Abstract: A method of forming a notched gate structure having substantially vertical sidewalls and a sub-0.05 &mgr;m electrical critical dimension is provided. The method includes forming a conductive layer on an insulating layer; forming a mask on the conductive layer so as to at least protect a portion of the conductive layer; anisotropically etching the conductive layer not protected by the mask so as to thin the conductive layer to a predetermined thickness and to form a conductive feature underlying the mask, the conductive feature having substantially vertical sidewalls; forming a passivating layer at least on the substantially vertical sidewalls; and isotropically etching remaining conductive layer not protected by the mask to remove the predetermined thickness thereby exposing a lower portion of said conductive feature not containing the passivating layer, while simultaneously removing notched regions in the lower portion of the conductive feature.

Abstract: The process rules for manufacturing semiconductor devices such as MOSFET's are modified to provide dual work-function doping following the customary gate sidewall oxidation step, greatly reducing thermal budget and boron penetration concerns. The concern of thermal budget is further significantly reduced by a device structure which allows a reduced gap aspect ratio while maintaining low sheet resistance values. A reduced gap aspect ratio also relaxes the need for highly reflowable dielectric materials and also facilitates the use of angled source-drain (S-D) and halo implants. Also provided is a novel structure and process for producing a MOSFET channel, lateral doping profile which suppresses short channel effects while providing low S-D junction capacitance and leakage, as well as immunity to hot-carrier effects. This also affords the potential for reduction in the contact stud-to-gate conductor capacitance, because borderless contacts can be formed with an oxide gate sidewall spacer.

Abstract: A thermal treatment furnace is described in which gas leakage does not occur during thermal treatment at a high temperature. A thermal treatment furnace having a reaction tube is provided with an opening at one end and a flange surrounding the opening and covered by a cap abutting on the reaction tube at the flange to cover the opening. The flange is provided with a feature which introduces an inert gas to provide back pressure into the joint portion between the flange and the cap, thus preventing reaction gas from leaking to the outside of the furnace through the gap between the flange and the cap. The flange may be further modified to discharge gas under back pressure from between the joint surfaces of the flange and the cap to prevent the inert gas from affecting the reaction in the tube.

Abstract: A memory structure comprises a plurality of banks (each of the banks including a plurality of blocks) a plurality of timing critical address lines connected to all of the blocks in respective ones of the banks (a number of the critical address lines being equal to a number of the banks), and a plurality of dedicated address lines connected to respective ones of the blocks.

Abstract: A process for forming a buried strap self-aligned to a deep storage trench. Spacers are formed on walls of a recess over a filled deep trench capacitor and a substrate. A plug is formed in a region between the spacers. Photoresist is deposited over the spacers, the plug, and material surrounding the spacers of the plug. The photoresist is patterned, thereby exposing portions of the plug, the spacers, and the surrounding material. The spacers in the surrounding material not covered by the photoresist are selectively etched, leaving a remaining portion of the spacers. The substrate and the portion of the filled deep trench exposed by the spacer removal are selectively etched. An isolation region is formed in a space created by etching of the spacers, surrounding material, substrate, and filled deep trench.

Abstract: A integrated circuit device and method for manufacturing an integrated circuit device includes forming a patterned gate stack, adjacent a storage device, to include a storage node diffusion region adjacent the storage device and a bitline contact diffusion region opposite the storage node diffusion region, implanting an impurity in the storage node diffusion region and the bitline contact diffusion region, forming an insulator layer over the patterned gate stack, removing a portion of the insulator layer from the bitline contact diffusion region to form sidewall spacers along a portion of the patterned gate stack adjacent the bitline contact diffusion region, implanting a halo implant into the bitline contact diffusion region, wherein the insulator layer is free from blocking the halo implant from the second diffusion region and annealing the integrated circuit device to drive the halo implant ahead of the impurity.

