Patents Examined by Jesse Fenty
  • Patent number: 6900478
    Abstract: On a chip 50A, disposed are macro cell 20A not including a virtual power supply line and a leak-current-shielding MOS transistor of a high threshold voltage, and a leak-current-shielding MOS transistor cell 51 of the high threshold voltage. The transistor cell 51 has a gate line 51G which is coincident with the longitudinal direction of the cell, is disposed along a side of a rectangular cell frame of the macro cell 20A, and has a drain region 51D connected to VDD pads 60 and 61 for external connection, the gate line 51G connected to an I/O cell 73 and a source region 51S connected to a VDD terminal of the macro cell 20A. This VDD terminal functions as a terminal of a virtual power supply line V_VDD.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2005
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventor: Satoru Miyagi
  • Patent number: 6897476
    Abstract: According to one exemplary embodiment, a test structure for determining electromigration and interlayer dielectric failure comprises a first metal line situated in a metal layer of the test structure. The test structure further comprises a second metal line situated adjacent and substantially parallel to the first metal line, where the second metal line is separated from the first metal line by a first distance, and where the first distance is substantially equal to minimum design rule separation distance. The test structure further comprises an interlayer dielectric layer situated between the first metal line and the second metal line. According to this exemplary embodiment, electromigration failure is determined when a first resistance of the first metal line or a second resistance of the second metal line is greater than a predetermined resistance, and interlayer dielectric failure is determined when a first current is detected between the first and second metal lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2005
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Hyeon-Seag Kim, Seung-Hyun Rhee, Christine S Hau-Riege, Amit P Marathe
  • Patent number: 6894373
    Abstract: Thin film circuit elements including capacitors, resistors, and inductance elements are formed on a large substrate, and semiconductor chips are wire bonded to the substrate. The elements and chips are sealed by potting a sealing resin. The large substrate is divided into multiple stripe substrates by dicing and a thin-film conductive layer is sputtered on cut surfaces of the stripe substrates, thereby electrically connecting edges of lower conductive patterns to edges of upper conductive patterns exposed from side surfaces of the sealing resin through the thin-film conductive layer. A Ni foundation layer and Au layer are successively plated on a surface of the thin-film conductive layer to form edge electrodes on side surfaces of the stripe substrates and the stripe substrates are divided finely into individual alumina substrates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2005
    Assignee: Alps Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Ueda, Seiichi Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 6894304
    Abstract: Two PCRAM cells which use a common anode between them are disclosed. The two memory cells can be accessed separately to store two bits of data which can be read and written, and can be stacked one over the other with a common anode between them to form an upper and lower cell pair. Respective access transistors are provided for the cells and arranged to permit reading and writing of the cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2005
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: John Moore
  • Patent number: 6894334
    Abstract: Herein disclosed is a semiconductor integrated circuit device fabricating process for forming MISFETs over the principal surface in those active regions of a substrate, which are surrounded by inactive regions formed of an element separating insulating film and channel stopper regions, comprising: the step of for forming a first mask by a non-oxidizable mask and an etching mask sequentially over the principal surface of the active regions of the substrate; the step of forming a second mask on and in self-alignment with the side walls of the first mask by a non-oxidizable mask thinner than the non-oxidizable mask of the first mask and an etching mask respectively; the step of etching the principal surface of the inactive regions of the substrate by using the first mask and the second mask; the step of forming the element separating insulating film over the principal surface of the inactive regions of the substrate by an oxidization using the first mask and the second mask; and the step of forming the channel s
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2005
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi VLSI Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Jun Sugiura, Osamu Tsuchiya, Makoto Ogasawara, Fumio Ootsuka, Kazuyoshi Torii, Isamu Asano, Nobuo Owada, Mitsuaki Horiuchi, Tsuyoshi Tamaru, Hideo Aoki, Nobuhiro Otsuka, Seiichirou Shirai, Masakazu Sagawa, Yoshihiro Ikeda, Masatoshi Tsuneoka, Toru Kaga, Tomotsugu Shimmyo, Hidetsugu Ogishi, Osamu Kasahara, Hiromichi Enami, Atsushi Wakahara, Hiroyuki Akimori, Sinichi Suzuki, Keisuke Funatsu, Yoshinao Kawasaki, Tunehiko Tubone, Takayoshi Kogano, Ken Tsugane
