Patents by Inventor Steven W. Longcor
Steven W. Longcor 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).
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Publication number: 20120087174Abstract: A memory using mixed valence conductive oxides is disclosed. The memory includes a mixed valence conductive oxide that is less conductive in its oxygen deficient state and a mixed electronic ionic conductor that is an electrolyte to oxygen and promotes an electric field effective to cause oxygen ionic motion.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 16, 2011Publication date: April 12, 2012Applicant: UNITY SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATIONInventors: DARRELL RINERSON, CHRISTOPHE J. CHEVALLIER, WAYNE KINNEY, ROY LAMBERTSON, STEVEN W. LONGCOR, JOHN E. SANCHEZ, JR., LAWRENCE SCHLOSS, PHILIP F.S. SWAB, EDMOND WARD
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Publication number: 20120064691Abstract: A treated conductive element is provided. A conductive element can be treated by depositing either a reactive metal or a very thin layer of material on the conductive element. The reactive metal (or very thin layer of material) would typically be sandwiched between the conductive element and an electrode. The structure additionally exhibits non-linear IV characteristics, which can be favorable in certain arrays.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 21, 2011Publication date: March 15, 2012Applicant: UNITY SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATIONInventors: DARRELL RINERSON, WAYNE KINNEY, EDMOND R. WARD, STEVE KUO-REN HSIA, STEVEN W. LONGCOR, CHRISTOPHE J. CHEVALLIER, JOHN SANCHEZ, PHILIP F. S. SWAB
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Publication number: 20110315948Abstract: Memory cell formation using ion implant isolated conductive metal oxide is disclosed, including forming a bottom electrode below unetched conductive metal oxide layer(s), forming the unetched conductive metal oxide layer(s) including depositing at least one layer of a conductive metal oxide (CMO) material (e.g., PrCaMnOx, LaSrCoOx, LaNiOx, etc.) over the bottom electrode. At least one portion of the layer of CMO is configured to act as a memory element without etching, and performing ion implantation on portions of the layer(s) of CMO to create insulating metal oxide (IMO) regions in the layer(s) of CMO. The IMO regions are positioned adjacent to electrically conductive CMO regions in the unetched layer(s) of CMO and the electrically conductive CMO regions are disposed above and in contact with the bottom electrode and form memory elements operative to store non-volatile data as a plurality of conductivity profiles (e.g., resistive states indicative of stored data).Type: ApplicationFiled: August 23, 2011Publication date: December 29, 2011Applicant: UNITY SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATIONInventors: DARRELL RINERSON, JONATHAN BORNSTEIN, DAVID HANSEN, ROBIN CHEUNG, STEVEN W. LONGCOR, RENE MEYER, LAWRENCE SCHLOSS
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Publication number: 20110315943Abstract: Memory cell formation using ion implant isolated conductive metal oxide is disclosed, including forming a bottom electrode below un-etched conductive metal oxide layer(s), forming the un-etched conductive metal oxide layer(s) including depositing at least one layer of a conductive metal oxide (CMO) material (e.g., PrCaMnOx, LaSrCoOx, LaNiOx, etc.) over the bottom electrode. At least one portion of the layer of CMO is configured to act as a memory element without etching, and performing ion implantation on portions of the layer(s) of CMO to create insulating metal oxide (IMO) regions in the layer(s) of CMO. The IMO regions are positioned adjacent to electrically conductive CMO regions in the un-etched layer(s) of CMO and the electrically conductive CMO regions are disposed above and in contact with the bottom electrode and form memory elements operative to store non-volatile data as a plurality of conductivity profiles (e.g., resistive states indicative of stored data).Type: ApplicationFiled: September 2, 2011Publication date: December 29, 2011Applicant: UNITY SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATIONInventors: DARRELL RINERSON, JONATHAN BORNSTEIN, DAVID HANSEN, ROBIN CHEUNG, STEVEN W. LONGCOR, RENE MEYER, LAWRENCE SCHLOSS
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Patent number: 8062942Abstract: A treated conductive element is provided. A conductive element can be treated by depositing either a reactive metal or a very thin layer of material on the conductive element. The reactive metal (or very thin layer of material) would typically be sandwiched between the conductive element and an electrode. The structure additionally exhibits non-linear IV characteristics, which can be favorable in certain arrays.Type: GrantFiled: June 30, 2008Date of Patent: November 22, 2011Inventors: Darrell Rinerson, Wayne Kinney, Edmond Ward, Steve Kuo-Ren Hsia, Steven W. Longcor, Christophe J. Chevallier, John E. Sanchez, Jr., Philip Swab
