Abstract: A motor driving control device that achieves as high as possible phase coil energization level while preventing thermal destruction of the power switching element by using precise thermal detection of a portion of the power switching element inside a switching module of the control device. An electric power loss Lt at the switching element is used for calculating a saturation temperature Tjgoal. On the basis of the saturation temperature, Tjgoal, and a time constant &tgr; of temperature rise, an instant junction temperature Tjnow is calculated. A difference Error between the instant junction temperature Tjnow and an upper temperature limit value Tjmax is calculated. In a motor locked condition, a coefficient Kt is calculated for the target torque, the target torque being equal to the required torque multiplied by Kt. Kt is based on the Error for calculating the target torque. If Error is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, K3, Kt is set to be 1, even if Kt is in excess of 1.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes the steps of: forming an interlayer dielectric film on a silicon substrate having a diffusion layer formed in one-side surface thereof; forming at least one contact hole in the interlayer dielectric film; forming a first high melting-point metal film and a first high melting-point metal nitride film on the surface of the contact hole in this order as a barrier metal; thermal treatment for improvement of a barrier property of the first high-melting point metal nitride film; and forming a second high melting-point metal nitride film, a second high melting-point metal film, and an aluminum-containing wiring film to fill the contact hole in this order in the same atmosphere.

Abstract: An output buffer circuit has a CMOS output circuit constituted by a p-channel MOS transistor and an n-channel MOS transistor. A combination circuit is provided between an input terminal of the output buffer circuit and the CMOS output circuit. This combination circuit temporarily decreases a signal output to a gate input terminal of the CMOS output circuit when the signal rises from a relatively low first potential level (“L” level) to a relatively high second potential level (“H” level) and temporarily raises the signal when the signal falls from the relatively high second potential level to the relatively low first potential level. Therefore, overshoot, undershoot, and ringing of an output signal can be prevented.

Abstract: A temperature sensor is located close to each of a plurality of switching elements. Each of the elements opens and closes a current supplying line from a power supply to a three phase SR motor. A generating circuit of a instruction value for the driving current of the motor generates a target value (It) of the driving current so as to achieve a requested power of the motor and an allowable value of the driving current on the basis of the highest temperature sensed by the temperature sensors. The circuit outputs the target value as an instruction value of the driving current when the target value is smaller than the allowable value and outputs the allowable value as an instruction value of the driving current when the target value is greater than the allowable value.