Patents Examined by Elias M. Ullah
  • Patent number: 10157983
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a power MOSFET or IGBT cell includes an N-type drift region grown over the substrate. An N-type layer, having a higher dopant concentration than the drift region, is then formed over the drift region. A P-well is formed over the N-type layer, and an N+ source/emitter region is formed in the P-well. A gate is formed over the P-well's lateral channel and has a vertical extension into a trench. A positive gate voltage inverts the lateral channel and increases the vertical conduction in the N-type layer along the sidewalls of the trench to reduce on-resistance. A vertical shield field plate is also in the trench and may be connected to the gate. The field plate laterally depletes the N-type layer when the device is off to increase the breakdown voltage. Floating P-islands in the N-type drift region increase breakdown voltage and reduce the saturation current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: MAXPOWER SEMICONDUCTOR INC.
    Inventors: Jun Zeng, Mohamed N. Darwish, Wenfang Du, Richard A. Blanchard, Kui Pu, Shih-Tzung Su
  • Patent number: 10153241
    Abstract: A semiconductor device is provided. The semiconductor device includes an electrode pad provided above a semiconductor substrate; and a wire bonded on the electrode pad and including copper. The electrode pad includes an electrode layer including aluminum and a support layer harder than the wire and the electrode layer. The wire is in contact with the electrode layer and the support layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Takemasa Watanabe, Naoya Take, Sachio Kodama
  • Patent number: 10150668
    Abstract: In embodiments, a package assembly may include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) having an active side and an inactive side. In embodiments, the MEMS may be coupled directly to the ASIC by way of one or more interconnects. The MEMS, ASIC, and one or more interconnects may define or form a cavity such that the active portion of the MEMS is within the cavity. In some embodiments, the package assembly may include a plurality of MEMS coupled directly to the ASIC by way of a plurality of one or more interconnects. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: Intel IP Corporation
    Inventors: Gerald Ofner, Thorsten Meyer, Reinhard Mahnkopf, Christian Geissler, Andreas Augustin
  • Patent number: 10147638
    Abstract: Methods of forming staircase structures. The method comprises forming a patterned hardmask over tiers. An exposed portion of an uppermost tier is removed to form an uppermost stair. A first liner material is formed over the patterned hardmask and the uppermost tier, and a portion of the first liner material is removed to form a first liner and expose an underlying tier. An exposed portion of the underlying tier is removed to form an underlying stair in the underlying tier. A second liner material is formed over the patterned hardmask, the first liner, and the second liner. A portion of the second liner material is removed to form a second liner and expose another underlying tier. An exposed portion of the another underlying tier is removed to form another underlying stair. The patterned hardmask is removed. Staircase structures and semiconductor device structure are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Lance Williamson, Adam L. Olson, Kaveri Jain, Robert Dembi, William R. Brown
  • Patent number: 10147657
    Abstract: A semiconductor device including an electrical conductive sensor structure connected to a sensor circuit. At least a part of the electrical conductive sensor structure is located below a pad of the semiconductor device. Further, the sensor circuit is configured to detect a value or a change of a value of an electrical parameter associated with the electrical conductive sensor structure indicating a crack within proximity of the pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventor: Nikolay Ilkov
  • Patent number: 10147598
    Abstract: A manufacturing method for insulation layer, a manufacturing method for array substrate and an array substrate are disclosed. Wherein, the manufacturing method for insulation layer comprises steps of: depositing an insulation layer on a substrate; exposing and developing the insulation layer in order to obtain the insulation layer having an opening; light curing the insulation layer having the opening; and performing a high-temperature annealing treatment to the insulation layer having the opening after being light cured. Adopting the manufacturing method for insulation layer of the present invention, a situation of deformation at the opening of the insulation layer can be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: SHENZHEN CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD
    Inventor: Deyong Fan
  • Patent number: 10147723
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a first active fin and a second active fin on the substrate, respectively, a plurality of first epitaxial layers on the first active fin and on the second active fin, respectively, a plurality of second epitaxial layers on the plurality of first epitaxial layers, a bridge layer connecting the plurality of second epitaxial layers to each other, and a third epitaxial layer on the bridge layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seok-Hoon Kim, Jin-Bum Kim, Kwan-Heum Lee, Byeong-Chan Lee, Cho-Eun Lee, Jin-Hee Han, Bon-Young Koo
  • Patent number: 10141266
    Abstract: A semiconductor package structure and a method of fabricating the same are provided. The semiconductor package structure includes a package body having opposing first and second surfaces; a plurality of first conductive pads and a plurality of second conductive pads formed on the first surface of the package body; a semiconductor component embedded in the package body and electrically connected to the first conductive pads; and a plurality of conductive elements embedded in the package body, each of the conductive elements having a first end electrically connected to a corresponding one of the second conductive pads and a second end opposing the first end and exposed from the second surface of the package body. Since the semiconductor component is embedded in the package body, the thickness of the semiconductor package structure is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Assignee: Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yu-Cheng Pai, Wei-Chung Hsiao, Shih-Chao Chiu, Chun-Hsien Lin, Ming-Chen Sun, Tzu-Chieh Shen, Chia-Cheng Chen
  • Patent number: 10134986
    Abstract: Subject matter disclosed herein may relate to fabrication of correlated electron materials used, for example, to perform a switching function. In embodiments, a correlated electron material may be doped using dopant species derived from one or more precursors utilized to fabricate nearby structures such as, for example, a conductive substrate or a conductive overlay.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: ARM Ltd.
