Abstract: Disclosed is a method of increasing the capacitance of a trench capacitor by increasing sidewall area, comprising: Corming a trench in a silicon substrate, the trench having a sidewall; forming islands on the sidewall of the trench; and etching pits into the sidewall using the islands as a mask. The capacitor is completed by forming a node insulator on the pits and the sidewall; and filling said trench with a trench conductor.

Abstract: The present invention features double- or dual-gate logic devices that contain gate conductors that are consistently self-aligned and that have channels that are of constant width. A single-crystal silicon wafer is utilized as the channel material. Pillars or stacks of self aligned dual gate MOSFETs are generated by etching, via the juxtaposition of overlapping germanium-containing gate conductor regions. Vertically etching through regions of both gate conducting material and dielectric insulating material provides an essentially perfect, self-aligned dual gate stack.

Abstract: The present invention features double- or dual-gate logic devices that contain gate conductors that are consistently self-aligned and that have channels that are of constant width. The inventive process also provides a method of selectively etching germanium-containing gate conductor materials without significantly etching the adjacent silicon channel material. In this manner, the gate conductor can be encased in a dielectric shell without changing the length of the silicon channel. A single-crystal silicon wafer is utilized as the channel material. Pillars or stacks of self aligned dual gate MOSFETs are generated by etching, via the juxtaposition of overlapping germanium-containing gate conductor regions. Vertically etching through regions of both gate conducting material and dielectric insulating material provides an essentially perfect, self-aligned dual gate stack. A process is described wherein the gate conductor material can be selectively etched without etching the channel material.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of increasing the capacitance of a trench capacitor by increasing sidewall area, comprising: forming a trench in a silicon substrate, the trench having a sidewall; forming islands on the sidewall of the trench; and etching pits into the sidewall using the islands as a mask. The capacitor is completed by forming a node insulator on the pits and the sidewall; and filling said trench with a trench conductor.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of increasing the capacitance of a trench capacitor by increasing sidewall area, comprising: forming a trench in a silicon substrate, the trench having a sidewall; forming islands on the sidewall of the trench; and etching pits into the sidewall using the islands as a mask. The capacitor is completed by forming a node insulator on said on the pits and the sidewall; and filling said trench with a trench conductor.

Abstract: The present invention features double- or dual-gate logic devices that contain gate conductors that are consistently self-aligned and that have channels that are of constant width. The inventive process also provides a method of selectively etching germanium-containing gate conductor materials without significantly etching the adjacent silicon channel material. In this manner, the gate conductor can be encased in a dielectric shell without changing the length of the silicon channel. A single-crystal silicon wafer is utilized as the channel material. Pillars or stacks of self aligned dual gate MOSFETs are generated by etching, via the juxtaposition of overlapping germanium-containing gate conductor regions. Vertically etching through regions of both gate conducting material and dielectric insulating material provides an essentially perfect, self-aligned dual gate stack. A process is described wherein the gate conductor material can be selectively etched without etching the channel material.

Abstract: A DRAM capacitor contact comprised of a silicon oxide layer with a trench having sidewalls and a form in the silicon oxide layer. A dielectric liner is coated on the sidewalls of the trench. A metal layer is then deposited between the sidewalls and polished to form a bit-line. One or more dielectric layers are deposited above the bit-lines and VIAs are formed in these layers. A sidewall is formed in the VIA above the bit-line and the VIAs are extended down to the silicon substrate and filled with a conductive material and planarized, forming the capacitor contact.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of increasing the capacitance of a trench capacitor by increasing sidewall area, comprising: forming a trench in a silicon substrate, the trench having a sidewall; forming islands on the sidewall of the trench; and etching pits into the sidewall using the islands as a mask. The capacitor is completed by forming a node insulator on said on the pits and the sidewall; and filling said trench with a trench conductor.

Abstract: A semiconductor transistor on a substrate, the transistor comprising activated source, drain and gate regions, and a channel region between the source and drain region, the channel underlying the gate region and wherein at least a portion of the gate region comprises a thermally non-degraded high dielectric constant material.

Abstract: Divot fill methods of incorporating thin SiO2 spacer and/or annealing caps into a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processing flow are provided. In accordance with the present invention, the divot fill processes provide a means for protecting the exposed surfaces of the thin SiO2 spacer and/or annealing cap such that those surfaces are not capable of being attacked by a subsequent silicide pre-cleaning step. CMOS devices including thin SiO2 spacer and/or annealing caps whose surfaces are protected such that those surfaces are not capable of being attacked by a subsequent silicide pre-cleaning or other process steps are also provided.

Abstract: Divot fill methods of incorporating thin SiO2 spacer and/or annealing caps into a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processing flow are provided. In accordance with the present invention, the divot fill processes provide a means for protecting the exposed surfaces of the thin SiO2 spacer and/or annealing cap such that those surfaces are not capable of being attacked by a subsequent silicide pre-cleaning step. CMOS devices including thin SiO2 spacer and/or annealing caps whose surfaces are protected such that those surfaces are not capable of being attacked by a subsequent silicide pre-cleaning or other process steps are also provided.

