Abstract: A chip is provided which includes a back-end-of-line (“BEOL”) interconnect structure. The BEOL interconnect structure includes a plurality of interlevel dielectric (“ILD”) layers which include a dielectric material curable by ultraviolet (“UV”) radiation. A plurality of metal interconnect wiring layers are embedded in the plurality of ILD layers. Dielectric barrier layers cover the plurality of metal interconnect wiring layers, the dielectric barrier layers being adapted to reduce diffusion of materials between the metal interconnect wiring layers and the ILD layers. One of more of the dielectric barrier layers is adapted to retain compressive stress while withstanding UV radiation sufficient to cure the dielectric material of the ILD layers, making the BEOL structure better capable of avoiding deformation due to thermal and/or mechanical stress.

Abstract: A structure and method for fabricating a transistor structure is provided. The method comprises the steps of: (a) providing a substrate including a semiconductor-on-insulator (“SOI”) layer separated from a bulk region of the substrate by a buried dielectric layer. (b) first implanting the SOI layer to achieve a predetermined dopant concentration at an interface of the SOI layer to the buried dielectric layer. and (c) second implanting said SOI layer to achieve predetermined dopant concentrations in a polycrystalline semiconductor gate conductor (“poly gate”) and in source and drain regions disposed adjacent to the poly gate, wherein a maximum depth of the first implanting is greater than a maximum depth of the second implanting.

Abstract: A gate conductor is provided for a transistor pair including an n-type field effect transistor (“NFET”) having an NFET active semiconductor region and a p-type field effect transistor (“PFET”) having a PFET active semiconductor region, where the NFET and PFET active semiconductor regions are separated by an isolation region. An NFET gate extends in a first direction over the NFET active semiconductor region. A PFET gate extends in the first direction over the PFET active semiconductor region. A diffusion barrier is sandwiched between the NFET gate and the PFET gate. A continuous layer extends continuously in the first direction over the NFET gate and the PFET gate. The continuous layer contacts top surfaces of the NFET gate and the PFET gate and the continuous layer includes at least one of a semiconductor, a metal or a conductive compound including a metal.

Abstract: A static random access memory (SRAM) is provided which includes a plurality of columns and a plurality of cells arranged therein. A voltage control circuit can be used to temporarily reduce a voltage at which power is supplied to cells belonging to a column selected for a write operation. The voltage control circuit may include a first p-type field effect transistor (PFET) and a second PFET. The first PFET may have a conduction path connected between a power supply and the cells belonging to the selected column. The second PFET may have a conduction path connected between the cells belonging to the selected column and ground. Such voltage control circuit may operate in a self-limited manner that avoids overshooting the reduced voltage level. In a variation thereof, a voltage control circuit having first and second NFETs (n-type field effect transistors) can be used to temporarily raise the voltage of a low voltage reference provided to cells of the SRAM.

Abstract: A chip includes a CMOS structure having a bulk device disposed in a first region of a semiconductor substrate in conductive communication with an underlying bulk region of the substrate, the first region and the bulk region having a first crystal orientation. A SOI device is disposed in a semiconductor-on-insulator (“SOI”) layer separated from the bulk region of the substrate by a buried dielectric layer, the SOI layer having a different crystal orientation from the first crystal orientation. In one example, the bulk device includes a p-type field effect transistor (“PFET”) and the SOI device includes an n-type field effect transistor (“NFET”) device. Alternatively, the bulk device can include an NFET and the SOI device can include a PFET. When the SOI device has a gate conductor in conductive communication with a gate conductor of the bulk device, charging damage can occur to the SOI device, except for the presence of diodes in reverse-biased conductive communication with the bulk region.

Abstract: A field effect transistor (“FET”) is formed to include a stress in a channel region of an active semiconductor region of an SOI substrate. A gate is formed to overlie the active semiconductor region, after which a sacrificial stressed layer is formed which overlies the gate and the active semiconductor region. Then, the SOI substrate is heated to cause a flowable dielectric material in a buried dielectric layer of the SOI substrate to soften and reflow. As a result of the reflowing, the sacrificial stressed layer induces stress in a channel region of the active semiconductor region underlying the gate. A source region and a drain region are formed in the active semiconductor region, desirably after removing the sacrificial stressed layer.

Abstract: A bipolar transistor is provided which includes a collector region, an intrinsic base region overlying the collector region and an emitter region overlying the intrinsic base region. An extrinsic base overlies a portion of the intrinsic base region. An epitaxial spacer layer is disposed between the collector region and the intrinsic base region in locations not underlying the emitter region.

Abstract: A chip is provided which includes an active semiconductor region and a field effect transistor (“FET”) having a channel region, a source region and a drain region all disposed within the active semiconductor region. The FET has a longitudinal direction in a direction of a length of the channel region, and a transverse direction in a direction of a width of the channel region. A buried dielectric stressor element has a horizontally extending upper surface at a first depth below a major surface of a portion of the active semiconductor region, such as an east portion of the active semiconductor region. A surface dielectric stressor element is disposed laterally adjacent to the active semiconductor region at the major surface of the active semiconductor region. The surface dielectric stressor element extends from the major surface to a second depth not substantially greater than the first depth.

Abstract: A static random access memory (“SRAM”) is provided which includes a plurality of SRAM cells arranged in an array having a plurality of portions. The SRAM includes a plurality of voltage control circuits corresponding to respective ones of the plurality of portions of the array. Each of the plurality of voltage control circuits is coupled to an output of a power supply, each voltage control circuit having a function to temporarily reduce a voltage provided to power supply inputs of a plurality of SRAM cells that belong to a selected one of the plurality of portions of the SRAM. The power supply voltage to the selected portion is reduced during a write operation in which a bit is written to one of the SRAM cells belonging to the selected portion.

