Abstract: The integrity of the interface and adhesion between a barrier or capping layer and a Cu or Cu alloy interconnect member is significantly enhanced by delaying and/or slowly ramping up the introduction of silane to deposit a silicon nitride capping layer after treating the exposed planarized surface of the Cu or Cu alloy with an ammonia-containing plasma. Other embodiments include purging the reaction chamber with nitrogen at elevated temperature to remove residual gases prior to introducing the wafer for plasma treatment.

Abstract: A process is provided for the fabrication of a plastic molded type semiconductor device in which a die pad is formed to have a smaller area than a semiconductor chip to be mounted on a principal surface of the die pad and the semiconductor chip and die pad are sealed with a plastic mold.

Abstract: A method of crystallizing amorphous silicon using a metal catalyst. More specifically, the method includes forming an amorphous silicon layer over a substrate, forming a plurality of metal clusters on the amorphous silicon film, forming a heat insulating layer on the amorphous silicon layer including the metal clusters, disposing a pair of electrodes on the heat insulating layer, simultaneously applying a thermal treatment and a voltage to crystallize the amorphous silicon, and removing the heat insulating layer including the electrodes from the substrate.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a semiconductor device having a gate dielectric layer. The method includes the step of ion implanting at least one of Zr, Hf, La, Y, Al, Ti and Ta into the gate dielectric layer at low implant energy level to increase the dielectric constant of the dielectric layer. Subsequently, the implanted gate dielectric layer is annealed.

Abstract: A process for forming air gap isolation regions between a bit line contact structure and adjacent capacitor structures, to reduce the capacitance of the space between these structures, has been developed. The process features the formation of insulator spacers on the sides of capacitor openings. After formation of capacitor structures, in the capacitor openings, top portions of the insulator spacers are exposed via a first selective etch procedure, allowing a second, selective, isotropic etch procedure to completely remove the insulator spacers creating the air gap isolation regions now located between the capacitor structure and an adjacent insulator layer. Subsequent deposition of an overlying insulator layer, comprised with poor conformality properties, allows coverage of the capacitor structures, however without filling the air gap isolation regions.

Abstract: A semiconductor device fabrication process comprising an encapsulation step of carrying out encapsulation by vacuum pressure differential printing by the use of a liquid resin encapsulant containing a solvent in an amount of from 5% by weight to 50% by weight, and preferably from 25% by weight to 50% by weight. The encapsulation step comprises: printing the liquid resin encapsulant by vacuum pressure differential printing in such a way that; the encapsulant covers at least an internal connecting terminal provided on a substrate, a semiconductor chip, and a wire interconnecting the internal connecting terminal and the semiconductor chip; and that the thickness of the encapsulant lying above the wire at the highest position of the wire comes to be at least 0.8 times the thickness of the encapsulant lying beneath the wire at the same position; and curing or drying the encapsulant.

Abstract: A method of forming a shallow trench isolation, includes the steps, in sequence, of (a) forming a mask pattern on a silicon substrate, the mask pattern being made of a silicon dioxide layer and a silicon nitride layer, (b) forming a trench in the silicon substrate with the mask pattern being used as a mask, (c) forming a first silicon dioxide film covering an inner surface of the trench such that the trench is not filled with the first silicon dioxide film, (d) heating the first silicon dioxide film, (e) forming a second silicon dioxide film over a product resulted from the step (d) such that the trench is filled with the second silicon dioxide film, (f) heating the second silicon dioxide film, (g) polishing the first and second silicon dioxide films through the use of the silicon nitride layer as a stopper, (h) etching the silicon nitride layer for removal, and (i) etching the first and second silicon dioxide films such that the first and second silicon dioxide films are on a level with a surface of the sili

Abstract: An integrated circuit device, and a method of manufacturing the same, including nickel silicide on a silicon substrate fabricated with an iridium interlayer. In one embodiment the method comprises depositing an iridium (Ir) interface layer between the Ni and Si layers prior to the silicidation reaction. The thermal stability is much improved by adding the thin iridium layer. This is shown by the low junction leakage current of the ultra-shallow junction, and by the low sheet resistance of the silicide, even after annealing at 850° C.

Abstract: As a configuration of a gate island consisting of a laminated structure including a gate electrode, a gate insulating film and a semiconductor film for constituting a thin film transistor, the gate insulating film and the semiconductor film are formed into a plane shape equal to or smaller than the gate electrode and covered with a channel protection film. Further, a drain electrode and a source electrode are formed to be connected with the semiconductor film through openings provided to the channel protection film. Consequently, side surfaces of the semiconductor film and the gate insulating film can be covered with the channel protection film formed in an upper layer, and impurities existing in a liquid crystal layer can be prevented from entering the semiconductor film by diffusion or an electric field, thereby improving the characteristic of a TFT.

Abstract: A method of doping silicon that involves placing a silicon wafer in spaced relationship to a solid phosphorus dopant source at a first temperature for a time sufficient to deposit a phosphorus-containing layer on the surface of the wafer and subsequently oxidizing the doped silicon wafer with wet oxygen or pyrogenic steam at a second temperature lower than the first temperature. The silicon wafer is maintained in spaced relationship to the solid phosphorus dopant source during the oxidizing step. The temperatures are selected such that the solid phosphorus dopant source evolves P2O5 at the first temperature and the second temperature is sufficiently lower than the first temperature to decrease evolution of P2O5 from the solid phosphorus dopant source during the oxidizing step.

Abstract: A method of forming tantalum nitride (TaN) compound layers for use in integrated circuit fabrication processes is disclosed. The tantalum nitride (TaN) compound layer is formed by thermally decomposing a tantalum containing metal organic precursor. After the tantalum nitride (TaN) compound layer is formed, it is plasma treated.

