Patents Examined by Joseph Galvin, III
  • Patent number: 9691722
    Abstract: A surface mount high-frequency circuit is configured such that a plurality of ground pads 41 and a plurality of external connection ground conductors 51 are discretely disposed to surround a signal line pad 42 and an external connection signal line conductor 52, and a plurality of interlayer connection ground conductors 31 and that a plurality of columnar ground conductors 12 are discretely disposed to surround an interlayer connection signal line conductor 32. Thus, it is possible to suppress radiation of an unnecessary signal to the outside using a simple production process that is completed by only a wafer process without separately preparing a component such as a shield cover case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Takeshi Yuasa, Kiyoshi Ishida, Yoshihiro Tsukahara, Kohei Nishiguchi
  • Patent number: 9681242
    Abstract: A MEMS microphone system suited for harsh environments. The system uses an integrated circuit package. A first, solid metal lid covers one face of a ceramic package base that includes a cavity, forming an acoustic chamber. The base includes an aperture through the opposing face of the base for receiving audio signals into the chamber. A MEMS microphone is attached within the chamber about the aperture. A filter covers the aperture opening in the opposing face of the base to prevent contaminants from entering the acoustic chamber. A second metal lid encloses the opposing face of the base and may attach the filter to this face of the base. The lids are electrically connected with vias forming a radio frequency interference shield. The ceramic base material is thermally matched to the silicon microphone material to allow operation over an extended temperature range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: INVENSENSE, INC.
    Inventors: Kieran P. Harney, Jia Gao, Aleksey Khenkin
  • Patent number: 9679875
    Abstract: A method of forming a reduced volume interconnect for a chip stack including multiple silicon layers, the method including: forming multiple conductive structures, each of at least a subset of the conductive structures having a volume of conductive material for a corresponding under bump metallurgy pad onto which the conductive structure is transferred that is configured such that a ratio of an unreflowed diameter of the conductive structure to a diameter of the corresponding pad is about one third-to-one or less; transferring the conductive structures to the silicon layers; stacking the silicon layers in a substantially vertical dimension such that each of the conductive structures on a given silicon layer is aligned with a corresponding electrical contact location on an underside of an adjacent silicon layer; and heating the interconnect so as to metallurgically bond multiple electrical contact locations of adjacent silicon layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Peter A. Gruber, Katsuyuki Sakuma, Da-Yuan Shih
  • Patent number: 9673170
    Abstract: Methods for connecting chips to a chip carrier are disclosed. In some embodiments the method for connecting a plurality of chips to a chip carrier includes placing first chips on a transfer carrier, placing second chips on the transfer carrier, placing the transfer carrier with the first and second chips on the chip carrier and forming connections between the first chips and the chip carrier and the second chips and the chip carrier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Rupert Fischer, Peter Strobel, Joachim Mahler, Konrad Roesl, Alexander Heinrich
  • Patent number: 9673336
    Abstract: A transistor having an oxide semiconductor film in a channel formation region and a manufacturing method thereof are disclosed. The transistor is formed by the steps of: forming a base insulating over a substrate; forming an oxide semiconductor film over the base insulating film; forming a conductive film over the oxide semiconductor film; processing the conductive film to form a source electrode and a drain electrode; processing the oxide semiconductor film; forming a gate insulating film over the source electrode, the drain electrode, and the oxide semiconductor film; and forming a gate electrode over the gate insulating film. The aforementioned manufacturing method allows the formation of a transistor in which a side surface of the oxide semiconductor film is not in direct contact with bottom surfaces of the source electrode and the drain electrode, which contributes to the extremely small leak current of the transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 9666615
    Abstract: A semiconductor on insulator substrate includes an electrically conductive layer disposed between an electrically insulating handle layer and the semiconductor layer to facilitate the application of a back bias. The connection of the electrically conductive layer to a reference voltage reduces the effects of trapped or fixed charges associated with the handle layer on the threshold voltage of a transistor formed on the semiconductor layer. Silicon-based devices formed on glass, plastic, and quartz substrates are among the devices that can benefit from the application of a back bias.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Bahman Hekmatshoartabari, Ali Khakifirooz, Ghavam G. Shahidi, Davood Shahrjerdi
  • Patent number: 9666787
    Abstract: A sensor device and an electronic apparatus by which downsizing and a reduction in costs can be achieved is provided. A sensor device according to an embodiment of the present technology includes a sensor element and a semiconductor element. The semiconductor element includes a first surface, a second surface, and a via-hole. The first surface includes a first terminal on which the sensor element is mounted and is an inactive surface. The second surface includes a second terminal for external connection and is an active surface. The via-hole electrically connects the first surface and the second surface to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Hidetoshi Kabasawa, Hiroshi Ozaki, Kazuo Takahashi, Satoshi Mitani