  • Patent number: 6891195
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide a reliable semiconductor device comprising TFTs having a large area integrated circuit with low wiring resistance. One of the features of the present invention is that an LDD region including a region which overlaps with a gate electrode and a region which does not overlap with the gate electrode is provided in one TFT. Another feature of the present invention is that gate electrode comprises a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer and portion of the gate wiring has a clad structure comprising the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer with a low resistance layer interposed therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2005
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Jun Koyama
  • Patent number: 6888198
    Abstract: A straddled gate device, and a method of producing such device, formed on a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate having active regions defined by isolation regions and an insulator layer. The device includes a first gate defining a first channel region interposed between a source and a drain formed within the active region of the SOI substrate. Additionally, the device includes a second gate straddling the first gate defining second channel regions interposed between the first channel region and the source and the drain. Further still, the device includes a contact connecting the first gate with the second gate wherein when the device is in the off state (Ioff) the first channel region and second channel regions define a long channel and when the device is in the on state (Ion) the first channel region defines a short channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2005
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventor: Zoran Krivokapic
  • Patent number: 6888190
    Abstract: A low-voltage nonvolatile memory array includes an N type semiconductor substrate having a memory region. A deep P well is formed in the semiconductor substrate. A cell N well is located within the memory region in the semiconductor substrate. The cell N well is situated above the deep ion well. A shallow P well serving as a buried bit line is doped within the cell ion well. The shallow P well is isolated by an STI layer, wherein the STI layer has a thickness greater than a well depth of the shallow ion well. At least one memory transistor with a stacked gate, a source, and a drain is formed on the shallow ion well. The source of the memory transistor is electrically coupled to the cell N well to induce a capacitor between the cell N well and the deep P well during a read operation, thereby avoiding read current bounce or potential power crash.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2005
    Assignee: eMemory Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Ching-Sung Yang, Shih-Jye Shen, Ching-Hsiang Hsu
  • Patent number: 6885072
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a nonvolatile memory with undercut trapping structure, the nonvolatile memory comprising a semiconductor substrate. A gate oxide is formed on the semiconductor substrate. A gate structure is formed on the gate oxide, wherein the gate structure including a undercut structure formed at lower portion of the gate structure and inwardly into the gate structure. An isolation layer is formed over the sidewall of the gate structure. First spacers are formed on the sidewall of the isolation layer and filled into the undercut structure for storing carrier and source and drain regions formed adjacent to the gate structure and under the undercut structure. Salicide is formed on the gate structure and the source and drain regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2005
    Assignee: Applied Intellectual Properties Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Erik S. Jeng
  • Patent number: 6882004
    Abstract: A semiconductor component has a minimal size and area requirement. The semiconductor component is formed in a trench with wall regions and a bottom region. Terminal regions for the electrical connection of first and second contact regions (S, B) are formed at least partly within the trench (30).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2005
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Markus Zundel, Franz Hirler
  • Patent number: 6882029
    Abstract: A PN-junction varactor includes a first ion well of first conductivity type formed on a semiconductor substrate of second conductivity type. A first dummy gate is formed over the first ion well. A first gate dielectric layer is formed between the first dummy gate and the first ion well. A second dummy gate is formed over the first ion well at one side of the first dummy gate. A second gate dielectric layer is formed between the second dummy gate and the first ion well. A first heavily doped region of the second conductivity type is located in the first ion well between the first dummy gate and the second dummy gate. The first heavily doped region of the second conductivity type serving as an anode of the PN-junction varactor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2005
    Assignee: United Microelectronics Corp.
