Patents by Inventor Pieter Weckx

Pieter Weckx 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: 11704462
    Abstract: A system and method for simulating an electronic circuit is disclosed. The method includes creating a finite set of circuit or device parameter points selected from within an n-dimensional parameter space. The method includes determining, for each circuit or device parameter point of the set, a corresponding response value of the performance metric and a corresponding probability of occurrence. The method includes determining, for a predetermined value of the performance metric, the total probability of occurrence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignees: IMEC vzw, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
    Inventors: Pieter Weckx, Dimitrios Rodopoulos, Benjamin Kaczer, Francky Catthoor
  • Publication number: 20230178554
    Abstract: Example embodiments relate to complementary field-effect transistor (CFET) devices. An example CFET device includes a bottom FET device. The bottom FET device includes a bottom channel nanostructure having a first side surface oriented in a first direction. The bottom FET device also includes a second side surface oriented in a second direction opposite the first direction. Further, the bottom FET device includes a bottom gate electrode configured to define a tri-gate or a gate-all-around with respect to the bottom channel nanostructure. The bottom gate electrode includes a side gate portion arranged along the first side surface of the bottom channel nanostructure. The CFET device also includes a top FET device stacked on the bottom FET device. The top FET device includes channel layers, a gate electrode, and gate prongs. Additionally, the CFET device includes a top gate contact via. Further, the CFET device includes a bottom gate contact via.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2022
    Publication date: June 8, 2023
    Inventors: Bilal Chehab, Pieter Schuddinck, Julien Ryckaert, Pieter Weckx
  • Patent number: 11515399
    Abstract: In one aspect, a method of forming a semiconductor device can comprise forming a first transistor structure and a second transistor structure separated by a first trench which comprises a first dielectric wall protruding above a top surface of the transistor structures. The first and the second transistor structures each can comprise a plurality of stacked nanosheets forming a channel structure, and a source portion and a drain portion horizontally separated by the channel structure. The method further can comprise depositing a contact material over the transistor structures and the first dielectric wall, thereby filling the first trench and contacting a first source/drain portion of the first transistor structure and a first source/drain portion of the second transistor structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: IMEC vzw
    Inventors: Eugenio Dentoni Litta, Juergen Boemmels, Julien Ryckaert, Naoto Horiguchi, Pieter Weckx
  • Patent number: 11462443
    Abstract: In one aspect, a method of forming a semiconductor device, can comprise forming a first transistor structure and a second transistor structure separated by a trench. The first and the second transistor structures can comprise a plurality of stacked nanosheets forming a channel structure, and a source portion and a drain portion horizontally separated by the channel structure. A first and a second spacer can beformed in the trench at sidewalls of the transistor structures, both protruding above a top surface of the transistor structures. The method can comprise applying a first mask layer including an opening exposing the first spacer at a first source/drain portion of the first transistor structure and covering the second spacer, partially etching the exposed first spacer through the opening, exposing at least parts of a sidewall of the first source/drain portion of the first transistor structure, and removing the mask layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: IMEC vzw
    Inventors: Eugenio Dentoni Litta, Juergen Boemmels, Julien Ryckaert, Naoto Horiguchi, Pieter Weckx
  • Publication number: 20220108948
    Abstract: A method includes: producing on a substrate a stack of: a first layer including a first dielectric material, a second layer including dielectric material on the first layer, and an etch stop layer between the first layer and the second layer, etching a trench through the second layer, the etch stop layer, and the first layer, producing a lower conductive line in the trench, producing a third layer including a second dielectric material in the trench and on the tower conductive line, removing a first portion of the second layer, such that a second portion of the second layer remains in contact with the etch stop layer, etching a via opening through the third layer in the trench, using the second portion of the second layer as a mask, and depositing a conductive upper line and an interconnect via on the lower conductive line within the via opening.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 5, 2021
    Publication date: April 7, 2022
    Inventor: Pieter Weckx
  • Publication number: 20220100939
    Abstract: A system and method of simulating device aging based on a digital waveform representative of a workload of an electronic device are disclosed. In one aspect, the method comprises grouping contiguous sets of cycles into segments, each set corresponding to a segment. Each segment has values for a combination of segment parameters that are unique from each of the other segments and a start point that is separated from a start point of an adjacent segment by a pre-defined distance criterion. Grouping the sets into the segments comprises, for each segment: sampling one or more sequential cycles of the workload, generating the segment based on the sampled contiguous cycles having a period exceeding a threshold period, and determining the values for the combination of segment parameters. The method further comprises applying an aging model to the segments to simulate the aging. The segments are a representation of the digital waveform.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2020
    Publication date: March 31, 2022
    Inventors: Subrat Mishra, Pieter Weckx, Francky Catthoor, Alessio Spessot
  • Patent number: 11244949
    Abstract: The disclosed technology generally relates to semiconductor devices and more particularly to a semiconductor device comprising stacked complementary transistor pairs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: IMEC vzw
    Inventors: Pieter Weckx, Juergen Boemmels, Julien Ryckaert
  • Patent number: 11164942
    Abstract: According to an aspect of the present inventive concept there is provided a method for forming a first and a second nanosheet transistor structure, each comprising a source, a drain, and a channel extending between the source and the drain in a first direction, and a gate extending across the channel, wherein the first and second nanosheet transistor structures are spaced apart in a second direction, transverse to the first direction, by an insulating wall extending in the first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: IMEC VZW
    Inventors: Pieter Weckx, Julien Ryckaert, Eugenio Dentoni Litta
  • Publication number: 20210193821
