Patents Represented by Law Firm Wells, St. John & Robert
  • Patent number: 6306705
    Abstract: The invention includes a number of methods and structures pertaining to semiconductor circuit technology, including: methods of forming DRAM memory cell constructions; methods of forming capacitor constructions; DRAM memory cell constructions; capacitor constructions; and monolithic integrated circuitry. The invention includes a method of forming a capacitor comprising the following steps: a) forming a mass of silicon material over a node location, the mass comprising exposed doped silicon and exposed undoped silicon; b) substantially selectively forming rugged polysilicon from the exposed undoped silicon and not from the exposed doped silicon; and c) forming a capacitor dielectric layer and a complementary capacitor plate proximate the rugged polysilicon and doped silicon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Kunal R. Parekh, John K. Zahurak, Phillip G. Wald
  • Patent number: 6307847
    Abstract: A method of establishing wireless communications between an interrogator and individual ones of multiple wireless identification devices, the method comprising utilizing a tree search method to establish communications without collision between the interrogator and individual ones of the multiple wireless identification devices, a search tree being defined for the tree search method, the tree having multiple levels respectively representing subgroups of the multiple wireless identification devices, the method further comprising starting the tree search at a selectable level of the search tree.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Clifton W. Wood, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6306009
    Abstract: A system for polishing a semiconductor wafer, the system comprising a wafer polishing assembly for polishing a face of a semiconductor wafer at a polishing rate and a polishing uniformity, the wafer polishing assembly including a platen subassembly defining a polishing area, and a polishing head selectively supporting a semiconductor wafer and holding a face of the semiconductor wafer in contact with the platen subassembly to polish the wafer face; and a controller selectively adjusting one of a plurality of adjustable polishing parameters during polishing of the wafer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Gurtej S. Sandhu, Trung Tri Doan
  • Patent number: 6306726
    Abstract: In one aspect, the invention encompasses a LOCOS process. A pad oxide layer is provided over a silicon-comprising substrate. A silicon nitride layer is provided over the pad oxide layer and patterned with the pad oxide layer to form masking blocks. The patterning exposes portions of the silicon-comprising substrate between the masking blocks. The masking blocks comprise sidewalls. Polysilicon is formed along the sidewalls of the masking blocks. Subsequently, the silicon-comprising substrate and polysilicon are oxidized to form field oxide regions proximate the masking blocks. In another aspect, the invention encompasses a semiconductive material structure. Such structure includes a semiconductive material substrate and at least one composite block over the semiconductive material substrate. The composite block comprises a layer of silicon dioxide and a layer of silicon nitride over the layer of silicon dioxide. The silicon nitride and silicon dioxide have coextensive opposing sidewalls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Siang Ping Kwok
  • Patent number: 6306774
    Abstract: In one aspect, the invention encompasses a semiconductor processing method comprising contacting a surface with a liquid solution comprising at least one fluorine-containing species and a temperature of at least about 40° C. In another aspect, the invention encompasses a method of passivating a silicon-comprising layer comprising contacting the layer with a liquid solution comprising hydrogen fluoride and a temperature of at least about 40° C. In yet another aspect, the invention encompasses a method of forming hemispherical grain polysilicon comprising: a) forming a layer comprising substantially amorphous silicon over a substrate; b) contacting the layer comprising substantially amorphous silicon with a liquid solution comprising fluorine-containing species and a temperature of at least about 40° C.; c) seeding the layer comprising substantially amorphous silicon; and d) annealing the seeded layer to convert at least a portion of the seeded layer to hemispherical grain polysilicon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Er-Xuan Ping, Li Li
  • Patent number: 6306775
    Abstract: The invention includes methods of selectively etching polysilicon relative to at least one of deposited oxide, thermally grown oxide and nitride, and methods of selectively etching polysilicon relative to BPSG. In one implementation, a method of selectively etching polysilicon relative to at least one of deposited oxide, thermally grown oxide and nitride, includes forming a substrate to have a layer comprising polysilicon received over at least one layer comprising at least one of deposited oxide, thermally grown oxide, and nitride. The polysilicon is exposed to an aqueous solution comprising NH4F, an oxidizer, CH3COOH, TMAH, and HF under conditions effective to selectively etch at least a portion of the polysilicon comprising layer relative to an ultimately exposed portion of the at least one of deposited oxide, thermally grown oxide, and nitride.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Andrew Li
  • Patent number: 6307226
