Patents Examined by Caridad M. Everhart
  • Patent number: 7727812
    Abstract: Provided is a singulation method of a semiconductor device that can perform a sawing process while protecting a pad. In the singulation method for forming a semiconductor device including a scribe lane region and a chip region, pads are formed in the chip region. Photoresist patterns exposing the scribe lane region and covering the pads are formed, and a substrate in the scribe lane region is cut and a washing solution is sprayed on the scribe lane region. According to the method, wafers can be stably separated from each other while pads of a semiconductor device are protected, so that stabilization in the fabrication process can be realized and pad corrosion caused by DI water is prevented during a sawing process. Accordingly, a defective device is minimized and reliability of a device can improve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2010
    Assignee: Dongbu Hitek Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Meng An Jung
  • Patent number: 7727885
    Abstract: A semiconductor device is fabricated while mitigating conductive void formation in metallization layers. A substrate is provided. A first dielectric layer is formed over the substrate. A conductive trench is formed within the first dielectric layer. An etch stop layer is formed over the first dielectric layer. A second dielectric layer is formed over/on the etch stop layer. A resist mask is formed over the device and via openings are etched in the second dielectric layer. The resist mask is removed by an ash process. A clean process is performed that mitigates/reduces surface charge on exposed portions of the etch stop layer. Additional surface charge reduction techniques are employed. The via openings are filled with a conductive material and a planarization process is performed to remove excess fill material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2010
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Phillip Daniel Matz, Sopa Chevacharoenkul, Ching-Te Lin, Basab Chatterjee, Anand Reddy, Kenneth Joseph Newton, Ju-Ai Ruan
  • Patent number: 7723807
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes at least two adjacent memory cell blocks, each of the memory cell blocks having a plurality of memory cell units, each of memory cell units having a plurality of electrically reprogrammable and erasable memory cells connected in series, a plurality of cell gates for selecting the plurality of memory cells within the two adjacent memory cell blocks, each of the plurality of cell gates being formed with roughly rectangular closed loops or roughly U shaped open loops, each of the loops being connected to a corresponding cell of the memory cells in a corresponding memory cell unit of the plurality of memory cell units within one of the two adjacent memory cell blocks and being connected to a corresponding memory cell of the memory cells in a corresponding memory cell unit of the plurality of memory cell units within the other memory cell block of the two adjacent memory cell blocks and a plurality of pairs of first and second selection gates for selecting the memory cell block, the
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Nobuyasu Nishiyama
  • Patent number: 7723217
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a gallium nitride single crystalline substrate, including (a) growing a gallium nitride film on a flat base substrate made of a material having a smaller coefficient of thermal expansion than gallium nitride and cooling the gallium nitride film to bend convex upwards the base substrate and the gallium nitride film and create cracks in the gallium nitride film; (b) growing a gallium nitride single crystalline layer on the crack-created gallium nitride film located on the convex upward base substrate; and (c) cooling a resultant product having the grown gallium nitride single crystalline layer to make the convex upward resultant product flat or bend convex downwards the convex upward resultant product and at the same time to self-split the base substrate and the gallium nitride single crystalline layer from each other at the crack-created gallium nitride film interposed therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Assignee: Siltron Inc.
    Inventors: Ho-Jun Lee, Doo-Soo Kim, Dong-Kun Lee, Yong-Jin Kim
  • Patent number: 7723172
    Abstract: Methods for manufacturing trench type semiconductor devices containing thermally unstable refill materials are provided. A disposable material is used to fill the trenches and is subsequently replaced by a thermally sensitive refill material after the high temperature processes are performed. Trench type semiconductor devices manufactured according to method embodiments are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Assignee: Icemos Technology Ltd.
