Patents Assigned to National Semiconductor
  • Patent number: 11967351
    Abstract: A device is provided. The device includes a physical unclonable function (PUF) cell array. The PUF cell array includes multiple bit cells, and generates a PUF response output, in response to a challenge input, based on a data state of one bit cell in the bit cells. Each of the bit cells stores a bit data and includes a transistor having a control terminal coupled to a word line and a first terminal coupled to a source line, a first memory cell having a first terminal coupled to a first data line and a second terminal coupled to a second terminal of the transistor, and a second memory cell having a first terminal coupled to a second data line, different from the first data line, and a second terminal coupled to the second terminal of the first memory cell at the second terminal of the transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignees: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Chia-Che Chung, Chia-Jung Tsen, Ya-Jui Tsou, Chee-Wee Liu
  • Patent number: 11955384
    Abstract: A device includes a bottom transistor, a top transistor, and an epitaxial isolation structure. The bottom transistor includes a first channel layer, first source/drain epitaxial structures, and a first gate structure. The first source/drain epitaxial structures are on opposite sides of the first channel layer. The first gate structure is around the first channel layer. The top transistor is over the bottom transistor and includes a second channel layer, second source/drain epitaxial structures, and a second gate structure. The second source/drain epitaxial structures are on opposite sides of the second channel layer. The second gate structure is around the second channel layer. The epitaxial isolation structure is between and in contact with one of the first source/drain epitaxial structures and one of the second source/drain epitaxial structures, such that the one of the first source/drain epitaxial structures is electrically isolated from the one of the second source/drain epitaxial structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignees: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Chien-Te Tu, Hsin-Cheng Lin, Chee-Wee Liu
  • Publication number: 20240112912
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes the following steps. A photoresist layer is formed over a material layer on a substrate. The photoresist layer has a composition including a solvent and a first photo-active compound dissolved in the solvent. The first photo-active compound is represented by the following formula (Al) or formula (A2): Zr12O8(OH)14(RCO2)18??Formula (A1); or Hf6O4(OH)6(RCO2)10??Formula (A2). R in the formula (A1) and R in the formula (A2) each include one of the following formulae (1) to (6): The photoresist layer is patterned. The material layer is etched using the photoresist layer as an etch mask.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2023
    Publication date: April 4, 2024
    Applicants: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., NATIONAL TSING HUA UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Jui-Hsiung LIU, Yu-Fang TSENG, Pin-Chia LIAO, Burn Jeng LIN, Tsai-Sheng GAU, Po-Hsiung CHEN, Po-Wen CHIU
  • Publication number: 20240111210
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes the following steps. A photoresist layer is formed over a material layer on a substrate. The photoresist layer has a composition including a solvent and a first photo-active compound dissolved in the solvent. The first photo-active compound is represented by the following formula (A1) or formula (A2): Zr12O8(OH)14(RCO2)18 ??Formula (A1); or Hf6O4(OH)6(RCO2)10 ??Formula (A2). R in the formula (A1) and R in the formula (A2) each include one of the following formulae (1) to (6): The photoresist layer is patterned. The material layer is etched using the photoresist layer as an etch mask.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 9, 2023
    Publication date: April 4, 2024
    Applicants: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., NATIONAL TSING HUA UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Jui-Hsiung LIU, Pin-Chia LIAO, Ting-An LIN, Ting-An SHIH, Yu-Fang TSENG, Burn Jeng LIN, Tsai-Sheng GAU, Po-Hsiung CHEN, Po-Wen CHIU
  • Patent number: 11947828
    Abstract: A memory device is disclosed, including a memory array and a selection circuit. At least one first faulty cell and at least one second faulty cell that are in the memory array store data corresponding to, respectively, first and second fields of a floating-point number. The selection circuit identifies the at least one first faulty cell and the at least one second faulty cell based on a priority of a cell replacement operation which indicates that a priority of the at least one first faulty cell is higher than that of the at least one second faulty cell. The selection circuit further outputs a fault address of the at least one first faulty cell to a redundancy analyzer circuit for replacing the at least one first faulty cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignees: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., NATIONAL TSING HUA UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Jun-Shen Wu, Chi-En Wang, Ren-Shuo Liu
  • Publication number: 20240107903
    Abstract: A memory device includes a substrate, a 2-D material channel layer, a 2-D material charge storage layer, source/drain contacts, a gate dielectric layer, and a gate electrode. The 2-D material channel layer is over the substrate. The 2-D material charge storage layer is over the 2-D material channel layer. The 2-D charge storage layer and the 2-D material channel layer include the same chalcogen atoms. The source/drain contacts are over the 2-D material channel layer. The gate dielectric layer covers the source/drain contacts and the 2-D material charge storage layer. The gate electrode is over the gate dielectric layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2023