    Abstract: A method for forming a contact opening is described and which includes providing a node location to which electrical connection is to be made; forming a conductive line adjacent the node location, the conductive line having a conductive top and sidewall surfaces; forming electrically insulative oxide in covering relation relative to the top surface of the conductive line; forming electrically insulative nitride sidewall spacers over the conductive sidewall surfaces, the nitride sidewall spacers projecting outwardly of the conductive line top conductive surface, the electrically insulative oxide positioned between the nitride sidewall spacers; forming an electrically insulative layer outwardly of the conductive line, and the node location; and etching a contact opening to the node location or the top surface through the electrically insulative layer substantially selective relative to the nitride sidewall spacers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Charles H. Dennison
  • Patent number: 6307848
    Abstract: A method of establishing wireless communications between an interrogator and individual ones of multiple wireless identification devices, the method comprising utilizing a tree search method to establish communications without collision between the interrogator and individual ones of the multiple wireless identification devices, a search tree being defined for the tree search method, the tree having multiple levels representing subgroups of the multiple wireless identification devices, the number of devices in a subgroup in one level being half of the number of devices in the next higher level, the tree search method employing level skipping wherein at least one level of the tree is skipped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Clifton W. Wood, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6306696
    Abstract: An electrical interconnection method includes: a) providing two conductive layers separated by an insulating material on a semiconductor wafer; b) etching the conductive layers and insulating material to define and outwardly expose a sidewall of each conductive layer; c) depositing an electrically conductive material over the etched conductive layers and their respective sidewalls; and d) anisotropically a etching the conductive material to define an electrically conductive sidewall link electrically interconnecting the two conductive layers. Such is utilizable to make thin film transistors and other circuitry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Charles H. Dennison, Monte Manning
  • Patent number: 6306766
    Abstract: A method of forming a crystalline phase material includes, a) providing a stress inducing material within or operatively adjacent a crystalline material of a first crystalline phase; and b) annealing the crystalline material of the first crystalline phase under conditions effective to transform it to a second crystalline phase. The stress inducing material preferably induces compressive stress within the first crystalline phase during the anneal to the second crystalline phase to lower the required activation energy to produce a more dense second crystalline phase. Example compressive stress inducing layers include SiO2 and Si3N4, while example stress inducing materials for providing into layers are Ge, W and Co. Where the compressive stress inducing material is provided on the same side of a wafer over which the crystalline phase material is provided, it is provided to have a thermal coefficient of expansion which is less than the first phase crystalline material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Gurtej S. Sandhu, Chris Hill, Sujit Sharan
  • Patent number: 6307238
    Abstract: Methods of forming field effect transistors and resultant field effect transistor circuitry are described. In one embodiment, a semiconductive substrate includes a field effect transistor having a body. A first resistive element is received by the substrate and connected between the transistor's gate and the body. A second resistive element is received by the substrate and connected between the body and a reference voltage node. The first and second resistive elements form a voltage divider which is configured to selectively change threshold voltages of the field effect transistor with state changes in the gate voltage. In a preferred embodiment, first and second diode assemblies are positioned over the substrate and connected between the gate and body, and the body and a reference voltage node to provide the voltage divider.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Fernando Gonzalez, Chandra Mouli
  • Patent number: 6304838
    Abstract: The present invention includes methods of increasing the power handling capability of a power line. One method of the present invention includes providing a conductor configured to transmit energy intermediate plural locations; supporting the conductor at a plurality of positions intermediate the locations, the supporting at a plurality of positions defining a plurality of spans of the conductor; creating a model of the conductor; identifying a critical span; altering the modelled conductor responsive to the identifying; and analyzing the modelled an conductor following the altering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: LineSoft Corporation
    Inventor: Fred A. Brown
  • Patent number: 6304560
    Abstract: The present invention provides methods of transmitting information within a personal handy-phone system wireless local loop and personal handy-phone system wireless local loops. One embodiment of a personal handy-phone system wireless local loop according to the present invention comprises: a base station; a repeater station configured to transmit a plurality of uplink radio signals to the base station and receive a plurality of downlink radio signals from the base station; and a portable station configured to transmit the downlink radio signals to the repeater station and receive the uplink radio signals from the repeater station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: VLSI Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Denis Archambaud, Patrick Feyfant, Philippe Gaglione, Varenka Martin, Oliver Weigelt, Laurent Winckel, Satoshi Yoshida
  • Patent number: 6302977
    Abstract: Described is a titanium sputtering target to provide improved step coverage and a method of making same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: Johnson Matthey Electronics, Inc.
