Abstract: The RF power amplifier includes first and second amplifiers Q1 and Q2 as final-stage amplification power devices connected in parallel between an input terminal RF_In and an output terminal RF_Out. The amplifiers Q1 and Q2 are formed on one semiconductor chip. The first bias voltage Vg1 of the amplifier Q1 is set to be higher than the second bias voltage Vg2 of the amplifier Q2 so that the amplifier Q1 is operational between Class B and AB, and Q2 is operational in Class C. The first effective device size Wgq1 of the amplifier Q1 is intentionally set to be smaller than the second effective device size Wgq2 of the amplifier Q2 beyond a range of a manufacturing error of the semiconductor chip. An RF power amplifier that exhibits a high power-added efficiency characteristic regardless of whether the output power is High or Low can be materialized.

Abstract: To provide a bias circuit for gain control that can reduce gain variation at low-power output, facilitate setting of output power, and is unlikely to be affected by variation in element values and variations among products. Use in an HPA having three bias circuits serially-connected is assumed. Current of the third bias circuit is varied with a square-law characteristic. The square-law characteristic is amplified by a buffer amplifier including a linear amplifier and a peripheral circuit thereof. Output current of the third bias circuit varies depending on a current drivability coefficient of the diode-connected FET branched from the connection point between a constant current source and the linear amplifier. The output current of the third bias circuit is controlled by providing a circuit that draws a certain amount of current from the current flowing in the FET.

Abstract: A normally operable decoder circuit is obtained without entailing a delay in decoding operation, an increase in circuit area, and an increase in circuit design cost. An NMOS transistor in a high-voltage circuit portion is inserted between the output of a NAND gate and a node, and receives an input signal at the gate electrode thereof. A load current generating portion in the high-voltage circuit portion includes PMOS transistors coupled in series between a high power supply voltage and the node. One of the PMOS transistor receives a control signal at the gate electrode thereof. The other PMOS transistor receives a control signal at the gate electrode thereof. An inverter receives a signal obtained from the node as an input signal, and outputs the inverted signal thereof as an output signal.

Abstract: The invention provides a control method for generating variable operating currents in relation to input signal power and output signal power and achieving both low noise and low power consumption. Emitter follower circuits are attached to output terminals of a frequency divider for generating a local signal. By adjusting the currents flowing through the emitter follower circuits, the amount of currents flowing into mixers is adjusted. When the amount of currents of local signals flowing into the mixers increases, the effect of noise suppression is expected. The amount of the currents flowing through the emitter follower circuits is changed depending on the amplification factor of variable amplifiers.

Abstract: A driving circuit supplies a suppression current (I4) which reduces a decrease in a driving current (Idrive) immediately after occurrence of an overshoot at the time of the rise of the driving current (Idrive) to a laser diode (1). The driving circuit draws a suppression current (I5) which reduces an increase in the driving current (Idrive) immediately after occurrence of an undershoot at the time of the fall of the driving current (Idrive) from the driving current (Idrive).

Abstract: In MOSFET having SBD as a protection element, a TiW (alloy having tungsten as a main component) film is used as an aluminum-diffusion barrier metal film below an aluminum source electrode in order to secure properties of SBD. The present inventors have found that a tungsten-based barrier metal film is in the form of columnar grains having a lower barrier property than that of a titanium-based barrier metal film such as TiN so that aluminum spikes are generated relatively easily in a silicon substrate. In the present invention, when a tungsten-based barrier metal film is formed by sputtering as a barrier metal layer between an aluminum-based metal layer and a silicon-based semiconductor layer therebelow, the lower layer is formed by ionization sputtering while applying a bias to the wafer side and the upper layer is formed by sputtering without applying a bias to the wafer side.

Abstract: A wireless communication system includes: a filter; and a semiconductor chip including a signal processing integrated circuit having an amplifier, wherein a main surface of the semiconductor chip is provided with a plurality of electrode terminals along an edge portion thereof; wherein the amplifier has a transistor including a control electrode, a first electrode through which a signal is outputted, and a second electrode to which a voltage is applied; wherein the control electrode, the first electrode and the second electrode of the transistor are connected to the electrode terminals, respectively; and wherein none of wirings are arranged between the electrode terminals and placements of the control electrode, the first electrode and the second electrode, making space between the electrodes and the electrode terminals narrow.

