Abstract: A method for etching trenches having different depths on a semiconductor substrate includes providing a mask with first and second openings. The first and second openings are located where corresponding first and second trenches are to be etched. A slow-etch region, made of a slow-etch material, is provided above the substrate at a location corresponding to the second opening. When exposed to a selected etchant, the slow-etch material is etched at a rate less than the rate at which the semiconductor substrate is etched when exposed to the selected etchant.

Abstract: An array process diagnosis test structure for an integrated circuit including a transistor array composed of vertical FET memory cell access transistors, which are formed into the depth of a substrate in the form of active webs which run parallel in the lateral direction of the circuit is disclosed. Memory cell storage capacitors in the array test structure are formed in deep trenches on the end faces of those sections of the active webs which form the vertical FET transistors. Word lines are arranged along the webs and along parallel intersecting bit lines of the array, outside of which, and on two mutually opposite edges, are located a first and second word line comb. The wordline combs are offset and connected alternately to different word lines. In addition, a first and a second bit line comb are formed on the two other opposing edges of the transistor array mutually offset and each connected to different bit lines.

Abstract: An integrated circuit arrangement that has an integrated test structure is provided. The integrated circuit arrangement includes a transistor array having vertical FET selection transistors electrically coupled to storage capacitors of an assigned memory cell array, the storage capacitors being formed vertically into the depth of a substrate in deep trenches. The test structure may enable a plurality of vertical FET selection transistors by a conductive electrode material embedded in an extended deep trench. With a test structure of this type, it is possible to evaluate characteristic values for leakage currents and capacitances at different semiconductor junctions and also between different sections of the integrated circuit arrangement and also to perform reliability stress tests.

Abstract: A method for fabricating a trench capacitor with an insulation collar in a substrate, which is electrically connected to the substrate on one side via a buried contact, using a hard mask with a corresponding mask opening.

Abstract: Memory cells having a cell capacitor and a cell transistor, which are arranged in a vertical cell structure, are provided in the cell array of a DRAM. By means of a deep implantation or a shallow implantation with subsequent epitaxial growth of silicon, a buried source/drain layer is formed, from which lower source/drain regions of the cell transistors emerge. The upper edge of the buried source/drain layer can be aligned with respect to a lower edge of a gate electrode of the cell transistor, which consequently results in a reduction of a gate/drain capacitance and also a leakage current between the gate electrode and the lower source/drain region. A gate conductor layer structure is applied and there are formed, from the gate conductor layer structure, in a controlled transistor array, gate electrode structures of control transistors and, in the cell array, a body connection structure for the connection of body regions of the cell transistors.

Abstract: Memory cells each having a cell capacitor and a cell transistor, which are arranged in a vertical cell structure, are provided in the cell array of a DRAM. By means of a deep implantation or a shallow implantation and subsequent epitaxial growth of silicon, a buried source/drain layer is formed, from which lower source/drain regions of the cell transistors emerge. The upper edge of the buried source/drain layer can be aligned with respect to a lower edge of a gate electrode of the cell transistor and this results in a reduction of a gate/drain capacitance and also a leakage current between the gate electrode and the lower source/drain region. A body connection plate for the connection of the channel regions is applied to the substrate surface and contact holes are introduced into the body connection plate. Upper source/drain regions of the cell transistors are formed by implantation through the contact holes.

Abstract: A storage cell field has a plurality of storage cells formed in a substrate of a first doping type, said storage cells comprising a trench capacitor arranged in said substrate and a selection transistor associated with said trench capacitor and provided with a transistor body which is arranged in said substrate. An implantation having an increased dopant concentration of the first doping type is provided in said substrate. This implantation prevents space-charge zones, which are located at the trench capacitors and which are caused in predetermined storage states of said trench capacitors, from constricting a substrate region, which is available for applying a predetermined potential to the transistor bodies, in such a way that said predetermined potential cannot be applied.

Abstract: A bit line configuration for contact-connecting at least one memory cell, in particular a DRAM memory cell, has bit lines disposed above the plane of the memory cell. A first bit line in a first bit line level is disposed below a second bit line in a second bit line level and the second bit line penetrates through the first bit line at at least one location of the first bit line for the purpose of producing a contact with the at least one memory cell at penetration locations. It is thus possible to provide space-saving structures, in particular sub-8F2 structures.

Abstract: An integrated circuit arrangement which has vertical FET selection transistors and storage capacitors in each case of a transistor array and of an assigned memory cell array, said storage capacitors being formed vertically into the depth of a substrate in deep trenches a test structure is integrated, which enables a plurality of vertical FET selection transistors with one another by a conductive electrode material embedded in an extended deep trench With a test structure of this type, it is possible to evaluate characteristic values for leakage currents and capacitances at different semiconductor junctions and also between different sections of the integrated circuit arrangement and also to perform reliability stress tests.

Abstract: In a substrate vertical transistor cells are formed and are arranged, in a transistor cell array, row by row in an x direction and column by column in a y direction. Lower source/drain regions of the transistor cells are connected to a common connection plate. Upper source/drain regions of the transistor cells impart a contact connection for instance to a storage capacitor of a DRAM memory cell. Active trenches running between the transistor cells with word lines are formed along the x direction. The word lines form gate electrodes in sections. A potential at the gate electrode controls a conductive channel in an active region arranged in each case between the upper and the lower source/drain connection region. According to the invention, the active regions of adjacent transistor cells are sections of a contiguous layer body and are connected to one another.

