Patents Examined by Jerome Jackson
  • Patent number: 9520434
    Abstract: An image pickup module includes: an image pickup chip including a main surface on which a light-receiving portion of an image pickup device and a plurality of electrodes connected to the light-receiving portion are formed; and a wiring board including flying leads bonded to the respective plurality of electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masashi Yamada
  • Patent number: 9515256
    Abstract: Phase transition devices may include a functional layer made of functional material that can undergo a change in conductance in response to an external stimulus such as an electric or magnetic or optical field, or heat. The functional material transitions between a conducting state and a non-conducting state, upon application of the external stimulus. A capacitive device may include a functional layer between a top electrode and a bottom electrode, and a dielectric layer between the functional layer and the top electrode. A three terminal phase transition switch may include a functional layer, for example a conductive oxide channel, deposited between a source and a drain, and a gate dielectric layer and a gate electrode deposited on the functional layer. An array of phase transition switches and/or capacitive devices may be formed on a substrate, which may be made of inexpensive flexible material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2016
    Assignee: PRESIDENTS AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE
    Inventors: Shriram Ramanathan, Dmitry Ruzmetov, Venkatesh Narayanamurti, Changhyun Ko
  • Patent number: 9515089
    Abstract: Fabricating a semiconductor device includes providing a substrate, wherein the substrate is comprised of a base layer, a doped silicon layer on top of the base layer, and an undoped silicon layer on top of the doped silicon layer; forming a hard mask layer on top of the substrate; forming at least one mandrel on top of the hard mask layer; forming a spacer layer on top of exposed portions of the hard mask layer and the at least one mandrel; etching portions of the spacer layer; removing the at least one mandrel; etching regions of the hard mask layer and the undoped silicon layer not protected by remaining portions of the spacer layer to form at least one fin; and removing the remaining portions of the spacer layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2016
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Kangguo Cheng, Hong He, Sivananda K. Kanakasabapathy, Chiahsun Tseng, Yunpeng Yin
  • Patent number: 9508850
    Abstract: Approaches for enabling uniform epitaxial (epi) growth in an epi junction area of a semiconductor device (e.g., a fin field effect transistor device) are provided. Specifically, a semiconductor device is provided including a dummy gate and a set of fin field effect transistors (FinFETs) formed over a substrate; a spacer layer formed over the dummy gate and each of the set of FinFETs; and an epi material formed within a set of recesses in the substrate, the set of recesses formed prior to removal of an epi block layer over the dummy gate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES INC.
    Inventors: Zhenyu Hu, Richard J. Carter, Andy Wei, Qi Zhang, Sruthi Muralidharan, Amy L. Child
  • Patent number: 9502551
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer formed over the first semiconductor layer, a gate insulating film contacting the second semiconductor layer, and a gate electrode facing the second semiconductor layer via the gate insulating film. The first semiconductor layer includes an Alx?1-xN layer (? includes Ga or In, and 0<x<1), and the second semiconductor layer includes an Aly?1-yN layer (0?y<1), in which y of the Aly?1-yN layer forming the second semiconductor layer increases at least in a region under the gate electrode as a position where y is measured approaches the first semiconductor layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2016
    Assignee: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Okamoto, Tatsuo Nakayama, Takashi Inoue, Hironobu Miyamoto
  • Patent number: 9496218
    Abstract: An integrated circuit device including a through-silicon-via (TSV) structure and methods of manufacturing the same are provided. The integrated circuit device may include the TSV structure penetrating through a semiconductor structure. The TSV structure may include a first through electrode unit including impurities of a first concentration and a second through electrode unit including impurities of a second concentration greater than the first concentration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Do-Sun Lee, Kun-Sang Park, Byung-Lyul Park, Seong-min Son, Gil-heyun Choi
  • Patent number: 9496252
    Abstract: An integrated circuit includes an NMOS SCR in which a p-type body well of the NMOS transistor provides a base layer for a vertical NPN layer stack. The base layer is formed by implanting p-type dopants using an implant mask which has a cutout mask element over the base area, so as to block the p-type dopants from the base area. The base layer is implanted concurrently with p-type body wells under NMOS transistors in logic components in the integrated circuit. Subsequent anneals cause the p-type dopants to diffuse into the base area, forming a base with a lower doping density that adjacent regions of the body well of the NMOS transistor in the NMOS SCR. The NMOS SCR may have a symmetric transistor, a drain extended transistor, or may be a bidirectional NMOS SCR with a symmetric transistor integrated with a drain extended transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Henry Litzmann Edwards, Akram A. Salman
