Patents Examined by Brigitte A Paterson
  • Patent number: 10886185
    Abstract: A stacked semiconductor arrangement is provided. The stacked semiconductor arrangement includes a dynamic pattern generator layer having an electrical component. The arrangement also includes a monitoring layer configured to evaluate electrical performance of the electrical component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
    Inventors: Shao-Yu Li, Hao-chieh Chan
  • Patent number: 10879112
    Abstract: A method of forming a via and a wiring structure formed are disclosed. The method may include forming a conductive line in a first dielectric layer; forming a hard mask adjacent to the conductive line after the conductive line forming; forming a second dielectric layer over the hard mask; and forming a via opening to the conductive line in the second dielectric layer. The via opening lands at least partially on the hard mask to self-align the via opening to the conductive line. A via may be formed by filling the via opening with a conductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: GlobalFoundries Inc.
    Inventors: Brent A. Anderson, Edward J. Nowak
  • Patent number: 10861888
    Abstract: An optical apparatus that includes: a semiconductor substrate formed from a first material, the semiconductor substrate including a first n-doped region; and a photodiode supported by the semiconductor substrate, the photodiode including an absorption region configured to absorb photons and to generate photo-carriers from the absorbed photons, the absorption region being formed from a second material different than the first material and including: a first p-doped region; and a second n-doped region coupled to the first n-doped region, wherein a second doping concentration of the second n-doped region is less than or substantially equal to a first doping concentration of the first n-doped region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Assignee: Artilux, Inc.
    Inventors: Yun-Chung Na, Szu-Lin Cheng, Shu-Lu Chen, Han-Din Liu, Hui-Wen Chen, Che-Fu Liang, Yuan-Fu Lyu, Chien-Lung Chen, Chung-Chih Lin, Kuan-Chen Chu
  • Patent number: 10840374
    Abstract: A method of forming a semiconductor device can be provided by forming an opening that exposes a surface of an elevated source/drain region. The size of the opening can be reduced and a pre-amorphization implant (PAI) can be performed into the elevated source/drain region, through the opening, to form an amorphized portion of the elevated source/drain region. A metal-silicide can be formed from a metal and the amorphized portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Chung-Hwan Shin, Sang-Bom Kang, Dae-Yong Kim, Jeong-Ik Kim, Chul-Sung Kim, Je-Hyung Ryu, Sang-Woo Lee, Hyo-Seok Choi
  • Patent number: 10832953
    Abstract: Method for producing a semiconductor device by providing a silicon wafer having a plurality of equal height raised portions on a first surface thereof; depositing an etch stop layer on the first surface; planarizing a surface of the etch stop layer; permanently bonding a first carrier wafer on the etch stop layer surface; producing components on or in a second wafer surface in a FEOL process; etching a plurality of trenches into the wafer, each trench formed at the respective location of one of the raised portions; depositing side wall insulation layers on side walls of the trenches; forming through-silicon vias by filling the trenches with electrically conductive material; producing a conductor path stack in a BEOL process for contacting the active components on the second surface; temporarily bonding a second carrier wafer onto a surface of the conductor path stack; removing the first carrier wafer and exposing the vias.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: IHP GMBH—INNOVATIONS FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE MICROELECTRONICS/LEIBNIZ-INSTITUT FUR INNOVATIVE MIKROELEKTRONIK
    Inventors: Matthias Wietstruck, Mehmet Kaynak, Philip Kulse, Marco Lisker, Steffen Marschmeyer, Dirk Wolansky
  • Patent number: 10832904
    Abstract: Disclosed are methods and systems for providing oxygen doped silicon carbide. A layer of oxygen doped silicon carbide can be provided under process conditions that employ one or more silicon-containing precursors that have one or more silicon-hydrogen bonds and/or silicon-silicon bonds. The silicon-containing precursors may also have one or more silicon-oxygen bonds and/or silicon-carbon bonds. One or more radical species in a substantially low energy state can react with the silicon-containing precursors to form the oxygen doped silicon carbide film. The one or more radical species can be formed in a remote plasma source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventor: Bhadri N. Varadarajan
  • Patent number: 10797016
    Abstract: A method for bonding chips to a landing wafer is disclosed. In one aspect, a volume of alignment liquid is dispensed on a wettable surface of the chip so as to become attached to the surface, after which the chip is moved towards the bonding site on the wafer, the bonding site equally being provided with a wettable surface. A liquid bridge is formed between the chip and the bonding site on the substrate wafer, enabling self-alignment of the chip. Dispensing alignment liquid on the chip and not the wafer is advantageous in terms of mitigating unwanted evaporation of the liquid prior to bonding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignees: IMEC vzw, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
    Inventors: Vikas Dubey, Eric Beyne, Giovanni Capuz
  • Patent number: 10756127
    Abstract: A method for fabricating an image sensor array having a first group of photodiodes for detecting light at visible wavelengths a second group of photodiodes for detecting light at infrared or near-infrared wavelengths, the method including growing a germanium-silicon layer on a semiconductor donor wafer; defining pixels of the image sensor array on the germanium-silicon layer; defining a first interconnect layer on the germanium-silicon layer, wherein the interconnect layer includes a plurality of interconnects coupled to the first group of photodiodes and the second group of photodiodes; defining integrated circuitry for controlling the pixels of the image sensor array on a semiconductor carrier wafer; defining a second interconnect layer on the semiconductor carrier wafer, wherein the second interconnect layer includes a plurality of interconnects coupled to the integrated circuitry; and bonding the first interconnect layer with the second interconnect layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: Artilux, Inc.
