Patents Examined by Vernon P Webb
  • Patent number: 8884384
    Abstract: A semiconductor element of the electric circuit includes a semiconductor layer over a gate electrode. The semiconductor layer of the semiconductor element is formed of a layer including polycrystalline silicon which is obtained by crystallizing amorphous silicon by heat treatment or laser irradiation, over a substrate. The obtained layer including polycrystalline silicon is also used for a structure layer such as a movable electrode of a structure body. Therefore, the structure body and the electric circuit for controlling the structure body can be formed over one substrate. As a result, a micromachine can be miniaturized. Further, assembly and packaging are unnecessary, so that manufacturing cost can be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mayumi Yamaguchi, Konami Izumi
  • Patent number: 8883526
    Abstract: An image pickup device, wherein a part of the carriers overflowing from the photoelectric conversion unit for a period of photoelectrically generating and accumulating the carriers may be flowed into the floating diffusion region, and a pixel signal generating unit generating a pixel signal according to the carriers stored in the photoelectric conversion unit and the carriers having overflowed into the floating diffusion region, is provided. The expansion of a dynamic range and the improvement of an image quality can be provided by controlling a ratio of the carriers flowing into the floating diffusion region to the carriers overflowing from such a photoelectric conversion unit at high accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akira Okita, Toru Koizumi, Isamu Ueno, Katsuhito Sakurai
  • Patent number: 8861739
    Abstract: An apparatus comprises a processor configured to receive a first audio signal and first location data, the first location data relating to a location of a source of the first audio signal; receive a second audio signal and second location data, the second location data relating to a location of a source of the second audio signal; receive selected location data relating to a selected location; and generate a multichannel signal in dependence on the first and second audio signals, the first and second location data and the selected location data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignee: Nokia Corporation
    Inventor: Juha P. Ojanpera
  • Patent number: 8853745
    Abstract: A semiconductor structure, comprising: a substrate; a seed layer over an upper surface of the substrate; a semiconductor layer disposed over the seed layer; a transistor device in the semiconductor layer; wherein the substrate has an aperture therein, such aperture extending from a bottom surface of the substrate and terminating on a bottom surface of the seed layer; and an opto-electric structure disposed on the bottom surface of the seed layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
    Assignee: Raytheon Company
    Inventors: Kamal Tabatabaie, Jeffrey R. LaRoche, Valery S. Kaper, John P. Bettencourt, Kelly P. Ip
  • Patent number: 8847359
    Abstract: High voltage bipolar transistors built with a BiCMOS process sequence exhibit reduced gain at high current densities due to the Kirk effect. Threshold current density for the onset of the Kirk effect is reduced by the lower doping density required for high voltage operation. The widened base region at high collector current densities due to the Kirk effect extends laterally into a region with a high density of recombination sites, resulting in an increase in base current and drop in the gain. The instant invention provides a bipolar transistor in an IC with an extended unsilicided base extrinsic region in a configuration that does not significantly increase a base-emitter capacitance. Lateral extension of the base extrinsic region may be accomplished using a silicide block layer, or an extended region of the emitter-base dielectric layer. A method of fabricating an IC with the inventive bipolar transistor is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Scott Gerard Balster, Hiroshi Yasuda, Philipp Steinmann, Badih El-Kareh
  • Patent number: 8847365
    Abstract: Inductors and methods for integrated circuits that result in inductors of a size compatible with integrated circuits, allowing the fabrication of inductors, with or without additional circuitry on a first wafer and the bonding of that wafer to a second wafer without wasting of wafer area. The inductors in the first wafer are comprised of coils formed by conductors at each surface of the first wafer coupled to conductors in holes passing through the first wafer. Various embodiments are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph P. Ellul, Khanh Tran, Edward Martin Godshalk, Albert Bergemont
  • Patent number: 8835942
    Abstract: An LED module includes at least two LED package units and at least one connecting unit. Each LED package unit includes at least one first engaging portion, at least one first conductive portion, and at least one LED chip connected electrically to the first engaging portion. The connecting unit includes at least two second engaging portions, and at least one second conductive portion having two opposite end sections extending respectively to the second engaging portions. When the second engaging portions of the connecting unit engaged with the first engaging portions of the LED package units, respectively, the end sections of the second conductive portion contact electrically and respectively the corresponding first conductive portions so as to connect electrically the LED chips of the LED package units.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignees: Lite-On Electronics (Guangzhou) Limited, Lite-On Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Chen-Yu Chen, Yu-Kang Lu, Yan-Yu Wang
  • Patent number: 8829534
