Patents by Inventor Patrick A. Curran

Patrick A. Curran 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: 5126284
    Abstract: A semiconductor contact system is formed by inductively coupling an ohmic electrode, such as a metal, to a semiconductor region by means of an intervening diamagnetic boride glass, which necessarily constrains most electric current to prevail along the uniaxial normal to the semiconductor contact. The low permeability of the diamagnetic boride glass results in a low resistance to direct-current electricity along the uniaxial displacement axis of the diamagnetic boride glass. The transient time constant associated with the inductor is generally much smaller than the semiconductor device switching times, with the steady-state current being essentially established by the semiconductor resistance so as to result in an ohmic semiconductor contact void any significant rectification effects. An ohmic contact by means of an inductively-coupled electrode is generally independent of the semiconductor conductivity or ionicity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 1991
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1992
    Inventor: Patrick A. Curran
  • Patent number: 4901133
    Abstract: A film for hermetically passivating monocrystalline silicon includes sequential layers of undoped amorphous silicon, oxygen doped polycrystalline silicon, silicon rich oxynitride, and silicon nitride, and may be overlaid with an organic bulk dielectric such as polyimide. The inorganic film accurately sets the monocrystalline surface Fermi potential, independent of ambient electrical, mechanical, thermal, ionic, and moisture conditions. A method for depositing the amorphous silicon and the oxygen doped polycrystalline silicon layers of the film includes sequentially reacting monosilane in an inert carrier gas, such as helium or argon, and nitrous oxide. The layers are blended by varying the deposition temperature, the nitrous oxide flow rate, the monosilane flow rate, the monosilane dilution, and the inert carrier gas species. The layers are annealed to locally segregate the oxygen, to grow the grains to the proper size, and to set the final recombination velocity of the monocrystalline region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 1986
    Date of Patent: February 13, 1990
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Patrick A. Curran, Susan R. Wilson
  • Patent number: 4771326
    Abstract: A heterojunction transistor has an acceptor doped superlattice base of sub-micron thickness, a composite emitter with a donor concentration adjacent the base, with a wider bandgap energy than the base, and with a low recombination velocity to minimize minority carrier diffusion and to set the divergence of emitter and base carrier velocities, and a collector configured like the emitter, permitting control and optimization of the cut-in voltage. The method for making the transistor includes forming the base, emitter, and collector by non-compensated, non-planar wafer processing techniques.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 1986
    Date of Patent: September 13, 1988
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Patrick A. Curran
  • Patent number: 4771013
    Abstract: A three dimensional, bipolar wafer process for integrating high voltage, high power, analog, and digital circuitry, and structure formed thereby includes a wafer of non-compensated epitaxial strata on a heavily donor doped monocrystalline silicon substrate of <100> crystal orientation, which is etched and with three dimensional transistors formed in it. Passivation for and contacts to said circuits are established, and the circuits are interconnected. The high voltage and high power transistors include transistors of an H-bridge circuit, including at least one set of cascode double heterojunction transistors, the analog transistors include a bipolar transistor, and the digital transistors include transistors of a I.sup.2 L circuit. One method for constructing the wafer is by sequentially epitaxially depositing each strata in an UHV silicon-based MBE apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 1986
    Date of Patent: September 13, 1988
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Patrick A. Curran
  • Patent number: 4755484
    Abstract: A semiconductor contact system controls the boundary recombination velocity and optimizes the semiconductor transport phenomena and includes a microcrystalline layer of doped semiconductor microcrystals surrounded by a semiconductor oxide. The microcrystalline layer is acceptor and oxygen doped to provide unipolar hole transport and donor and oxygen doped to provided unipolar electron transport. The oxygen doping is implanted several atomic layers into the semiconductor to form a gradient between the semiconductor and microcrystalline layer to preserve the semiconductor monocrystalline lattice. The thickness of the microcrystalline film is adjusted to be thick enough to control the effective chemostatic potential terminating the semiconductor and thin enough to enhance the series microcrystalline film resistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 1986
    Date of Patent: July 5, 1988
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Patrick A. Curran
  • Patent number: 4717681
    Abstract: A wafer process flow encompasses an arbitray repeated layered structure of heteroepitaxial layers of silicon based films with process control throughout the strata of chemical potential and recombination velocity, suitable for both high performance MOS and bipolar transistors with three dimensional transistor capability. A non-compensated doping technique preserves crystalline periodicity, as does the component delineation by means of anisotropic etching. The wafer is hermetic by means of the semi-insulation films polyimide, and the elimination of phosphorous doped silicon dioxide. A metallurgy system enables a high level integration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1986
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1988
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Patrick A. Curran
  • Patent number: 4707721
    Abstract: A passivated dual dielectric gate system compatible with low temperature processing utilizes a dual dielectric system with a silicon dioxide dielectric film or layer at the monocrystalline substrate surface, or termination. The dual dielectric system includes a dielectric film at the substrate surface of thicknesses of from 200 to 1000 .ANG.(or greater ). Respective layers of undoped amorphous silicon and titanium nitride overlie the top of the silicon dioxide and an aluminum gate metal layer overlies the titanium nitride layer. The structure can be patterned by selectively patterning photoresist and a dry or dry/wet etch processses. The structure is patterned and etched as desired.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 1986
    Date of Patent: November 17, 1987
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Saw T. Ang, Patrick A. Curran
  • Patent number: 4704785
    Abstract: A process, and product made thereby, for bonding two wafers together to form a single wafer with a continuous interface, and for selectively burying a low impedance conductor in the wafer, by providing host and guest wafers having substantially the same crystal orientation and periodicity. A crystalline boundary n-semimetal is formed on the wafers, which are then brought into intimate contact. If desired, a unipolar conductor is fused to one of said wafers. Then, the wafers are exposed to an elevated temperature, or rapid thermal anneal, in an inert ambient, breaking up any native oxides and diffusing any excess oxygen into the wafer lattices. The guest wafer is then mechanically lapped back and chemically etched.A vertical cascode integrated half H-bridge motor driving circuit made in the guest and host wafers has a source transistor in the host wafer with with the wafer substrate forming the collector of the transistor, an isotype acceptor doped Ge.sub.x Si.sub.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 1986
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1987
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Patrick A. Curran
  • Patent number: 4546370
    Abstract: Monolithic integration of digital logic circuitry, precision control circuitry, and high voltage interface circuits on the same semiconductor chip is achieved, using various combinations selected from D-MOS, vertical NPN, lateral NPN, PNP, P-MOS, N-MOS, and J-FET components. Cathode driver circuits for a plasma display panel are integrated with this technology. Other applications include automotive and television circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 1984
    Date of Patent: October 8, 1985
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Patrick A. Curran
  • Patent number: 4403395
    Abstract: Monolithic integration of digital logic circuitry, precision control circuitry, and high voltage interface circuits on the same semiconductor chip is achieved, using various combinations selected from D-MOS, vertical NPN, lateral NPN, PNP, P-MOS, N-MOS, and J-FET components. Cathode driver circuits for a plasma display panel are integrated with this technology. Other applications include automotive and television circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 1981
    Date of Patent: September 13, 1983
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Patrick A. Curran
  • Patent number: 4325180
    Abstract: Monolithic integration of digital logic circuitry, precision control circuitry, and high voltage interface circuits on the same semiconductor chip is achieved, including various combinations selected from D-MOS, vertical NPN, lateral NPN, PNP, P-MOS, N-MOS, and J-FET components. Cathode driver circuits for a plasma display panel are integrated with this technology. Other applications include automotive and television circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 1979
    Date of Patent: April 20, 1982
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: Patrick A. Curran