Abstract: Disclosed herein are various methods of determining characteristics of doped regions on device wafers, and a system for accomplishing same. In one illustrative embodiment, the method includes providing a device substrate comprising a plurality of masked areas, a plurality of unmasked areas, and at least one doped region formed in the substrate, determining a ratio between the unmasked areas and the masked areas for the device substrate, illuminating an area of the device substrate comprising the masked areas, the unmasked areas, and at least one doped region, and measuring an induced surface photovoltage of the device substrate while accounting for the ratio of the unmasked areas and the masked areas of the device substrate.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to methods of quantifying variations resulting from manufacturing-induced corner rounding of various features, and structures for testing same. In one illustrative embodiment, the method includes forming a plurality of test structures on a semiconducting substrate, each of the test structures having at least one physical dimension that varies relative to the other of the plurality of test structures, at least some of the test structures exhibiting at least some degree of manufacturing-induced corner rounding, forming at least one reference test structure, performing at least one electrical test on the plurality of test structures and on the reference test structure to thereby produce electrical test results, and analyzing the test results to determine an impact of the manufacturing-induced corner rounding on the performance of the plurality of test structures.

Abstract: A USB (Universal Serial Bus) OTG (On-The-Go) controller device and more generally a serial bus control circuit chip are provided which have improved port handler implementations. In one example, different port handler units may be provided which selectively support host and device functionality at the respective ports. In another example, a first port handler for providing host functionality and a second port handler for providing device functionality are provided which are of substantially the same hardware structure. In a further example, at least one port handler is provided that has a low level protocol module for handling packet assembly and/or disassembly, a transfer buffer module for buffering incoming or outgoing data to average out system memory latencies, and a memory access module for generating memory requests in compliance with host and/or device functionality.

Abstract: A D-PSK demodulator utilizes a two-layer coherent approach to estimate the phase shift of adjacent symbols. There is generated a probability set of each received symbol being one of possible constellation values. There is also generated a probability set of each of possible phase difference between two adjacent symbols. This probability set is then converted into soft bit information according to specific mathematical operation.

Abstract: One aspect of the invention relates to a network interface system for interfacing a host system with a network. The network interface system includes a bus interface system, a media access control system, and a security system. The security system selectively perform security processing on data incoming from the network based on security associations stored in a memory external to the network interface system, typically a host system memory. The security association for any given frame, when available, is fetched from the external memory after the frame begins to arrive in the network interface system based in part on information contained in the frame. Preferably, the fetch begins before the frame is fully received and the security association is queued whereby security processing can begin without having to wait for the security association to be fetched.

Abstract: By providing at least two hardware representations of a specified circuit design, an efficient debugging system is provided that allows 100% design visibility at an extremely reduced simulation time owing to a time-shifted operation of the at least two hardware representations. Upon detection of a specified abort state in the leading hardware representation, the corresponding delayed state of the time-shifted hardware representation may be used for a subsequent simulation of only a relevant portion of the test run that has lead to the specified abort state.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for dynamic adjustment of sensor and/or metrology sensitivities. The method includes accessing measurement information provided by a first measurement device and modifying a sensitivity of a second measurement device based on the measurement information provided by the first measurement device.

Abstract: A network switch includes network switch ports, each including a port filter configured for detecting user-selected attributes from a received layer 2 type data frame. Each port filter, upon detecting a user-selected attribute in a received layer 2 type data frame, sends a signal to a switching module indicating the determined presence of the user-selected attribute, enabling the switching module to generate a switching decision based on the corresponding user-selected attribute and based on a corresponding user-defined switching policy. The switching policy may specify a priority class, or a guaranteed quality of service (e.g., a guaranteed bandwidth), ensuring that the received layer 2 type data frame receives the appropriate switching support. The user-selected attributes for the port filter and the user-defined switching policy for the switching module are programmed by a host processor.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a processor comprises one or more execution resources configured to execute instruction operations and a scheduler coupled to the execution resources. The scheduler is configured to maintain an ancestor tracking vector (ATV) corresponding to each given instruction operation in the scheduler, wherein the ATV identifies instruction operations which can cause the given instruction operation to replay. The scheduler is configured to set the ATV of the given instruction operation to a null value in response to the given instruction operation being dispatched to the scheduler, and is configured to create the ATV of the given instruction operation dynamically as source operands of the given instruction operation are resolved.

Abstract: A high K layer, such as aluminum oxide or hafnium oxide, may be formed with a deposition process that uses an ion implantation to damage portions of the high K material that are to be later etched. More particularly, in one implementation, a semiconductor device is manufactured by forming a first dielectric over a substrate, forming a charge storage element over the first dielectric, forming a second dielectric above the charge storage element, implantation ions into select portions of the second dielectric, and etching the ion implanted select portions of the second dielectric.

