Patents Examined by Matthew Reames
  • Patent number: 9627440
    Abstract: Phase change memory apparatuses include memory cells including phase change material, bit lines electrically coupled to aligned groups of at least some of the memory cells, and heating elements electrically coupled to the phase change material of the memory cells. The heating elements include vertical portions extending in a bit line direction. Additional phase change memory apparatuses include dummy columns positioned between memory columns and base contact columns. The dummy columns include phase change memory cells and lack heating elements coupled to the phase change memory cells thereof. Additional phase change memory apparatuses include heating elements operably coupled to phase change memory cells. An interfacial area between the heating elements and the phase change memory cells has a length that is independent of a bit line width. Methods relate to forming such phase change memory apparatuses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Ugo Russo, Andrea Redaelli, Giorgio Servalli
  • Patent number: 9620626
    Abstract: Methods of fabricating semiconductor structures involve the formation of fins for finFET transistors having different stress/strain states. Fins of one stress/strain state may be employed to form n-type finFETS, while fins of another stress/strain state may be employed to form p-type finFETs. The fins having different stress/strain states may be fabricated from a common layer of semiconductor material. Semiconductor structures and devices are fabricated using such methods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignees: SOITEC, STMICROELECTRONICS, INC.
    Inventors: Frédéric Allibert, Pierre Morin
  • Patent number: 9620653
    Abstract: According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a nonvolatile semiconductor memory element including: a semiconductor substrate including: a source region; a drain region; and a channel region; a lower insulating film that is formed on the channel region; a charge storage film that is formed on the lower insulating film and that stores data; an upper insulating film that is formed on the charge storage film; and a control gate that is formed on the upper insulating film, wherein the upper insulating film includes: a first insulting film; and a second insulating film that is laminated with the first insulating film, and wherein the first insulating film is formed to have a trap level density larger than that of the second insulating film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Masao Shingu, Jun Fujiki, Naoki Yasuda, Koichi Muraoka
  • Patent number: 9620596
    Abstract: A method including forming a diamond material on the surface of a substrate; forming a first contact and a separate second contact; and patterning the diamond material to form a nanowire between the first contact and the second contact. An apparatus including a first contact and a separate second contact on a substrate; and a nanowire including a single crystalline or polycrystalline diamond material on the substrate and connected to each of the first contact and the second contact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: Sandia Corporation
    Inventors: Alfredo M. Morales, Richard J. Anderson, Nancy Y. C. Yang, Jack L. Skinner, Michael J. Rye
  • Patent number: 9620510
    Abstract: A semiconductor chip includes a plurality of stacked conductive layers. The plurality of stacked conductive layers includes a first conductive layer, a second conductive layer, and a third conductive layer. The first conductive layer is disposed on a first side of the second conductive layer. The third conductive layer is disposed on a second side of the second conductive layer. The third conductive layer is disposed on a side of the second conductive layer. The second conductive layer has a thickness which is thicker than those of the first conductive layer and the third conductive layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.
    Inventor: Jhon Jhy Liaw
  • Patent number: 9608204
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a semiconductor structure which includes a conductive layer and a resistance configurable structure over the conductive layer. The resistance configurable structure includes a first electrode, a resistance configurable layer over the first electrode, and a second electrode over the resistance configurable layer. The first electrode has a first sidewall, a second sidewall, and a bottom surface on the conductive layer. A joint between the first sidewall and the second sidewall includes an electric field enhancement structure. The present disclosure also provides a method for manufacturing the above semiconductor structure, including patterning a hard mask on a conductive layer; forming a spacer around the hard mask; removing at least a portion of the hard mask; forming a conforming resistance configurable layer on the spacer; and forming a second conductive layer on the conforming resistance configurable layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.
