Patents Examined by Leon Padomsky
  • Patent number: 6033928
    Abstract: On a silicon substrate is formed a silicon dioxide film and then hemispherical grains made of silicon, each having an extremely small diameter, are deposited thereon by LPCVD. After annealing the hemispherical grains, the silicon dioxide film is etched using the hemispherical grains as a first dotted mask, thereby forming a second dotted mask composed of the silicon dioxide film. The resulting second dotted mask is used to etch the silicon substrate to a specified depth from the surface thereof, thereby forming an aggregate of semiconductor micro-needles. Since the diameter of each of the semiconductor micro-needles is sufficiently small to cause the quantum size effects as well as has only small size variations, remarkable quantum size effects can be obtained. Therefore, it becomes possible to constitute a semiconductor apparatus with a high information-processing function by using the aggregate of semiconductor micro-needles (quantized region).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2000
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Koji Eriguchi, Masafumi Kubota, Masaaki Niwa, Noboru Nomura