Patents by Inventor William Edward Ham

William Edward Ham 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: 4103228
    Abstract: The method is used to determine whether holes etched into a dielectric layer which has been formed on a surface of a semiconductor wafer are open. A plurality of specimen holes are formed in a selected portion of the wafer simultaneously with the formation of the holes to be tested. The specimen holes are then contacted with an electrolytic probe, and the wafer is contacted with an output probe. The resistance, through the wafer, between the electrolytic probe and the output probe is determined. Since the resistance is related to the amount of dielectric material remaining in the hole, a non-destructive determination may be made as to whether the device should be subjected to additional etching.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 1977
    Date of Patent: July 25, 1978
    Assignee: RCA Corp.
    Inventor: William Edward Ham
  • Patent number: 4079522
    Abstract: A semiconductor wafer is cleansed of loose foreign surface matter and chemical impurities near the surface in an apparatus which passes superheated steam over the wafer. Condensate is permitted to form and drip off the wafer. After rising above 100.degree. C the wafer becomes dry, and is removed from the apparatus and then permitted to cool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1976
    Date of Patent: March 21, 1978
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventor: William Edward Ham
  • Patent number: 4054895
    Abstract: Instabilities in the leakage current and threshold voltage of a field effect transistor on an insulator substrate, at both room temperature and after operation at relatively high temperatures (150.degree. C), are substantially reduced by selectively doping edge regions adjacent the transverse side surfaces of the channel region of the field effect transistor, wherein the breakdown voltage of the channel-to-drain junction is substantially increased. Atoms are placed in these edge regions to provide therein a carrier concentration of at least 5 .times. 10.sup.16 atoms-cm.sup.-3 of the opposite conductivity type to that of the source and drain regions. The doped edge region extends partly across said channel region and extends fully across the side surface at the end of the source region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 1976
    Date of Patent: October 18, 1977
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventor: William Edward Ham
  • Patent number: 4015279
    Abstract: An MOS mesa transistor wherein the sidewalls of the mesa are electrically isolated from a device formed on the principal surface of the mesa, is provided. The mesa is comprised of a source and a drain which do not extend to a sidewall of the mesa. The source and the drain are surrounded by a band of semiconductor material which is a portion of the mesa and which electrically isolates the source and the drain from the sidewalls of the mesa.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1975
    Date of Patent: March 29, 1977
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventor: William Edward Ham