Patents Examined by Ha Tran T Nguyen
  • Patent number: 9337210
    Abstract: A vertical ferroelectric field effect transistor construction comprises an isolating core. A transition metal dichalcogenide material encircles the isolating core and has a lateral wall thickness of 1 monolayer to 7 monolayers. A ferroelectric gate dielectric material encircles the transition metal dichalcogenide material. Conductive gate material encircles the ferroelectric gate dielectric material. The transition metal dichalcogenide material extends elevationally inward and elevationally outward of the conductive gate material. A conductive contact is directly against a lateral outer sidewall of the transition metal dichalcogenide material that is a) elevationally inward of the conductive gate material, or b) elevationally outward of the conductive gate material. Additional embodiments are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Kamal M. Karda, Chandra Mouli, Gurtej S. Sandhu
  • Patent number: 9337412
    Abstract: A magnetic tunnel junction stack is provided that includes nonmagnetic spacer layers between the free layer and the polarizer layer formed from magnesium oxide and tantalum nitride materials that balance the spin torques acting on the free layer. The design provided enables a deterministic final state for the storage layer and significantly improves the tunneling magnetoresistance value and switching characteristics of the magnetic tunnel junction for MRAM applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignee: SPIN TRANSFER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Mustafa Pinarbasi, Bartek Kardasz
  • Patent number: 9330931
    Abstract: In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, which uses a triple patterning process, a porous layer covering sidewalls and an upper surface of a polymer-containing pattern is formed on a layer to be etched. A decomposition gas is supplied to the polymer-containing pattern through the porous layer, and a portion of the polymer-containing pattern is decomposed to form a reduced polymer-containing pattern and form a void between the reduced polymer-containing pattern and the porous layer. A portion of the porous layer is removed to form a porous spacer pattern spaced apart from the reduced polymer-containing pattern. The layer to be etched is etched by using the reduced polymer-containing pattern and the porous spacer pattern as an etch mask.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Min-sung Song, Jin-hyun Shin, Jae-hwang Sim, Joon-sung Lim, Bong-hyun Choi
  • Patent number: 9330974
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a first metal line disposed in a first metal level above a substrate. A second metal line is disposed in a second metal level disposed over the first metal level. A third metal line is disposed in a third metal level disposed over the second metal level. A through level via contacts the first metal line and the third metal line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Sunoo Kim, Muhammed Shafi Pallachalil, Moosung Chae, Erdem Kaltalioglu
  • Patent number: 9331033
    Abstract: A method for forming a stacked metal contact in electrical communication with aluminum wiring in a semiconductor wafer of an integrated circuit is disclosed. The method includes the steps of: forming at least one passivation layer on a surface of the semiconductor wafer of the integrated circuit, where an aluminum wiring is embedded; forming a patterned terminal via opening through the passivation layer to expose the aluminum wiring; removing a portion of the aluminum wiring from the patterned terminal via opening by chemical etching and forming a thin zinc film on an etched surface at the same time; forming a nickel film stacked on the zinc film; and; and forming a metal stack in the patterned terminal via opening and/or at least a portion of the passivation layer by chemical plating or metal plating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: Sunasic Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Chi-Chou Lin, Zheng-Ping He
  • Patent number: 9331140
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a plurality of capacitors disposed on a substrate and a support pattern supporting upper portions and lower portions of the capacitors. Each of the capacitors includes a lower electrode, an upper electrode, and a dielectric layer between the lower and upper electrodes. The lower electrode includes a first electrode portion electrically connected to the substrate and having a solid shape and a second electrode portion stacked on the first electrode portion and having a shape comprising an opening therein. The support pattern includes an upper pattern contacting sidewalls of top end portions of the lower electrodes and a lower pattern vertically spaced apart from the upper pattern. The lower pattern contacts sidewalls under the top end portions of the lower electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Dongkyun Park, Han-Young Kim, Joon Kim, Hyun Park, Junghwan Oh, Minhee Cho
  • Patent number: 9330979
    Abstract: A low Rdson LDMOS transistor having a shallow field oxide region that separates a gate electrode of the transistor from a drain diffusion region of the transistor. The shallow field oxide region is formed separate from the field isolation regions (e.g., STI regions) used to isolate circuit elements on the substrate. Fabrication of the shallow field oxide region is controlled such that this region extends below the upper surface of the semiconductor substrate to a depth that is much shallower than the depth of field isolation regions. For example, the shallow field oxide region may extend below the upper surface of the substrate by only Angstroms or less. As a result, the current path through the resulting LDMOS transistor is substantially unimpeded by the shallow field oxide region, resulting in a low on-resistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: Tower Semiconductor Ltd.
