Abstract: In a PLL circuit, the number of LPFs is reduced to one to reduce mounting area and pin number, and to simplify design. In one embodiment, the PLL circuit includes a variable-gain phase comparator, a mixer, an LPF, VCOs, couplers, and a control circuit to controlling the on/off operation of the VCOs. The variable-gain phase comparator is capable of varying a phase difference gain. The on/off of the operation of the VCOs is controlled by the control circuit so that one of the VCOs is turned off. The phase difference conversion gain is varied in accordance with the sensitivity of the VCOs so the number of LPFs required for the PLL circuit can be reduced to only one.

Abstract: A non-volatile storage device (1) has non-volatile memory units (FARY0 to FARY3), buffer units (BMRY0 to BMRY3) and a control unit (CNT), and the control unit can control a first access processing between an outside and the buffer unit and a second access processing between the non-volatile memory unit and the buffer unit upon receipt of directives from the outside separately from each other. The control unit can independently carry out an access control over the non-volatile memory unit and the buffer unit in accordance with the directives sent from the outside, respectively. Therefore, it is possible to set up next write data to the buffer unit simultaneously with the erase operation of the non-volatile memory unit or to output once read storage information to the buffer unit at a high speed as in a cache memory operation in accordance with the directive sent from the outside.

Abstract: The detector includes the plug for connecting the personal computer through a cable, battery power supply which provides a constant power supply, and the MCU which receives a specific potential from the personal computer when the later is connected.

Abstract: A semiconductor device, wherein a first metallic member is bonded to a first electrode of a semiconductor element via a first metallic body containing a first precious metal, and a second metallic member is bonded to a second electrode via a second metallic body containing a second precious metal.

Abstract: A partial isolation insulating film provided between MOS transistors in an NMOS region and a PMOS region, respectively, has a structure in which a portion protruding upward from a main surface of an SOI layer is of greater thickness than a trench depth, namely, a portion (isolation portion) extending below the surface of the SOI layer, and the SOI layer under the partial isolation insulating film is of greater thickness than the isolation portion.

Abstract: A transistor region is a region where a plurality of MOS transistors, including an MOS transistor, are formed, and a dummy region is a region lying under a spiral inductor. In the dummy region, a plurality of dummy active layers are disposed in the main surface of an SOI substrate and a plurality of dummy gate electrodes are disposed covering the respective dummy active layers. The arrangement pattern of the dummy active layers and the arrangement pattern of the dummy gate electrodes nearly match, so that the dummy gate electrodes are aligned accurately on the dummy active layers.

Abstract: For high density packaging of a semiconductor device, the semiconductor device has a multi-layer substrate, a first-stage chip connected electrically to the multi-layer substrate, other package substrates stacked in three stages on the multi-layer substrate and each connected to an underlying wiring substrate through solder balls, second-, third- and fourth-stage chips electrically connected respectively to the other package substrates, and solder balls provided on the bottom multi-layer substrate. The number of wiring layers in the bottom multi-layer substrate which has a logic chip is larger than that in the package substrates which have memory chips, whereby the semiconductor device can have a wiring layer not used for distribution of wires to the solder balls and wiring lines in the wiring layer can be used for the mounting of another semiconductor element or a passive component to attain high density packaging of the semiconductor device as a stacked type package.

Abstract: In order to reduce degradation of the processing performance of the data processor due to use of a part of the main memory as a display frame buffer, when an access request to the memory 200 is generated from the CPU 310, the memory controller 400 holds it once, requests the display controller 560 to stop the access to the memory 200 which is in execution, when data to the access executed already is transferred from the memory 200, holds it, and transfers the access request from the CPU bus 310 which is held by the memory 200. When the access from the CPU bus 310 ends, the memory controller 400 restarts the access stopped in the display controller 560 and passes the held data to the display controller 560.

Abstract: A semiconductor device having an SOI structure including a semiconductor substrate, a buried insulating layer and an SOI layer including, first and second element formation regions provided in said SOI layer, a partial isolation region including a partial insulating film provided in an upper layer portion of said SOI layer and a semiconductor region to be a part of said SOI layer which is provided under said partial insulating film and serving to isolate said first and second element formation regions from each other, and first and second MOS transistors formed in said first and second element formation regions, respectively, wherein at least one of a structure of a body region, a structure of a gate electrode and presence/absence of body potential fixation in said first and second MOS transistors is varied to make transistor characteristics of said first and second MOS transistors different from each other.

Abstract: A semiconductor technique is provided which can achieve both of lowered resistance in a logic formation region and reduced leakage current of the capacitor of a memory device. Source/drain regions (4) are formed in the upper surface of a semiconductor substrate (1) in a memory formation region and cobalt silicide films (9) are formed in the upper surfaces of the source/drain regions (4). Source/drain regions (54) are formed in the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate (1) in a logic formation region and cobalt silicide films (59) are formed in the upper surfaces of the source/drain regions (54). The cobalt silicide films (59) in the logic formation region are thicker than the cobalt silicide films (9) in the memory formation region.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to suppress data loss caused by power shut-down during a rewriting process and to shorten time required to make a depletion check. A nonvolatile memory apparatus includes a rewritable nonvolatile memory and a card controller. The nonvolatile memory has a physical address area corresponding to a logical address and a save area. In response to a data rewrite instruction on a required logical address, the card controller stores data in a predetermined physical address area corresponding to the logical address to the save area and rewrites the data stored in the physical address area. When rewriting of the physical address area is incomplete, the card controller rewrites the data in the physical address area with the data stored in the save area. Thus, data loss caused by the power shut-down can be suppressed by data backup, and it is sufficient to make the depletion check in two places of the save area and the physical address area.