  • Patent number: 9490421
    Abstract: A method and system provide a magnetic junction usable in a magnetic device and which resides on a substrate. The magnetic junction includes a reference layer, a nonmagnetic spacer layer, and a free layer. The nonmagnetic spacer layer is between the reference layer and the free layer. The free layer, the nonmagnetic spacer layer and the reference layer form nonzero angle(s) with the substrate. The magnetic junction is configured such that the free layer is switchable between a plurality of stable magnetic states when a write current is passed through the magnetic junction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Dmytro Apalkov, Alexey Vasilyevitch Khvalkovskiy, Vladimir Nikitin, Steven M. Watts
  • Patent number: 9490250
    Abstract: A half-bridge circuit includes a low-side transistor and a high-side transistor each having a load path and a control terminal. The half-bridge circuit further includes a high-side drive circuit having a level shifter with a level shifter transistor. The low-side transistor and the level shifter transistor are integrated in a common semiconductor body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventors: Anton Mauder, Franz Hirler, Joachim Weyers, Uwe Wahl
  • Patent number: 9484511
    Abstract: A light emitting device includes a light emitting element, a terminal substrate and a fixing member. The light emitting element is a semiconductor laminate having a first semiconductor layer, a light emitting layer, and a second semiconductor layer that are laminated in that order, a first electrode connected to the first semiconductor layer, and a second electrode connected to the second semiconductor layer. The terminal substrate includes a pair of terminals connected to the first electrode and the second electrode, and an insulator layer that fixes the terminals. At least a part of the outer edges of the terminal substrate is disposed more to a center of the light emitting device than the outer edges of the semiconductor laminate. The fixing member fixes the light emitting element and the terminal substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignee: NICHIA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ryoma Suenaga, Hiroto Tamaki
  • Patent number: 9484505
    Abstract: An LED structure is applied to a backlight source to set a white light of a backlight module at a standard D65 position of the CIE1931 chromaticity coordinates and used together with a display module. A red phosphor for emitting a red light, a yellow phosphor for emitting a yellow light, and a blue light LED chip are provided. The mixing ratio of the red phosphor to the yellow phosphor is controlled within a range of (2.33?1):1, so that the original LED white light falls within a region enclosed by ccy?1.8*ccx?0.12, ccy?1.8*ccx?0.336, ccy?0.33 and ccy?0.15 of the CIE1931 coordinates. Since the red phosphor does not absorb or convert yellow light, the brightness loss of the yellow light that excites the yellow phosphor is minimized. A color filter may be installed to achieve better NTSC effect and luminous efficacy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignee: Unity Opto Technology Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Chih-Chao Chang, Hung-Li Yeh, Po-Hsiang Chung, Chun-Che Lin, Ru-Shi Liu
  • Patent number: 9484205
    Abstract: A semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the device. The method includes: depositing a first dielectric layer on a semiconductor device; forming a plurality of first trenches through the first dielectric layer; depositing an insulating fill in the plurality of first trenches; planarizing the plurality of first trenches; forming a first gate contact between the plurality of first trenches; depositing a first contact fill in the first gate contact; planarizing the first gate contact; depositing a second dielectric layer on the device; forming a plurality of second trenches through the first and second dielectric layers; depositing a conductive fill in the plurality of second trenches; planarizing the plurality of second trenches; forming a second gate contact where the second gate contact is in contact with the first gate contact; depositing a second contact fill in the second gate contact; and planarizing the second gate contact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Josephine B. Chang, Paul Chang, Michael A. Guillorn
  • Patent number: 9478597
    Abstract: A display device includes a pixel portion in which a pixel is arranged in a matrix, the pixel including an inverted staggered thin film transistor having a combination of at least two kinds of oxide semiconductor layers with different amounts of oxygen and having a channel protective layer over a semiconductor layer to be a channel formation region overlapping a gate electrode layer and a pixel electrode layer electrically connected to the inverted staggered thin film transistor. In the periphery of the pixel portion in this display device, a pad portion including a conductive layer made of the same material as the pixel electrode layer is provided. In addition, the conductive layer is electrically connected to a common electrode layer formed on a counter substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2016
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Kengo Akimoto, Shigeki Komori, Hideki Uochi, Rihito Wada, Yoko Chiba
  • Patent number: 9472522