    Inventors: Sharon Levin, Alexey Heiman, Zohar Shaked, Gal Fleishon
  • Patent number: 9324577
    Abstract: Methods of modifying a self-aligned contact process in a semiconductor fabrication and a semiconductor device are provided. A method includes forming a transistor over a substrate, including depositing a high-k dielectric layer over the substrate; depositing a work function metal layer over the high-k dielectric layer; forming a metal gate over the work function metal layer; forming two spacers sandwiching the work function metal layer and the metal gate; and forming a doped region in the substrate; etching the work function metal layer and the metal gate to leave a metal residue over inner walls of the two spacers exposing the work function metal layer and the metal gate; modifying the metal residue and the exposed work function metal layer and metal gate to form a metal compound; depositing an insulator covering the metal compound; and forming contact pads respectively electrically connected to the metal gate and the doped region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tsung-Yu Chiang, Wei-Shuo Ho, Kuang-Hsin Chen
  • Patent number: 9324835
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a MOSFET, including: performing ion implantation, via a shallow trench surrounding an active region in a semiconductor substrate, into a first sidewall of the active region and into a second sidewall of the active region opposite to the first sidewall to form a first heavily doped region in the first sidewall and a second heavily doped region in the second sidewall; filling the shallow trench with an insulating material, to form a shallow trench isolation; forming a gate stack and an insulating layer on the substrate, wherein the insulating layer surrounds and caps the gate stack; forming openings in the substrate using the shallow trench isolation, the first and second heavily doped regions, and the insulating layer as a hard mask; and epitaxially growing a semiconductor layer with a bottom surface and sidewalls of each of the openings as a seed layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: INSTITUTE OF MICROELECTRONICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
    Inventors: Haizhou Yin, Huilong Zhu
  • Patent number: 9312371
    Abstract: A structure, including a bipolar junction transistor and method of fabrication thereof, is provided herein. The bipolar junction transistor includes: a substrate including a substrate region having a first conductivity type; an emitter region over a first portion of the substrate region, the emitter region having a second conductivity type; a collector region over a second portion of the substrate region, the collector region having the second conductivity type; and, a base region overlie structure disposed over, in part, the substrate region. The base region overlie structure separates the emitter region from the collector region and aligns to a base region of the bipolar junction transistor within the substrate region, between the first portion and the second portion of the substrate region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2016
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.
    Inventor: Jagar Singh
  • Patent number: 9299714
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a channel layer protruding from a substrate and having protrusions extending from a sidewall thereof. Floating gates surrounding the channel layer are provided between the protrusions. Control gates surrounding the floating gates are stacked along the channel layer. Interlayer insulating layers are interposed between the control gates stacked along the channel layer. A level difference exists between a lateral surface of each of the floating gates, and a lateral surface of each of the protrusions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignees: SK HYNIX INC., TOHOKU UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Moon-Sik Seo, Tetsuo Endoh
  • Patent number: 9293345
    Abstract: Semiconductor devices and sidewall image transfer methods with a spin on hardmask. Methods for forming fins include forming a trench through a stack of layers that includes a top and bottom insulator layer, and a layer to be patterned on a substrate; isotropically etching the top and bottom insulator layers; forming a hardmask material in the trench to the level of the bottom insulator layer; isotropically etching the top insulator layer; and etching the bottom insulator layer and the layer to be patterned down to the substrate to form fins from the layer to be patterned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES INC.