Abstract: A semiconductor wafer manufacturing method comprising the steps of preparing first and second semiconductor wafers, bonding a main surface of said second semiconductor wafer to a main surface of said first semiconductor wafer, thinning said first semiconductor wafer, implanting oxygen ions from said first semiconductor wafer side into a neighborhood of a part where said first and second semiconductor wafers are bonded to each other, and forming the portion implanted with the oxygen ions into an oxide film layer by a thermal treatment.

Abstract: A semiconductor wafer manufacturing method comprising the steps of preparing a first semiconductor wafer having a plurality of cuts formed at edge portions in crystal directions, preparing a second semiconductor wafer having a cut formed at an edge portion in a crystal direction that is different from the crystal direction of one of said plurality of cuts of said first semiconductor wafer, bonding said first and second semiconductor wafers to each other while using said one of said plurality of cuts of said first semiconductor wafer and said cut of said second semiconductor wafer in order to position said first and second semiconductor wafers, with another one of said plurality of cuts of said first semiconductor wafer being engaged with a guide portion of a semiconductor wafer manufacturing apparatus, thinning said first semiconductor wafer, implanting oxygen ions from said first semiconductor wafer side into a neighborhood of a part where said first and second semiconductor wafers are bonded to each other,

Abstract: A variable delay line receives and delays a data strobe signal transferred from a data source side in synchronization with a transfer data by a predetermined period, and produces a delayed data strobe signal and the non-delayed data strobe signal to a detector. The detector determines that a preamble period ends and effective data is transferred, when the delayed data strobe signal is at the L level at the time of rising of the non-delayed data strobe signal from the L level to the H level. According to a result of detection, an interface circuit unit takes in the transfer data and initializes a take-in address. The data strobe signal changes to a high-impedance state when a postamble ends. An influence of a glitch noise is avoided upon this change of the data strobe signal, and the data transfer can be executed fast and accurately.

Abstract: The present fabrication method includes the steps of: providing a nitride film in a main surface of a semiconductor substrate; providing an upper trench, with the nitride film used as a mask; filling the upper trench with an oxide film introduced therein; removing the oxide film to expose at least a portion of a bottom of the upper trench and allowing a remainder of the oxide film to serve as a sidewall; providing a lower trench in a bottom of the upper trench, with the sidewall used as a mask; and with the upper trench having the sidewall remaining therein, providing an oxide film in the upper trench and the lower trench. This can provide a semiconductor device fabrication method and a semiconductor device preventing a contact from penetrating the device in an interconnection process.

Abstract: A nonvolatile memory apparatus including a control circuit, plural terminals having clock, command and other terminals, data and command registers, and plural nonvolatile memory cells. The clock terminal receives a clock signal and the command terminal receives commands including read and program commands. The data register receives from and outputs data to outside. The control circuit reads operation steps from memory used to control the apparatus. The control circuit, responsive to the read command, controls reading data from the memory cells, storing read data to the data register, and outputting read data via the other terminal, not the command terminal, based on the clock signal. The control circuit, responsive to the program command, controls receiving data via the other terminal, not the command terminal, based on the clock signal, storing received data to the data register and writing received data to the memory cells.

Abstract: Image data storage areas of a plurality of pages are allocated for each of a plurality of display planes capable of superimposed display, and display output processing is performed while switching between the image data storage areas is being performed for each display plane. In such a display system, versatile switching between image data storage areas is enabled without heavily loading a central processing unit. Attribute bits of a TRAP command indicating the termination of drawing of one display plane are provided with display switching enable bits indicating whether to perform switching between image data storage areas for each display plane. For display planes corresponding to the display switching enable bits of “1”, switching to an image data storage area from which image data is read is performed at timing synchronous with a next vertical synchronous signal.

Abstract: A large area dummy pattern DL is formed in a layer underneath a target T2 region formed in a scribe region SR of a wafer. A small area dummy pattern in a lower layer and a small area dummy pattern Ds2 in an upper layer are disposed in a region where the inter-pattern space of a pattern (active regions L1, L2, L3, gate electrode 17), which functions as an element of a product region PR and scribe region SR, is wide. The small area dummy pattern Ds2 in the upper layer is offset by ½ pitch relative to the small area dummy pattern Ds in the lower layer.

Abstract: Manufacturing technique for an IC device which includes forming the first conductor film over a memory cell forming region and over a peripheral circuit forming region of a semiconductor substrate, patterning the first conductive film lying over the memory cell forming region to form a first conductive pattern which serves as a first or control gate electrode of a memory cell and leaving the first conductive film over the peripheral circuit forming region, forming a second conductive film over both the memory cell forming region and the first conductive film in the peripheral circuit forming region, etching the second conductive film to form a second or memory gate electrode of the memory cell on at least a side wall of the first conductive pattern, and followed by the formation of a gate electrode of a peripheral circuit transistor by etching the first conductive film in the peripheral circuit forming region.

Abstract: An antenna connection function for a noncontact interface is provided by suppressing a modification in a pin arrangement and a pin shape of a memory card that does not correspond to the noncontact interface. Two antenna connecting pins having the memory card are divided into two areas in which a size of one potential supply pin is the largest and used as a split pin arranged at intervals. Because a size of the two antenna connecting pins is at maximum as large as the size of the potential supply pin, the two antenna connecting pins are provided and the memory card that corresponds to the noncontact interface is obtained by devoting a pin area having the size of the one potential supply pin to the memory card that does not correspond to the noncontact interface.