Patents Examined by Laura Schillinger
  • Patent number: 7344948
    Abstract: The invention encompasses a method of incorporating nitrogen into a silicon-oxide-containing layer. The silicon-oxide-containing layer is exposed to a nitrogen-containing plasma to introduce nitrogen into the layer. The nitrogen is subsequently thermally annealed within the layer to bond at least some of the nitrogen to silicon within the layer. The invention also encompasses a method of forming a transistor. A gate oxide layer is formed over a semiconductive substrate. The gate oxide layer comprises silicon dioxide. The gate oxide layer is exposed to a nitrogen-containing plasma to introduce nitrogen into the layer, and the layer is maintained at less than or equal to 400° C. during the exposing. Subsequently, the nitrogen within the layer is thermally annealed to bond at least a majority of the nitrogen to silicon. At least one conductive layer is formed over the gate oxide layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2008
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Gurtej S. Sandhu, John T. Moore, Neal R. Rueger
  • Patent number: 7087458
    Abstract: A method for joining a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) chip in a flip chip configuration, via pillar bump, to solderable metal contact pads, leads or circuit lines on the ciruitized surface of a chip carrier, as well as the resulting chip package, are disclosed. The semiconductor device is attached to the substrate via no flow underfill under thermal compression bonding. Integration of this structure and assembly method enables to incorporate low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) no flow underfill and achieve high assembly yield, especially for lead free bumps. The present invention provides a solution for a flip chip package with fine pitch, high pin count and lead free requirements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: AdvanPack Solutions Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Tie Wang, Ping Miao, Chun Sing Colin Lum, Yixin Chew
  • Patent number: 6984893
    Abstract: A method of depositing a non-conductive barrier layer onto a metal surface wherein the resistance of the metal remains substantially unchanged before and after the non-conductive barrier layer deposition. The deposition process provides a low temperature processing environment so as to inhibit the formation of impurities such as silicide in the metal, wherein the silicide can adversely increase the resistance of the underlying metal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2006
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Zhiping Yin, Eden Zielinski, Fred Fishburn
  • Patent number: 6965124
    Abstract: A light-emitting device having a structure in which a mask used for forming a film such as an organic compound layer does not come in contact with the pixels in forming the light-emitting elements, and a method of fabricating the same. In fabricating the light-emitting device of the active matrix type, a partitioning wall constituted by a second wiring and a separation portion is formed on the interlayer-insulating film, and the pixels are surrounded by the partitioning wall, preventing the mask from coming into direct contact with the pixels, the mask being used for forming the organic compound layer and the opposing electrode of the light-emitting elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2005
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hirokazu Yamagata
  • Patent number: 6930029
    Abstract: A method of preventing formation of titanium oxide within a semiconductor device structure during a high temperature treatment of the device structure includes forming a passivation layer to preclude formation of titanium oxide at a titanium/oxide interface of a semiconductor device structure. The method includes providing a substrate assembly including at least an oxide region and forming a layer of titanium over a surface of the oxide region. The oxide region surface is treated with a plasma comprising nitrogen prior to forming the titanium layer so as to form a passivation layer upon which the titanium layer is formed. A thermal treatment is performed on the substrate assembly with the passivation layer substantially inhibiting diffusion of oxygen from the oxide layer during the thermal treatment of the substrate assembly. Generally, the passivation layer comprises SixOyNz.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2005
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Zhongze Wang, Li Li, Yongjun Jeff Hu
  • Patent number: 6921946
    Abstract: There is a test structure on a semiconductor substrate for testing misalignment between adjacent implanted regions of opposite conductivity in a semiconductor device. In an example embodiment, the test structure includes a first and a second triple well structure; the second triple well structure is adjacent to the first triple well-structure in a first direction. Each structure includes a lower buried n-well region, a p-well region, a p+-region, an n-well region and a base n+-region, wherein a central base portion and a central n-well region portion are common to the first and the second structure, with the central base portion as a symmetry line with a width. Between the central base portion and the p-well region in the first triple well-structure a first overlay, and between the central base portion and the p-well region in the second triple well-structure a second overlay is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2005
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventors: Guoqiao Tao, Roy Arthur Colclaser
  • Patent number: 6914260
    Abstract: An auxiliary capacitor for a pixel of an active matrix type liquid crystal display is provided without decreasing the aperture ratio. A transparent conductive film for a common electrode is formed under a pixel electrode constituted by a transparent conductive film with an insulation film provided therebetween. Further, the transparent conductive film for the common electrode is maintained at fixed potential, formed so as to cover a gate bus line and a source bus line, and configured such that signals on each bus line are not applied to the pixel electrode. The pixel electrode is disposed so that all edges thereof overlap the gate bus line and source bus line. As a result, each of the bus lines serves as a black matrix. Further, the pixel electrode overlaps the transparent conductive film for the common electrode to form a storage capacitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2005
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hongyong Zhang, Naoaki Yamaguchi, Yasuhiko Takemura
  • Patent number: 6897477
