Patents Examined by Thanh Nguyen
  • Patent number: 8354750
    Abstract: A mounting structure for a semiconductor device includes a stepwise stress buffer layer under a likewise stepwise UBM structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2013
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tzu-Yu Wang, Tzu-Wei Chiu, Shin-Puu Jeng
  • Patent number: 8354316
    Abstract: A semiconductor power device supported on a semiconductor substrate includes an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit disposed on a first portion of patterned ESD polysilicon layer on top of the semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor power device further includes a second portion of the patterned ESD polysilicon layer constituting a body implant ion block layer for blocking implanting body ions to enter into the semiconductor substrate below the body implant ion block layer. In an exemplary embodiment, the electrostatic discharge (ESD) polysilicon layer on top of the semiconductor substrate further covering a scribe line on an edge of the semiconductor device whereby a passivation layer is no longer required manufacturing the semiconductor device for reducing a mask required for patterning the passivation layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2013
    Inventors: Anup Bhalla, Xiaobin Wang, Wei Wang, Yi Su, Daniel Ng
  • Patent number: 8354339
    Abstract: Methods of fabricating a self-aligned permanent on-chip interconnect structure are provided. In one embodiment, the method includes forming a patterned photoresist having at least one opening on a surface of a substrate. A dielectric sidewall structure is then formed on each sidewall of the patterned photoresist and within the at least one opening. A narrowed width opening is present between neighboring dielectric sidewall structures. The patterned photoresist is then removed and thereafter each dielectric sidewall structure is converted into a permanent patterned dielectric structure which is self-aligned and double patterned. At least an electrically conductive material is formed within the narrowed width openings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Qinghuang Lin
  • Patent number: 8344380
    Abstract: A thin film transistor includes: a gate electrode layer; a first semiconductor layer; a second semiconductor layer having lower carrier mobility than the first semiconductor layer, which is provided over and in contact with the first semiconductor layer; a gate insulating layer which is provided between and in contact with the gate electrode layer and the first semiconductor layer; first impurity semiconductor layers which are provided so as to be in contact with the second semiconductor layer; second impurity semiconductor layers which are provided so as to be partially in contact with the first impurity semiconductor layers and the first and second semiconductor layers; and source and drain electrode layers which are provided so as to be in contact with entire surfaces of the second impurity semiconductor layers, in which an entire surface of the first semiconductor layer on the gate electrode layer side overlaps with the gate electrode layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiromichi Godo, Satoshi Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 8344445
    Abstract: A non-volatile semiconductor memory cell with dual functions includes a substrate, a first gate, a second gate, a third gate, a charge storage layer, a first diffusion region, a second diffusion region, and a third diffusion region. The second gate and the third gate are used for receiving a first voltage corresponding to a one-time programming function of the dual function and a second voltage corresponding to a multi-time programming function of the dual function. The first diffusion region is used for receiving a third voltage corresponding to the one-time programming function and a fourth voltage corresponding to the multi-time programming function. The second diffusion region is used for receiving a fifth voltage corresponding to the multi-time programming function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: eMemory Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Hau-Yan Lu, Hsin-Ming Chen, Ching-Sung Yang
  • Patent number: 8334544
    Abstract: A nitride semiconductor laser device with a reduction in internal crystal defects and an alleviation in stress, and a semiconductor optical apparatus comprising this nitride semiconductor laser device. First, a growth suppressing film against GaN crystal growth is formed on the surface of an n-type GaN substrate equipped with alternate stripes of dislocation concentrated regions showing a high density of crystal defects and low-dislocation regions so as to coat the dislocation concentrate regions. Next, the n-type GaN substrate coated with the growth suppressing film is overlaid with a nitride semiconductor layer by the epitaxial growth of GaN crystals. Further, the growth suppressing film is removed to adjust the lateral distance between a laser waveguide region and the closest dislocation concentrated region to 40 ?m or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignees: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigetoshi Ito, Takayuki Yuasa, Yoshihiro Ueta, Mototaka Taneya, Zenpei Tani, Kensaku Motoki
  • Patent number: 8318608
    Abstract: A method for fabricating a nonvolatile charge trap memory device is described. The method includes providing a substrate having a charge-trapping layer disposed thereon. A portion of the charge-trapping layer is then oxidized to form a blocking dielectric layer above the charge-trapping layer by exposing the charge-trapping layer to a radical oxidation process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2012
    Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Krishnaswamy Ramkumar, Sagy Levy, Jeong Byun
  • Patent number: 8314492