    Publication date: March 28, 2024
    Applicants: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Shih-Yen LIN, Po-Cheng TSAI
  • Publication number: 20240105779
    Abstract: A method includes performing a first deposition process to form a first graphene layer over a substrate, the first deposition process being performed under a first temperature and a first pressure; performing a second deposition process to form a second graphene layer over the first graphene layer, the second deposition process being performed under a second temperature and a second pressure, in which the first temperature is higher than the second temperature, and the first pressure is lower than the second pressure; forming a gate structure over the second graphene layer; and forming source/drain contacts on opposite sides of the gate structure and electrically connected to the first and second graphene layers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 9, 2023
    Publication date: March 28, 2024
    Applicants: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Shih-Yen LIN, Che-Jia CHANG
  • Publication number: 20240102162
    Abstract: A method includes following steps. A first precursor is pulsed over a substrate such that first precursor adsorbs on a first region and a second region of the substrate. A first plurality of the first precursor adsorbing on the first region is then removed using a plasma, while leaving a second plurality of the first precursor adsorbing on the second region. A second precursor is then pulsed to the substrate to form a monolayer of a film on the second region and a material on the first region. The material is then removed using a plasma. The substrate is biased during removing the material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2023
    Publication date: March 28, 2024
    Applicants: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Chun-Yi CHOU, Chih-Piao CHUU, Miin-Jang CHEN
  • Patent number: 11942546
    Abstract: A method includes forming an interfacial layer over a substrate; forming a quasi-antiferroelectric (QAFE) layer over the interfacial layer, in which forming the QAFE layer comprises performing an atomic layer deposition (ALD) cycle, and the ALD cycle includes performing a first sub-cycle for X time(s), in which the first sub-cycle comprises providing a Zr-containing precursor; performing a second sub-cycle for Y time(s), in which the second sub-cycle comprises providing a Hf-containing precursor; and performing a third sub-cycle for Z time(s), in which the third sub-cycle comprises providing a Zr-containing precursor, and in which X+Z is at least three times Y; and forming a gate electrode over the QAFE layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignees: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY, NATIONAL TAIWAN NORMAL UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Kuan-Ting Chen, Shu-Tong Chang, Min-Hung Lee
  • Publication number: 20240096976
    Abstract: A method includes forming a gate dielectric layer over a gate electrode layer; forming a 2-D material layer over the gate dielectric layer; forming source/drain contacts over source/drain regions of the 2-D material layer, in which each of the source/drain contacts includes an antimonene layer and a metal layer over the antimonene layer; and after forming the source/drain contacts, removing a first portion of the 2-D material layer exposed by the source/drain contacts, while leaving a second portion of the 2-D material layer remaining over the gate dielectric layer as a channel region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2023
    Publication date: March 21, 2024
    Applicants: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Shih-Yen LIN, Po-Cheng TSAI
  • Patent number: 11934916
    Abstract: An electronic device includes a pair of depletion gates, an accumulation gate, and a conductive resonator. The depletion gates are spaced apart from each other. The accumulation gate is over the depletion gates. The conductive resonator is over the depletion gates and the accumulation gate. The conductive resonator includes a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion. The first portion and the second portion are on opposite sides of the accumulation gate. The third portion interconnects the first and second portions of the conductive resonator and across the depletion gates. A bottom surface of the first portion of the conductive resonator is lower than a bottom surface of the accumulation gate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignees: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Jiun-Yun Li, Shih-Yuan Chen, Yao-Chun Chang, Ian Huang, Chiung-Yu Chen
  • Publication number: 20240088228
    Abstract: A device includes a substrate, a chalcogenide channel layer, a chalcogenide barrier layer, source/drain contacts, and a gate electrode. The chalcogenide channel layer is over the substrate. The chalcogenide barrier layer is over the chalcogenide channel layer. A dopant concentration of the chalcogenide barrier layer is greater than a dopant concentration of the chalcogenide channel layer. The source/drain contacts are over the chalcogenide channel layer. The gate electrode is over the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2023
    Publication date: March 14, 2024
    Applicants: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD., NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Yun-Yuan WANG, Chih-Hsiang HSIAO, I-Chih NI, Chih-I WU
  • Publication number: 20240088255
    Abstract: A method includes forming source/drain regions in a semiconductor substrate; depositing a zirconium-containing oxide layer over a channel region in the semiconductor substrate and between the source/drain region; forming a titanium oxide layer in contact with the zirconium-containing oxide layer; forming a top electrode over the zirconium-containing oxide layer, wherein no annealing is performed after depositing the zirconium-containing oxide layer and prior to forming the top electrode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2023