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Publication number: 20110204019Abstract: Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of thin film materials using a slurry including a surfactant chemical operative to polish high portions of the film being planarized while preventing the polishing of low portions of the film is disclosed. The low portions can be in a step reduction region of a deposited film. The CMP process can be used for form a planar surface upon which subsequent thin-film layers can be deposited, such as an electrically conductive material for an electrode. The subsequently deposited thin-film layers are substantially planar as deposited without having to use CMP. The resulting thin-film layers are planar and have a uniform cross-sectional thickness that can be beneficial for layers of memory material for a memory cell. The processing can be performed back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) on a previously front-end-of-the-line (FEOL) processed substrate (e.g., silicon wafer) and the BEOL process can be used to fabricate two-terminal non-volatile cross-point memory arrays.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 15, 2010Publication date: August 25, 2011Applicant: UNITY SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Jonathan Bornstein, David Hansen, Steven W. Longcor
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Patent number: 8003511Abstract: Memory cell formation using ion implant isolated conductive metal oxide is disclosed, including forming a bottom electrode below unetched conductive metal oxide layer(s), forming the unetched conductive metal oxide layer(s) including depositing at least one layer of a conductive metal oxide (CMO) material (e.g., PrCaMnOX, LaSrCoOX, LaNiOX, etc.) over the bottom electrode. At least one portion of the layer of CMO is configured to act as a memory element without etching, and performing ion implantation on portions of the layer(s) of CMO to create insulating metal oxide (IMO) regions in the layer(s) of CMO. The IMO regions are positioned adjacent to electrically conductive CMO regions in the unetched layer(s) of CMO and the electrically conductive CMO regions are disposed above and in contact with the bottom electrode and form memory elements operative to store non-volatile data as a plurality of conductivity profiles (e.g., resistive states indicative of stored data).Type: GrantFiled: December 18, 2009Date of Patent: August 23, 2011Inventors: Darrell Rinerson, Jonathan Bornstein, Robin Cheung, David Hansen, Steven W. Longcor, Rene Meyer, Lawrence Schloss
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Publication number: 20110186803Abstract: A memory cell including conductive oxide electrodes is disclosed. The memory cell includes a memory element operative to store data as a plurality of resistive states. The memory element includes a layer of a conductive metal oxide (CMO) (e.g., a perovskite) in contact with an electrode that may comprise one or more layers of material. At least one of those layers of material can be a conductive oxide (e.g., a perovskite such as LaSrCoO3-LSCoO or LaNiO3-LNO) that is in contact with the CMO. The conductive oxide layer can be selected as a seed layer operative to provide a good lattice match with and/or a lower crystallization temperature for the CMO. The conductive oxide layer may also be in contact with a metal layer (e.g., Pt). The memory cell additionally exhibits non-linear IV characteristics, which can be favorable in certain arrays, such as non-volatile two-terminal cross-point memory arrays.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 15, 2011Publication date: August 4, 2011Applicant: UNITY SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Darrell Rinerson, Wayne Kinney, Edmond R. Ward, Steve Kuo-Ren Hsia, Steven W. Longcor, Christophe J. Chevallier, John Sanchez, Philip F.S. Swab
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Patent number: 7889539Abstract: A memory cell including conductive oxide electrodes is disclosed. The memory cell includes a memory element operative to store data as a plurality of resistive states. The memory element includes a layer of a conductive metal oxide (CMO) (e.g., a perovskite) in contact with an electrode that may comprise one or more layers of material. At least one of those layers of material can be a conductive oxide (e.g., a perovskite such as LaSrCoO3-LSCoO or LaNiO3-LNO) that is in contact with the CMO. The conductive oxide layer can be selected as a seed layer operative to provide a good lattice match with and/or a lower crystallization temperature for the CMO. The conductive oxide layer may also be in contact with a metal layer (e.g., Pt). The memory cell additionally exhibits non-linear IV characteristics, which can be favorable in certain arrays, such as non-volatile two-terminal cross-point memory arrays.Type: GrantFiled: December 14, 2009Date of Patent: February 15, 2011Inventors: Darrell Rinerson, Wayne Kinney, Edmond Ward, Steve Kuo-Ren Hsia, Steven W. Longcor, Christophe Chevallier, John E. Sanchez, Jr., Philip Swab
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Patent number: 7884349Abstract: A memory cell including a memory element and a non-ohmic device (NOD) that are electrically in series with each other is disclosed. The NOD comprises a semiconductor based selection device operative to electrically isolate the memory element from a range of voltages applied across the memory cell that are not read voltages operative read stored data from the memory element or write voltages operative to write data to the memory element. The selection device may comprise a pair of diodes that are electrically in series with each other and disposed in a back-to-back configuration. The memory cell may be fabricated over a substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer) that includes active circuitry. The selection device and the semiconductor materials (e.g., poly-silicon) that form the selection device are fabricated above the substrate and are integrated with other thin film layers of material that form the memory cell.Type: GrantFiled: September 11, 2008Date of Patent: February 8, 2011Inventors: Darrell Rinerson, Steve Kuo-Ren Hsia, Steven W. Longcor, Wayne Kinney, Edmond Ward, Christophe J. Chevallier