    Abstract: A multi-gate structure is used and a width (d1) of a high concentration impurity region sandwiched by two channel forming regions in a channel length direction is set to be shorter than a width (d2) of low concentration impurity regions in the channel length direction. Thus, a resistance of the entire semiconductor layer of a TFT which is in an on state is reduced to increase an on current. In addition, a carrier life time due to photoexcitation produced in the high concentration impurity region can be shortened to reduce light sensitivity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2005
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Shibata, Shinji Maekawa
  • Patent number: 6893930
    Abstract: For fabricating a field effect transistor on an active device area of a semiconductor substrate, a gate dielectric and a gate electrode are formed on the active device area of the semiconductor substrate. Antimony (Sb) dopant is implanted into exposed regions of the active device area of the semiconductor substrate to form at least one of drain and source extension junctions and/or drain and source contact junctions. A low temperature thermal anneal process at a temperature less than about 950° Celsius is performed for activating the antimony (Sb) dopant within the drain and source extension junctions and/or drain and source contact junctions. In one embodiment of the present invention, the drain and source contact junctions are formed and thermally annealed before the formation of the drain and source extension junctions in a disposable spacer process for further minimizing heating of the drain and source extension junctions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2005
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Bin Yu, Haihong Wang
  • Patent number: 6830976
    Abstract: Structures and methods for fabricating high speed digital, analog, and combined digital/analog systems using planarized relaxed SiGe as the materials platform. The relaxed SiGe allows for a plethora of strained Si layers that possess enhanced electronic properties. By allowing the MOSFET channel to be either at the surface or buried, one can create high-speed digital and/or analog circuits. The planarization before the device epitaxial layers are deposited ensures a flat surface for state-of-the-art lithography.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2004
    Assignee: AmberWave Systems Corproation
    Inventor: Eugene A. Fitzgerald
  • Patent number: 6703262
    Abstract: A method for planarizing a circuit board, has a step of fixing a circuit board having wiring layers on both sides to a board having a flat surface through an adhesive layer, wherein said circuit board is pressed from above by a flat member on fixing thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2004
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Minehiro Itagaki, Yoshihiro Tomuro, Satoru Yuhaku, Kazuyoshi Amami
  • Patent number: 6673649
    Abstract: A microelectronic package and method for forming such a package. In one embodiment, the package can include a microelectronic substrate having first connection sites, and a support member having second connection sites and third connection sites, with the third connection sites accessible for electrical coupling to other electrical structures. A plurality of electrically conductive couplers are connected between the first connection sites and the second connection sites, with neighboring conductive couplers being spaced apart to define at least one flow channel. The at least one flow channel is in fluid communication with a region external to the microelectronic substrate. The generally non-conductive material can be spaced apart from the support member to allow the microelectronic substrate to be separated from the support member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: William Mark Hiatt, Warren Farnworth
  • Patent number: 6665374
    Abstract: In an active matrix substrate, a glass substrate is provided with TFTs having gate electrodes connected to scanning lines also provided on the glass substrate. The glass substrate is further provided with auxiliary capacitance lines, formed on the same layer as the scanning lines. Further, pixel electrodes connected to drain electrodes of the TFTs are formed on the same layer as signal lines connected to source electrodes of the TFTs. An insulating layer is provided between the layer forming the signal lines and pixel electrodes and the layer forming the drain and source electrodes. Since the insulating film is present between the signal lines and the scanning and auxiliary capacitance lines, influence on the auxiliary capacitance value can be reduced, as can a signal line capacitance value. As a result, even when the auxiliary capacitance value is increased, the signal line capacitance value remains small.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Izumi, Hisashi Nagata, Yuichi Saito
  • Patent number: 6660658
    Abstract: The invention encompasses a method of incorporating nitrogen into a silicon-oxide-containing layer. The silicon-oxide-containing layer is exposed to a nitrogen-containing plasma to introduce nitrogen into the layer. The nitrogen is subsequently thermally annealed within the layer to bond at least some of the nitrogen to silicon within the layer. The invention also encompasses a method of forming a transistor. A gate oxide layer is formed over a semiconductive substrate. The gate oxide layer comprises silicon dioxide. The gate oxide layer is exposed to a nitrogen-containing plasma to introduce nitrogen into the layer, and the layer is maintained at less than or equal to 400° C. during the exposing. Subsequently, the nitrogen within the layer is thermally annealed to bond at least a majority of the nitrogen to silicon. At least one conductive layer is formed over the gate oxide layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2003
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Gurtej S. Sandhu, John T. Moore, Neal R. Rueger
  • Patent number: 6642092
    Abstract: A method for is provided forming a thin-film transistor (TFT) on a flexible substrate. The method comprises: supplying a metal foil substrate such as titanium (Ti), Inconel alloy, stainless steel, or Kovar, having a thickness in the range of 10 to 500 microns; depositing and annealing amorphous silicon to form polycrystalline silicon; and, thermally growing a gate insulation film overlying the polycrystalline. The silicon annealing process can be conducted at a temperature greater than 700 degrees C. using a solid-phase crystallization (SPC) annealing process. Thermally growing a gate insulation film includes: forming a polycrystalline silicon layer having a thickness in the range of 10 to 100 nanometers (nm); and, thermally oxidizing the film at temperature in the range of 900 to 1150 degrees for a period of time in the range of 2 to 60 minutes. Alternately, a plasma oxide layer is deposited over a thinner thermally oxidized layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2003
    Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America, Inc.