    Inventors: Yun-Chung Na, Szu-Lin Cheng, Shu-Lu Chen, Han-Din Liu, Hui-Wen Chen, Che-Fu Liang
  • Patent number: 10734499
    Abstract: Methods for forming a semiconductor device include forming a first spacer on a plurality of fins. A second spacer is formed on the first spacer, the second spacer being formed from a different material from the first spacer. Gaps between the fins are filled with a support material. The first spacer and second spacer are polished to expose a top surface of the plurality of fins. All of the support material is etched away after polishing the first spacer and second spacer. The plurality of fins is etched below a bottom level of the first spacer to form a fin cavity. Material from the first spacer is removed to expand the fin cavity. Fin material is grown directly on the etched plurality of fins to fill the fin cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Xiuyu Cai, Kangguo Cheng, Ali Khakifirooz, Ruilong Xie, Tenko Yamashita
  • Patent number: 10720450
    Abstract: An array substrate and a manufacturing method thereof, a display panel and a display device are provided. The array substrate includes: a base substrate; a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines, and a plurality of common electrode lines on the base substrate; the plurality of common electrode lines and the plurality of gate lines are arranged at different layers; the plurality of common electrode lines and the plurality of data lines are arranged at a same layer and parallel to each other; the plurality of gate lines are insulated from and intersected with the plurality of data lines and the plurality of common electrode lines to define a plurality of sub-pixel units.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignees: BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD., BEIJING BOE DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Honghui Wang
  • Patent number: 10707260
    Abstract: A circuit that includes: a photodiode configured to absorb photons and to generate photo-carriers from the absorbed photons; a first MOSFET transistor that includes: a first channel terminal coupled to a first terminal of the photodiode and configured to collect a portion of the photo-carriers generated by the photodiode; a second channel terminal; and a gate terminal coupled to a first control voltage source; a first readout circuit configured to output a first readout voltage; a second readout circuit configured to output a second readout voltage; and a current-steering circuit configured to steer the photo-carriers generated by the photodiode to one or both of the first readout circuit and the second readout circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Artilux, Inc.
    Inventors: Yun-Chung Na, Szu-Lin Cheng, Shu-Lu Chen, Han-Din Liu, Hui-Wen Chen, Che-Fu Liang, Yuan-Fu Lyu, Chien-Lung Chen, Chung-Chih Lin, Kuan-Chen Chu
  • Patent number: 10693088
    Abstract: In various embodiments, a method for producing an optoelectronic device is provided. The method may include in the following order: providing a substrate, having a first state having a non-planar shape, reshaping the substrate into a second state. The second state has a planar or substantially planar shape. The method may further include forming at least one optoelectronic component on the substrate and reshaping the substrate into a third state. The third state is identical or substantially identical to the first state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: OSRAM OLED GMBH
    Inventors: Sebastian Wittmann, Arne Fleissner, Erwin Lang, Nina Riegel
  • Patent number: 10685994
    Abstract: A method for fabricating an image sensor array having a first group of photodiodes for detecting light at visible wavelengths a second group of photodiodes for detecting light at infrared or near-infrared wavelengths, the method including forming a germanium-silicon layer for the second group of photodiodes on a first semiconductor donor wafer; defining a first interconnect layer on the germanium-silicon layer; defining integrated circuitry for controlling pixels of the image sensor array on a semiconductor carrier wafer; defining a second interconnect layer on the semiconductor carrier wafer; bonding the first interconnect layer with the second interconnect layer; defining the pixels of an image sensor array on a second semiconductor donor wafer; defining a third interconnect layer on the image sensor array; and bonding the third interconnect layer with the germanium-silicon layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2020
    Assignee: ARTILUX, INC.
