Abstract: A method of forming a pre-metal dielectric film having good as deposited gapfill characteristics, as well as good mobile-ion gettering capability. The method involves first depositing a layer of high-ozone undoped silicon dioxide film having a high ozone/TEOS volume ratio. Then, a low-ozone doped BPSG film is deposited over the high-ozone undoped silicon dioxide layer. The film layers are heat treated to densify the film, and then the top layer is planarized using known planarization techniques to a thickness that allows for adequate mobile-ion gettering.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for evenly applying an atomized adhesive for bonding a die to a leadframe is disclosed. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a hood in communication with an air supply and a vacuum plenum that encompass a semiconductor device component located in a target area during adhesive application so that the adhesive is selectively applied to specific portions of the leadframe or other semiconductor device component and adhesive is not allowed outside the system. A mask or stencil may be employed for further prevention of adhesive application to undesired areas. An air purge may be employed to direct the adhesive mist toward the component to be coated. In another embodiment, a fine adhesive spray is directed against the surface of the workpiece to be coated, selected areas being masked to prevent coating. Wafers may be coated as well as leadframes.

Abstract: This invention relates to manufacturing of integrated circuits (ICs) and especially conductive layers suitable for use in an IC. According to the preferred method a metal oxide thin film is deposited on a substrate surface and reduced thereafter essentially into a metallic form with an organic reducing agent. The metal oxide is preferably deposited according to the principles of atomic layer deposition (ALD) using a metal source chemical and an oxygen source chemical. The reduction step is preferably carried out in an ALD reactor using one or more vaporized organic compounds that contain at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of —OH, —CHO and —COOH.

Abstract: Embodiments include semiconductor devices and methods of manufacture, one of which includes a capacitor unit formed on a silicon substrate. The capacitor unit is divided into a plurality of capacitor subunits which are partitioned from each other by a separating insulation layer. Each of the capacitor subunits includes a first electrode layer composed of an impurity diffusion layer formed in the silicon substrate, a second electrode layer composed of a conductive polysilicon layer and a dielectric layer composed of a silicon oxide layer interposed between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer. The respective capacitor subunits are connected in parallel to each other through a connector.

Abstract: A method of fabricating apparatus, and the apparatus, for providing low voltage temperature compensation in a single power supply HFET including a stack of epitaxially grown compound semiconductor layers with an HFET formed in the stack. A Schottky diode is formed in the stack adjacent the HFET during the formation of the HFET. The HFET and the Schottky diode are formed simultaneously, with a portion of one of the layers of metal forming the gate of the HFET being positioned in contact with a layer of the stack having a low bandgap (e.g. less than 0.8 eV) to provide a turn-on voltage for the Schottky diode of less than 1.8 Volts. The Schottky diode is connected to the gate contact of the HFET by a gate circuit to compensate for changes in current loading in the gate circuit with changes in temperature.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device. The method includes forming an oxidized portion of an initial gate structure and a sacrificial gate layer, and further includes removing the oxidized portion of the initial gate structure and the sacrificial gate layer to form a transistor device. In an exemplary embodiment, the method further includes subjecting a patterned gate layer to an etch to form the initial gate structure and the sacrificial layer. In an advantageous embodiment, the gate layer is patterned having a width greater than a predetermined design width.

Abstract: There is provided a method for forming damascene type of metal wire in a semiconductor device, which can improve the step coverage of seed layer in the metal wire process using copper and can also improve the orientation and binding force of the electric plated copper layer. The method includes the steps of depositing a copper thin layer by physical vapor deposition within damascene type of contact hole and trench for line, forming a seed layer by chemical vapor deposition, and then depositing copper for main wire by electric plating, wherein the copper layer deposited by physical vapor deposition can improve the orientation and the binding force of copper seed layer deposited later by Cu CVD. The step coverage of the seed layer can be also improved due to chemical vapor deposition.

Abstract: A contact formed from the backside of an integrated circuit device includes a first conductive layer on a first surface of the integrated circuit device and a second conductive layer on a second surface of the device. The two conductive layers are coupled by way of an opening through the semiconductor substrate separating the two conductive layers. A method for making the backside contact comprises forming the first conductive layer, forming an opening through the semiconductor substrate to expose at least a portion of the underside of the first conductive layer, then filling the opening with a conductive material to provide an electrical contact to the first conductive layer from the backside of the integrated circuit device.

Abstract: A method for the fabrication of a semiconductor device which prevents the occurrence of a defective die and an erroneous alignment otherwise invoked by a difference in polishing level between an edge and a central portion of a wafer. The method comprises steps of forming a group of dummy patterns around an alignment key of edges of a wafer, wherein the wafer is obtained by forming the capacitor on the cell region, and the dummy pattern has the same elevation as the capacitor formed on the cell region; disposing an interlayer insulating film on a resulting structure obtained after the forming process; and performing a chemical-mechanical polishing on the interlayer insulating film. Further, the process of forming the group of dummy patterns may be performed while forming the capacitor on the cell region.

Abstract: A method for forming a semiconductor device includes providing a substrate and forming a gate stack on the substrate. The gate stack includes a gate electrode having a thickness. Source/drain regions are formed in the substrate proximate the gate stack, and a first metal silicide layer is formed over the source drain regions. The thickness of the gate electrode is reduced, and a second metal silicide layer is formed over the reduced thickness gate electrode.