    Abstract: Provided is a power semiconductor device including: a power semiconductor element; a metal block as a first metal block that is connected to the power semiconductor element through an upper surface electrode pattern as a first upper surface electrode pattern selectively formed on an upper surface of the power semiconductor element; and a mold resin filled so as to cover the power semiconductor element and the metal block, wherein an upper surface of the metal block is exposed from a surface of the mold resin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Masao Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 8829634
    Abstract: The invention is an optoelectronic device comprising an active portion which converts light to electricity or converts electricity to light, the active portion having a front side for the transmittal of the light and a back side opposite from the front side, at least two electrical leads to the active portion to convey electricity to or from the active portion, an enclosure surrounding the active portion and through which the at least two electrical leads pass wherein the hermetically sealed enclosure comprises at the front side of the active portion a barrier material which allows for transmittal of light, one or more getter materials disposed so as to not impede the transmission of light to or from the active portion, and a contiguous gap pathway to the getter material which pathway is disposed between the active portion and the barrier material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Dow Global Technologies LLC
    Inventors: Jeffrey E. Bonekamp, Michelle L. Boven, Ryan S. Gaston
  • Patent number: 8829593
    Abstract: A first select transistor is formed on a semiconductor substrate. Memory cell transistors are stacked on the first select transistor and connected in series. A second select transistor is formed on the memory cell transistors. The memory cell transistors include a tapered semiconductor pillar which increases in diameter from the first select transistor toward the second select transistor, a tunnel dielectric film formed on the side surface of the semiconductor pillar, a charge storage layer which is formed on the side surface of the tunnel dielectric film and which increases in charge trap density from the first select transistor side toward the second select transistor side, a block dielectric film formed on the side surface of the charge storage layer, and conductor films which are formed on the side surface of the block dielectric film and which serve as gate electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Katsuyuki Sekine, Kensuke Takano, Masaaki Higuchi, Tetsuya Kai, Yoshio Ozawa
  • Patent number: 8803131
    Abstract: An integrated circuit includes a graphene layer, the graphene layer comprising a region of undoped graphene, the undoped graphene comprising a channel of a transistor, and a region of doped graphene, the doped graphene comprising a contact of the transistor; and a gate of the transistor, the gate comprising a carbon nanotube film. A method of fabricating an integrated circuit comprising graphene and carbon nanotubes, includes forming a graphene layer; doping a portion of the graphene layer, resulting in doped graphene and undoped graphene; forming a carbon nanotube film; and etching the carbon nanotube film to form a gate of a transistor, wherein the transistor further comprises a channel comprising the undoped graphene and a contact comprising the doped graphene. A transistor includes a gate, the gate comprising a carbon nanotube film; a channel, the channel comprising undoped graphene; and a contact, the contact comprising doped graphene.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Yu-Ming Lin, Jeng-Bang Yau
  • Patent number: 8803257
    Abstract: A hollow part is formed in a silicon substrate through the front and the back. A vibration electrode plate is arranged on an upper surface of the silicon substrate to cover the opening on the upper surface. A fixed electrode plate covers the upper side of the vibration electrode plate while maintaining a microscopic gap with the vibration electrode plate, where the peripheral part is fixed to the upper surface of the silicon substrate. The fixed electrode plate has the portion facing the upper surface of the silicon substrate through a space supported by a side wall portion arranged on an inner edge of the portion fixed to the upper surface of the silicon substrate without interposing a space. The outer surface of the side wall portion of the fixed electrode plate is covered by a reinforcement film made of metal such as Au, Cr, and Pt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: OMRON Corporation
    Inventors: Takashi Kasai, Nobuyuki Iida, Hidetoshi Nishio
  • Patent number: 8796668
    Abstract: An integrated circuit includes a graphene layer, the graphene layer comprising a region of undoped graphene, the undoped graphene comprising a channel of a transistor, and a region of doped graphene, the doped graphene comprising a contact of the transistor; and a gate of the transistor, the gate comprising a carbon nanotube film. A method of fabricating an integrated circuit comprising graphene and carbon nanotubes, includes forming a graphene layer; doping a portion of the graphene layer, resulting in doped graphene and undoped graphene; forming a carbon nanotube film; and etching the carbon nanotube film to form a gate of a transistor, wherein the transistor further comprises a channel comprising the undoped graphene and a contact comprising the doped graphene. A transistor includes a gate, the gate comprising a carbon nanotube film; a channel, the channel comprising undoped graphene; and a contact, the contact comprising doped graphene.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Yu-Ming Lin, Jeng-Bang Yau
  • Patent number: 8766145