    Inventor: Takeshi Ishiguro
  • Patent number: 7723219
    Abstract: In plasma immersion ion implantation of a polysilicon gate, a hydride of the dopant is employed as a process gas to avoid etching the polysilicon gate, and sufficient argon gas is added to reduce added particle count to below 50 and to reduce plasma impedance fluctuations to 5% or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Kartik Santhanam, Manoj Vallaikal, Peter I. Porshnev, Majeed A. Foad
  • Patent number: 7723767
    Abstract: A transition metal oxide dielectric material is doped with a non-metal in order to enhance the electrical properties of the metal oxide. In a preferred embodiment, a transition metal oxide is deposited over a bottom electrode and implanted with a dopant. In a preferred embodiment, the metal oxide is hafnium oxide or zirconium oxide and the dopant is nitrogen. The dopant can convert the crystal structure of the hafnium oxide or zirconium oxide to a tetragonal structure and increase the dielectric constant of the metal oxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Jiutao Li, Shuang Meng
  • Patent number: 7719102
    Abstract: A manufacturing method of a semiconductor device of this invention includes forming metal pads on a Si substrate through a first oxide film, bonding the Si substrate and a holding substrate which bolsters the Si substrate through a bonding film, forming an opening by etching the Si substrate followed by forming a second oxide film on a back surface of the Si substrate and in the opening, forming a wiring connected to the metal pads after etching the second oxide film, forming a conductive terminal on the wiring, dicing from the back surface of the Si substrate to the bonding film and separating the Si substrate and the holding substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashi Noma, Hiroyuki Shinogi, Yukihiro Takao
  • Patent number: 7714438
    Abstract: Molecular systems are provided for electric field activated switches, such as a crossed-wire device or a pair of electrodes to which the molecular system is linked by linking moieties. The crossed-wire device comprises a pair of crossed wires that form a junction where one wire crosses another at an angle other than zero degrees and at least one connector species connecting the pair of crossed wires in the junction. The connector species comprises the molecular system, which has an electric field induced band gap change, and thus a change in its electrical conductivity, that occurs via one of the following mechanisms: (1) molecular conformation change; (2) change of extended conjugation via chemical bonding change to change the band gap; or (3) molecular folding or stretching. Nanometer-scale reversible electronic switches are thus provided that can be assembled easily to make cross-bar circuits, which provide memory, logic, and communication functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2010
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Xiao-An Zhang, R. Stanley Williams, Kent D. Vincent
  • Patent number: 7713882
    Abstract: A patterning method for a semiconductor substrate is disclosed. A substrate is provided and a stack structure is laid thereon. The stack layer includes at least a target layer and a pad layer sequentially formed on the substrate. Follow by a lithography process, wherein photoresists are laid on the stack layer to form a plurality of photoresist elements. Thus, a plurality of pattern is formed on the target layer, and a portion of target layer's surface is exposed. Lastly, ion implanting is provided and defines a doped area as hard mask for the etching process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2010
    Assignee: Nanya Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Chien-Er Huang, Kuo-Yao Cho
  • Patent number: 7713886
    Abstract: Disclosed is a film forming method using a film forming gas composed of a metal alkoxide wherein clean film formation suppressed in contamination of a target substrate to be processed is achieved by restraining aluminum or an aluminum alloy in the processing chamber from dissolving. Specifically disclosed is method for forming a thin film on a target substrate to be processed which is held in a processing chamber, and this method comprises a step for heating the target substrate and a step for supplying a film forming gas into the processing chamber. This method is characterized in that the film forming gas is composed of a metal alkoxide, the processing chamber is made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and a protective film composed of a nonporous anodic oxide film is formed on the inner wall surface of the processing chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2010
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hirokatsu Kobayashi, Tetsuya Nakano, Masato Koizumi
  • Patent number: 7713867
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes contact plugs formed in contact holes defined in an interlayer dielectric. Upper portions of the contact plugs are etched. A first barrier layer is formed on a surface of the interlayer dielectric including the contact plugs. A second barrier layer is formed on the first barrier layer over the interlayer dielectric. The second barrier layer has lower compatibility with a metallic material than the first barrier layer. A first metal layer is formed over the first and second barrier layers. The first metal layer, the first barrier layer and the second barrier layer are then patterned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2010
    Assignee: Hynix Semiconductor Inc.