Abstract: A process for fabricating a memory cell in a two-bit EEPROM device, the process includes forming an ONO layer overlying a semiconductor substrate, depositing a resist mask overlying the ONO layer, patterning the resist mask, implanting the semiconductor substrate with an n-type dopant, wherein the resist mask is used as an ion implant mask, and performing a resist flow operation on the semiconductor substrate after implanting the semiconductor substrate with an n-type dopant. In one preferred embodiment, the resist flow operation on the semiconductor substrate includes baking the semiconductor substrate in an oven at about 100° C. to about 300° C. for about 5 minutes to about 30 minutes to thin down the resist mask and cause the edges of the resist mask to become rounded.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method of manufacturing a semiconductor capacitor. In the semiconductor capacitor manufacturing method, an amorphous film composed of non-doped silicon is formed. The amorphous film is changed to a lower film having projections and depressions defined in the surface thereof by heat treatment. An amorphous film composed of impurity-doped silicon is formed over the surface of the lower film. Further, the amorphous film composed of the impurity-doped silicon is changed to an upper film having projections and depressions defined in the surface thereof by heat treatment with the projections and depressions provided over the surface of the lower film as a basis. The semiconductor capacitor is equipped with an electrode having the lower film and the upper film.

Abstract: Methods are provided for selective formation of oxidation-resistant caps for conductive plugs in semiconductor device fabrication. One embodiment of the present invention forms a sacrificial layer over a recessed polysilicon plug. The sacrificial layer is readily planarized using chemical mechanical planarization to isolate the cap within a recessed via. Then, an immersion plating process is used to replace the atoms of the sacrificial layer with atoms of a desired metal, such as platinum, thereby creating a metal cap isolated within the via. The advantages of planarization to isolate material within recessed via are thus obtained without having to planarize or otherwise etch the desired metal. The cap layer can be further reacted to form a barrier compound prior to forming a capacitor over the plug. Advantageously, the plug structure resists oxidation during fabrication of overlying capacitors that incorporate high dielectric constant materials.

Abstract: A mostly copper-containing interconnect (126) overlies a semiconductor device substrate (100), and a transitional metallurgy structure (312, 508, 716, 806) that includes an aluminum-containing film (200, 506, 702, 802) contacts a portion of the mostly copper-containing interconnect. In one embodiment, the transitional metallurgy is formed over a portion of a bond pad (128). In an alternative embodiment, the transitional metallurgy includes an energy alterable fuse portion (710) that electrically contacts two conductive regions (712 and 714), and in yet another embodiment, the transitional metallurgy is formed over a copper-containing edge seal portion (809).

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method for manufacturing a field effect transistor (100) includes forming a polysilicon gate (104) on a surface (106) of a semiconductor substrate (102) in association with adjacent source/drain regions (110, 112) and forming dielectric spacers (124, 126) on sides of the polysilicon gate. The method further includes forming a trench (202) between the dielectric spacers on a surface (200) of the polysilicon gate and filling at least a portion of the trench with barrier and copper or other high conductivity metal to form a copper-polysilicon gate of the field effect transistor.

Abstract: A method for moving resist stripper across the surface of a semiconductor substrate. The method includes applying a wet chemical resist stripper, such as an organic or oxidizing wet chemical resist stripper, to at least a portion of a photomask positioned over the semiconductor substrate. A carrier fluid, such as a gas, is then directed toward the semiconductor substrate so as to move the resist stripper across the substrate. The carrier fluid may be directed toward the substrate as the resist stripper is being applied thereto or following application of the resist stripper. A system for effecting the method is also disclosed.

Abstract: Salicide processing is implemented with silicon nitride sidewall spacers by initially depositing a refractory metal, e.g., Ni, in the presence of nitrogen to form a metal nitride layer to prevent the reaction of the deposited metal with free Si in silicon nitride sidewall spacers, thereby avoiding bridging between the metal silicide layer on the gate electrode and the metal silicide layers on the source/drain regions of a semiconductor device.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing multilevel interconnects. A single or dual damascene interconnect structure is formed in a first dielectric layer. A cap layer or middle etch stop layer is formed over the interconnect structure and the first dielectric layer. The cap layer or the middle etch stop layer is treated with nitrogen plasma to convert a hydrophobic surface into a hydrophilic surface. An adhesion promoter layer is formed over the cap layer or middle etch stop layer. A low-k dielectric layer is formed over the adhesion promoter layer. A single or dual damascene structure is formed in the low-k dielectric layer, thereby forming a multilevel interconnect.

Abstract: In a method for fabricating an LSI in which primitive devices such as transistors are formed on a semiconductor substrate and a plurality of interconnect layers are formed thereover to provide sub-circuits of successively larger scale and increasing complexity including sub-circuits which are formed by a connection of the primitive devices and sub-circuits of a larger scale which are formed by a connection of the sub-circuits, under a condition that an intermediate interconnect layer is formed, an exhaustive test, a functional test, a stuck-at fault test, a quiescent power supply current test or the like takes place with respect to the primitive devices or the sub-circuits which are wired together by the intermediate interconnect layer, and subsequently, a wiring connection test takes place after the formation of each subsequent interconnect layer. A fault coverage is improved while a testing cost and a fabricating cost are reduced.

Abstract: A process for fabricating a metal-metal capacitor within an integrated circuit comprises the steps of: producing a first metal electrode, a second metal electrode, and a dielectric layer on top of a lower insulating layer; and depositing an upper insulating layer on top of the two metal electrodes and the dielectric layer. The integrated circuit comprises the insulating layer, a first metal layer which is on top of the lower insulating layer, and the upper insulating layer which is on top of the first metal layer. The capacitor comprises the first metal electrode, the second metal electrode, and the dielectric layer wherein each of the two metal electrodes is in contact with one side of the dielectric layer. The electrodes and the dielectric layer lie between the lower insulating layer, which supports a level of metallization (M1), and the upper insulating layer which covers this level of metallization.