    Inventors: Po-Hao Lee, Chung-Cheng Chou, Wen-Ting Chu
  • Patent number: 9607824
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a support substrate, an insulating layer provided on the support substrate, and a semiconductor element provided on the insulating layer. The insulating layer has a lower insulating layer consisting of amorphous boron nitride, and an upper insulating layer provided on the lower insulating layer and including amorphous boron nitride and an hexagonal system boron nitride (h-BN) particles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: STANLEY ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kazufumi Tanaka
  • Patent number: 9608104
    Abstract: A silicon carbide semiconductor device includes: a vertical MOSFET having: a semiconductor substrate including a high-concentration impurity layer and a drift layer; a base region; a source region; a trench gate structure; a source electrode; and a drain electrode. The base region has a high-concentration base region and a low-concentration base region having a second conductivity type with an impurity concentration lower than the high-concentration base region, which are stacked each other. Each of the high-concentration base region and the low-concentration base region contacts a side surface of the trench.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yuichi Takeuchi, Naohiro Suzuki, Jun Morimoto, Narumasa Soejima
  • Patent number: 9608015
    Abstract: Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a thin film transistor array panel including a first insulating substrate; a gate line and a data line disposed on the first insulating substrate, intersecting with each other, and being insulated from each other; a first passivation layer disposed on the gate line and the data line and comprising a plurality of first openings; a first electrode disposed on the first passivation layer; and a second electrode disposed in the first opening, thereby simplifying a manufacturing process of the thin film transistor array panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignee: Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Duk-Sung Kim, Sung Man Kim, Seung Hyun Park, Dae Ho Song
  • Patent number: 9601610
    Abstract: A HEMT device comprising a M-plane III-Nitride material substrate, a p-doped epitaxial layer of III-Nitride material grown on said substrate; a recess etched in said p-doped epitaxial layer, the recess having a plane wall parallel to a polar plane of the III-Nitride material; a carrier carrying layer formed on said plane wall of the recess; a carrier supply layer formed on said at least one carrier carrying layer, such that a 2DEG region is formed in the carrier carrying layer at the interface with the carrier supply layer along said plane wall of the recess; a doped source region formed at the surface of said p-doped epitaxial layer such that the doped source region is separated from said 2DEG region by a channel region; a gate insulating layer formed on the channel region; and a gate contact layer formed on the gate insulating layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: HRL Laboratories, LLC
    Inventor: Sameh G. Khalil
  • Patent number: 9601588
    Abstract: A method for fabricating a semiconductor device includes: forming isolation layers and active regions in a substrate, wherein each of the active regions is formed between the isolation layers; forming a silicide layer in each of the active regions; forming trenches and silicide layer patterns simultaneously by etching the silicide layer and each of the active regions, wherein each of the trenches is located between the silicide layer patterns; forming a buried gate in each of the trenches; forming an inter-layer dielectric layer that covers the buried gate and the silicide layer patterns; and forming a first opening that exposes one silicide layer pattern among the silicide layer patterns by selectively etching the inter-layer dielectric layer, wherein the silicide layer patterns are formed before the buried gate is formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: SK Hynix Inc.
    Inventor: Hyung-Kyun Kim
  • Patent number: 9583434
    Abstract: A device comprises a first rounded metal line in a metallization layer over a substrate, a second rounded metal line in the metallization layer, a first air gap between sidewalls of the first rounded metal line and the second metal line, a first metal line in the metallization layer, wherein a top surface of the first metal line is higher than a top surface of the second rounded metal line and a bottom surface of the first metal line is substantially level with a bottom surface of the second rounded metal line and a second air gap between sidewalls of the second rounded metal line and the first metal line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hsiang-Lun Kao, Hsiang-Wei Liu, Tai-I Yang, Jian-Hua Chen, Yu-Chieh Liao, Yung-Chih Wang, Tien-Lu Lin
  • Patent number: 9576966
    Abstract: An alternating stack of insulating layers and sacrificial material layers can be formed over a substrate. Memory stack structures and a backside trench are formed through the alternating stack. Backside recesses are formed by removing the sacrificial material layers from the backside trench selective to the insulating layers. A cobalt-containing material is deposited such that the cobalt-containing material continuously extends at least between a neighboring pair of cobalt-containing material portions in respective backside recesses. An anneal is performed at an elevated temperature to migrate vertically-extending portions of the cobalt-containing material into the backside recesses, thereby forming vertically separated cobalt-containing material portions confined within the backside recesses. Sidewalls of the insulating layers may be rounded or tapered to facilitate migration of the cobalt-containing material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignee: SANDISK TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventors: Somesh Peri, Raghuveer S. Makala, Sateesh Koka, Rahul Sharangpani
  • Patent number: 9570426