Abstract: A transistor array has vertical FET transistors each connected to a storage capacitor of a memory cell array. Gate electrode strips, which form word lines, of the transistors are located on both sides of active webs running parallel to one another and are connected to a superimposed metal plane by word line or CS contacts. To insulate these word line contacts from the other elements of the transistor array and of the cell array, the word line contacts are located in deep trenches that are introduced into the webs.

Abstract: An array process diagnosis test structure for an integrated circuit including a transistor array composed of vertical FET memory cell access transistors, which are formed into the depth of a substrate in the form of active webs which run parallel in the lateral direction of the circuit is disclosed. Memory cell storage capacitors in the array test structure are formed in deep trenches on the end faces of those sections of the active webs which form the vertical FET transistors. Word lines are arranged along the webs and along parallel intersecting bit lines of the array, outside of which, and on two mutually opposite edges, are located a first and second word line comb. The wordline combs are offset and connected alternately to different word lines. In addition, a first and a second bit line comb are formed on the two other opposing edges of the transistor array mutually offset and each connected to different bit lines.

Abstract: As a consequence of DRAM memory cell miniaturization, the available space for read/write amplifiers decreases in width from hitherto 4 bit line grids to 2 bit lines grids. Conventionally previously known read/write amplifiers cannot be accommodated on this reduced, still available space. Therefore, it has not been possible hitherto to provide read/write amplifiers arranged beside one another which would manage with the novel DRAM memory cell spacings. The principle underlying the invention is based on replacing at least some of the transistors of conventional design which are usually used for read/write circuits by “vertical transistors” in which the differently doped regions are arranged one above the other or practically one above the other. Compared with the use of conventional transistors, the use of vertical transistors saves enough space to ensure an arrangement of a read/write circuit in the grid even with a reduced grid width.

Abstract: In a method for operating an MRAM semiconductor memory configuration, for the purpose of reading an item of stored information, reversible magnetic changes are made to the TMR cell and a current that is momentarily altered as a result is compared with the original read signal. As a result, the TMR memory cell itself can serve as a reference, even though the information in the TMR memory cell is not destroyed, i.e. writing-back does not have to be effected. The method can preferably be applied to an MRAM memory configuration in which a plurality of TMR cells are connected, in parallel, to a selection transistor and in which there is a write line which is not electrically connected to the memory cell.

Abstract: A semiconductor memory cell with a storage transistor, a selection transistor and a layer structure is provided. The layer structure is formed of at least two semiconductor layers separated from one another by a dielectric. A control electrode that controls a current flow through the layer structure is arranged at at least one end face of the layer structure. The layer structure forms what is referred to as a PLED device.

Abstract: A field-effect transistor that having a nanowire, which forms a source region, a channel region and a drain region of the field-effect transistor, the nanowire being a semiconducting and/or metallically conductive nanowire. The field-effect transistor also has at least one nanotube, which forms a gate region of the field-effect transistor, the nanotube being a semiconducting and/or metallically conductive nanotube. The nanowire and the nanotube are arranged at a distance from one another or set up in such a manner that it is substantially impossible for there to be a tunneling current between the nanowire and the nanotube, and that the conductivity of the channel region of the nanowire can be controlled by means of a field effect as a result of an electric voltage being applied to the nanotube.

Abstract: An integrated memory with a configuration of non-volatile memory cells based on ferromagnetic storage contains both powerful memory cells with a magnetoresistive effect with a transistor control and cost-effective memory cells with a magnetoresistive effect with memory elements connected between the word lines and bit lines. The memory elements connected directly between the bit line and the word line are preferably inserted in memory cell arrays that can be stacked one above the other above the memory cells with the transistor, and thereby achieve a high integration density. The fact that the memory, which contains both types and thereby satisfies all the system requirements, is fabricated in one module and in one process sequence considerably lowers the fabrication costs.

Abstract: In semiconductor memories having a surrounding gate configuration, webs, i.e. vertical rectangular pillars made of substrate material, are formed at the surface of a semiconductor substrate and are surrounded by the gate electrodes in a lower region. Conventionally, it is not possible for word lines to make contact with the gate electrodes in the lower region of the webs without at the same time electrically influencing substrate regions at a higher level in the webs or short-circuiting bit lines from their sidewalls, unless complicated methods requiring additional lithography steps are used. A method for the self-aligning, selective contact-connection of the peripheral gate electrodes is performed with the aid of an insulation layer having a smaller layer thickness than the peripheral gate electrodes.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a FEMFET device with a semiconductor substrate and to at least one field effect transistor that is provided in the semiconductor substrate. The field effect transistor has a source area, a drain area, a channel area and a gate stack. The gate stack has at least one ferroelectric layer and at least one thin diffusion barrier layer being arranged between the lowest ferroelectric layer and the semiconductor substrate and being configured in such a way that an out-diffusion of the components of the ferroelectric layer into the semiconductor substrate is essentially prevented.

Abstract: In a method for operating an MRAM semiconductor memory configuration, for the purpose of reading an item of stored information, reversible magnetic changes are made to the TMR cell and a current that is momentarily altered as a result is compared with the original read signal. As a result, the TMR memory cell itself can serve as a reference, even though the information in the TMR memory cell is not destroyed, i.e. writing-back does not have to be effected. The method can preferably be applied to an MRAM memory configuration in which a plurality of TMR cells are connected, in parallel, to a selection transistor and in which there is a write line which is not electrically connected to the memory cell.