  • Patent number: 9659967
    Abstract: A thin-film transistor includes a substrate, a gate electrode formed over the substrate, a gate insulating layer formed over the gate electrode and the substrate, an oxide semiconductor layer formed over the gate insulating layer and comprising a source section and a drain section, a first electrode formed over the substrate and electrically connected to the source section, and a second electrode formed over the substrate and electrically connected to the drain section. The thin-film transistor further includes a first barrier layer disposed between the oxide semiconductor layer and the first electrode, a second barrier layer disposed between the first barrier layer and the first electrode, and the first electrode being electrically connected to the oxide semiconductor layer via the first barrier layer and the second barrier layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Jae Sik Kim
  • Patent number: 9661716
    Abstract: LED modules are disclosed having a control MOSFET, or other transistor, in series with an LED. In one embodiment, a MOSFET wafer is bonded to an LED wafer and singulated to form thousands of active 3-terminal LED modules with the same footprint as a single LED. Despite the different forward voltages of red, green, and blue LEDs, RGB modules may be connected in parallel and their control voltages staggered at 60 Hz or greater to generate a single perceived color, such as white. The RGB modules may be connected in a panel for general illumination or for a color display. A single dielectric layer in a panel may encapsulate all the RGB modules to form a compact and inexpensive panel. Various addressing techniques are described for both a color display and a lighting panel. Various circuits are described for reducing the sensitivity of the LED to variations in input voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: Nthdegree Technologies Worldwide Inc.
    Inventor: Bradley S. Oraw
  • Patent number: 9646838
    Abstract: A method includes providing a semiconductor structure including at least one first circuit element including a first semiconductor material and at least one second circuit element including a second semiconductor material. A dielectric layer having an intrinsic stress is formed that includes a first portion over the at least one first circuit element and a second portion over the at least one second circuit element. A first annealing process is performed, wherein an intrinsic stress is created at least in the first semiconductor material by stress memorization, and thereafter the first portion of the dielectric layer is removed. A layer of a metal is formed, and a second annealing process is performed, wherein the metal and the first semiconductor material react chemically to form a silicide. The second portion of the dielectric layer substantially prevents a chemical reaction between the second semiconductor material and the metal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.
    Inventors: Dominic Thurmer, Sven Metzger, Joachim Patzer, Markus Lenski
  • Patent number: 9640387
    Abstract: A technique includes loading a substrate into a process chamber, supporting the substrate by a mounting table having a heater therein in the process chamber, forming a film on the substrate by supplying a processing gas into the process chamber in a state where the mounting table having the substrate supported thereon is disposed in a first position and the heater is turned on, unloading the substrate on which the film is formed, and supplying a reactive gas into the process chamber in a state where the mounting table is disposed in a second position and the heater is turned on. The second position is closer to a ceiling portion in the process chamber than the first position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: HITACHI KOKUSAI ELECTRIC INC.
    Inventors: Ryuji Yamamoto, Tsukasa Kamakura, Yoshiro Hirose, Satoshi Shimamoto
  • Patent number: 9632104
    Abstract: A sensor includes a body having a sensor surface and an oblique surface. A sensor element is arranged on the sensor surface and configured to pick up a direction component of a directional measurement variable. At least one contact-making surface configured to make contact with the sensor element is arranged on the oblique surface. The oblique surface is at an angle with respect to a lattice structure of carrier material of the sensor and is oriented in a different direction than the sensor surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Hubert Benzel, Christoph Schelling
  • Patent number: 9633839
    Abstract: In some embodiments a method of processing a substrate disposed atop a substrate support in a physical vapor deposition process chamber includes: (a) depositing a dielectric layer to a first thickness atop a first surface of the substrate via a physical vapor deposition process; (b) providing a first plasma forming gas to a processing region of the physical vapor deposition process chamber, wherein the first plasma forming gas comprises hydrogen but not carbon; (c) providing a first amount of bias power to a substrate support to form a first plasma from the first plasma forming gas within the processing region of the physical vapor deposition process chamber; (d) exposing the dielectric layer to the first plasma; and (e) repeating (a)-(d) to deposit the dielectric film to a final thickness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Weimin Zeng, Thanh X. Nguyen, Yana Cheng, Yong Cao, Daniel Lee Diehl, Srinivas Guggilla, Rongjun Wang, Xianmin Tang
  • Patent number: 9620538
    Abstract: An image sensor includes a substrate including a first surface and a second surface, a first device isolation layer disposed in the substrate and defining a plurality of pixels in the substrate, and having a lower surface adjacent the first surface of the substrate and an upper surface adjacent the second surface of the substrate. Each of the pixels includes a photoelectric conversion element, a floating diffusion region adjacent the first surface of the substrate, and a grid pattern on the second surface of the substrate. At least one of the grid patterns is not vertically aligned with the first device isolation layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yun Ki Lee, Joonkyoung Lee