Abstract: A method for forming fin structures for a semiconductor device that includes a substrate and a dielectric layer formed on the substrate is provided. The method includes etching the dielectric layer to form a first structure, depositing an amorphous silicon layer over the first structure, and etching the amorphous silicon layer to form second and third fin structures adjacent first and second side surfaces of the first structure. The second and third fin structures may include amorphous silicon material. The method further includes depositing a metal layer on upper surfaces of the second and third fin structures, performing a metal-induced crystallization operation to convert the amorphous silicon material of the second and third fin structures to a crystalline silicon material, and removing the first structure.

Abstract: By forming an implantation mask prior to the definition of the drain and the source areas, an effective decoupling of the gate dopant concentration from that of the drain and source concentrations is achieved. Moreover, after removal of the implantation mask, the lateral dimension of the gate electrode may be defined by well-established sidewall spacer techniques, thereby providing a scaling advantage with respect to conventional approaches based on photolithography and anisotropic etching.

Abstract: A dislocation region is formed by implanting a light inert species, such as hydrogen, to a specified depth and with a high concentration, and by heat treating the inert species to create “nano” bubbles, which enable a certain mechanical decoupling to underlying device regions, thereby allowing a more efficient creation of strain that is induced by an external stress-generating source. In this way, strain may be created in a channel region of a field effect transistor by, for instance, a stress layer or sidewall spacers formed in the vicinity of the channel region.

Abstract: The invention, in its various aspects, is an interdependent binary photomask for use in a photolithography operation in a semiconductor fabrication process, a method for fabricating these interdependent photomasks, and a method of using the same. The photomask comprises a first binary reticle and a second binary reticle. Each binary reticle includes a pattern formed on a plate, but the pattern formed on one plate is interdependent with the pattern formed on the other plate so that the reticles are used in tandem to transfer the pattern onto wafers having features residing in different focal planes. The method of fabricating the interdependent binary photomask consequently includes specifying a first and a second portion of a circuit layout, the first and second circuit portions being interdependent. The first and second portions are digitized and used to form first and second interdependent patterns on separate reticles.

Abstract: Semiconductor structures and methods for fabrication thereof are predicated upon epitaxial growth of an epitaxial surface semiconductor layer upon a semiconductor substrate having a first crystallographic orientation. The semiconductor substrate is exposed within an aperture within a semiconductor-on-insulator structure. The epitaxial surface semiconductor layer alternatively contacts or is isolated from a surface semiconductor layer having a second crystallographic orientation within the semiconductor-on-insulator structure. A recess of the semiconductor surface layer with respect to a buried dielectric layer thereunder and a hard mask layer thereover provides for inhibited second crystallographic phase growth within the epitaxial surface semiconductor layer.

Abstract: A method for controlling operation of a secure execution mode-capable processor includes receiving access requests to a plurality of addressable locations within a system memory. The method may further include preventing the access requests from completing in response to determining that the secure execution mode-capable processor is operating in a secure execution mode.

Abstract: According to one exemplary embodiment, a method for forming a field effect transistor on a substrate comprises a step of forming disposable spacers adjacent to a gate stack situated on the substrate, where the disposable spacers comprise amorphous carbon. The disposable spacers can be formed by depositing a layer of amorphous carbon on the gate stack and anisotropically etching the layer of amorphous carbon. The method further comprises forming source and drain regions in the substrate, where the source and drain regions are situated adjacent to the disposable spacers. According to this exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises removing the disposable spacers, where the removal of the disposable spacers causes substantially no gouging in the substrate. The disposable spacers can be removed by using a dry etch process. The method can further comprise forming extension regions in the substrate adjacent to the gate stack prior to forming the disposable spacers.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for selectively executing an I/O instruction. The method includes creating an I/O permission bitmap in a memory and receiving an I/O port number and a security context identification (SCID) value. The method also includes using the SCID value and the I/O port number to access the I/O permission bitmap stored to obtain a permission bit corresponding to the I/O port and executing the I/O instruction dependent upon a value of the permission bit corresponding to the I/O port. The I/O permission bitmap includes a plurality of permission bits. Each of the permission bits corresponds to a different one of a plurality of I/O ports. Each of the permission bits has a value indicating whether access to the corresponding I/O port is allowed. The I/O port number indicates the I/O port referenced by the I/O instruction. The SCID value indicates a security context level of a memory location including the I/O instruction.

Abstract: The present invention relates methods for patching WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network) communication devices and corresponding WWAN communication devices, integrated circuit chips and computer-readable media. The WWAN communication device includes a first processor, a second processor and a memory. The first processor is arranged to process patches updating software running on the WWAN communication device. The second processor is arranged to provide a first set of the patches to the first processor. The memory stores a second set of the patches to be processed by the first processor. The second processor is further arranged to send a patch end signal to the first processor, the patch end signal causing the first processor to stop processing of patches provided by the second processor. The first processor is further arranged to process the patches stored in the memory independently of the patch end signal.

Abstract: By measuring an electric characteristic of a test pad that is connected to a plurality of test vias formed in accordance with a specified process flow for forming contacts and vias of a semiconductor device, one or more process specific parameters may quantitatively be estimated. Thus, a fast and precise measurement method for contacts and vias is provided in a non-destructive manner.