Abstract: The present invention features double- or dual-gate logic devices that contain gate conductors that are consistently self-aligned and that have channels that are of constant width. The inventive process also provides a method of selectively etching germanium-containing gate conductor materials without significantly etching the adjacent silicon channel material. In this manner, the gate conductor can be encased in a dielectric shell without changing the length of the silicon channel. A single-crystal silicon wafer is utilized as the channel material. Pillars or stacks of self aligned dual gate MOSFETs are generated by etching, via the juxtaposition of overlapping germanium-containing gate conductor regions. Vertically etching through regions of both gate conducting material and dielectric insulating material provides an essentially perfect, self-aligned dual gate stack. A process is described wherein the gate conductor material can be selectively etched without etching the channel material.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of forming an integrated semiconductor device, and the device so formed. An active surface of at least two semiconductor devices, such as semiconductor chips, are temporarily mounted onto an alignment substrate. A support substrate is affixed to a back surface of the devices using a conformable bonding material, wherein the bonding material accommodates devices having different dimensions. The alignment substrate is then removed leaving the devices wherein the active surface of the devices are co-planar.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of increasing the capacitance of a trench capacitor by increasing sidewall area, comprising: forming a trench in a silicon substrate, the trench having a sidewall; forming islands on the sidewall of the trench; and etching pits into the sidewall using the islands as a mask. The capacitor is completed by forming a node insulator on the pits and the sidewall; and filling said trench with a trench conductor.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of increasing the capacitance of a trench capacitor by increasing sidewall area, comprising: forming a trench in a silicon substrate, the trench having a sidewall; forming islands on the sidewall of the trench; and etching pits into the sidewall using the islands as a mask. The capacitor is completed by forming a node insulator on said on the pits and the sidewall; and filling said trench with a trench conductor.

Abstract: A grooved planar DRAM transfer device having a grooved gate formed in a groove in a substrate located between source and drain regions. The grooved gate has sidewall portions and a bottom portion which defines a channel therealong. The bottom portion includes a doped pocket such that the threshold voltage Vt on the bottom portion is substantially less than Vt on the sidewall portions, such that the sidewall portions predominantly control electric current through the device.

Abstract: The present invention features double- or dual-gate logic devices that contain gate conductors that are consistently self-aligned and that have channels that are of constant width. The inventive process also provides a method of selectively etching germanium-containing gate conductor materials without significantly etching the adjacent silicon channel material. In this manner, the gate conductor can be encased in a dielectric shell without changing the length of the silicon channel. A single-crystal silicon wafer is utilized as the channel material. Pillars or stacks of self aligned dual gate MOSFETs are generated by etching, via the juxtaposition of overlapping germanium-containing gate conductor regions. Vertically etching through regions of both gate conducting material and dielectric insulating material provides an essentially perfect, self-aligned dual gate stack. A process is described wherein the gate conductor material can be selectively etched without etching the channel material.

Abstract: A composite, layered, integrated circuit formed by bonding of insulator layers on wafers provides for combination of otherwise incompatible technologies such as trench capacitor DRAM arrays and high performance, low power, low voltage silicon on insulator (SOI) switching transistors and short signal propagation paths between devices formed on respective wafer layers of a chip. In preferred embodiments, an SOI wafer is formed by hydrophilic bonding of a wafer over an integrated circuit device and then cleaving a layer of the second wafer away using implanted hydrogen and low temperature heat treatment. Further wafers of various structures and compositions may be bonded thereover and connections between circuit elements and connection pads in respective wafers made using short vias that provide fast signal propagation as well as providing more numerous connections than can be provided on chip edges.

Abstract: A composite, layered, integrated circuit formed by bonding of insulator layers on wafers provides for combination of otherwise incompatible technologies such as trench capacitor DRAM arrays and high performance, low power, low voltage silicon on insulator (SOI) switching transistors and short signal propagation paths between devices formed on respective wafer layers of a chip. In preferred embodiments, an SOI wafer is formed by hydrophilic bonding of a wafer over an integrated circuit device and then cleaving a layer of the second wafer away using implanted hydrogen and low temperature heat treatment. Further wafers of various structures and compositions may be bonded thereover and connections between circuit elements and connection pads in respective wafers made using short vias that provide fast signal propagation as well as providing more numerous connections than can be provided on chip edges.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of increasing the capacitance of a trench capacitor by increasing sidewall area, comprising: forming a trench in a silicon substrate, the trench having a sidewall; forming islands on the sidewall of the trench; and etching pits into the sidewall using the islands as a mask. The capacitor is completed by forming a node insulator on said on the pits and the sidewall; and filling said trench with a trench conductor.

Abstract: A vertical transistor particularly suitable for high density integration includes potentially independent gate structures on opposite sides of a semiconductor pillar formed by etching or epitaxial growth in a trench. The gate structure is surrounded by insulating material which is selectively etchable to isolation material surrounding the transistor. A contact is made to the lower end of the pillar (e.g. the transistor drain) by selectively etching the isolation material selective to the insulating material. The upper end of the pillar is covered by a cap and sidewalls of selectively etchable materials so that gate and source connection openings can also be made by selective etching with good registration tolerance. A dimension of the pillar in a direction parallel to the chip surface is defined by a distance between isolation regions and selective etching and height of the pillar is defined by thickness of a sacrificial layer.