    Inventors: Kimberly Gay Reid, Lucian Shifren
  • Patent number: 10128187
    Abstract: One aspect of the disclosure relates to an integrated circuit structure. The integrated circuit structure may include: a gate stack having a gate conductor therein over a substrate, the gate stack being within a dielectric layer; a source/drain contact to a source/drain region over the substrate and adjacent to the gate stack within the dielectric layer; a conductor extending above, without contacting, the source/drain contact and extending within the dielectric layer to contact the gate conductor within the gate stack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES INC.
    Inventors: Hui Zang, Josef S. Watts
  • Patent number: 10121667
    Abstract: In one aspect, a method of processing a semiconductor substrate is disclosed, which comprises incorporating at least one dopant in a semiconductor substrate so as to generate a doped polyphase surface layer on a light-trapping surface, and optically annealing the surface layer via exposure to a plurality of laser pulses having a pulsewidth in a range of about 1 nanosecond to about 50 nanoseconds so as to enhance crystallinity of said doped surface layer while maintaining high above-bandgap, and in many embodiments sub-bandgap optical absorptance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: President And Fellows of Harvard College
    Inventors: Eric Mazur, Benjamin Franta, Michael J. Aziz, David Pastor
  • Patent number: 10121695
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a wiring substrate, a semiconductor chip, conductive paste, and an adhesive layer. The wiring substrate includes an insulating layer and a wiring layer on a surface of the insulating layer. The semiconductor chip includes a circuit-formation surface in which an electrode pad is provided, and is mounted on the wiring substrate with the circuit-formation surface facing toward the wiring layer. The conductive paste electrically connects the wiring layer and the electrode pad. The adhesive layer is over the entirety of the surface of the insulating layer, and covers the wiring layer and the conductive paste. The adhesive layer fills in a gap between the surface of the insulating layer and the circuit-formation surface, to bond the wiring substrate and the semiconductor chip. The adhesive layer extends onto a side surface of the semiconductor chip to form a fillet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: SHINKO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tadashi Arai, Yoshikazu Hirabayashi, Hidetoshi Arai, Tadashi Kodaira
  • Patent number: 10115592
    Abstract: A lithography method is provided in accordance with some embodiments. The lithography method includes forming an under layer on a substrate; forming a silicon-containing middle layer on the under layer, wherein the silicon-containing middle layer has a thermal base generator (TBG) composite; forming a photosensitive layer on the silicon-containing middle layer; performing an exposing process to the photosensitive layer; and developing the photosensitive layer, thereby forming a patterned photosensitive layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Chen-Yu Liu, Ching-Yu Chang, Chin-Hsiang Lin
  • Patent number: 10115899
    Abstract: A method is provided that includes forming a word line above a substrate, the word line disposed in a first direction, forming a bit line above the substrate, the bit line disposed in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, forming a nonvolatile memory material between the word line and the bit line by selectively forming a conductive oxide material layer adjacent the word line, and forming a semiconductor material layer adjacent the bit line, and forming a memory cell comprising the nonvolatile memory material at an intersection of the bit line and the word line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: SanDisk Technologies LLC
    Inventors: Yusuke Yoshida, Tomohiro Uno, Tomoyuki Obu, Takeki Ninomiya, Toshihiro Iizuka
  • Patent number: 10115894
    Abstract: Electrical switching technologies employ the otherwise undesirable line defect in crystalline materials to form conductive filaments. A switching cell includes a crystalline layer disposed between an active electrode and another electrode. The crystalline layer has at least one channel, such as a line defect, extending from one surface of the crystalline layer to the other surface. Upon application of a voltage on the two electrodes, the active electrode provides metal ions that can migrate from the active electrode to the other electrode along the line defect, thereby forming a conductive filament. The switching cell can precisely locate the conductive filament within the line defect and increase the device-to-device switching uniformity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
