Abstract: A system and method for deprocessing a semiconductor die is disclosed. The semiconductor dies has an active area and at least one feature in the active area. The method and system include tuning an ablation laser. The method and system further include ablating a first portion of the semiconductor die using a tuned ablation laser to mark a location of the feature. The first portion is distinct from the active area and has a center. The center of the first portion is substantially above the feature. The method and system also include deprocessing a second portion of the semiconductor die using the first portion as a guide.

Abstract: Gas shielding is employed to prevent metal plating on contacts during electroplating to reduce particulate contamination and increase thickness uniformity. In another embodiment, gas shielding is employed to prevent deposition on the backside and edges of a semiconductor wafer during plating.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a new semiconductor device and a method for making same. The new semiconductor device is comprised of a gate barrier layer, a composite gate dielectric layer, a conductor layer, and at least one source/drain region formed in aemiconducting substrate. The method comprises forming the gate barrier layer, composite gate dielectric layer and conductor layer, patterning those layers, and forming at least one source/drain region in said semiconductor substrate. The composite gate dielectric layer is comprised of at least two different materials having different dielectric constants.

Abstract: A metal gate electrode formed with high temperature activation of source/drain and LDD implants and a process for manufacture. A polysilicon alignment structure is formed on a silicon substrate. Source/drain regions are formed in alignment with the polysilicon alignment structure, and the alignment structure and the substrate are subjected to a first rapid thermal anneal. LDD implant regions are formed and the alignment structure and the substrate having the LDD regions are subjected to a second rapid thermal anneal. The polysilicon alignment structure is replaced with a metal gate electrode and gate dielectric.

Abstract: The as-deposited thickness of at least one of the oxide layers of a composite ONO dielectric film between a floating gate and a control gate of a non-volatile semiconductor device is deposited to a sufficient thickness such that, after the top oxide layer is cleaned, the control gate is spaced apart from the floating gate a distance corresponding to at least a minimum design data retention. Deposition is facilitated by forming one or more oxide layers at a thickness greater than the design rule by employing a relatively high dielectric constant material for the oxide layer or layers, such as aluminum oxide, titanium oxide or tantalum oxide. In this way, the capacitance of the ONO film between the floating gate and the control gate is maintained per design rule, avoiding a change in operating voltage. Embodiments include depositing a relatively thick top oxide layer to enable thorough cleaning without adversely reducing the total thickness of the ONO stack and, hence, achieving design data retention.

Abstract: A combination vertical MOSFET and JFET device (18,22) is formed in a mesa (20,24) of semiconductor material. A top gate (44,68) of the device is formed by creating a preferably annular trench (36,58) that extends downwardly from the surface of the semiconductor layer, creating a thin gate insulator (41,62) on the bottom and sidewalls of this trench, and filling the trench with highly doped polysilicon. A buried gate region (28,50) is formed by implanting the semiconductor layer, prior to top gate formation, such that the buried gate region is laterally coextensive with the mesa. An upper boundary (29,54) of the buried gate region is spaced below the bottom of the trench and spaced from the semiconductor surface. Upon application of a suitable voltage, the buried gate region and the top gate region coact to invert the conductivity type of the channel region, permitting transistor operation between the source region and the drain region.

Abstract: An alterable Common Flash Interface ("CFI") is disclosed which includes a storage array which stores the CFI data. The storage array provides sub-circuits for encoding the CFI data. The sub-circuits comprise elements which can be altered by changing a single metal layer of the fabrication process.

Abstract: An integrated circuit fabrication process is provided for placing a diffusion barrier layer above the junctions of a transistor and counter dopant regions at the boundaries of the junctions to enhance the dopant level within the junctions. The diffusion barrier layer (e.g., a nitride layer) is strategically placed between the junctions and sidewall spacers which extend laterally from the opposed sidewall surfaces of a gate conductor. The diffusion barrier layer inhibits the dopants within the junctions from passing into the sidewall spacers. Dopant species opposite in type to those in the junctions are implanted into the counter dopant regions using a "large tilt angle" (LTA) implant methodology, wherein the angle of incidence of the injected dopant ions is at a non-perpendicular angle relative to the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate. In this manner, the counter dopant regions are placed both beneath the junctions and at the juncture between the junctions and the channel region of the transistor.