    Abstract: To improve jump characteristic of BaTiO3—(Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3 material. There is provided a process for producing a semiconductive porcelain composition in which a part of Ba is substituted with Bi—Na, the process including a step of preparing a (BaQ)TiO3 calcined powder (in which Q is a semiconductor dopant), a step of preparing a (BiNa)TiO3 calcined powder, a step of mixing the (BaQ)TiO3 calcined powder and the (BiNa)TiO3 calcined powder, a step of molding and sintering the mixed calcined powder, and a step of heat-treating the obtained sintered body at 600° C. or lower; and a PCT heater employing the element prepared by the above steps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi Metals, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Shimada, Kentaro Ino, Toshiki Kida
  • Patent number: 8759929
    Abstract: A solid-state imaging device includes: a substrate including a plurality of light receiving sections; and a color filter including a guided-mode resonant grating provided immediately above each of the plurality of light receiving sections, at least one of an upper surface and a lower surface of the guided-mode resonant grating being covered with a layer having a lower refractive index than the guided-mode resonant grating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Kazufumi Shiozawa, Yusaku Konno, Naotada Okada
  • Patent number: 8749006
    Abstract: An improved image sensor, e.g., CCD, CID, CMOS. The image sensor includes a substrate, e.g., silicon wafer. The sensor also includes a plurality of photo diode regions, where each of the photo diode regions is spatially disposed on the substrate. The sensor has an interlayer dielectric layer overlying the plurality of photo diode regions and a shielding layer formed overlying the interlayer dielectric layer. A silicon dioxide bearing material is overlying the shielding layer. A plurality of lens structures are formed on the silicon dioxide bearing material. The sensor also has a color filter layer overlying the lens structures and a plurality of second lens structures overlying the color filter layer according to a preferred embodiment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignees: Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Shanghai) Corporation, Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Beijing) Corporation
    Inventors: Herb Huang, Mieno Fumitake
  • Patent number: 8742476
    Abstract: A semiconductor device including: a first single crystal layer including first transistors, first alignment mark, and at least one metal layer, the at least one metal layer overlying the first single crystal layer and includes copper or aluminum; and a second layer overlying the metal layer; the second layer includes second transistors which include mono-crystal and are aligned to the first alignment mark with less than 40 nm alignment error, the mono-crystal includes a first region and second region which are horizontally oriented with respect to each other, the first region has substantially different dopant concentration than the second region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2014
    Assignee: Monolithic 3D Inc.
    Inventors: Zvi Or-Bach, Deepak Sekar, Brian Cronquist
  • Patent number: 8735896
    Abstract: According to present invention, system on panel without complicating the process of TFT can be realized, and a light-emitting device that can be formed by lower cost than that of the conventional light-emitting device can be provided. A light-emitting device is provided in which a pixel portion is provided with a pixel including a light-emitting element and a TFT for controlling supply of current to the light-emitting element; a TFT included in a drive circuit and a TFT for controlling supply of current to the light-emitting element include a gate electrode, a gate insulating film formed over the gate electrode, a first semiconductor film, which overlaps with the gate electrode via the gate insulating film, a pair of second semiconductor films formed over the first semiconductor film; the pair of second semiconductor films are doped with an impurity to have one conductivity type; and the first semiconductor film is formed by semiamorphous semiconductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 8729670
    Abstract: Provided is a semiconductor substrate and a method for manufacturing the same. The semiconductor substrate includes a substrate, a discontinuously formed hemispheric metal layer on the substrate, and a semiconductor layer on the hemispheric metal layer. A plurality of voids on the interface of the substrate and discontinuous hemisphere are formed to absorb or relax the stain of interface. Accordingly, even if a subsequent layer is relatively thickly formed on the substrate, substrate bow or warpage can be minimized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Lumigntech Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hae Yong Lee, Young Jun Choi, Jung Gyu Kim
  • Patent number: 8722473
    Abstract: Semiconductor devices and methods of manufacture thereof are disclosed. A complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) device includes a PMOS transistor having at least two first gate electrodes comprising a first parameter, and an NMOS transistor having at least two second gate electrodes comprising a second parameter, wherein the second parameter is different than the first parameter. The first parameter and the second parameter may comprise the thickness or the dopant profile of the gate electrode materials of the PMOS and NMOS transistors. The first and second parameter of the at least two first gate electrodes and the at least two second gate electrodes establish the work function of the PMOS and NMOS transistors, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Thomas Schulz, Hongfa Luan