    Inventors: Yun-Chung Na, Szu-Lin Cheng, Shu-Lu Chen, Han-Din Liu, Hui-Wen Chen, Che-Fu Liang
  • Patent number: 10685853
    Abstract: A lid attach process includes providing a substrate and a die attached to the substrate, providing a lid and dipping a periphery of the lid in a dipping tank of adhesive material such that the adhesive material attaches to the periphery of the lid, and positioning the lid over the die and placing the lid on a top of the substrate with the adhesive material being adapted to interface with a periphery of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2020
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Chin-Liang Chen, Wei-Ting Lin, Yu-Chih Liu, Kuan-Lin Ho, Jason Shen
  • Patent number: 10665467
    Abstract: A method includes forming a first layer on a substrate; forming a first plurality of trenches in the first layer by a first patterning process; and forming a second plurality of trenches in the first layer by second patterning process, wherein a first trench of the second plurality merges with two trenches of the first plurality to form a continuous trench. The method further includes forming spacer features on sidewalls of the first and second pluralities of trenches. The spacer features have a thickness. A width of the first trench is equal to or less than twice the thickness of the spacer features thereby the spacer features merge inside the first trench.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Ru-Gun Liu, Cheng-Hsiung Tsai, Chung-Ju Lee, Chih-Ming Lai, Chia-Ying Lee, Jyu-Horng Shieh, Ken-Hsien Hsieh, Ming-Feng Shieh, Shau-Lin Shue, Shih-Ming Chang, Tien-I Bao, Tsai-Sheng Gau
  • Patent number: 10665426
    Abstract: Methods are disclosed for depositing a thin film of compound material on a substrate. In some embodiments, a method of depositing a layer of compound material on a substrate include: flowing a reactive gas into a plasma processing chamber having a substrate to be sputter deposited disposed therein in opposition to a sputter target comprising a metal; exciting the reactive gas into a reactive gas plasma to react with the sputter target and to form a first layer of compound material thereon; flowing an inert gas into the plasma processing chamber; and exciting the inert gas into a plasma to sputter a second layer of the compound material onto the substrate directly from the first layer of compound material. The cycles of target poisoning and sputtering may be repeated until a compound material layer of appropriate thickness has been formed on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Yana Cheng, Zhefeng Li, Chi Hong Ching, Yong Cao, Rongjun Wang
  • Patent number: 10658284
    Abstract: Herein provided are: a ceramic board; a semiconductor element for electric power, on one surface of which an electrode is formed, and the other surface of which is bonded to the ceramic board; a lead terminal, one end side of which is bonded to the electrode, and the other end side of which is to be electrically connected to an outside thereof; and a sealing member by which the semiconductor element for electric power is sealed together with a part, in the lead terminal, bonded to the electrode; wherein, near an end in said one end side of the lead terminal, an inclined surface is formed which becomes farther from the circuit board as it becomes closer to the end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Junji Fujino, Mikio Ishihara, Masayoshi Shinkai, Hiroyuki Harada
  • Patent number: 10658361
    Abstract: Two or more types of fin-based transistors having different gate structures and formed on a single integrated circuit are described. The gate structures for each type of transistor are distinguished at least by the thickness or composition of the gate dielectric layer(s) or the composition of the work function metal layer(s) in the gate electrode. Methods are also provided for fabricating an integrated circuit having at least two different types of fin-based transistors, where the transistor types are distinguished by the thickness and composition of the gate dielectric layer(s) and/or the thickness and composition of the work function metal in the gate electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Curtis Tsai, Chia-Hong Jan, Jeng-Ya David Yeh, Joodong Park, Walid M. Hafez
  • Patent number: 10644145
    Abstract: A semiconductor device, including a semiconductor substrate, a semiconductor layer disposed on a surface of the semiconductor substrate, a first semiconductor region disposed in the semiconductor layer at a surface thereof, a source region and a second semiconductor region disposed in the first semiconductor region at a surface thereof, a source electrode contacting the source region and the second semiconductor region, a gate insulating film disposed on the surface of the semiconductor layer and covering a portion of the first semiconductor region between the source region and the semiconductor layer, a gate electrode disposed on a surface of the gate insulating film, a drain electrode disposed on another surface of the semiconductor substrate, and a third semiconductor region, which has an impurity concentration higher than that of the first semiconductor region, formed in the semiconductor layer at the surface thereof and being electrically connected to the source electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: FUJI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Hoshi, Yuichi Harada, Akimasa Kinoshita, Yasuhiko Oonishi
  • Patent number: 10643909
    Abstract: A method for inspecting the influence of an installation environment upon a processing apparatus includes setting a mark for specifying a relative positional relation between a chuck table and a processing unit, imaging the mark plural times by using an imaging unit when a moving unit is at rest, and detecting the position of the mark from an image and then determining whether or not the influence of the installation environment upon the processing apparatus is present based on whether the change in position of the mark is less than or more than a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: DISCO CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Yoshihara