Patents by Inventor Ulrike Gruening
Ulrike Gruening 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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Patent number: 6320215Abstract: A dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cell comprising a deep trench storage capacitor having an active transistor device partially disposed on a side wall of the trench. The side wall is aligned to a first crystallographic plane having a crystallographic orientation along a single crystal axis. A process for manufacturing such a DRAM cell comprises: (a) forming a deep trench in a substrate, (b) forming a faceted crystal region along the trench side wall having a single crystallographic orientation, and (c) forming a transistor device partially disposed on the faceted crystal region in the side wall. The faceted crystal region may be formed by growing an oxide collar, such as by local thermal oxidation under oxidation conditions selected to promote a higher oxidation rate along a first family of crystallographic axes than along a second family of crystallographic axes.Type: GrantFiled: July 22, 1999Date of Patent: November 20, 2001Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Gary Bronner, Ulrike Gruening, Jack A. Mandelman, Carl J. Radens
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Publication number: 20010038113Abstract: A dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cell comprising a deep trench storage capacitor having an active transistor device partially disposed on a side wall of the trench. The side wall is aligned to a first crystallographic plane having a crystallographic orientation along a single crystal axis. A process for manufacturing such a DRAM cell comprises: (a) forming a deep trench in a substrate, (b) forming a faceted crystal region along the trench side wall having a single crystallographic orientation, and (c) forming a transistor device partially disposed on the faceted crystal region in the side wall. The faceted crystal region may be formed by growing an oxide collar, such as by local thermal oxidation under oxidation conditions selected to promote a higher oxidation rate along a first family of crystallographic axes than along a second family of crystallographic axes.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 28, 2001Publication date: November 8, 2001Inventors: Gary Bronner, Ulrike Gruening, Jack A. Mandelman, Carl J. Radens
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Patent number: 6291335Abstract: A method for fabricating a semiconductor memory with a split level folded bitline structure consisting of three contact levels, in accordance with the present invention includes forming gate structures for transistors in an array region and a support region of a substrate. First contacts are formed down to diffusion regions between the gate structures in the array region. The first contacts have a height which is substantially the same for all first contacts in the array region. Second contacts are formed between first level bitlines in the array region and a first portion of the first contacts, while forming second contacts to a first metal layer from the gate structures and diffusion regions in the support region. Third contacts are formed between second level bitlines in the array region and a second portion of the first contacts, while forming third contacts to a second metal layer from the first metal layer in the support region.Type: GrantFiled: October 4, 1999Date of Patent: September 18, 2001Assignee: Infineon Technologies AGInventors: Rainer Florian Schnabel, Ulrike Gruening, Thomas Rupp, Gerhard Mueller
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Patent number: 6271142Abstract: A process for manufacturing a deep trench capacitor in a trench. The capacitor comprises a collar in an upper region of the trench and a buried plate in a lower region of the trench. The improvement comprises, before forming the collar in the trench upper region, filling the trench lower region with a non-photosensitive underfill material such as spin-on-glass. The process may comprise the steps of (a) forming a deep trench in a substrate; (b) filling the trench lower region with an underfill material; (c) forming a collar in the trench upper region; (d) removing the underfill; and (e) forming a buried plate in the trench lower region.Type: GrantFiled: July 29, 1999Date of Patent: August 7, 2001Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Ulrike Gruening, Carl J. Radens, Dirk Tobben
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Patent number: 6265742Abstract: A pair of memory cells for use in a DRAM are formed in a monocrystalline bulk portion of a silicon wafer by first forming a pair of vertical trenches spaced apart by a bulk portion of the wafer. After a dielectric layer is formed over the walls of each trench, the trenches are each filled with polycrystalline silicon. By a pair of recess forming and recess filling steps there is formed at the top of each trench a silicon region that was grown epitaxially with the intermediate bulk portion. Each epitaxial region is made to serve as the body of a separate transistor having its drain in the lower polysilicon fill of a trench, and its source in the monocrystalline bulk intermediate between the two epitaxial regions. The lower polysilicon fill of each trench is also made to serve as the storage node of the capacitor of each cell, with the bulk serving as the other plate of the capacitor.Type: GrantFiled: May 24, 1999Date of Patent: July 24, 2001Assignee: Siemens AktiengesellschaftInventors: Ulrike Gruening, Jochen Beintner, Hans-Oliver Joachim
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Patent number: 6258659Abstract: A process for producing very high-density embedded DRAM/very high-performance logic structures comprising fabricating vertical MOSFET DRAM cells with salicided source/drain and gate conductor dual workfunction MOSFETs in the supports.Type: GrantFiled: November 29, 2000Date of Patent: July 10, 2001Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Ulrike Gruening, Ramachandra Divakaruni, Jack A. Mandelman, Thomas S. Rupp
