Abstract: An apparatus and method for electrical mask inspection is disclosed. A scan chain is formed amongst two metal layers and a via layer. One of the three layers is a functional layer under test, and the other two layers are test layers. A resistance measurement of the scan chain is used to determine if a potential defect exists within one of the vias or metal segments comprising the scan chain.

Abstract: A method for forming a nanowire field effect transistor (FET) device includes forming a nanowire over a semiconductor substrate, forming a gate stack around a portion of the nanowire, forming a capping layer on the gate stack, forming a spacer adjacent to sidewalls of the gate stack and around portions of nanowire extending from the gate stack, forming a hardmask layer on the capping layer and the first spacer, forming a metallic layer over the exposed portions of the device, depositing a conductive material over the metallic layer, removing the hardmask layer from the gate stack, and removing portions of the conductive material to define a source region contact and a drain region contact.

Abstract: A method for forming a nanowire field effect transistor (FET) device includes forming a nanowire over a semiconductor substrate, forming a gate structure around a portion of the nanowire, forming a capping layer on the gate structure; forming a first spacer adjacent to sidewalls of the gate and around portions of nanowire extending from the gate, forming a hardmask layer on the capping layer and the first spacer, removing exposed portions of the nanowire, epitaxially growing a doped semiconductor material on exposed cross sections of the nanowire to form a source region and a drain region, forming a silicide material in the epitaxially grown doped semiconductor material, and forming a conductive material on the source and drain regions.

Abstract: A body contact structure which reduce parasitic capacitance and improves body resistance of a device and methods of manufacture. The method includes forming a gate insulator material and gate electrode material on a substrate. The method further includes patterning the gate insulator material and the gate electrode material to form a gate structure having a shape with a first portion isolated from a second portion. The method further includes forming source and drain regions on sides of the first portion and a body contact at a side and under an area of the second portion, and forming an interlevel dielectric within a space that isolates the first portion from the second portion of the gate structure, and over the gate structure, source and drain regions and the body contact.

Abstract: A body contact structure which reduce parasitic capacitance and improves body resistance of a device and methods of manufacture. The method includes forming a gate insulator material and gate electrode material on a substrate. The method further includes patterning the gate insulator material and the gate electrode material to form a gate structure having a shape with a first portion isolated from a second portion. The method further includes forming source and drain regions on sides of the first portion and a body contact at a side and under an area of the second portion, and forming an interlevel dielectric within a space that isolates the first portion from the second portion of the gate structure, and over the gate structure, source and drain regions and the body contact.

Abstract: A method and computer program product for modeling a semiconductor transistor device structure having an active device area, a gate structure, and including a conductive line feature connected to the gate structure and disposed above the active device area, the conductive line feature including a conductive landing pad feature disposed near an edge of the active device area in a circuit to be modeled. The method includes determining a distance between an edge defined by the landing pad feature to an edge of the active device area, and, from modeling a lithographic rounding effect of the landing pad feature, determining changes in width of the active device area as a function of the distance between an edge defined by the landing pad feature to an edge of the active device area. From these data, an effective change in active device area width (deltaW adder) is related to the determined distance.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of forming asymmetric field-effect-transistors.

Abstract: A semiconductor structure includes an epitaxial surface semiconductor layer having a first dopant polarity and a first crystallographic orientation, and a laterally adjacent semiconductor-on-insulator surface semiconductor layer having a different second dopant polarity and different second crystallographic orientation. The epitaxial surface semiconductor layer has a first edge that has a defect and an adjoining second edge absent a defect. Located within the epitaxial surface semiconductor layer is a first device having a first gate perpendicular to the first edge and a second device having a second gate perpendicular to the second edge. The first device may include a performance sensitive logic device and the second device may include a yield sensitive memory device.

Abstract: A method and computer program product for modeling a semiconductor transistor device structure having an active device area, a gate structure, and including a conductive line feature connected to the gate structure and disposed above the active device area, the conductive line feature including a conductive landing pad feature disposed near an edge of the active device area in a circuit to be modeled. The method includes determining a distance between an edge defined by the landing pad feature to an edge of the active device area, and, from modeling a lithographic rounding effect of the landing pad feature, determining changes in width of the active device area as a function of the distance between an edge defined by the landing pad feature to an edge of the active device area. From these data, an effective change in active device area width (deltaW adder) is related to the determined distance.

Abstract: An integrated circuit is provided that integrates an bulk FET and an SOI FET on the same chip, where the bulk FET includes a gate conductor over a gate oxide formed over a bulk substrate, where the gate dielectric of the bulk FET has the same thickness and is substantially coplanar with the buried insulating layer of the SOI FET. In a preferred embodiment, the bulk FET is formed from an SOI wafer by forming bulk contact trenches through the SOI layer and the buried insulating layer of the SOI wafer adjacent an active region of the SOI layer in a designated bulk device region. The active region of the SOI layer adjacent the bulk contact trenches forms the gate conductor of the bulk FET which overlies a portion of the underlying buried insulating layer, which forms the gate dielectric of the bulk FET.