Abstract: To manufacture in high productivity a semiconductor device capable of securely achieving element isolation by a trench-type element isolation and capable of effectively preventing potentials of adjacent elements from affecting other nodes, a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device includes: a step of forming a first layer on a substrate; a step of forming a trench by etching the first layer and the substrate; a step of thermally oxidizing an inner wall of the trench; a step of depositing a first conductive film having a film thickness equal to or larger than one half of the trench width of the trench on the substrate including the trench; a step of removing a first conductive film from the first layer by a CMP method and keeping the first conductive film left in only the trench; a step of anisotropically etching the first conductive film within the trench to adjust the height of the conductive film to become lower than the height of the surface of the substrate; a step of depositing an insulating fil

Abstract: To provide a power supply unit capable of realizing a multiphase power supply at low cost. For example, each of a plurality of semiconductor devices DEV[1]-DEV[n] comprises a trigger input terminal TRG_IN, a trigger output terminal TRG_OUT, and a timer circuit TM that delays a pulse signal input from TRG_IN and outputs it to TRG_OUT. DEV[1]-DEV[n] are mutually coupled in a ring shape by its own TRG_IN being coupled to TRG_OUT of one semiconductor device other than itself. Each of DEV[1]-DEV[n] performs switching operation by using the pulse signal from TRG_IN as a starting point, and feeds a current into an inductor L corresponding to itself. Moreover, DEV[1] generates the above-described pulse signal only once during startup by a start trigger terminal ST being set to a ground voltage GND, for example.

Abstract: A probe is contacted to a test pad, without destroying the circuit formed in the chip at the time of a probe test. Therefore, a load jig, a pressing tool, an elastomer, an adhesion ring, and a plunger are made into one by fixation with a nut and a bolt. The elastic force of the spring installed between the spring retaining jig and the load jig acts so that the member used as these one may be depressed toward pad PD. The thrust transmitted from the spring in a plunger to a thin films sheet is used only for the extension of a thin films sheet.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a solder paste composition used for precoating an electrode surface with solder. A first solder paste composition is contains a solder powder and a flux, and a metallic powder made by metallic species different from metallic species constituting the solder powder and metallic species constituting the electrode surface in a rate of 0.1% by weight or more and 20% by weight or less based on a total amount of the solder powder. When these solder paste compositions are evenly applied onto an electronic circuit substrate for precoating, such a solder that does not generate any swollen portion, solder-lacking portion and variability in a height thereof can be formed irrespective of a shape of a pad.

Abstract: The present invention makes it possible to obtain: a semiconductor device capable of forming a highly reliable upper wire without a harmful influence on the properties of the magnetic material for an MTJ device; and the manufacturing method thereof. Plasma treatment is applied with reducible NH3 or H2 as pretreatment. Thereafter, a tensile stress silicon nitride film to impose tensile stress on an MTJ device is formed over a clad layer and over an interlayer dielectric film where the clad layer is not formed. Successively, a compressive stress silicon nitride film to impose compressive stress on the MTJ device is formed over the tensile stress silicon nitride film. The conditions for forming the tensile stress silicon nitride film and the compressive stress silicon nitride film are as follows: a parallel plate type plasma CVD apparatus is used; the RF power is set in the range of 0.03 to 0.4 W/cm2; and the film forming temperature is set in the range of 200° C. to 350° C.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display device comprises a liquid crystal display panel and a semiconductor integrated circuit for driving and controlling the liquid crystal display panel. The number of input/output wires connected to I/O terminals (bonding pads) of the semiconductor integrated circuit is reduced so as to simplify wiring patterns of the I/O wires, whereby degrees of freedom in arranging the I/O wiring patterns are enhanced. The panel has a pair of insulating substrate, and the semiconductor integrated circuit is mounted on one of the paired substrates. The semiconductor integrated circuit has a mode terminal which is fixed to a power supply potential or to a reference potential during operation of the integrated circuit, and power supply dummy terminals connected to the power supply potential or reference potential inside the semiconductor integrated circuit. The wiring patterns formed on the paired insulating substrates connect the mode terminal to the power supply dummy terminals.