Abstract: The present invention relates generally to a new apparatus and method for introducing thermal paste into semiconductor packages. More particularly, the invention encompasses an apparatus and a method that uses at least one preform of thermal paste for the cooling of at least one chip in a sealed semiconductor package. The thermal paste preform is subcooled, and is transferred onto a module component from a separable transfer sheet, or is placed onto the module component using an attached and/or imbedded mesh. The preform of thermal paste may be of simple or complex shape, and enables cooling of one or more chips in a module.

Abstract: A process of forming a hybrid memory cell which is scalable to a minimum feature size, F, of about 60 nm at an operating voltage of Vblh of about 1.5 V and substantially free of floating-well effects.

Abstract: In a method for forming an array of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cells, each DRAM cell having one or more field effect transistors (FETs) and a deep trench capacitor, first, a substrate is prepared. Line type active areas (AAs) are patterned on the substrate to thereby provide AA lines (AALs). Next, deep trench capacitors (DTCs) are fabricated in an AAL in a predetermined configuration to thereby define deep trench areas (DTAs) for the DTCs, each DTC having a storage node, a collar insulator and a buried strap. In subsequent step, a node isolation area (NIA) is defined to isolate a storage node of a DTC and a storage node of its adjacent DTC and then a trench isolation area (TIA) for each of the DRAM cell is defined. Further, one or more FETs are fabricated in each AA to thereby form the array of DRAM cells, wherein a conductive path is formed from an electrode of one of the FETs to the buried strap of a corresponding DTC.

Abstract: An ultra-scalable hybrid memory cell having a low junction leakage and a process of fabricating the same are provided. The ultra-scalable hybrid memory cell contains a conductive connection to the body region therefore avoiding isolation of the P-well due to cut-off by the buried strap outdiffusion region. The ultra-scalable hybrid memory cell avoids the above by using a shallower than normal isolation region that allows the P-well to remain connected to the body of the memory cell.

Abstract: A semiconductor structure is provided along with a corresponding method of producing such a structure. The method and structure may include providing a semiconductor substrate, a gate insulator over the semiconductor substrate, a conductor comprising intrinsic polysilicon over the gate insulator, a silicide layer over the polysilicon and an insulating cap over the silicide layer. Insulating spacers may be provided along sides of the silicide layer and the insulating cap. The polysilicon may be doped with a first conductive type dopant. The first conductive type dopant may be spread over the polysilicon to form a doped polysilicon layer. A gate sidewall layer may be formed on sides of the doped polysilicon layer. A bird's beak of the gate sidewall layer may also be formed in a corner of the polysilicon.

Abstract: A dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cell comprising a deep trench storage capacitor having an active transistor device partially disposed on a side wall of the trench. The side wall is aligned to a first crystallographic plane having a crystallographic orientation along a single crystal axis. A process for manufacturing such a DRAM cell comprises: (a) forming a deep trench in a substrate, (b) forming a faceted crystal region along the trench side wall having a single crystallographic orientation, and (c) forming a transistor device partially disposed on the faceted crystal region in the side wall. The faceted crystal region may be formed by growing an oxide collar, such as by local thermal oxidation under oxidation conditions selected to promote a higher oxidation rate along a first family of crystallographic axes than along a second family of crystallographic axes.

Abstract: A method and structure for forming an integrated circuit memory device includes forming a trench conductor in a trench, forming an isolation collar along a perimeter of an upper portion of the trench conductor, forming supporting spacers above the isolation collar, forming a sacrificial layer between the supporting spacers along an upper surface of the trench conductor, forming an insulator above the sacrificial layer, forming a gate conductor above the insulator, removing the sacrificial layer to form a gap between the insulator and the trench conductor, wherein the supporting spacers maintain a relative position of the gate conductor, the insulator and the trench conductor and forming a conductive strap in the gap.