    Inventors: Seung Hee Hong, Jung Geun Kim, Eun Soo Kim
  • Patent number: 7709390
    Abstract: Methods of isolating spaces formed between features in an array during a pitch reduction process and semiconductor device structures having the same. In one embodiment, ends of the features are wider than middle regions of the features. During the pitch reduction process, spacer sidewalls formed between adjacent ends of the features come into substantial contact with one another, isolating the spaces between the features. In another embodiment, the features have a single width and an additional feature is located near ends of the features. Spacer sidewalls formed between adjacent features and the additional feature come into substantial contact with one another, isolating the spaces between the features.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2010
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Adam L. Olson
  • Patent number: 7709381
    Abstract: A semiconductor device fabricating method may include forming an insulating layer on a semiconductor substrate; forming a through hole with a first depth in the insulating layer and the semiconductor substrate; forming a metal layer thereon, thereby forming a through electrode in the through hole; and exposing the through electrode by polishing the bottom surface of the semiconductor substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2010
    Assignee: Dongbu Hi Tek Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jaewon Han, Dong Ki Jeon
  • Patent number: 7709380
    Abstract: One inventive aspect relates to a method of controlling the gate electrode in a silicidation process. The method comprises applying a sacrificial cap layer on top of each of at least one gate electrode, each of the at least one gate electrode deposited with a given height on a semiconductor substrate. The method further comprises applying an additional layer of oxide on top of the sacrificial layer. The method further comprises covering with a material the semiconductor substrate provided with the at least one gate electrode having the sacrificial cap layer with the additional oxide layer on top. The method further comprises performing a CMP planarization step. The method further comprises removing at least the material and the additional layer of oxide until on top of each of the at least one gate electrode the sacrificial cap layer is exposed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2010
    Assignee: IMEC
    Inventor: Anabela Veloso
  • Patent number: 7704880
    Abstract: A method is provided for manufacturing removable contact structures on the surface of a substrate to conduct electricity from a contact member to the surface during electroprocessing. The method comprises forming a conductive layer on the surface. A predetermined region of the conductive layer is selectively coated by a contact layer so that the contact member touches the contact layer as the electroprocessing is performed on the conductive layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2010
    Assignee: Novellus Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Cyprian E. Uzoh, Bulent M. Basol, Hung-Ming Wang, Homayoun Talieh
  • Patent number: 7704777
    Abstract: A method for producing a semiconductor device includes bonding a transfer layer disposed on a first substrate to a second substrate and detaching the transfer layer from the first substrate. In bonding the transfer layer disposed on the first substrate to the second substrate, the method further includes placing a seal having a frame shape on a surface of the first substrate on which the transfer layer is disposed or a surface of the second substrate facing the first substrate, placing an adhesive in a region inside the seal, and superposing the surface of the first substrate on which the transfer layer is disposed on the second substrate with the seal and the adhesive. The seal and the adhesive are incompatible with each other. The seal and the adhesive are not cured in the period from placing the seal to superposing the surface of the first substrate on which the transfer layer is disposed on the second substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2010
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tetsuji Kamine
  • Patent number: 7700428
    Abstract: Methods for fabricating a device structure for use as a memory cell in a non-volatile random access memory. The method includes forming first and second semiconductor bodies on the insulating layer that have a separated, juxtaposed relationship, doping the first semiconductor body to form a source and a drain, and partially removing the second semiconductor body to define a floating gate electrode adjacent to the channel of the first semiconductor body. The method further includes forming a first dielectric layer between the channel of the first semiconductor body and the floating gate electrode, forming a second dielectric layer on a top surface of the floating gate electrode, and forming a control gate electrode on the second dielectric layer that cooperates with the floating gate electrode to control carrier flow in the channel in the first semiconductor body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2010
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Wagdi W. Abadeer, Kiran V. Chatty, Robert J. Gauthier, Jed H. Rankin, Yun Shi, William R. Tonti
  • Patent number: 7700483
    Abstract: A method for fabricating a pixel structure is provided. First, a substrate having an active device formed thereon is provided. The active device has a gate, a gate dielectric layer, and a semiconductor layer having a channel, a source, and a drain region. Then, a dielectric layer is formed to cover the active device, and a photo-resist layer having a first photo-resist block and a second photo-resist block thinner than the first photo-resist block is formed on the dielectric layer. The second photo-resist block has openings above the source and the drain region, respectively. The source and the drain regions are exposed by removing part of the dielectric layer with the photo-resist layer as a mask. A second metal layer is formed after removing the second photo-resist block. A source and a drain are formed after removing the first photo-resist block. A pixel electrode connected to the drain is formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2010
    Assignee: Au Optronics Corporation
    Inventors: Yi-Sheng Cheng, Chia-Chi Tsai
  • Patent number: 7696071
    Abstract: The invention provides a method for producing a group III nitride based semiconductor having a reduced number of crystal defects. A GaN layer 2 is epitaxially grown on a sapphire substrate 1 having C-plane as a main plane (FIG. 1A). Then, the layer is wet-etched by use of a 25% aqueous TMAH solution at 85° C. for one hour, to thereby form an etch pit 4 (FIG. 1B). Then, a GaN layer 5 is grown on the GaN layer 2 through the ELO method (FIG. 1C). The thus-formed GaN layer 5 has a screw dislocation density lower than that of the GaN layer 2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2010
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masahito Kodama, Eiko Hayashi, Masahiro Sugimoto