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Patent number: 7832090Abstract: Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of thin film materials using a slurry including a surfactant chemical operative to polish high portions of the film being planarized while preventing the polishing of low portions of the film is disclosed. The low portions can be in a step reduction region of a deposited film. The CMP process can be used for form a planar surface upon which subsequent thin-film layers can be deposited, such as an electrically conductive material for an electrode. The subsequently deposited thin-film layers are substantially planar as deposited without having to use CMP. The resulting thin-film layers are planar and have a uniform cross-sectional thickness that can be beneficial for layers of memory material for a memory cell. The processing can be performed back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) on a previously front-end-of-the-line (FEOL) processed substrate (e.g., silicon wafer) and the BEOL process can be used to fabricate two-terminal non-volatile cross-point memory arrays.Type: GrantFiled: February 25, 2010Date of Patent: November 16, 2010Inventors: Jonathan Bornstein, David Hansen, Steven W. Longcor
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Publication number: 20100159641Abstract: Memory cell formation using ion implant isolated conductive metal oxide is disclosed, including forming a bottom electrode below unetched conductive metal oxide layer(s), forming the unetched conductive metal oxide layer(s) including depositing at least one layer of a conductive metal oxide (CMO) material (e.g., PrCaMnOX, LaSrCoOX, LaNiOX, etc.) over the bottom electrode. At least one portion of the layer of CMO is configured to act as a memory element without etching, and performing ion implantation on portions of the layer(s) of CMO to create insulating metal oxide (IMO) regions in the layer(s) of CMO. The IMO regions are positioned adjacent to electrically conductive CMO regions in the unetched layer(s) of CMO and the electrically conductive CMO regions are disposed above and in contact with the bottom electrode and form memory elements operative to store non-volatile data as a plurality of conductivity profiles (e.g., resistive states indicative of stored data).Type: ApplicationFiled: December 18, 2009Publication date: June 24, 2010Applicant: UNITY SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Darrell Rinerson, Jonathan Bornstein, David Hansen, Robin Cheung, Steven W. Longcor, Rene Meyer, Lawrence Schloss
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Publication number: 20100157657Abstract: A memory cell including conductive oxide electrodes is disclosed. The memory cell includes a memory element operative to store data as a plurality of resistive states. The memory element includes a layer of a conductive metal oxide (CMO) (e.g., a perovskite) in contact with an electrode that may comprise one or more layers of material. At least one of those layers of material can be a conductive oxide (e.g., a perovskite such as LaSrCoO3-LSCoO or LaNiO3-LNO) that is in contact with the CMO. The conductive oxide layer can be selected as a seed layer operative to provide a good lattice match with and/or a lower crystallization temperature for the CMO. The conductive oxide layer may also be in contact with a metal layer (e.g., Pt). The memory cell additionally exhibits non-linear IV characteristics, which can be favorable in certain arrays, such as non-volatile two-terminal cross-point memory arrays.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 14, 2009Publication date: June 24, 2010Applicant: UNITY SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Darrell Rinerson, Wayne Kinney, Edmond R. Ward, Steve Kuo-Ren Hsia, Steven W. Longcor, Christophe J. Chevallier, John Sanchez, Philip F.S. Swab
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Patent number: 7633790Abstract: A memory cell including conductive oxide electrodes is disclosed. The memory cell includes a memory element operative to store data as a plurality of resistive states. The memory element includes a layer of a conductive metal oxide (CMO) (e.g., a perovskite) in contact with an electrode that may comprise one or more layers of material. At least one of those layers of material can be a conductive oxide (e.g., a perovskite such as LaSrCoO3—LSCoO or LaNiO3—LNO) that is in contact with the CMO. The conductive oxide layer can be selected as a seed layer operative to provide a good lattice match with and/or a lower crystallization temperature for the CMO. The conductive oxide layer may also be in contact with a metal layer (e.g., Pt). The memory cell additionally exhibits non-linear IV characteristics, which can be favorable in certain arrays, such as non-volatile two-terminal cross-point memory arrays.Type: GrantFiled: October 1, 2008Date of Patent: December 15, 2009Inventors: Darrel Rinerson, Wayne Kinney, Edmond Ward, Steve Kuo-Ren Hsia, Steven W. Longcor, Christophe J. Chevallier, John E. Sanchez, Jr., Philip Swab