Abstract: APPARATUS FOR CALIBRATING the position of the support platform of a wafer cassette holder with respect to a robot blade. The apparatus comprises a housing including an open front portion which permits the convenient extending of the robot blade into the housing when the apparatus is placed on the support platform. The housing further comprising detecting and measuring means for detecting the presence underneath of a wafer held by the extended robot blade, and measuring the spacing between the detecting and measuring means and the wafer; and a display panel coupled to the detecting and measuring means for displaying spacing information which indicates to a user the moment when the spacing between the wafer and the detecting and measuring means reaches at least one predetermined spacing value including a desired spacing value.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for removing flip chips with C4 joints mounted on a multi-chip module by applying a tensile force to one or more removal member bonded to the back of one or more flip chips during heating of the module to a temperature sufficient to cause the C4 joints to become molten. The tensile force can either be a compressed spring, or a bi-metallic member which is flat at room temperature and becomes curved when heated to such temperature, or a memory alloy whose original shape is curved and which is bent flat at room temperature but returns to its original curved shape when heated to such temperature. An adhesive is used to bond the removal member to the chip to be removed and is a low temperature, fast curing adhesive with high temperature tolerance after curing.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a process of fabricating semiconductor memory structures, particularly deep trench semiconductor memory devices wherein a temperature sensitive high dielectric constant material is incorporated into the storage node of the capacitor. Specifically, the present invention describes a process for forming deep trench storage capacitors after high temperature shallow trench isolation and gate conductor processing. This process allows for the incorporation of a temperature sensitive high dielectric constant material into the capacitor structure without causing decomposition of that material. Furthermore, the process of the present invention limits the extent of the buried-strap outdiffusion, thus improving the electrical characteristics of the array MOSFET.

Abstract: A structure and method for a capacitor-over-bitline integrated circuit device includes forming a device on a substrate, forming a capacitor contact electrically connected to the device, forming a bitline trench using the capacitor contact to align the bitline trench, forming insulating spacers in the bitline trench, forming a conductive bitline in the trench, the bitline being electrically connected to the device, forming an inter-layer dielectric over the bitline, and forming a capacitor above the inter-layer dielectric, such that the capacitor is electrically connected to the capacitor contact.

Abstract: According to the disclosed method, there is provided a structure consisting of a silicon substrate coated with a bottom thin SiO2 layer, a doped polysilicon layer, a refractory metal layer and a top Si3N4 capping layer. Said refractory metal and doped polysilicon layers will form a polycide layer under subsequent thermal treatments. First, a sacrificial layer of a dielectric material such as oxynitride is deposited onto the structure. Oxynitride is impervious to UV radiation and has excellent conformal properties. Then, a layer of a photoresist material is deposited onto the structure and patterned to form a mask. Now the dielectric and top Si3N4 layers are anisotropically etched using the photoresist mask. The mask is stripped and the refractory metal and doped polysilicon layers are anisotropically dry etched down to the SiO2 layer using the patterned dielectric layer as an in-situ hard mask.

Abstract: A system and method for considerable reduction of power consumption in memory circuits implementing Vbb (array body bias) and Vwl (negative word line) voltage generators. The system comprises switching off the negative WL generator during sleep or standby mode, so that no power is consumed. A relaxed refresh operation is carried out and the negative WL is powered by the Vbb generator. The noise coupled to the negative WL supply from BL swing is reduced due to the joint Vbb-Vwl decoupling scheme. In the active mode, the Vbb and Vneg are separated to avoid any cross-over noise and to maintain design flexibility. During power-on period, the ramp-up rate of Vbb level is improved by the Vwl generator.

Abstract: A memory device formed in a substrate having a trench with side walls formed in the substrate. The device includes a bit line conductor and a word line conductor. A signal storage node has a first electrode, a second electrode formed within the trench, and a node dielectric formed between the first and second electrodes. A signal transfer device has: (i) an annular signal transfer region with an outer surface adjacent the side walls of the trench, an inner surface, a first end, and a second end; (ii) a first diffusion region coupling the first end of the signal transfer region to the second electrode of the signal storage node; (iii) a second diffusion region coupling the second end of the signal transfer region to the bit line conductor; (iv) a gate insulator coating the inner surface of the signal transfer region; and (v) a gate conductor coating the gate insulator and coupled to the word line.