    Abstract: A semiconductor package includes a wiring board; a first electrode for external connection; a ball pad; a semiconductor chip; a mold resin; an electrode unit connected with the ball pad and penetrating the mold resin; and a second electrode for external connection connected with a portion of the electrode unit on a side of an outer surface of the mold resin. The electrode unit includes a first ball disposed on the ball pad; a second ball disposed between the first ball and the second electrode; and a solder material connecting between the ball pad and the first ball, between the first ball and the second ball, and between the second ball and the second electrode for external connection; each of the first ball and the second ball including a core part having a glass transition temperature which is higher than a melting point of the solder material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: Lapis Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshimi Egawa
  • Patent number: 8304350
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes a plurality of evacuable treatment chambers connected to one another via an evacuable common chamber, and the common chamber is provided with means for transporting a substrate between each treatment chamber. More specifically, a substrate processing apparatus includes a plurality of evacuable treatment chambers, at least one of said treatment chambers having a film formation function through a vapor phase reaction therein, at least one of said treatment chambers having an annealing function with light irradiation and at least one of said treatment chambers having a heating function therein. The apparatus also has a common chamber through which said plurality of evacuable treatment chambers are connected to one another, and a transportation means provided in said common chamber for transporting a substrate between each treatment chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Hisashi Ohtani, Hiroyuki Shimada, Mitsunori Sakama, Hisashi Abe, Satoshi Teramoto
  • Patent number: 8299628
    Abstract: There is provided a method of mounting conductive balls on pads on a substrate. The method includes: (a) placing the substrate having the pads coated with an adhesive over a container for containing the conductive balls therein and whose top surface is open such that the pads faces the top surface of the container; and (b) throwing up the conductive balls in the container by moving the container up and down at a given stroke, thereby allowing the conductive balls to adhere to the adhesive coated on the pads. Step (b) is repeatedly performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2012
    Assignee: Shinko Electric Industries Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideaki Sakaguchi, Kiyoaki Iida, Kazuo Tanaka
  • Patent number: 8299472
    Abstract: An imaging device formed as an active pixel array combining a CMOS fabrication process and a nanowire fabrication process. The pixels in the array may include a single or multiple photogates surrounding the nanowire. The photogates control the potential profile in the nanowire, allowing accumulation of photo-generated charges in the nanowire and transfer of the charges for signal readout. Each pixel may also include a readout circuit which may include a reset transistor, a charge transfer switch transistor, source follower amplifier, and pixel select transistor. A nanowire is generally structured as a vertical rod on the bulk semiconductor substrate to receive the light energy impinging onto the tip of the nanowire. The nanowire may be configured to function as either a photodetector or a waveguide configured to guild the light beam to the bulk substrate. In the embodiments herein, with the presence of the nanowire photogate and a substrate photogate, light of different wavelengths can be detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2012
    Inventors: Young-June Yu, Munib Wober
  • Patent number: 8288252
    Abstract: There is provided a damage recovery method capable of recovering electrical characteristics of a low dielectric insulating film sufficiently while suppressing oxidation of buried metal and generation of pattern defaults. A damaged functional group generated in a surface of the low dielectric insulating film by a processing is substituted with a hydrophobic functional group (ST. 2). A damaged component present under a dense layer generated in the surface of the low dielectric insulating film by the substitution process is recovered by using an ultraviolet heating process (ST. 3).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Ryuichi Asako, Yusuke Ohsawa
  • Patent number: 8288239
    Abstract: A method including introducing a species into a substrate including semiconductor material; and translating linearly focused electromagnetic radiation across a surface of the substrate, the electromagnetic radiation being sufficient to thermally influence the species. An apparatus including an electromagnetic radiation source; a stage having dimensions suitable for accommodating a semiconductor substrate within a chamber; an optical element disposed between the electromagnetic radiation source and the stage to focus radiation from the electromagnetic radiation source into a line having a length determined by the diameter of a substrate to be placed on the stage; and a controller coupled to the electromagnetic radiation source including machine readable program instructions that allow the controller to control the depth into which a substrate is exposed to the radiation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Dean C. Jennings, Amir Al-Bayati
  • Patent number: 8288281