Abstract: The formation and/or growth of dendrites emanating from Cu or Cu alloy lines into a bordering open dielectric field are prevented or substantially reduced by chemically removing a portion of the surface from the dielectric field and from between the lines after CMP with a solution comprising acetic acid and ammonium fluoride. Embodiments include removing up to 60 .ANG., e.g. about 10 .ANG. to about 30 .ANG., of silicon oxide by immersing the wafer in a solution containing at least about 90 wt. % acetic acid and up to about 10 wt. % ammonium fluoride.

Abstract: A network interface device is provided with a memory controller to control data writing and reading to and from an external synchronous SRAM. An interface to the SRAM has a clock pad responsive to an internal clock signal to produce a SRAM clock sent to the SRAM as a reference clock to support access to the SRAM. The clock pad contains an inverter for inverting the internal clock signal so as to produce the SRAM clock in response to the inverted internal clock signal. As a result, read time allocated for reading data from the SRAM to the memory controller is made longer than a cycle of the internal clock signal.

Abstract: A wordline tracking structure for use in an array of Flash EEPROM memory cells is provided. The tracking structure serves to match reference and sector core wordline voltages across the entire chip regardless of sector location. The tracking structure includes a second VPXG conductor line operatively connected between sector wordlines of a "far" sector and a reference cell mini-array. The second VPXG conductor line has a substantially smaller time constant than in a first VPXG conductor line operatively connected between an output of a boosting circuit and the sector wordlines of the "far" sector. As a consequence, the reference wordline voltage associated with the reference cell mini-array will track closely the sector wordline voltage during the read operation regardless of the location of the selected sector.

Abstract: Generally, the present invention relates to semiconductor devices having an oxide-nitride gate insulating layer and methods of manufacture thereof. Consistent with the present invention a semiconductor device is formed by forming a nitrogen bearing oxide layer over a substrate and forming a nitride layer over the nitrogen bearing oxide layer. The thickness of the nitride layer is reduced and the nitride layer is annealed in an NH.sub.3 bearing ambient. The NH.sub.3 anneal may, for example, be performed before or after or while reducing the thickness of the nitride layer. One or more of the gate electrodes may then be formed over the nitride layer using the nitrogen bearing oxide layer and the nitride layer to insulate the gate electrode(s) from the substrate. This technique can, for example, provide a highly reliable and scaled gate insulating layer.

Abstract: A method for forming a semiconductor device to produce graded doping in the source region and the drain region includes the steps of implanting the gate material, usually a polysilicon, with a dopant ion that varies the level of oxide formation on the gate. The dopant ion is driven into undoped polysilicon. Nitrogen ions, may also be implanted in the polysilicon to contain the previously implanted ions. For N-type transistors, typically arsenic is implanted. For P-type transistors, typically boron is implanted. Gates are formed. The gate structure is then oxidized. The oxidation process is controlled to grow a desired thickness of silicon dioxide on the gate. The portion of the gate carrying the dopant grows silicon dioxide either more quickly or more slowly. An isotropic etch can then used to remove a portion of the silicon oxide and form a knob on each sidewall of the gate.

Abstract: A superscalar processor includes a central scheduler for multiple execution units. The scheduler presumes operations issued to a particular execution unit all have the same latency, e.g., one clock cycle, even though some of the operations have longer latencies, e.g., two clock cycles. The execution unit that executes the operations having with longer than expected latencies, includes scheduling circuitry that holds up particular operation pipelines when operands required for the pipelines will not be valid when the scheduler presumes. Accordingly, the design of the scheduler can be simplified and can accommodate longer latency operations without being significantly redesigned for the longer latency operations.