  • Patent number: 9613852
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method for forming a semiconductor structure. In accordance with some embodiments, the method includes providing a substrate and a conductive feature formed over the substrate; forming a first etch stop layer over the conductive feature; forming a low-k dielectric layer over the first etch stop layer; etching the low-k dielectric layer to form a contact trench aligned with the conductive feature; performing a sputtering process to the first etch stop layer exposed in the contact trench; and forming a sealing oxide layer on the low-k dielectric layer. In some embodiments, the sealing oxide layer is self-aligned and conformed to surfaces of the low-k dielectric layer exposed in the contact trench.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hsiang-Wei Lin
  • Patent number: 9607606
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a capacitive micro-machined transducer (100), in particular a CMUT, the method comprising depositing a first electrode layer (10) on a substrate (1), depositing a first dielectric film (20) on the first electrode layer (10), depositing a sacrificial layer (30) on the first dielectric film (20), the sacrificial layer (30) being removable for forming a cavity (35) of the transducer, depositing a second dielectric film (40) on the sacrificial layer (30), depositing a second electrode layer (50) on the second dielectric film (40), and patterning at least one of the deposited layers and films (10, 20, 30, 40, 50), wherein the depositing steps are performed by Atomic Layer Deposition. The present invention further relates to a capacitive micro-machined transducer (100), in particular a CMUT, manufactured by such method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: KONINKIJKE PHILIPS N.V.
    Inventors: Johan Hendrik Klootwijk, Marcel Mulder, Nico Maris Adriaan De Wild, Koray Karakaya, Cornelius Antonius Van Den Huevel
  • Patent number: 9601591
    Abstract: To provide a transistor in which a channel is formed in an oxide semiconductor and which has stable electrical characteristics. To suppress shift in threshold voltage of a transistor in which a channel is formed in an oxide semiconductor. To provide a normally-off switching element having a positive threshold voltage as an n-channel transistor in which a channel is formed in an oxide semiconductor. A base insulating layer is formed over a substrate, an oxide semiconductor layer is formed over the base insulating layer, a first gate insulating layer is formed over the oxide semiconductor layer, a second gate insulating layer is formed over the first gate insulating layer by a sputtering method or an atomic layer deposition method at a substrate temperature of higher than or equal to 100° C., and a gate electrode layer is formed over the second gate insulating layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 9595493
    Abstract: Reducing liner corrosion during metallization of semiconductor devices at BEOL includes providing a starting metallization structure, the structure including a bottom layer of dielectric material with a via therein, a liner lining the via and extending over upper edges thereof, the lined via over filled with a conductive material, recessing the conductive material down to the liner, further selectively recessing the conductive material below the upper edges of the via without damaging the liner, and forming a cap of the liner material on the conductive material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2017
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES INC.
    Inventors: Zhiguo Sun, Qiang Fang, Huang Liu, Haigou Huang, Jiehui Shu, Jin Ping Liu
  • Patent number: 9595697
    Abstract: A light-emitting device in which deterioration of an organic EL element due to impurities such as moisture or oxygen is suppressed is provided. The light-emitting device includes a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other, a light-emitting element provided over the first substrate, a first sealant provided so as to surround the light-emitting element, and a second sealant provided so as to surround the first sealant. One of the first sealant and the second sealant is a glass layer and the other is a resin layer. A dry agent is provided in a first space surrounded by the first sealant, the second sealant, the first substrate, and the second substrate, or in the resin layer. The light-emitting element is included in a second space surrounded by the first sealant, the first substrate, and the second substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2017
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yusuke Nishido, Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 9583701
    Abstract: A memory device comprising a doped conductive polycrystalline layer having an electrically resistive portion, is described herein. By way of example, ion implantation to a subset of the conductive polycrystalline layer can degrade and modify the polycrystalline layer, forming the electrically resistive portion. The electrically resistive portion can include resistive switching properties facilitating digital information storage. Parametric control of the ion implantation can facilitate control over corresponding resistive switching properties of the resistive portion. For example, a projected range or depth of the ion implantation can be controlled, allowing for preferential placement of atoms in the resistive portion, and fine-tuning of a forming voltage of the memory device. As another example, dose and number of atoms implanted, type of atoms or ions that are implanted, the conductive polycrystalline material used, and so forth, can facilitate control over switching characteristics of the memory device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: CROSSBAR, INC.
    Inventors: Harry Yue Gee, Steven Patrick Maxwell, Natividad Vasquez, Jr., Mark Harold Clark