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Patent number: 6255158Abstract: A dynamic random access memory (DRAM) device. The DRAM device is formed in a substrate having a top surface and a trench with a sidewall formed in the substrate. A signal storage node is formed using a bottom portion of the trench and a signal transfer device is formed using an upper portion of the trench.Type: GrantFiled: September 22, 2000Date of Patent: July 3, 2001Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Toshiharu Furukawa, Ulrike Gruening, David V. Horak, Jack A. Mandelman, Carl J. Radens, Thomas S. Rupp
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Patent number: 6255683Abstract: A memory cell formed in a semiconductor body includes a vertical trench with a polysilicon fill as a storage capacitor and a field effect transistor having a source formed in the sidewall of the trench, a drain formed in the semiconductor body and having a surface common with a top surface of the semiconductor body, and having a channel region that includes both vertical and horizontal portions and a polysilicon gate that is in an upper portion of the trench. A process for fabrication provides an insulating oxide layer at the top of the polysilicon fill portion that serves as the storage node and the polysilicon fill portion that serves as the gate conductor.Type: GrantFiled: December 29, 1998Date of Patent: July 3, 2001Assignees: Infineon Technologies AG, International Business MachinesInventors: Carl Radens, Ulrike Gruening, John DeBrosse, Jack Mandelman
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Patent number: 6229173Abstract: A method and structure for an integrated circuit chip which includes forming a storage capacitor in a vertical opening in a horizontal substrate, forming a conductive strap laterally extending from the vertical opening and forming a transistor having a channel region extending along a vertical surface, the vertical surface lying outside of and being laterally displaced from the vertical opening, the transistor being electrically connected to the storage capacitor by an outdiffusion of the conductive strap.Type: GrantFiled: June 23, 1999Date of Patent: May 8, 2001Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Ulrike Gruening, Carl J. Radens
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Patent number: 6204140Abstract: A method includes forming a trench capacitor in a semiconductor body. A recess is formed in the upper portion of the capacitor with such recess having sidewalls in the semiconductor body. A first material is deposited over the sidewalls and over a bottom of the recess. A second material is deposited over the first material. A mask is provided over the second material. The mask has: a masking region to cover one portion of said recess bottom; and a window over a portion of said recess sidewall and another portion of said recess bottom to expose underlying portions of the second material. Portions of the exposed underlying portions of the second material are selectively removing while leaving substantially un-etched exposed underlying portions of the first material. The exposed portions of the first material and underlying portions of the semiconductor body are selectively removed. An isolation region is formed in the removed portions of the semiconductor body.Type: GrantFiled: March 24, 1999Date of Patent: March 20, 2001Assignees: Infineon Technologies North America Corp., International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Ulrike Gruening, Jochen Beintner, Scott Halle, Jack A. Mandelman, Carl J. Radens, Juergen Wittmann, Jeffrey J. Welser
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Patent number: 6201730Abstract: Sensing of information from a memory cell via a plateline is disclosed. The memory cell comprises a bitline coupled to a junction of a cell transistor while the other junction is coupled to an electrode of the capacitor. The bitline is coupled to a constant voltage source. A plateline is coupled to the other capacitor electrode.Type: GrantFiled: June 1, 1999Date of Patent: March 13, 2001Assignee: Infineon Technologies North America Corp.Inventors: Johann Alsmeier, Ulrike Gruening, Gerhard Mueller, Young-Jin Park
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Patent number: 6194755Abstract: Trench capacitors are fabricated utilizing a method which results in a refractory metal salicide as a component of the trench electrode in a lower region of the trench. The salicide-containing trench electrode exhibits reduced series resistance compared to conventional trench electrodes of similar dimensions, thereby enabling reduced ground rule memory cell layouts and/or reduced cell access time. The trench capacitors of the invention are especially useful as components of DRAM memory cells.Type: GrantFiled: June 22, 1998Date of Patent: February 27, 2001Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation, Siemens AktiengesellschaftInventors: Jeffrey P. Gambino, Ulrike Gruening, Jack A. Mandelman, Carl J. Radens
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Patent number: 6194765Abstract: An integrated electrical circuit has at least one memory cell, in which the memory cell is disposed in the region of a surface of a semiconductor substrate. The memory cell contains at least two inverters that are electrically connected to one another. The inverters each contain two complementary MOS transistors having a source, a drain and a channel, the channels of the complementary MOS transistors having different conductivity types. According to the invention, the integrated electrical circuit is constructed in such a way that the inverters are disposed perpendicularly to the surface of the semiconductor substrate. The source, the drain and the channel of the complementary MOS transistors are formed by layers which lie one on top of the other and are disposed in such a way that the complementary MOS transistors are situated one above the other. The invention furthermore relates to a method for fabricating the integrated electrical circuit.Type: GrantFiled: May 17, 1999Date of Patent: February 27, 2001Assignee: Siemens AktiengesellschaftInventors: Hans Reisinger, Reinhard Stengl, Ulrike Grüning, Volker Lehmann, Hermann Wendt, Josef Willer, Martin Franosch, Herbert Schäfer