Abstract: A method for forming a nanowire field effect transistor (FET) device includes forming a nanowire over a semiconductor substrate, forming a gate structure around a portion of the nanowire, forming a capping layer on the gate structure; forming a first spacer adjacent to sidewalls of the gate and around portions of nanowire extending from the gate, forming a hardmask layer on the capping layer and the first spacer, removing exposed portions of the nanowire, epitaxially growing a doped semiconductor material on exposed cross sections of the nanowire to form a source region and a drain region, forming a silicide material in the epitaxially grown doped semiconductor material, and forming a conductive material on the source and drain regions.

Abstract: A method for forming an integrated circuit, the method includes forming a first nanowire suspended above an insulator substrate, the first nanowire attached to a first silicon on insulator (SOI) pad region and a second SOI pad region that are disposed on the insulator substrate, a second nanowire disposed on the insulator substrate attached to a third SOI pad region and a fourth SOI pad region that are disposed on the insulator substrate, and a SOI slab region that is disposed on the insulator substrate, and forming a first gate surrounding a portion of the first nanowire, a second gate on a portion of the second nanowire, and a third gate on a portion of the SOI slab region.

Abstract: A top semiconductor layer is formed with two different thicknesses such that a step is formed underneath a body region of a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) field effect transistor at the interface between a top semiconductor layer and an underlying buried insulator layer. The interface and the accompanying interfacial defects in the body region provide recombination centers, which increase the recombination rate between the holes and electrons in the body region. Optionally, a spacer portion, comprising a material that functions as recombination centers, is formed on sidewalls of the step to provide an enhanced recombination rate between holes and electrons in the body region, which increases the bipolar breakdown voltage of a SOI field effect transistor.

Abstract: Disclosed are embodiments of an n-FET structure with silicon carbon S/D regions completely contained inside amorphization regions and with a carbon-free gate electrode. Containing carbon within the amorphization regions, ensures that all of the carbon is substitutional following re-crystallization to maximize the tensile stress imparted on channel region. The gate stack is capped during carbon implantation so the risk of carbon entering the gate stack and degrading the conductivity of the gate polysilicon and/or damaging the gate oxide is essentially eliminated. Thus, the carbon implant regions can be formed deeper. Deeper S/D carbon implants which are completely amorphized and then re-crystallized provide greater tensile stress on the n-FET channel region to further optimize electron mobility. Additionally, the gate electrode is uncapped during the n-type dopant process, so the n-type dopant dose in the gate electrode can be at least great as the dose in the S/D regions.

Abstract: The present invention provides a semiconductor device having dual silicon nitride liners and a reformed silicide layer and related methods for the manufacture of such a device. The reformed silicide layer has a thickness and resistance substantially similar to a silicide layer not exposed to the formation of the dual silicon nitride liners. A first aspect of the invention provides a method for use in the manufacture of a semiconductor device comprising the steps of applying a first silicon nitride liner to a silicide layer, removing a portion of the first silicon nitride liner, reforming a portion of the silicide layer removed during the removal step, and applying a second silicon nitride liner to the silicide layer.

Abstract: Disclosed is an SOI device on a bulk silicon layer which has an FET region, a body contact region and an STI region. The FET region is made of an SOI layer and an overlying gate. The STI region includes a first STI layer separating the SOI device from an adjacent SOI device. The body contact region includes an extension of the SOI layer, a second STI layer on the extension and a body contact in contact with the extension. The first and second STI layers are contiguous and of different thicknesses so as to form a split level STI.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the present invention provides a semiconductor device that includes a substrate including a semiconducting layer positioned overlying an insulating layer the semiconducting layer including a semiconducting body and isolation regions present about a perimeter of the semiconducting body; a gate structure overlying the semiconducting layer of the substrate, the gate structure present on a first portion on an upper surface of the semiconducting body; and a silicide body contact that is in direct physical contact with a second portion of the semiconducting body that is separated from the first portion of the semiconducting body by a non-silicide semiconducting region.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a device using a sequence of annealing processes is provided. More particularly, a logic NFET device fabricated using a low temperature anneal to eliminate dislocation defects, method of fabricating the NFET device and design structure is shown and described. The method includes forming a stress liner over a gate structure and subjecting the gate structure and stress liner to a low temperature anneal process to form a stacking force in single crystalline silicon near the gate structure as a way to memorized the stress effort. The method further includes stripping the stress liner from the gate structure and performing an activation anneal at high temperature on device.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of forming asymmetric field-effect-transistors.

Abstract: Superior control of short-channel effects for an ultra-thin semiconductor-on-insulator field effect transistor (UTSOI-FET) is obtained by performing a halo implantation immediately after a gate reoxidation step. An offset is then formed and thereafter an extension implantation process is performed. This sequence of processing steps ensures that the halo implant is laterally separated from the extension implant by the width of the offset spacer. This construction produces equivalent or far superior short channel performance compared to conventional UTSOI-FETs. Additionally, the above processing steps permit the use of lower halo doses as compared to conventional processes.