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Patent number: 7528405Abstract: A conductive memory stack is provided. The memory stack includes a bottom electrode, a top electrode and a multi-resistive state element. The multi-resistive state element is sandwiched between the electrodes such that the top face of the bottom electrode is in contact with the multi-resistive state element's bottom face and the bottom face of the top electrode is in contact with the multi-resistive state element's top face. The bottom electrode, the top electrode and the multi-resistive state element all have sides that are adjacent to their faces. Furthermore, the sides are at least partially covered by a sidewall layer.Type: GrantFiled: March 5, 2007Date of Patent: May 5, 2009Inventors: Darrell Rinerson, Steve Kuo-Ren Hsia, Steven W. Longcor, Christophe Chevallier
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Publication number: 20090045390Abstract: A memory cell including conductive oxide electrodes is disclosed. The memory cell includes a memory element operative to store data as a plurality of resistive states. The memory element includes a layer of a conductive metal oxide (CMO) (e.g., a perovskite) in contact with an electrode that may comprise one or more layers of material. At least one of those layers of material can be a conductive oxide (e.g., a perovskite such as LaSrCoO3—LSCoO or LaNiO3—LNO) that is in contact with the CMO. The conductive oxide layer can be selected as a seed layer operative to provide a good lattice match with and/or a lower crystallization temperature for the CMO. The conductive oxide layer may also be in contact with a metal layer (e.g., Pt). The memory cell additionally exhibits non-linear IV characteristics, which can be favorable in certain arrays, such as non-volatile two-terminal cross-point memory arrays.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 1, 2008Publication date: February 19, 2009Applicant: UNITY SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Darrel Rinerson, Wayne Kinney, Edmond R. Ward, Steve Kuo-Ren Hsia, Steven W. Longcor, Christophe J. Chevallier, John Sanchez, Philip F. S. Swab
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Publication number: 20090016094Abstract: A memory cell including a memory element and a non-ohmic device (NOD) that are electrically in series with each other is disclosed. The NOD comprises a semiconductor based selection device operative to electrically isolate the memory element from a range of voltages applied across the memory cell that are not read voltages operative read stored data from the memory element or write voltages operative to write data to the memory element. The selection device may comprise a pair of diodes that are electrically in series with each other and disposed in a back-to-back configuration. The memory cell may be fabricated over a substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer) that includes active circuitry. The selection device and the semiconductor materials (e.g., poly-silicon) that form the selection device are fabricated above the substrate and are integrated with other thin film layers of material that form the memory cell.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 11, 2008Publication date: January 15, 2009Applicant: UNITY SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Darrell Rinerson, Steve Kuo-Ren Hsia, Steven W. Longcor, Wayne Kinney, Edmond B. Ward, Christophe J. Chevallier
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Publication number: 20080293196Abstract: A treated conductive element is provided. A conductive element can be treated by depositing either a reactive metal or a very thin layer of material on the conductive element. The reactive metal (or very thin layer of material) would typically be sandwiched between the conductive element and an electrode. The structure additionally exhibits non-linear IV characteristics, which can be favorable in certain arrays.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 30, 2008Publication date: November 27, 2008Applicant: UNITY SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATIONInventors: Darrell Rinerson, Wayne Kinney, Edmond R. Ward, Steve Kuo-Ren Hsia, Steven W. Longcor, Christophe J. Chevallier, John Sanchez, Philip F.S. Swab
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Patent number: 7457147Abstract: A memory including reference cells is provided. The memory has address decoding circuitry and an array of memory cells that are non-volatile and re-writable. Each memory cell has a two terminal memory plug that is capable of experiencing a change in resistance. Sensing circuitry compares activated memory cells to a reference level. The reference level is typically generated by at least one reference cell that can be selected at the same time the memory cell is selected.Type: GrantFiled: February 16, 2007Date of Patent: November 25, 2008Inventors: Darrell Rinerson, Christophe J. Chevallier, Steven W. Longcor
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Patent number: 7439082Abstract: A conductive memory stack is provided. The memory stack includes a bottom electrode, a top electrode and a multi-resistive state element that is sandwiched between the electrodes. The bottom electrode can be described as having a top face with a first surface area, the top electrode has a bottom face with a second surface area and the multi-resistive state element has a bottom face with a third surface area and a top face with a fourth surface area. The multi-resistive state element's bottom face is in contact with the bottom electrode's top face and the multi-resistive state element's top face is in contact with the top electrode's bottom face. Furthermore, the fourth surface area is not equal to the second surface area.Type: GrantFiled: March 6, 2006Date of Patent: October 21, 2008Inventors: Darrell Rinerson, Steven W. Longcor, Steve Kuo-Ren Hsia