    Inventors: Apostolos T. Voutsas, John W. Hartzell, Masahiro Adachi
  • Patent number: 6605872
    Abstract: Provided with a semiconductor device which is adopted to reduce the resistance of a well without the need to increase the concentration of dopants in forming the well by depositing conductive layer patterns and then growing an epitaxial layer on the conductive layer patterns, the semiconductor device including: conductive layer patterns formed on a semiconductor substrate; a semiconductor layer formed on the semiconductor substrate and the conductive layer patterns; well regions formed in the semiconductor layer and the semiconductor substrate such that the conductive layer patterns are positioned at the bottoms of the well regions; and gate and source/drain electrodes formed on the well regions, and a method for fabricating the semiconductor device including the steps of: forming conductive layer patterns on a semiconductor substrate; forming a semiconductor layer on the semiconductor substrate including the conductive layer patterns; forming well regions in the semiconductor layer and the semiconductor subs
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2003
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Dong Hoon Kim, Joong Jin Lee
  • Patent number: 6597016
    Abstract: An Si1−yGey layer (where 0<y<1), an Si layer containing C, a gate insulating film and a gate electrode are formed in this order on a semiconductor substrate. An Si/SiGe heterounction junction is formed between the Si and Si1−yGey layers. Since C is contained in the Si layer, movement, diffusion and segregation of Ge atoms in the Si1−yGey layer can be suppressed. As a result, the Si/Si1−yGey interface can have its structural disorder eased and can be kept definite and planar. Thus, the mobility of carriers moving along the interface in the channel can be increased. That is to say, the thermal budget of the semiconductor device during annealing can be improved. Also, by grading the concentration profile of C, the diffusion of C into the gate insulating film can be suppressed and decline in reliability can be prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2003
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Koichiro Yuki, Tohru Saitoh, Minoru Kubo, Kiyoshi Ohnaka, Akira Asai, Koji Katayama
  • Patent number: 6596615
    Abstract: A sidewall oxide layer and a sidewall insulation layer are formed to cover the edge portion of an SOI layer. A channel stopper region is formed in the vicinity of the edge portion of the SOI layer. A protruded insulation layer is formed on the channel stopper region. A gate electrode extends from a region over the SOI layer to the protruded insulation layer and the sidewall insulation layer. In this way, reduction in threshold voltage Vth of a parasitic MOS transistor at the edge portion of the SOI layer can be suppressed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2003
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takashi Ipposhi, Toshiaki Iwamatsu, Yasuo Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: RE39484
    Abstract: Process for the preparation of thin monocrystalline or polycrystalline semiconductor material films, characterized in that it comprises subjecting a semiconductor material wafer having a planar face to the three following stages: a first stage of implantation by bombardment (2) of the face (4) of the said wafer (1) by means of ions creating in the volume of said wafer a layer (3) of gaseous microbubbles defining in the volume of said wafer a lower region (6) constituting the mass of the substrate and an upper region (5) constituting the thin film, a second stage of intimately contacting the planar face (4) of said wafer with a stiffener (7) constituted by at least one rigid material layer, a third stage of heat treating the assembly of said wafer (1) and said stiffener (7) at a temperature above that at which the ion bombardment (2) was carried out and sufficient to create by a crystalline rearrangement effect in said wafer (1) and a pressure effect in the said microbubbles, a separation between the thin film
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2007
    Assignee: Commissariat a l'energie Atomique
    Inventor: Michel Bruel
  • Patent number: RE38292
    Abstract: A liquid crystal display device which utilizes an active matrix substrate and its substrate, and which is provided with a novel method of manufacture which can reduce the manufacturing process of amorphous silicon thin film transistors of reverse stagger construction, and an electrostatic protection means which is created using this method of manufacture. In a thin film transistor manufacturing process, along with forming an aperture for connecting the contact hole and the external terminal in a manufacturing process for a thin film transistor, utilization is made of ITO film as the wiring. The electrostatic protection means is formed from a bi-directional diode (electrostatic protection element) which is composed utilizing an MOS transistor connected between the electrode (PAD) for connecting the external terminal, and the joint electric potential line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2003
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Takashi Satou