Abstract: A method for forming a gate conductor cap in a transistor comprises the steps of: a) forming a polysilicon gate conductor; b) doping the polysilicon gate; c) doping diffusion areas; and d) capping the gate conductor by a nitridation method chosen from among selective nitride deposition and selective surface nitridation. The resulting transistor may comprise a capped gate conductor and borderless diffusion contacts, wherein the capping occurred by a nitridation method chosen from among selective nitride deposition and selective surface nitridation and wherein a portion of the gate conductor is masked during the nitridation method to leave open a contact area for a local interconnect or a gate contact.

Abstract: Methods are provided that use disposable and permanent films to dope underlying layers through diffusion. Additionally, methods are provided that use disposable films during implantation doping and that provide a surface from which to dope underlying materials. Some of these disposable films can be created from a traditionally non-disposable film and made disposable. In this manner, solvents may be used that do not etch underlying layers of silicon-based materials. Preferably, deep implantation is performed to form source/drain regions, then an anneal step is performed to activate the dopants. A conformal layer is deposited and implanted with dopants. One or more anneal steps are performed to create very shallow extensions in the source/drain regions.

Abstract: Described is a method of increasing the capacitance of semiconductor capacitors by providing a first solid-state electrode pattern on a semiconductor medium, etching topographic features on said first electrode pattern in a manner effective in increasing the surface area of said first electrode pattern, depositing a dielectric layer upon said electrode pattern that substantially conforms to said topographic features, and depositing a second solid-state electrode pattern upon said dielectric layer and sufficiently insulated from said first solid-state electrode pattern so as to create a capacitance with said first solid-state electrode pattern.

Abstract: Methods are provided that use disposable and permanent films to dope underlying layers through diffusion. Additionally, methods are provided that use disposable films during implantation doping and that provide a surface from which to dope underlying materials. Some of these disposable films can be created from a traditionally non-disposable film and made disposable. In this manner, solvents may be used that do not etch underlying layers of silicon-based materials. Preferably, deep implantation is performed to form source/drain regions, then an anneal step is performed to activate the dopants. A conformal layer is deposited and implanted with dopants. One or more anneal steps are performed to create very shallow extensions in the source/drain regions.

Abstract: The present invention features double- or dual-gate logic devices that contain gate conductors that are consistently self-aligned and that have channels that are of constant width. The inventive process also provides a method of selectively etching germanium-containing gate conductor materials without significantly etching the adjacent silicon channel material. In this manner, the gate conductor can be encased in a dielectric shell without changing the length of the silicon channel. A single-crystal silicon wafer is utilized as the channel material. Pillars or stacks of self aligned dual gate MOSFETs are generated by etching, via the juxtaposition of overlapping germanium-containing gate conductor regions. Vertically etching through regions of both gate conducting material and dielectric insulating material provides an essentially perfect, self-aligned dual gate stack. A process is described wherein the gate conductor material can be selectively etched without etching the channel material.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of forming a very shallow source-drain (S/D) extension while simultaneously highly doping a very narrow polysilicon gate through to the gate dielectric interface. The invention also relates to the resulting semiconductor.

Abstract: Methods for forming a patterned SOI region in a Si-containing substrate is provided which has geometries of about 0.25 &mgr;m or less. Specifically, one method includes the steps of: forming a patterned dielectric mask on a surface of a Si-containing substrate, wherein the patterned dielectric mask includes vertical edges that define boundaries for at least one opening which exposes a portion of the Si-containing substrate; implanting oxygen ions through the at least one opening removing the mask and forming a Si layer on at least the exposed surfaces of the Si-containing substrate; and annealing at a temperature of about 1250° C. or above and in an oxidizing ambient so as to form at least one discrete buried oxide region in the Si-containing substrate. In one embodiment, the mask is not removed until after the annealing step; and in another embodiment, the Si-containing layer is formed after annealing and mask removal.

Abstract: A multi-chip module is constructed by aligning prewired chips on a support wafer and depositing a nonconductive thermally conductive and electrically nonconductive material having a coefficient of thermal expansion that approximate that of the chips (e.g. silicon, silicon carbide, silicon germanium, germanium or SiCGe) to surround chips. After removal of the support wafer, processing of multi-chip module is finished with wiring on a shared surface of multi-chip module and chip surface.

Abstract: Features of two or more distinct sizes designed to optimize performance of an integrated circuit device are formed by transferring a pattern from a resist patterned with features of a single minimum feature size for which a resist exposure tool is optimized to a layer of preferably soluble material such as germanium oxide. Portions of this pattern are then enlarged using a block-out mask and the resulting pattern transferred to a further underlying layer preferably using an anisotropic reactive ion etch. The soluble material can then be removed leaving a robust mask with differing feature sizes for further processing. Preferably, Damascene conductive lines and vias are formed by providing an insulator as the further underlying material and filling the openings with metal or other conductive material.

Abstract: A densely packed array of vertical semiconductor devices having pillars and methods of making thereof are disclosed. The array has rows of wordlines and columns of bitlines. The array has vertical pillars, each having two wordlines, one active and the other passing for each, cell. Two wordlines are formed per pillar on opposite pillar sidewalls which are along the row direction. The threshold voltage of the pillar device is raised on the side of the pillar touching the passing wordline, thereby permanently shutting off the pillar device during the cell operation and isolating the pillar from the voltage variations on the passing wordline. The isolated wordlines allow individual cells to be addressed and written via direct tunneling, in both volatile and non-volatile memory cell configurations. For Gbit DRAM application, stack or trench capacitors may be formed on the pillars, or in trenches surrounding the pillars, respectively.