    Inventors: Jing-Horng Gau, Anchor Chen
  • Patent number: 6882024
    Abstract: A dummy active region is formed in which abrading processes are averaged. A semiconductor device is characterized in that an active region for forming an actual device, a device separation region being formed by a trench, and a dummy active region formed substantially in a rectangular shape are included, and the length of the short side of the dummy active region is less than 1 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2005
    Assignee: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kenji Sawamura
  • Patent number: 6878589
    Abstract: A method and system for improving short channel effect on a floating gate device is disclosed. In one embodiment, a p-type implant is applied to a source side of the floating gate device. In addition, the present embodiment applies a p-type implant to a drain side of the floating gate device. The p-type implant to the drain side is performed at a different angle than the p-type implant to the source side. The p-type implant to the drain side is implanted to a greater depth than that of the p-type implant to the source side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2005
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Yue-Song He, Richard Fastow, Xin Guo
  • Patent number: 6876053
    Abstract: An apparatus and methods for modifying isolation structure configurations for MOS devices to either induce or reduce tensile and/or compressive stresses on an active area of the MOS devices. The isolation structure configurations according to the present invention include the use of low-modulus and high-modulus, dielectric materials, as well as, tensile stress-inducing and compressive stress-inducing, dielectric materials, and further includes altering the depth of the isolation structure and methods for modifying isolation structure configurations, such as trench depth and isolation materials used, to modify (i.e., to either induce or reduce) tensile and/or compressive stresses on an active area of a semiconductor device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2005
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Qing Ma, Jin Lee, Harry Fujimoto, Changhong Dai, Shiuh-Wuu Lee, Travis Eiles, Krishna Seshan
  • Patent number: 6876056
    Abstract: An interconnect module and a method of manufacturing the same is described comprising: a substrate, an interconnect section formed on the substrate, and a variable passive device section formed on the substrate located laterally adjacent to the interconnect section. The interconnect section has at least two metal interconnect layers separated by a dielectric layer and the variable passive device has at least one moveable element. The moveable element is formed from a metal layer which is formed from the same material and at the same time as one of the two interconnect layers. The moveable element is formed on the dielectric layer and is released by local removal of the dielectric layer. Additional interconnect layers and intermediate dielectric layers may be added.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2005
    Assignee: Interuniversitair Microelektronica Centrum (IMEC)
    Inventors: Hendrikus Tilmans, Eric Beyne, Henri Jansen, Walter De Raedt
  • Patent number: 6872644
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes source and drain contact regions which include a non-compounded combination of a semiconductor material and at least one metal. The metal may include an elemental metal, such as gold or aluminum, or may include an intermetallic. The contact regions may be formed by depositing a limited amount of the at least one metal on a source and a drain of the device, and annealing the device to induce diffusion of the at least one metal into the source and drain. The annealing time and temperature may be selected to limit diffusion of the at least one metal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2005
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew S. Buynoski, Witold P. Maszara
  • Patent number: 6867428
    Abstract: An n-type strained silicon MOSFET utilizes a strained silicon channel region formed on a silicon germanium substrate. Silicon regions are provided in the silicon geranium layer at opposing sides of the strained silicon channel region, and shallow source and drain extensions are implanted in the silicon regions. By forming the shallow source and drain extensions in silicon regions rather than in silicon germanium, source and drain extension distortions caused by the enhanced diffusion rate of arsenic in silicon germanium are avoided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2005
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul R. Besser, Eric N. Paton, Qi Xiang
  • Patent number: 6867471
    Abstract: An electronic component has a semiconductor chip with chip contacts. The chip contacts are mechanically fixed on a wiring structure and electrically connected to the wiring structure. The wiring structure is formed as a region of a structured metal plate or as a region of a structured metal layer of a metal-clad base plate. Ideally, a panel having a number of component positions is provided for receiving a number of such an electronic component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2005
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Bernd Goller, Robert-Christian Hagen, Gerald Ofner, Christian Stuempfl, Stefan Wein, Holger Wörner
  • Patent number: 6864547
    Abstract: The present invention provides a semiconductor device and a method of manufacture therefor. The semiconductor device includes a channel region located in a semiconductor substrate and a trench located adjacent a side of the channel region. The semiconductor device further includes an isolation structure located in the trench, and a source/drain region located over the isolation structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2005
    Assignee: Agere Systems Inc.
    Inventors: John A. Michejda, Ian Wylie
  • Patent number: 6864578
    Abstract: Disclosed is a reinforced bond pad structure having nonplanar dielectric structures and a metallic bond layer conformally formed over the nonplanar dielectric structures. The nonplanar dielectric structures are substantially reproduced in the metallic bond layer so as to form nonplanar metallic structures. Surrounding each of the nonplanar metallic structures is a ring of dielectric material which provides a hard stop during probing of the bond pad so as to limit the amount of bond pad that can be removed during probing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2005
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: David Angell, Frederic Beaulieu, Takashi Hisada, Adreanne Kelly, Samuel Roy McKnight, Hiromitsu Miyai, Kevin Shawn Petrarca, Wolfgang Sauter, Richard Paul Volant, Caitlin W. Weinstein