Patents by Inventor Jeff A. West

Jeff A. West has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9793106
    Abstract: It has been discovered that poor TDDB reliability of microelectronic device capacitors with organic polymer material in the capacitor dielectric is due to water molecules infiltrating the organic polymer material when the microelectronic device is exposed to water vapor in the operating ambient. Water molecule infiltration from water vapor in the ambient is effectively reduced by a moisture barrier comprising a layer of aluminum oxide formed by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process. A microelectronic device includes a capacitor with organic polymer material in the capacitor dielectric and a moisture barrier with a layer of aluminum oxide formed by an ALD process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Honglin Guo, Tim A. Taylor, Jeff A. West, Ricky A. Jackson, Byron Williams
  • Publication number: 20160133689
    Abstract: It has been discovered that poor TDDB reliability of microelectronic device capacitors with organic polymer material in the capacitor dielectric is due to water molecules infiltrating the organic polymer material when the microelectronic device is exposed to water vapor in the operating ambient. Water molecule infiltration from water vapor in the ambient is effectively reduced by a moisture barrier comprising a layer of aluminum oxide formed by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process. A microelectronic device includes a capacitor with organic polymer material in the capacitor dielectric and a moisture barrier with a layer of aluminum oxide formed by an ALD process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 3, 2015
    Publication date: May 12, 2016
    Applicant: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Honglin Guo, Tim A. Taylor, Jeff A. West, Ricky A. Jackson, Byron Williams
  • Patent number: 6709974
    Abstract: A method of preventing seam defects on narrow, isolated lines of 0.3 micron or less during CMP process is provided. The solution is to change the size of features of dummy metal structures on the same layer as the metal layer to have a width that is about 0.6 micron or less so that during the electroplating the deposition rate in the features is similar to the narrow, isolated lines. The density, shape, and proximity of the dummy metal structures further prevents the seam defects during CMP processing by preventing Galvanic corrosion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2004
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: David Permana, Jiong-Ping Lu, Albert Cheng, Jeff A. West, Brock W. Fairchild, Scott A. Johannesmeyer, Chris M. Bowles, Thomas D. Bonifield, Rajesh Tiwari
  • Publication number: 20030199150
    Abstract: A method of preventing seam defects on narrow, isolated lines of 0.3 micron or less during CMP process is provided. The solution is to change the size of features of dummy metal structures on the same layer as the metal layer to have a width that is about 0.6 micron or less so that during the electroplating the deposition rate in the features is similar to the narrow, isolated lines. The density, shape, and proximity of the dummy metal structures further prevents the seam defects during CMP processing by preventing Galvanic corrosion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2002
    Publication date: October 23, 2003
    Inventors: David Permana, Jiong-Ping Lu, Albert Cheng, Jeff A. West, Brock W. Fairchild, Scott A. Johannesmeyer, Chris M. Bowles, Thomas D. Bonifield, Rajesh Tiwari