Abstract: Ferromagnetic layers have magnetizations oriented to such directions as to cancel each other, so that the net magnetization of the ferromagnetic layers is substantially zero. That is, the ferromagnetic layers are exchange-coupled with a nonmagnetic layer interposed therebetween, thereby forming an SAF structure. Since the net magnetization of the ferromagnetic layers forming the SAF structure is substantially zero, the magnetization of a recording layer is determined by the magnetization of a ferromagnetic layer. Therefore, the ferromagnetic layer is made of a CoFeB alloy having high uniaxial magnetic anisotropy, and the ferromagnetic layers are made of a CoFe alloy having a high exchange-coupling force.

Abstract: A transistor is arranged for electrically isolating a sense amplifier formed of a thin film transistor from a data line electrically coupled to the sense amplifier. When a write driver drives the data line, a control signal is applied to isolate the data line from the sense amplifier.

Abstract: An input transistor unit includes a first transistor having a control electrode to which a reference voltage is supplied. An output transistor unit includes a diode-connected second transistor. At least one of the input transistor unit and the output transistor unit further includes a third transistor that is diode-connected and connected in series with the corresponding first transistor or the second transistor and outputs a current in the same direction as the corresponding transistor does. The number of transistors included in the input transistor unit and the number of transistors included in output transistor unit are different from each other. The size of transistors included in the input transistor unit differs from that of transistors included in the output transistor unit.

Abstract: In a process for a semiconductor typically represented by a vertical power MOSFET, etc. of repeating various fabrications in a state of a thin film wafer with the thickness of the wafer being 200 ?m or less, it is a standard procedure of conducting processing in a stage of bonding a reinforcing glass sheet to a device surface of the wafer (main surface on the side of surface) in the step after film thickness-reduction. However according to the study of the present inventors, it has been found that about 70% for the manufacturing cost is concerned with the reinforcing glass sheet. In the present invention, a stress relief insulation film pattern is formed to the peripheral end of the rear face of a wafer in which processing to the device surface (surface side face) of the wafer has been completed substantially and back grinding has been applied.

Abstract: A semiconductor storage device includes a memory cell array, a plurality of word lines, a plurality of bit lines, a first gate wiring element 3a, 3b, a second gate wiring element 3c, 3d, a first connector 5a, 5b, and a second connector 5c, 5d. Each memory cell 10 has first and second sets having a driver transistor 11, a load transistor 12, and an access transistor 13. The word lines are arranged in parallel to each other along a first direction. The bit lines are arranged in parallel to each other along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The first gate wiring element comprises a gate electrode of the first driver transistor and the first load transistor, and has a rectangular shape having straight line on opposite sides. The second gate wiring element comprises a gate electrode of the access transistor and has a rectangular shape having straight line on opposite sides.

Abstract: A manufacturing method of a semiconductor device includes a first electrode formation step of forming a control gate electrode above a surface of a semiconductor substrate with a control gate insulating film interposed between the control gate electrode and the semiconductor substrate, a step of forming a storage node insulating film on the surface of the semiconductor substrate, and a second electrode formation step of forming a memory gate electrode on a surface of the storage node insulating film. The second electrode formation step includes a step of forming a memory gate electrode layer on the surface of the storage node insulating film, a step of forming an auxiliary film, having an etching rate slower than that of the memory gate electrode layer, on a surface of the memory gate electrode layer, and a step of performing anisotropic etching on the memory gate electrode layer and the auxiliary film.

Abstract: A semiconductor device, having a memory cell region and a peripheral circuit region, includes an insulating film, having an upper surface, formed on a major surface of a semiconductor substrate to extend from the memory cell region to the peripheral circuit region. A capacitor lower electrode assembly is formed in the memory cell region to upwardly extend to substantially the same height as the upper surface of the insulating film on the major surface of the semiconductor substrate. Additionally, the lower electrode assembly includes first and second lower electrodes that are adjacent through the insulating film. A capacitor upper electrode is formed on the capacitor lower electrode through a dielectric film, to extend onto the upper surface of the insulating film. The capacitor lower electrode includes a capacitor lower electrode part having a top surface and a bottom surface.