    Inventors: Hong He, Chiahsun Tseng, Chun-Chen Yeh, Yunpeng Yin
  • Patent number: 9287321
    Abstract: According to a first embodiment of the present invention, a magnetic tunnel junction device comprises: a free layer having a magnetization in a variable direction; a pinned layer having a magnetization in a pinned direction; and a tunnel insulation film formed between the free layer and the pinned layer, wherein the pinned layer includes a ferromagnetic film and an amorphous metal film. In addition, a magnetic device according to a second embodiment of the present invention comprises: an amorphous or nanocrystal material layer; and a perpendicular magnetic anisotropic material layer formed on the amorphous or nanocrystal material layer. The amorphous or nanocrystal material layer is a predefined amorphous material or nanocrystal material layer serving as a lower layer, and the perpendicular magnetic anisotropic material layer is formed on the amorphous or nanocrystal material layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kungwon Rhie, Jinki Hong, Ku-youl Jung, Jonghyun Kim, Dongsuk Kim
  • Patent number: 9287269
    Abstract: One-transistor volatile memory devices and manufacturing methods thereof are provided. The device includes a substrate having top and bottom surfaces and an isolation well disposed below the top substrate surface. An area of the substrate between the isolation buffer layer and the top substrate surface serves as a body region of a transistor. The isolation well isolates the body region from the substrate. The device includes a band engineered (BE) floating body disposed over the isolation well and within the body region. The device also includes a transistor disposed over the substrate. The transistor includes a gate disposed on the top substrate surface, and first and second diffusion regions disposed in the body region adjacent to first and second sides of the gate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES Singapore Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Eng Huat Toh, Danny Pak-Chum Shum, Shyue Seng Tan
  • Patent number: 9287259
    Abstract: MISFETs after the 32 nm technology node have a High-k gate insulating film and a metal gate electrode. Such MISFETs have the problem that the absolute value of the threshold voltage of n-MISFET and p-MISFET inevitably increases by the subsequent high temperature heat treatment. The threshold voltage is therefore controlled by forming various threshold voltage adjusting metal films on a High-k gate insulating film and introducing a film component from them into the High-k gate insulating film. The present inventors have however revealed that lanthanum or the like introduced into the High-k gate insulating film of the n-MISFET is likely to transfer to the STI region by the subsequent heat treatment. The semiconductor integrated circuit device according to the present invention is provided with an N channel threshold voltage adjusting element outward diffusion preventing region in the surface portion of the element isolation region below and at the periphery of the gate stack of the n-MISFET.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: Renesas Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Hirofumi Shinohara, Yukio Nishida, Katsuyuki Horita, Tomohiro Yamashita, Hidekazu Oda
  • Patent number: 9275909
    Abstract: Semiconductor structures may include a stack of alternating dielectric materials and control gates, charge storage structures laterally adjacent to the control gates, a charge block material between each of the charge storage structures and the laterally adjacent control gates, and a pillar extending through the stack of alternating oxide materials and control gates. Each of the dielectric materials in the stack has at least two portions of different densities and/or different rates of removal. Also disclosed are methods of fabricating such semiconductor structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Srikant Jayanti, Fatma Arzum Simsek-Ege, Pavan Kumar Reddy Aella
  • Patent number: 9276058
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a plurality of lower electrodes on a substrate, with each of the lower electrodes extending in a height direction from the substrate and including sidewalls, the lower electrodes being spaced apart from each other in a first direction and in a second direction, a plurality of first supporting layer patterns contacting the sidewalls of the lower electrodes, the first supporting layer patterns extending in the first direction between ones of the lower electrodes adjacent in the second direction, a plurality of second supporting layer patterns contacting the sidewalls of the lower electrodes, the second supporting layer pattern extending in the second direction between ones of the lower electrodes adjacent in the first direction, the plurality of second supporting layer patterns being spaced apart from the plurality of first supporting layer patterns in the height direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Sung-Ho Lee, Jin Choi, Yong-Ho Yoo, Jong-Hyuk Kang, Hyun-Joo Cha, Hee-Dong Park, Tae-Jung Park
  • Patent number: 9263566
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and its manufacturing method. The semiconductor device comprises: a gate structure located on a substrate, Ge-containing semiconductor layers located on the opposite sides of the gate structure, a doped semiconductor layer epitaxially grown between the Ge-containing semiconductor layers, the bottom surfaces of the Ge-containing semiconductor layers located on the same horizontal plane as that of the epitaxial semiconductor layer. The epitaxial semiconductor layer is used as a channel region, and the Ge-containing semiconductor layers are used as source/drain extension regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING INTERNATIONAL (BEIJING) CORPORATION
    Inventor: Fumitake Mieno
  • Patent number: 9252123
    Abstract: A multi-chip package may include a first semiconductor chip, a second semiconductor chip, a first stud bump, a first nail head bonding bump, a second stud bump, and a first conductive wire. The first semiconductor chip may have a first bonding pad. The second semiconductor chip may be stacked on the first semiconductor chip so the first bonding pad remains exposed. The second semiconductor chip may have a second bonding pad. The first stud bump may be formed on the first bonding pad. The first nail head bonding bump may be formed on the first stud bump, with one end of a first conductive wire formed between the two. The second stud bump may be formed on the second bonding pad, with another end of the first conductive wire formed between the two. An electrical connection test may be performed on each of the wire bonding processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2016
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Won-Gil Han, Se-Yeoul Park, Ho-Tae Jin, Byong-Joo Kim, Yong-Je Lee, Han-Ki Park
  • Patent number: 9240418
    Abstract: Methods and structures for reducing resistance in wordlines of an integrated circuit memory device are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes forming multiple columns of polycrystalline silicon for respective number of wordlines, forming core transistor junctions and periphery transistor junctions associated with the wordlines, performing a salicidation process for the periphery transistor junction and performing a salicidation process for the columns of polycrystalline silicon to from the wordlines with low resistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2016
    Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Shenqing Fang, Jihwan Choi, Connie Wang, Eunha Kim