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Patent number: 6194736Abstract: Reduced scale structures of improved reliability and/or increased composition options are enabled by the creation and use of quantum conductive recrystallization barrier layers. The quantum conductive layers are preferably used in trench capacitors to act as recrystallization barriers.Type: GrantFiled: December 17, 1998Date of Patent: February 27, 2001Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation, Infineon Technologies North America Corp.Inventors: Susan E. Chaloux, Tze-Chiang Chen, Johnathan E. Faltermeier, Ulrike Gruening, Rajarao Jammy, Jack A. Mandelman, Christopher C. Parks, Paul C. Parries, Paul A. Ronsheim, Yun-Yu Wang
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Patent number: 6190971Abstract: A method and structure for manufacturing an integrated circuit device includes forming a storage device in a substrate, lithographically forming a gate opening in the substrate over the storage device, forming first spacers in the gate opening, forming a strap opening in the substrate using the first spacers to align the strap opening, forming second spacers in the strap opening, forming an isolation opening in the substrate using the second spacers to align the isolation opening, filling the isolation opening with an isolation material, removing the first spacers and a portion of the second spacers to form a step in the gate opening, (wherein the second spacers comprise at least one conductive strap electrically connected to the storage device) forming a first diffusion region in the substrate adjacent the conductive strap, forming a gate insulator layer over the substrate and the step, forming a gate conductor over a portion of the gate insulator layer above the step, forming a second diffusion region in thType: GrantFiled: May 13, 1999Date of Patent: February 20, 2001Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation, Infineon Technologies North America Corp.Inventors: Ulrike Gruening, Carl J. Radens
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Patent number: 6188598Abstract: An integrated circuit comprising a first bitline pair 310 on a first bitline level which is adjacent to a second bitline pair 320 on a second bitline level is provided. The first bitline pair comprises m twists 340, where m is a whole number≧1 and the second bitline pair comprises n twists 350 and 351, where n is a whole number ≠m. The twists transform coupling noise from adjacent bitline pairs into common mode noise, which results in improved signal margin.Type: GrantFiled: September 28, 1999Date of Patent: February 13, 2001Assignee: Infineon Technologies North America Corp.Inventors: Gerhard Mueller, Ulrike Gruening
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Patent number: 6184091Abstract: A method for controlling isolation layer thickness in trenches for semiconductor devices includes the steps of providing a trench having a conductive material formed therein, forming a liner on sidewalls of the trench above the conductive material, depositing a selective oxide deposition layer on the buried strap and the sidewalls, the selective oxide deposition layer selectively growing at an increased rate on the conductive material than on the liner of the sidewalls and top surface and removing the selective oxide deposition layer except for a portion in contact with the conductive to form an isolation layer on the conductive material in the trench. A method for fabricating vertical transistors by recessing a substrate to permit increased overlap between a transistor channel and buried strap outdiffusion when the transistor is formed is also included. A semiconductor device is also disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: February 1, 1999Date of Patent: February 6, 2001Assignee: Infineon Technologies North America Corp.Inventors: Ulrike Gruening, Jochen Beintner, Dirk Tobben, Gill Lee, Oswald Spindler, Zvonimir Gabric
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Patent number: 6184107Abstract: A semiconductor device including a substrate. At least one pair of deep trenches is arranged in the substrate. A collar lines at least a portion of a wall of each deep trench. A deep trench fill fills each deep trench. A buried strap extends completely across each deep trench over each deep trench fill and each collar. An isolation region is arranged between the deep trenches. A dielectric region overlies each buried strap in each deep trench.Type: GrantFiled: March 17, 1999Date of Patent: February 6, 2001Assignees: International Business Machines Corp., Siemens MicroelectronicsInventors: Rama Divakaruni, Ulrike Gruening, Byeong Y. Kim, Jack A. Mandelman, Larry Nesbit, Carl J. Radens
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Patent number: 6177698Abstract: A method for controlling isolation layer thickness in trenches for semiconductor devices includes the steps of providing a trench having a conductive material formed therein, forming a liner on sidewalls of the trench above the conductive material, depositing a selective oxide deposition layer on the buried strap and the sidewalls, the selective oxide deposition layer selectively growing at an increased rate on the conductive material than on the liner of the sidewalls and top surface and removing the selective oxide deposition layer except for a portion in contact with the conductive to form an isolation layer on the conductive material in the trench. A method for fabricating vertical transistors by recessing a substrate to permit increased overlap between a transistor channel and buried strap outdiffusion when the transistor is formed is also included. A semiconductor device is also disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: December 15, 1999Date of Patent: January 23, 2001Assignee: Infineon Technologies North America Corp.Inventors: Ulrike Gruening, Jochen Beintner, Dirk Tobben, Gill Lee, Oswald Spindler, Zvonimir Gabric
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Patent number: 6153902Abstract: A dynamic random access memory (DRAM) device. The DRAM device is formed in a substrate having a top surface and a trench with a sidewall formed in the substrate. A signal storage node is formed using a bottom portion of the trench and a signal transfer device is formed using an upper portion of the trench.Type: GrantFiled: August 16, 1999Date of Patent: November 28, 2000Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Toshiharu Furukawa, Ulrike Gruening, David V. Horak, Jack A. Mandelman, Carl J. Radens, Thomas S. Rupp