    Publication date: March 14, 2024
    Applicants: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD., NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Miin-Jang CHEN, Sheng-Han YI, Chen-Hsuan LU
  • Publication number: 20240081077
    Abstract: A transistor includes a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer, a semiconductor nanosheet, a gate electrode and source and drain electrodes. The semiconductor nanosheet is physically connected to the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer. The gate electrode wraps around the semiconductor nanosheet. The source and drain electrodes are disposed at opposite sides of the gate electrode. The first semiconductor layer surrounds the source electrode, the second semiconductor layer surrounds the drain electrode, and the semiconductor nanosheet is disposed between the source and drain electrodes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2022
    Publication date: March 7, 2024
    Applicants: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd., National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
    Inventors: Po-Tsun Liu, Meng-Han Lin, Zhen-Hao Li, Tsung-Che Chiang, Bo-Feng Young, Hsin-Yi Huang, Sai-Hooi Yeong, Yu-Ming Lin
  • Publication number: 20240072054
    Abstract: A device comprises a first semiconductor layer, a dielectric layer, a second semiconductor layer, and a gate structure. The first semiconductor layer is over a substrate. The first semiconductor layer comprises a first channel region and first source/drain regions on opposite sides of the first channel region. The dielectric layer is over the first semiconductor layer. The second semiconductor layer is over the dielectric layer. The second semiconductor layer comprises a second channel region and second source/drain regions on opposite sides of the second channel region. The gate structure comprises a first portion extending in the dielectric layer, a second portion wrapping around the first channel region of the first semiconductor layer, and a third portion wrapping around the second channel region of the second semiconductor layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 24, 2023
    Publication date: February 29, 2024
    Applicants: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., NATIONAL YANG MING CHIAO TUNG UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Chien-Te TU, Chee-Wee LIU
  • Patent number: 10311825
    Abstract: An LC display driver including a gamma reference circuit to generate N gamma-compensated reference voltages based on at least one pre-defined gamma curve divided into M regions defined by M+1 breakpoint voltages, each generated by a range-region DAC coupled to a subset of voltage taps of a range resistor string (some subsets overlapping). An output circuit generates the N gamma-compensated reference voltages, and includes a reference resistor string with N reference voltage taps, and M+1 breakpoint locations to receive respective breakpoint voltages, the N reference voltage taps divided into M subsets corresponding to the M regions of the gamma curve, each of the M subsets of reference voltage taps forming a voltage divider. N output selector circuits output a corresponding one of the N gamma-compensated reference voltages based on a respective reference voltage tap and the associated voltage divider.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Christopher Ludden, Imre Knausz
  • Patent number: 10153383
    Abstract: An apparatus and method that controls the power produced by a string of solar cells, enabling the string to operate at its maximum power point when connected to a bus that operates at an externally controlled voltage. The apparatus and method can also be used to increase or decrease the output power of a string to any desired operating point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION
    Inventor: Andrew Foss
  • Patent number: 10141749
    Abstract: One heuristic for tuning a wireless power transfer device includes monitoring a circuit parameter while sweeping a power source frequency; identifying two frequencies related to local maxima of the circuit parameter values; estimating self-resonant frequency of an electromagnetically coupled device based on the two frequencies; determining a value for a tuning component of the wireless power transfer device such that the device self-resonant frequency equals the estimated coupled device self-resonant frequency; and adjusting the tuning component to the determined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Assignee: NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Vijay N. Choudhary, Robert Loke
  • Patent number: 10042009
    Abstract: The cost and size of an atomic magnetometer are reduced by attaching together a first die which integrates together a vapor cell, top and side photo detectors, and processing electronics, a second die which integrates together an optics package and a heater for the vapor cell, and a third die which integrates together a VCSEL, a heater for the VCSEL, and control electronics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: National Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Philipp Lindorfer, Peter J Hopper, William French, Paul Mawson, Steven Hunt, Roozbeh Parsa
  • Patent number: 9863817
    Abstract: A battery temperature monitoring circuit, which has a cold comparator and a hot comparator, achieves high accuracy in a small cell size by utilizing a cold current optimized for the cold comparator and a cold reference voltage, and a hot current optimized for the hot comparator and a hot reference voltage, along with switching circuitry that provides the cold current to the cold comparator as the battery temperature approaches the cold trip temperature, and the hot current to the hot comparator as the battery temperature approaches the hot trip temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Luan Minh Vu, Thomas Y. Tse, Tuong Hoang