    Abstract: Packaging devices and methods of manufacture thereof for semiconductor devices are disclosed. In some embodiments, a packaging device includes a contact pad disposed over a substrate, and a passivation layer disposed over the substrate and a first portion of the contact pad, a second portion of the contact pad being exposed. A post passivation interconnect (PPI) line is disposed over the passivation layer and is coupled to the second portion of the contact pad. A PPI pad is disposed over the passivation layer and is coupled to the PPI line. An insulating material is disposed over the PPI line, the PPI pad being exposed. The insulating material is spaced apart from an edge portion of the PPI pad by a predetermined distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2016
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hsien-Wei Chen, Jie Chen
  • Patent number: 9472624
    Abstract: A semiconductor structure including a first nitride semiconductor layer, a second nitride semiconductor layer, and a third layer between the first nitride semiconductor layer and the second nitride semiconductor layer. The first nitride semiconductor layer has a first gallium composition ratio, the second nitride semiconductor layer has a second gallium composition ratio different from the first metal composition ratio, and the third layer has a third gallium composition ratio greater than at least one of the first gallium composition ratio or the second gallium composition ratio. The structure may also include a fourth layer for reducing tensile stress or increasing compression stress experienced by at least the second nitride semiconductor layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2016
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun-youn Kim, Joo-sung Kim, Moon-seung Yang
  • Patent number: 9466751
    Abstract: A novel photodetecting device having field confined by mesas is provided. The device is an avalanche photodiode (APD) of indium aluminum arsenide (InAlAs). The device has epitaxial layers with a multiplication layer at bottom as a cathode. Hence, the strongest electric field is confined inside the bottom of the device to avoid surface breakdown. Double mesa is used to confine the electric field of the multiplication layer. Furthermore, a composite multiplication layer with supper thin thickness and wide bandgap is used to reduce the tunneling dark current. Hence, the thickness of equivalent multiplication layer can be reduced to enhance sensitivity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: NATIONAL CENTRAL UNIVERSITY
    Inventor: Jin-Wei Shi
  • Patent number: 9455183
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a solder bump overlying and electrically connected to a pad region, and a metal cap layer formed on at least a portion of the solder bump. The metal cap layer has a melting temperature greater than the melting temperature of the solder bump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yi-Li Hsiao, Chen-Hua Yu, Shin-Puu Jeng, Chih-Hang Tung, Cheng-Chang Wei
  • Patent number: 9455307
    Abstract: There is provided a method of forming an active matrix electro-optical device, the method comprising providing a backplane comprising: a backplane substrate; a semiconductor particle formed separately from the backplane substrate and then fixed upon the backplane substrate at a predetermined position; the semiconductor particle planarized to remove portions of the semiconductor particle and to expose at a cross-section of the semiconductor particle a planar surface; and a controllable gated electronic component on or directly beneath the planar surface, the controllable gated electronic component configured to control one or more pixels of the electro-optical device. The method also comprises providing an optical portion comprising one or more pixel regions, the optical portion electrically connected to the backplane such that at least one of the pixel regions of the optical portion is electrically connected to the controllable gated electronic component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignee: DIFTEK LASERS, INC.
    Inventor: Douglas R. Dykaar
  • Patent number: 9450005
    Abstract: An image pickup device according to the present disclosure includes a first pixel and a second pixel each including a photodetection section and a light condensing section, the photodetection section including a photoelectric conversion element, the light condensing section condensing incident light toward the photodetection section, the first pixel and the second pixel being adjacent to each other and each having a step part on a photodetection surface of the photodetection section, in which at least a part of a wall surface of the step part is covered with a first light shielding section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2016
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Takeshi Yanagita, Suguru Saito, Kaoru Koike
  • Patent number: 9443972
    Abstract: A method of producing a semiconductor device includes providing a semiconductor body having a first surface and a dielectric layer arranged on the first surface and forming at least one first trench in the dielectric layer. The at least one first trench extends to the semiconductor body and defines a dielectric mesa region in the dielectric layer. The method further includes forming a second trench in the dielectric mesa region distant to the at least one first trench, forming a semiconductor layer on uncovered regions of the semiconductor body in the at least one first trench and forming a field electrode in the second trench.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2016
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventor: Oliver Blank