Abstract: A method is provided for fabricating a bipolar transistor that includes growing an epitaxial layer onto an underlaying region having a low dopant concentration and a trench isolation region defining the edges of an active region layer, implanting a portion of the epitaxial layer through a mask to define a collector region having a relatively high dopant concentration, the collector region laterally adjoining a second region of the epitaxial layer having the low dopant concentration; forming an intrinsic base layer overlying the collector region and the second region, the intrinsic base layer including an epitaxial region in conductive communication with the collector region; forming a low-capacitance region laterally separated from the collector region by the second region, the low-capacitance region including a dielectric region disposed in an undercut directly underlying the intrinsic base layer; and forming an emitter layer overlying the intrinsic base layer.

Abstract: A vertical field effect transistor (“FET”) is provided which includes a transistor body region and source and drain regions disposed in a single-crystal semiconductor-on-insulator (“SOI”) region of a substrate adjacent a sidewall of a trench. The substrate includes a buried insulator layer underlying the SOI region and a bulk region underlying the buried insulator layer. A buried strap conductively connects the SOI region to a lower node disposed below the SOI region and a body contact extends from the transistor body region to the bulk region of the substrate, the body contact being insulated from the buried strap.

Abstract: A storage device comprising a modulation encoder and decoder, an error-correction encoder and decoder, and a metric computation module. The modulation encoder and decoder provide a modulation code for data stored on the storage device. The error-correction encoder and decoder provide an error-correcting code for data to be written on the storage device. The metric computation module is coupled with the modulation decoder to compute conditional probabilities using recovered read-back channel parameters of the storage device.

Abstract: A method is provided in which an n-type field effect transistor (NFET) and a p-type field effect transistor (PFET) each have a channel region disposed in a first single-crystal semiconductor region having a first composition. A stress is applied at a first magnitude to a channel region of the PFET but not at that magnitude to the channel region of the NFET. The stress is applied by a single-crystal semiconductor layer having a second composition such that the single-crystal semiconductor layer is lattice-mismatched to the first region. The semiconductor layer is formed over the source and drain regions and optionally over the extension regions of the PFET at a first distance from the channel region of the PFET and is formed over the source and drain regions of the NFET at a second, greater distance from the channel region of the NFET, or the semiconductor layer having the second composition is not formed at all in the NFET.

Abstract: A data communication system includes a transmitter unit and a receiver unit. The transmission unit has a transmission characteristic that is adjustable in accordance with equalization information. The transmission unit is operable to transmit a predetermined signal and the receiver unit is operable to receive the predetermined signal. The receiver unit is further operable to generate the equalization information by examining the eye opening of the received signal, and to transmit the equalization information to the transmitter unit.

Abstract: A method is provided for preparing a substrate for photolithographic patterning. The method includes providing a substrate having at least an exposed rough surface layer including a polymeric material. The rough surface layer has surface features characterized by feature step height varying between about two percent and twenty percent of the minimum photolithographic half-pitch. A layer of photoresist material is then provided over the exposed rough surface layer and patterned.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed herein for determining optimum power level settings for a transmitter and receiver pair of a communication system having a plurality of transmitter and receiver pairs, as determined with respect to bit error rate. In the method disclosed herein, the power levels of a transmitter and a receiver pair coupled to communicate over a duplex communication link are set to initial values. The bit error rate is then determined over the link. Then, the power level of the transmitter, the receiver, or both, is altered, incrementally, and the effect upon the bit error rate is determined. When an improvement appears in the bit error rate at an altered power level, the power level of the transmitter, the receiver or both, are set to the altered power level at which the improvement is found.

Abstract: A data transmitter and transmitting method are provided in which an adaptive finite impulse response (FIR) driver has a plurality of taps to which coefficients having updateable values are applied. The FIR driver has a transfer function between an input stream of data bits and an output stream of data bits such that each data bit output from the FIR driver has an amplitude adjusted as a function of the values of a plurality of data bits of the input stream, and the values of the coefficients. The data transmitter includes a rewriteable non-volatile storage, operable to be rewritten with control information representing the values of the coefficients updated during operation of the FIR driver.

Abstract: A recovery circuit and a method for employing the same are provided. The recovery circuit has a current driver and, preferably two pass-gates, a first pass-gate connected in series to the current driver and a second pass-gate connected to a ground. The recovery circuit also has a recovery assembly or element and one or more contacts operatively connecting the recovery circuit to a wearout sensitive circuit or circuit element.

Abstract: In the course of forming a trench capacitor or similar structure, the sidewalls of an aperture in a substrate are lined with a film stack containing a diffusion barrier; an upper portion of the outer layer is stripped, so that the upper and lower portions have different materials exposed; the lower portion of the film stack is stripped while the upper portion is protected by a hardmask layer; a diffusion step is performed in the lower portion while the upper portion is protected; and a selected material such as hemispherical grained silicon is deposited selectively on the lower portion while the exposed surface of the upper portion is a material on which the selected material forms poorly, so that the diffusing material penetrates and the selected material is formed only on the lower portion.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reducing data errors in a magneto-resistive random access memory (MRAM). According to the disclosed method, data bits and associated error correction code (ECC) check bits are stored into a storage area. Thereafter, the data bits and ECC check bits are read out and any errors are detected and corrected. A data refresh is then initiated based on a count and data bits and associated ECC check bits stored in the storage area are then refreshed by accessing the stored data bits and the associated ECC check bits, and ultimately by checking, correcting and restoring the data bits and the ECC check bits to the storage area.