    Abstract: In one aspect, a method of forming a semiconductor device can comprise forming a first transistor structure and a second transistor structure separated by a first trench which comprises a first dielectric wall protruding above a top surface of the transistor structures. The first and the second transistor structures each can comprise a plurality of stacked nanosheets forming a channel structure, and a source portion and a drain portion horizontally separated by the channel structure. The method further can comprise depositing a contact material over the transistor structures and the first dielectric wall, thereby filling the first trench and contacting a first source/drain portion of the first transistor structure and a first source/drain portion of the second transistor structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2020
    Publication date: June 24, 2021
    Inventors: Eugenio Dentoni Litta, Juergen Boemmels, Julien Ryckaert, Naoto Horiguchi, Pieter Weckx
  • Publication number: 20210183711
    Abstract: In one aspect, a method of forming a semiconductor device, can comprise forming a first transistor structure and a second transistor structure separated by a trench. The first and the second transistor structures can comprise a plurality of stacked nanosheets forming a channel structure, and a source portion and a drain portion horizontally separated by the channel structure. A first and a second spacer can beformed in the trench at sidewalls of the transistor structures, both protruding above a top surface of the transistor structures. The method can comprise applying a first mask layer including an opening exposing the first spacer at a first source/drain portion of the first transistor structure and covering the second spacer, partially etching the exposed first spacer through the opening, exposing at least parts of a sidewall of the first source/drain portion of the first transistor structure, and removing the mask layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2020
    Publication date: June 17, 2021
    Inventors: Eugenio Dentoni Litta, Juergen Boemmels, Julien Ryckaert, Naoto Horiguchi, Pieter Weckx
  • Publication number: 20200089829
    Abstract: A system and method for simulating an electronic circuit is disclosed. The method includes creating a finite set of circuit or device parameter points selected from within an n-dimensional parameter space. The method includes determining, for each circuit or device parameter point of the set, a corresponding response value of the performance metric and a corresponding probability of occurrence. The method includes determining, for a predetermined value of the performance metric, the total probability of occurrence.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2019
    Publication date: March 19, 2020
    Inventors: Pieter Weckx, Dmitrios Rodopoulos, Benjamin Kaczer, Francky Catthoor
  • Publication number: 20190386011
    Abstract: The disclosed technology generally relates to semiconductor devices and more particularly to a semiconductor device comprising stacked complementary transistor pairs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2019
    Publication date: December 19, 2019
    Inventors: Pieter Weckx, Juergen Boemmels, Julien Ryckaert
  • Publication number: 20190205095
    Abstract: A semiconductor cell comprising a memory element for storing a first binary operand is disclosed. In one aspect, the memory element provides complementary memory outputs, and a multiplication block that is locally and uniquely associated with the memory element. The multiplication block may be configured to receive complementary input signals representing binary input data and the complementary memory outputs of the associated memory element representing the first binary operand, implement a multiplication operation on these signals, and provide an output of the multiplication operation to an output port. An array of semiconductor cells and a neural network circuit comprising such array are also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2018
    Publication date: July 4, 2019
    Inventors: Mohit Gupta, Wim Dehaene, Sushil Sakhare, Pieter Weckx
  • Patent number: 10332588
    Abstract: In an aspect of the disclosed technology, a SRAM device includes a first stack of transistors and a second stack of transistors arranged on a substrate. Each of the first and second stacks includes a pull-up transistor, a pull-down transistor and a pass transistor, where each of the transistors includes a horizontally extending channel. In each of the first and second stacks, the pull-up transistor and the pull-down transistor have a common gate electrode extending vertically therebetween, and the pass transistor has a gate electrode separated from the common gate electrode. A source/drain of each of the pull-up transistor and the pull-down transistor and a source/drain of the pass transistor included in one of the first stack and the second stack are electrically interconnected with the common gate electrode of the pull-up transistor and the pull-down transistor included in the other of the first stack and the second stack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignees: IMEC vzw, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
    Inventors: Trong Huynh Bao, Julien Ryckaert, Praveen Raghavan, Pieter Weckx
  • Publication number: 20180174642
    Abstract: The disclosed technology generally relates to semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly to a static random access memory (SRAM) device. One aspect of the disclosed technology is a bit cell for a static random access memory (SRAM) comprising: a first and a second vertical stack of transistors arranged on a substrate. Each stack includes a pull-up transistor, a pull-down transistor and a pass transistor, each transistor including a horizontally extending channel, the pull-up transistor and the pull-down transistor having a common gate electrode extending vertically between the pull-up transistor and the pull-down transistor and the pass transistor having a gate electrode being separate from the common gate electrode. A source/drain of the pull-up transistor and of the pull-down transistor of the first stack, a source/drain of the pass transistor of the first stack and the common gate electrode of the pull-up and pull-down transistors of the second stack are electrically interconnected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2017
    Publication date: June 21, 2018
    Inventors: Trong Huynh Bao, Julien Ryckaert, Praveen Raghavan, Pieter Weckx
  • Publication number: 20160283629
    Abstract: A system and method for simulating an electronic circuit is disclosed. The method includes creating a finite set of circuit or device parameter points selected from within an n-dimensional parameter space. The method includes determining, for each circuit or device parameter point of the set, a corresponding response value of the performance metric and a corresponding probability of occurrence. The method includes determining, for a predetermined value of the performance metric, the total probability of occurrence.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2016
    Publication date: September 29, 2016
    Inventors: Pieter Weckx, Dmitrios Rodopoulos, Benjamin Kaczer, Francky Catthoor