    Inventor: Yinshi Liu
  • Patent number: 6303965
    Abstract: The invention encompasses resistors comprising a thin layer of dielectric material and methods of forming such resistors. The invention also encompasses integrated circuitry comprising such resistors, including SRAM circuitry, and encompasses methods of forming such integrated circuitry. In one aspect, the invention includes a resistor construction for electrically connecting a first node location to a second node location comprising: a) a first conductive layer in electrical connection with the first node location; b) a second conductive layer in electrical connection with the second node location; and c) a dielectric material intermediate the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer and having a thickness of from about 15 Angstroms to about 60 Angstroms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Klaus Florian Schuegraf
  • Patent number: 6304185
    Abstract: The invention encompasses a device for sensing living organisms. Such device comprises a loop of conductive material extending over a substrate, and an insulative protective material over the loop of conductive material. The device further comprises a circuit which includes the conductive material as a first circuit component and which further includes a transponder as a second circuit component. The transponder is configured to emit a first signal if the loop of conductive material is continuous, and a second signal if the loop of conductive material is broken. The invention also encompasses a device for sensing termites. Such device comprises at least two wooden blocks separated by a gap, and a loop of conductive material within the gap. The device further comprises an insulative protective material over the loop of conductive material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark E. Tuttle, Rickie C. Lake
  • Patent number: 6303515
    Abstract: In one aspect, the invention encompasses a semiconductor processing method comprising contacting a surface with a liquid solution comprising at least one fluorine-containing species and a temperature of at least about 40° C. In another aspect, the invention encompasses a method of passivating a silicon-comprising layer comprising contacting the layer with a liquid solution comprising hydrogen fluoride and a temperature of at least about 40° C. In yet another aspect, the invention encompasses a method of forming hemispherical grain polysilicon comprising: a) forming a layer comprising substantially amorphous silicon over a substrate; b) contacting the layer comprising substantially amorphous silicon with a liquid solution comprising fluorine-containing species and a temperature of at least about 40° C.; c) seeding the layer comprising substantially amorphous silicon; and d) annealing the seeded layer to convert at least a portion of the seeded layer to hemispherical grain polysilicon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Er-Xuan Ping, Li Li
  • Patent number: D449365
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: W. James Spickelmire, et al.
    Inventor: John A. Bambacigno
  • Patent number: PP12156
    Abstract: A new and distinct variety of peach tree denominated varietally as ‘Burpeachone’, and which is characterized as to novelty by producing an attractively colored fruit which is ripe for commercial harvesting and shipment approximately May 17 to May 23 under the ecological conditions prevailing in the San Joaquin Valley of central California.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: The Burchell Nursery, Inc.
    Inventors: John K. Slaughter, Timothy J. Gerdts
  • Patent number: PP12157
    Abstract: A new and distinct variety of peach tree denominated varietally as ‘Burpeachtwo’ and which is characterized as to novelty by a date of maturity for commercial harvesting and shipment of approximately August 1 to August 10 under the ecological conditions prevailing to the San Joaquin Valley of central California.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: The Burchell Nursery, Inc.
    Inventors: John K. Slaughter, Timothy J. Gerdts