Abstract: A chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) pad conditioner. The conditioner has a non-uniform conditioning surface with a plurality of conditioning elements. The non-uniform surface comprises a first section having a first cutting volume per unit width and a second section having a second cutting volume per unit width that is different from the first cutting volume per unit width. The difference in cutting volume may be provided by different projected widths of the individual conditioning elements, by a difference in the linear density between the two sections, or by a difference in the cutting depth. A CMP tool comprising a polishing pad, a conditioning pad having the disclosed structure, and a mechanism for moving the polishing pad relative to the pad conditioner is also provided. A method is further provided for uniformly conditioning a CMP pad using a conditioner having the structure described.

Abstract: The present invention features double- or dual-gate logic devices that contain gate conductors that are consistently self-aligned and that have channels that are of constant width. The inventive process also provides a method of selectively etching germanium-containing gate conductor materials without significantly etching the adjacent silicon channel material. In this manner, the gate conductor can be encased in a dielectric shell without changing the length of the silicon channel. A single-crystal silicon wafer is utilized as the channel material. Pillars or stacks of self aligned dual gate MOSFETs are generated by etching, via the juxtaposition of overlapping germanium-containing gate conductor regions. Vertically etching through regions of both gate conducting material and dielectric insulating material provides an essentially perfect, self-aligned dual gate stack. A process is described wherein the gate conductor material can be selectively etched without etching the channel material.

Abstract: It is a feature of the present invention that a subminimum dimension wordline links approximately minimum dimensional individual gate segments with the bitline contact being borderless to the wordline. It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a transistor with an individual segment gate conductor and a subminimum dimension gate connector with the bitline contact being borderless to the wordline. A semiconductor structure and method of making same comprising a DRAM cell which has a transistor which includes a gate. The gate comprises an individual segment of gate conductor such as polysilicon on a thin dielectric material. The transistor further comprises a single crystal semiconductor substrate having a source/drain region. An active conductive wordline is deposited on top of and electrically contacting the segment gate conductor with the wordline being a conductive material.

Abstract: A high capacitance storage node structure is created in a substrate by patterning a hybrid resist (12) to produce both negative tone (16) and positive tone (18) areas in the exposed region (14). After removal of the positive tone areas (18), the substrate (12) is etched using the unexposed hybrid resist (12) and negative tone area (16) as a mask. This produces a trench (22) in the substrate (12) with a centrally located, upwardly projecting protrusion (24). The capacitor (26) is then created by coating the sidewalls of the trench (22) and protrusion (24) with dielectric (28) and filling the trench with conductive material (30) such as polysilicon.

Abstract: A method for introducing dopants into a semiconductor device using doped germanium oxide is disclosed. The method includes using rapid thermal anneal (RTA) or furnace anneal to diffuse dopants into a substrate from a doped germanium oxide sacrificial layer on the semiconductor substrate. After annealing to diffuse the dopants into the substrate, the germanium oxide sacrificial layers is removed using water thereby avoiding removal of silicon dioxide (SiO2) in the gates or in standard device isolation structures, that may lead to device failure. N+ and p+ sources and drains can be formed in appropriate wells in a semiconductor substrate, using a singular anneal and without the need to define more than one region of the first doped sacrificial layer. Alternatively, annealing before introducing a second dopant into the germanium oxide sacrificial layer give slower diffusing ions such as arsenic a head start.

Abstract: A dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) cell comprising a trench capacitor and an access transistor and a process of manufacturing the cell. The trench capacitor is formed in a trench and is positioned at the bottom of the trench. The access transistor has an active area formed in the trench adjacent the trench capacitor and adjacent the top surface of the substrate. The active area provides an electrical connection with the trench capacitor. The DRAM cell design reclaims the active area above the trench capacitor.

Abstract: A method of forming oxide and gate oxide areas of differing thicknesses. The processes disclosed include using an electromagnetic wave light at differing exposure durations and/or different energy levels to create oxide of differing thicknesses on a layer. The electromagnetic wave is preferably a laser.

Abstract: A DRAM capacitor contact comprised of a silicon oxide layer with a trench having sidewalls and a form in the silicon oxide layer. A dielectric liner is coated on the sidewalls of the trench. A metal layer is then deposited between the sidewalls and polished to form a bit-line. One or more dielectric layers are deposited above the bit-lines and VIAs are formed in these layers. A sidewall is formed in the VIA above the bit-line and the VIAs are extended down to the silicon substrate and filled with a conductive material and planarized, forming the capacitor contact.

Abstract: A wire interconnect structure for electrically and mechanically connecting an integrated circuit chip to a substrate and a process for manufacturing the same. The wire interconnect structure comprises an insulator layer disposed on an integrated circuit chip and an electrically conductive post extending through the insulator layer to the integrated circuit chip. The post has an elongated body, a bottom at one end of the body which is mechanically and electrically connected to the integrated circuit chip, and a top having a spherical shape at the opposite end of the body which extends outward from the insulator layer.