Abstract: A method to reduce the peak electric field during erase of a memory device composed of multiple memory cells. The electric field E.sub.field of the memory cell during erase is determined by the equation E.sub.field .about.a.sub.g (V.sub.gate -V.sub.th +V.sub.tuv)+(a.sub.s -1)V.sub.source and varying gate voltages V.sub.gate are applied to the gate of the cell being erased so that the V.sub.gate -V.sub.th is constant during the erase procedure.

Abstract: A driver having a switchable gain including a first circuit connected to a potential source, an input node receiving an input current, and an output node and operable in both low and high transmission frequency modes, and a second circuit connected to the potential source and a node of the first circuit and operable in only the high transmission frequency mode. In the low transmission frequency mode, the potential source is at a first level and the first circuit receives the input current and provides a first output current with a first current gain to the output node. In the high transmission frequency mode, the potential source is at a second, lower level and the first and second circuits receive the input current and provide a second output current, less than the first output current, with a second current gain, lower than the first current gain, to the output node.

Abstract: A method of instruction dispatch is provided in which a directly-decoded instruction and a microcode instruction are concurrently dispatched ("packed"). The instruction which is second in program order is retained until the succeeding clock cycle. During the succeeding clock cycle, a microcode unit determines if the microcode instruction and the directly-decoded instruction, when taken together, occupy less than or equal to the total number of issue positions available in the microprocessor. If the microcode unit determines that less than or equal to the total number of issue positions are occupied, then the packing is successful. If the microcode unit determines that greater than the total number of issue positions are occupied, then the packing is unsuccessful and the retained instruction is redispatched. Additionally, instruction dispatch selection is performed in two phases. First, a number of instructions are selected as potentially dispatchable instructions.

Abstract: An electrical receptacle that provides dual-mode electric power through two separate sockets. The electrical receptacle includes a first socket configured to supply AC electric current at a high voltage (such as 120V or 240V AC) and a second socket configured to supply DC current at a low voltage current (such as 4V, 6V, or 12V DC). In one embodiment, the receptacle receives the high-voltage AC from electrical wiring in a building and generates the low-voltage DC. This embodiment of the receptacle has input terminals for receiving AC, mounting hardware, an AC-to-DC converter, and one or more DC output sockets. The receptacle may also have a standard AC output socket. The receptacle may be used to provide direct current at several different voltage levels. The different voltages may be accessed simultaneously through several different DC sockets. Alternatively or in combination, one or more switches may be used to select the voltage level delivered by individual sockets or groups of sockets.

Abstract: A method for fabricating short channel field effect transistors with dual gates and with a gate dielectric having a high dielectric constant. The field effect transistor is initially fabricated to have a sacrificial gate dielectric and a dummy gate electrode. Any fabrication process, such as an activation anneal or a salicidation anneal of the source and drain of the field effect transistor, using relatively high temperature is performed with the field effect transistor having the sacrificial gate dielectric and the dummy gate electrode. The dummy gate electrode and the sacrificial gate dielectric are etched from the field effect transistor to form a gate opening. A layer of dielectric with high dielectric constant is deposited on the side wall and the bottom wall of the gate opening, and amorphous gate electrode material, such as amorphous silicon, is deposited to fill the gate opening after the layer of dielectric has been deposited.

Abstract: A method for slowing the diffusion of boron ions in a CMOS structure includes a preanneal step which can be incorporated as part of a step in which silane is deposited across the surface of the wafer. After the last implant on a CMOS device, silane (SiH.sub.4) is deposited over the surface of the wafer using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) tool. The deposition of silane is done at 400.degree. C. The temperature is raised in the CVD tool to a temperature in the range of 550.degree. C. to 650.degree. C. and held for 30-60 minutes. This temperature does not affect the thin film of silicon which is formed from the silane, yet provides the necessary thermal cycle to "repair" the crucial first 200 .ANG. to 600 .ANG. of the silicon surface. Normal processing steps, including a rapid thermal anneal for 30 seconds at 1025.degree. C. follow. The RTA is necessary to activate the dopants (arsenic and boron) in the source and drain of the respective devices.