Abstract: A method for making reliable low-resistance contacts between closely spaced FET gate electrodes having high-aspect-ratio spacings. Polysilicon gate electrodes are formed. A conformal insulating layer is deposited and anisotropically etched back to form sidewall spacers on the gate electrodes. During conventional etch-back, the etch rate of the insulating layer between the closely spaced gate electrodes is slower resulting in a residual oxide that prevents the formation of reliable low-resistance contacts. This residual oxide requires an overetch in a hydrofluoric acid solution prior to forming silicide contacts. The wet overetch results in device degradation. A nitrogen or germanium implant is used to amorphize the oxide and to increase the wet etch rate of the residual oxide. Using this amorphization the wet etch that is commonly used as a pre-clean prior to forming silicide contacts can be used to remove the residual silicon oxide without overetching.

Abstract: According to a disclosed embodiment, the surface of a semiconductor wafer is covered by an etch stop layer. For example, the etch stop layer can be composed of silicon dioxide. A cap layer is then fabricated over the etch stop layer. For example, the cap layer can be a polycrystalline silicon layer fabricated over the etch stop layer. The cap layer is then selectively etched down to the etch stop layer creating an opening in the cap layer according to a pattern. The pattern can be formed, for example, by covering the cap layer with photoresist and selective etching. Selective etching can be accomplished by using a dry etch process which etches the cap layer without substantially etching the etch stop layer. The etch stop layer is then removed using, for example, a hydrogen-fluoride cleaning process. A semiconductor crystal is then grown by epitaxial deposition in the opening. For example, the semiconductor crystal can be silicon-germanium. Moreover, a single crystal semiconductor structure of high quality, i.

Abstract: In crystallizing a semiconductor thin film of large area by overlapping regions of irradiation with a laser beam, uniform crystallinity of the film is achieved. A semiconductor thin film is crystallized by performing shaping laser light emitted to define a laser beam which has a predetermined intensity distribution in a predetermined irradiation region, and repeatedly irradiating the semiconductor thin film with the laser beam while scanning the film so that irradiation regions may be overlapped. The laser beam is shaped so that the sectional intensity distribution of the laser beam in the irradiation region as taken in the direction of the scanning may be convex, and that the peak of the intensity distribution lies at a position which is between the front end and rear end of the irradiation region in relation to the scanning direction and which is nearer to the front end with respect to the middle of the irradiation region.

Abstract: A method of fabricating an interconnect of a capacitor. A substrate having a capacitor is provided. The capacitor comprises a bottom electrode electrically connected to the substrate, a dielectric layer and a top electrode thereon. A spin-on dielectric layer is formed on the substrate and the capacitor. The spin-on dielectric layer on the substrate is thicker than that on the top electrode. The spin-on dielectric layer is etched back until the top electrode is exposed. A patterned metal layer is formed on the spin-on dielectric layer and the top electrode with a bottom surface in directly contact with a top surface of the top electrode.

Abstract: A first electrode and a doped oxide layer laterally proximate thereof are provided over a substrate. A silicon nitride layer is formed over both the doped oxide layer and the first electrode to a thickness of no greater than 80 Angstroms over at least the first electrode by low pressure chemical vapor deposition at a pressure of at least 1 Torr, a temperature of less than 700° C. and using feed gases comprising a silicon hydride and ammonia. The substrate with silicon nitride layer is exposed to oxidizing conditions comprising at least 700° C. to form a silicon dioxide layer over the silicon nitride layer, with the thickness of silicon nitride over the doped oxide layer being sufficient to shield oxidizable substrate material beneath the doped oxide layer from oxidizing during the exposing. A second electrode is formed over the silicon dioxide layer and the first electrode. In another implementation, a layer comprising undoped oxide is formed over a doped oxide layer.

Abstract: The manufacturing method produces a semiconductor in which current is not generated during the off state by reducing the electric field at the corner of an active region. The method includes patterning a gate material layer on a predetermined portion on the active region. The mask has an open region which exposes the active region but does not expose the filed region. A gate electrode and source/drain regions are formed by doping impurities into the exposed gate material layer and the active region.

Abstract: Provided is a method of manufacturing a monolithic liquid crystal display panel with a large area and high-image quality. A protecting film and an amorphous silicon film are sequentially formed on an insulating substrate. Annealing is performed on a region intended for pixel area formation by irradiating ultraviolet rays by a ultraviolet ray lamp, whereas annealing is performed on a region intended for horizontal scan area formation and a region intended for vertical scan area formation by irradiating an excimer laser at the same time, respectively. Thus obtained polycrystalline silicon film formed on the region intended for pixel area formation has uniform crystal grains while polycrystalline silicon films formed on the region intended for horizontal scan area formation and the region for vertical scan area formation have larger crystal grains. Thin-film transistors are formed in these regions, respectively.

Abstract: A method of preventing metal penetration and diffusion from metal structures formed over a semiconductor structure, comprising the following steps. A semiconductor structure including a patterned dielectric layer is provided. The patterned dielectric layer includes an opening and an upper surface. The dielectric layer surface is then passivated to form a passivation layer. A metal plug is formed within the dielectric layer opening. The passivation layer prevents penetration and diffusion of metal out from the metal plug into the semiconductor structure and the patterned dielectric layer.

Abstract: A method of forming a semiconductor component having a conductive line (24) and a silicide region (140) that crosses a trench (72). The method involves forming nitride sidewalls (127) to protect the stack during the silicidation process.