    Abstract: A semiconductor light-emitting device includes a support body multiple, multiple light-emitting elements arranged in a matrix on the support body, a transparent resin layer provided on the light-emitting elements, multiple transparent plates provided on the transparent resin layer, each of the transparent plates being provided over one of the multiple light-emitting elements, and multiple optical shield layers each provided at one of a first side face of a first one of the transparent plates and a second the face of a second one of the transparent plates opposing the first the face of the first transparent plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: STANLEY ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Jiro Higashino
  • Patent number: 9564569
    Abstract: A sensor-in-package device, a process for fabricating a hermetically-sealed sensor-in-package device, and a process for fabricating a hermetically-sealed sensor-in-package device with a pre-assembled hat that employ example techniques in accordance with the present disclosure are described herein. In an implementation, the sensor-in-package device includes a substrate; at least one thermopile, at least one photodetector, at least one light-emitting diode, an ultraviolet light sensor, and a pre-assembled hat disposed on the first side of the substrate, where the pre-assembled hat includes a body; a first lid; and a second lid; where the body, the substrate, and the first lid define a thermopile cavity that houses the at least one thermopile, and where the body, the substrate, and the second lid define an optical cavity that houses at least one of the at least one photodetector, the at least one light-emitting diode, or the ultraviolet light sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Ken Wang, Jerome C. Bhat, Tian Tian, Seshasayee Ankireddi, Kumar Nagaranjan, Seshasayee Gaddamraja
  • Patent number: 9559188
    Abstract: A method of producing a trench gate type MOSFET is provided in which each intersection trench is formed as a two-stage trench structure. A gate trench is backfilled with a mask material and the mask material is then patterned to form a mask used for forming each intersection trench. The intersection trench intersecting the gate trench is provided so as to be deeper than the gate trench. A Schottky electrode is provided in the bottom of each intersection trench 10p. In this manner, there is provided a trench gate type semiconductor device and a method of producing the same, in which: the cell pitch can be reduced even when a wide band gap semiconductor is used as a main semiconductor substrate; good ohmic contacts can be obtained; and an excessive electric field is prevented from being applied to an insulating film in the bottom of each trench.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: FUJI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shun-ichi Nakamura, Yasuyuki Kawada
  • Patent number: 9559217
    Abstract: A silicon carbide semiconductor device includes a silicon carbide layer, an insulating layer, a Schottky electrode, and a reaction region. The silicon carbide layer includes a p type region in contact with a first main surface and an n type region in contact with the p type region and the first main surface. The insulating layer has a third main surface, a fourth main surface, and a side wall surface connecting the third main surface and the fourth main surface, and is in contact with the first main surface at the fourth main surface. The Schottky electrode is in contact with the first main surface and the side wall surface. The reaction region is in contact with the insulating layer, the Schottky electrode, and the p type region. The reaction region contains an element constituting the Schottky electrode, an element constituting the insulating layer, silicon, and carbon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Keiji Wada, Kenji Kanbara
  • Patent number: 9553102
    Abstract: Methods of selectively etching tungsten from the surface of a patterned substrate are described. The etch electrically separates vertically arranged tungsten slabs from one another as needed, for example, in the manufacture of vertical flash memory devices. The tungsten etch may selectively remove tungsten relative to films such as silicon, polysilicon, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, titanium nitride and silicon nitride. The methods include exposing electrically-shorted tungsten slabs to remotely-excited fluorine formed in a capacitively-excited chamber plasma region. The methods then include exposing the tungsten slabs to remotely-excited fluorine formed in an inductively-excited remote plasma system. A low electron temperature is maintained in the substrate processing region during each operation to achieve high etch selectivity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Xikun Wang, Jie Liu, Anchuan Wang, Nitin K. Ingle
  • Patent number: 9553183
    Abstract: A normally-off compound semiconductor transistor includes a heterostructure body and a gate stack on the heterostructure body. The heterostructure body includes a source, a drain spaced apart from the source, and a channel for connecting the source and the drain. The channel includes a first two-dimensional charge carrier gas of a first polarity arising in the heterostructure body due to piezoelectric effects. The gate stack controls the channel in a region of the heterostructure body under the gate stack. The gate stack includes at least one III-nitride material which gives rise to a second two-dimensional charge carrier gas of a second polarity opposite the first polarity in the gate stack or in the heterostructure body under the gate stack due to piezoelectric effects. The second two-dimensional charge carrier gas counter-balances polarization charges in the first two-dimensional charge carrier gas so that the channel is disrupted under the gate stack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventor: Gilberto Curatola
  • Patent number: 9553191
    Abstract: A method of fabricating a FinFET includes at last the following steps. A semiconductor substrate is patterned to form a plurality of trenches in the semiconductor substrate and at least one semiconductor fin between the trenches. Insulators are formed in the trenches. A gate stack is formed over portions of the semiconductor fin and over portions of the insulators. A strained material doped with a conductive dopant is formed over portions of the semiconductor fin revealed by the gate stack, and the strained material is formed by selectively growing a bulk layer with a gradient doping concentration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Chin-I Liao, Mon-Nan How, Shih-Chieh Chang, Ying-Min Chou, Ting-Chang Chang