    Inventors: Jeehwan Kim, Shinhyun Choi
  • Patent number: 10109555
    Abstract: The present invention provides a silicon nitride circuit board in which metal plates are attached on front and rear sides of a silicon nitride substrate having a three-point flexural strength of 500 MPa or higher, wherein assuming that a thickness of the metal plate on the front side is denoted by t1, and a thickness of the metal plate on the rear side is denoted by t2, a numerical relation: |t1?t2|?0.30 mm is satisfied, and a warp is formed in the silicon nitride substrate so that the silicon nitride substrate is convex toward the metal plate on one of the front side or the rear side; and warp amounts of the silicon nitride substrate in a long-side direction and a short-side direction both fall within a range from 0.01 to 1.0 mm. It is preferable that a longitudinal width (L1) of the silicon nitride substrate falls within a range from 10 to 200 mm, and a transverse width (L2) of the silicon nitride substrate falls within a range from 10 to 200 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Materials Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiromasa Kato, Noboru Kitamori, Takayuki Naba, Masashi Umehara
  • Patent number: 10109679
    Abstract: Systems and methods for fabricating a non-volatile memory with integrated selector devices (or steering devices) are described. Each memory cell within a memory array may be placed in series with a selector device, such as a diode or other non-linear current-voltage device, in order to reduce leakage currents through unselected memory cells during a memory operation. In some cases, fabricating a selector device within a memory hole region may be difficult due to the dimensions of the selector device. A wordline sidewall recess process or a wordline sidewall recess with a replacement metal gate process may be used to integrate selector devices with memory cells outside of the memory hole region. By fabricating non-linear selector devices outside of the memory hole region, the area of the memory array may be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: SANDISK TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventors: Yangyin Chen, Christopher Petti
  • Patent number: 10103264
    Abstract: A circuit device having differently-strained NMOS and PMOS FinFETs is provided. In an exemplary embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a substrate with a first fin structure and a second fin structure formed thereup. The first fin structure includes opposing source/drain regions disposed above a surface of the substrate; a channel region disposed between the opposing source/drain regions and disposed above the surface of the substrate; and a first buried layer disposed between the channel region and the substrate. The first buried layer includes a compound semiconductor oxide. The second fin structure includes a second buried layer disposed between the substrate and a channel region of the second fin structure, such that the second buried layer is different in composition from the first. For example, the second fin structure may be free of the compound semiconductor oxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventor: Kuo-Cheng Ching
  • Patent number: 10103124
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a first semiconductor chip including plural circuit blocks provided on a semiconductor substrate, and plural through-silicon vias that are arranged so as to surround the outer periphery of each of the plural circuit blocks and that penetrate the semiconductor substrate, and a second semiconductor chip that is stacked on the first semiconductor chip, and that is supplied with a power source through the plural through-silicon vias.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignee: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventor: Hironori Kawaminami
  • Patent number: 10096727
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a finger electrode for a solar cell, the method including printing a conductive paste on a front surface of a substrate using a printing mask having an opening rate of about 65% or more and baking the printed conductive paste. The conductive paste includes a conductive powder, a glass frit including about 30 mol % to about 60 mol % of tellurium oxide and about 0.1 mol % to about 10 mol % of tungsten oxide, and an organic vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seok Hyun Jung, Min Jae Kim, Sang Hyun Yang, Hyun Jin Koo, Dong Suk Kim, Ju Hee Kim, Young Ki Park, Min Young Lee