a first region of one conductivity type formed by masked diffusion into a semiconductor from the surface and a second region of opposite conductivity type formed into a first portion of the first region from the surface, the improvement comprises one edge of the first region being spaced from the edge of the second region such that the doping concentration of the first region at the surface intersection of the four corners of the junction between the first and second regions is lower than it is at some other location in the region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2003
    Publication date: September 25, 2003
    Applicant: Intersil Americas Inc.
    Inventor: James D. Beasom
  • Patent number: 6586782
    Abstract: Various embodiments of a novel transistor layout having improved electrical and heat dissipation characteristics are disclosed. Several embodiments include various intrinsic components contoured to the shape of the emitter. The various intrinsic components may include a collector layer center portion, a collector contact, a base pedestal, and/or a base contact. Additional embodiments include improved heat dissipation within single transistors. Still further embodiments include improved heat dissipation across a plurality of transistors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2003
    Assignee: Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
    Inventor: Hugh J. Finlay
  • Patent number: 6579773
    Abstract: In the fabrication of a transistor device, particularly a low-voltage high-frequency transistor for use in mobile telecommunications, a method for improving the transistor performance and the high-frequency characteristics of the device is described. The method includes providing a semiconductor substrate (1) with an n-doped collector layer (5) surrounded by isolation areas (4), implanting antimony ions into the collector layer such that a thin highly n-doped layer (18) is formed in the uppermost portion of the collector layer, and forming a base on top of said thin highly n-doped layer (18).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2003
    Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)
    Inventors: Hans Norström, Torkel Arnborg, Ted Johansson
  • Patent number: 6573539
    Abstract: A silicon-germanium base capable of use in heterojunction bipolar transistor includes a silicon substrate having a mesa surrounded by a trench. The mesa has a top surface and a silicon-germanium layer is disposed only on the top surface of the mesa. In addition, a heterojunction bipolar transistor includes the silicon-germanium base as described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2003
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Feng-Yi Huang
  • Patent number: 6570242
    Abstract: A transistor that includes a doped buried region 320 within a semiconductor body 300, 340. The doped buried region includes a portion having a first thickness 348 and a second thickness, the first thickness being less than the second thickness. In one embodiment the first thickness is about half the second thickness. The transistor also includes a collector region 342 over the buried region, a base region 396 within the collector region, and an emitter region 422 within the base region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2003
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Frank S. Johnson
  • Publication number: 20030094673
    Abstract: A semiconductor device and a method of fabricating a semiconductor device having multiple subcollectors which are formed in a common wafer, in order to provide multiple structures having different characteristic and frequency response are provided. The subcollectors may be provided using different doses or different material implants resulting in devices having different optimum unity current gain cutoff frequency (fT) and breakdown voltage (BVCEO and BVCBO) on a common wafer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2001
    Publication date: May 22, 2003
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: James S. Dunn, Louis D. Lanzerotti, Steven H. Voldman
  • Patent number: 6563147
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a hetero-junction bipolar transistor (HBT) which is suitable for high frequency operation. In the method, a first conductive layer and a first insulation layer are formed on a semiconductor substrate in an overlapping manner. A first mask is patterned on the first insulation layer. An impurity of a first conductive type is implanted into the first insulating layer using the first mask. The first mask is scaled down before a second mask is formed so as to cover the entire surface of the first insulating layer, with exception of an area covered by the scaled-down first mask. After elimination of the first mask, an opening is formed in the first insulating layer, by means of removal of the area coated with the scaled down first mask. An impurity of second conductivity type is introduced into an exposed portion of the first conductive layer within the opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2003
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tatsuhiko Ikeda
  • Patent number: 6555894
    Abstract: In a semiconductor substrate having a top surface and a PN junction between a first region of one conductivity type formed by masked diffusion into a semiconductor from the surface and a second region of opposite conductivity type formed into a first portion of the first region from the surface, the improvement comprises one edge of the first region being spaced from the edge of the second region such that the doping concentration of the first region at the surface intersection of the four corners of the junction between the first and second regions is lower than it is at some other location in the region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2003
    Assignee: Intersil Americas Inc.
    Inventor: James D. Beasom
  • Patent number: 6552429
    Abstract: A wiring pattern (26) or (27) and conductor wires (W1, W2) or (W3, W4) not relaying a wiring pattern (22) or (23) fed with an emitter current connect emitter electrodes of a plurality of IGBTs (3) connected in parallel with each other. Thus, oscillation appearing on the potential of a control electrode of the plurality of IGBTs (3) is suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kiyoshi Arai, Nobuhisa Honda, Hideo Matsumoto