    Abstract: Method for reducing resist poisoning. The method includes the steps of forming a first structure in a dielectric on a substrate, reducing amine related contaminants from the dielectric and the substrate prior to a formation of a second structure on the substrate such that the amine related contaminates will not diffuse out from either the substrate or the dielectric, wherein the reducing utilizes a plasma treatment which one of chemically ties up the amine related contaminates and binds, traps, or consumes the amine related contaminates during subsequent processing steps, forming the second structure on the substrate, and after the forming of the first structure, preventing poisoning of a resist layer in subsequent processing by the reducing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Xiaomeng Chen, William Cote, Anthony K. Stamper, Arthur C. Winslow
  • Patent number: 8288865
    Abstract: A semiconductor module includes: an insulating resin layer; a wiring layer which is provided on one main surface of the insulating resin layer and which includes an external connection region; bump electrodes which are electrically connected to the wiring layer and each of which is formed such that it protrudes from the wiring layer toward the insulating resin layer; a semiconductor device which is provided on the other main surface of the insulating resin layer and which includes device electrodes connected to the bump electrode; and a wiring protection layer provided on the wiring layer and the insulating resin layer so as to expose the external connection region. In the semiconductor module, the outer edge portion of the wiring protection layer is in contact with the external edge portion of the semiconductor device such that it shields at least a part of the semiconductor resin layer at the side edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsunobu Suzuki, Koichi Saito, Yasuyuki Yanase, Takahiro Fujii
  • Patent number: 8283261
    Abstract: A method for fabricating a nonvolatile charge trap memory device is described. The method includes providing a substrate having a charge-trapping layer disposed Thereon. A portion of the charge-trapping layer is then oxidized to form a blocking dielectric layer above the charge-trapping layer by exposing the charge-trapping layer to a radical oxidation process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventor: Krishnaswamy Ramkumar
  • Patent number: 8278171
    Abstract: There are provided a semiconductor device and a fabrication method therefor including an ONO film (18) formed on a semiconductor substrate (10), a word line (24) formed on the ONO film (18), a bit line (20) formed in the semiconductor substrate (10), and a conductive layer (32) that is in contact with the bit line (20), runs in a length direction of the bit line (20), and includes a polysilicon layer or a metal layer. In accordance with the present invention, a semiconductor device and a fabrication method therefor are provided wherein degradation of the writing and erasing characteristics and degradation of the transistor characteristics such as a junction leakage are suppressed, and the bit line resistance is decreased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2012
    Assignee: Spansion LLC
    Inventors: Kenichi Fujii, Masahiko Higashi
  • Patent number: 8273611
    Abstract: A single crystal semiconductor layer is formed over a substrate having an insulating surface by the following steps: forming an ion doped layer at a given depth from a surface of a single crystal semiconductor substrate; performing plasma treatment to the surface of the single crystal semiconductor substrate; forming an insulating layer on the single crystal semiconductor substrate to which the plasma treatment is performed; bonding the single crystal semiconductor substrate to the substrate having the insulating surface with an insulating layer interposed therebetween; and separating the single crystal semiconductor substrate using the ion doped layer as a separation surface. As a result, a semiconductor substrate in which a defect in an interface between the single crystal semiconductor layer and the insulating layer is reduced can be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tetsuya Kakehata, Kazutaka Kuriki
  • Patent number: 8268676
    Abstract: An electronic device can include a packaging material having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, and leads including die connection surfaces and external connection surfaces. The electronic device can further include a trench extending from an upper surface of the packaging substrate towards a lower surface of the packaging substrate, wherein a set of leads lie immediately adjacent to the trench, and the packaging material is exposed at the bottom of the trench. In an embodiment, an encapsulant is formed over the upper surface of the packaging substrate and within the trench. In a particular embodiment, the trenches may be formed before or after placing a die over the packaging substrate, or before or after forming electrical connections between the die and leads of the packaging substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC
    Inventors: Shutesh Krishnan, Chee Hiong Chew, Jatinder Kumar
  • Patent number: 8263476
    Abstract: A manufacturing method of an SOI substrate with high throughput. A semiconductor layer separated from a semiconductor substrate is transferred to a supporting substrate, thereby manufacturing an SOI substrate. First, the semiconductor substrate serving as a base of the semiconductor layer is prepared. An embrittlement layer is formed in a region at a predetermined depth of the semiconductor substrate, and an insulating layer is formed on a surface of the semiconductor substrate. After bonding the semiconductor substrate and a supporting substrate with the insulating layer interposed therebetween, the semiconductor substrate is selectively irradiated with a laser beam; accordingly, embrittlement of the embrittlement layer progresses. Then, using a physical method or heat treatment, the semiconductor substrate is separated; at that time, the region where the embrittlement has progressed in the embrittlement layer serves as a starting point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hideto Ohnuma