Patents by Inventor Yoshinobu Asami

Yoshinobu Asami 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: 8785766
    Abstract: A novel photoelectric conversion device in which energy of light can be effectively utilized and performance can be improved is provided. A photoelectric conversion device includes a photoelectric conversion element and an energy conversion layer provided on a light-receiving side of a photoelectric conversion layer included in the photoelectric conversion element. The energy conversion layer includes a plurality of first layers and a plurality of second layers. The first layer and the second layer are alternately stacked. The thickness of the first layer is greater than or equal to 0.5 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm, and the thickness of the second layer is greater than or equal to 0.5 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm. The second layer can be formed using a material having a larger energy band gap than that of a material used for the first layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Asami, Tomokazu Yokoi
  • Patent number: 8772770
    Abstract: An oxide semiconductor material having p-type conductivity and a semiconductor device using the oxide semiconductor material are provided. The oxide semiconductor material having p-type conductivity can be provided using a molybdenum oxide material containing molybdenum oxide (MoOy (2<y<3)) having an intermediate composition between molybdenum dioxide and molybdenum trioxide. For example, a semiconductor device is formed using a molybdenum oxide material containing molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) as its main component and MoOy (2<y<3) at 4% or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Asami, Riho Kataishi, Erumu Kikuchi
  • Publication number: 20140151861
    Abstract: A lot of buildings have been built while it is concerned that a building material is used fraudulently. Therefore, the present invention provides a managing method of the material and a system thereof. The present invention provides a managing method including a step of attaching a sheet including a plurality of memories to each surface of a plurality of materials, a step of dividing the plurality of materials with the sheet in accordance with data in the memory, a step of constructing a building by using the divided material in accordance with the data in the memory, and a step of checking the data on the constructed building, which is stored in the plurality of memories.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2014
    Publication date: June 5, 2014
    Applicant: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshinobu Asami
  • Patent number: 8729620
    Abstract: It is an object to provide a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device having excellent writing property and charge-retention property. A semiconductor layer including a channel forming region between a pair of impurity regions which are formed to be apart from each other is provided. In an upper layer portion thereof, a first insulating layer, a floating gate, a second insulating layer, and a control gate are provided. The floating gate has at least a two-layer structure, and a first layer in contact with the first insulating layer preferably has a band gap smaller than that of the semiconductor layer. Furthermore, by setting an energy level at the bottom of the conduction band of the floating gate lower than that of the channel forming region of the semiconductor layer, injectability of carriers and a charge-retention property can be improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Yoshinobu Asami, Tamae Takano, Makoto Furuno
  • Patent number: 8698220
    Abstract: To provide a semiconductor device having a memory element, and which is manufactured by a simplified manufacturing process. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes, forming a first insulating film to cover a first semiconductor film and a second semiconductor film; forming a first conductive film and a second conductive film over the first semiconductor film and the second semiconductor film, respectively, with the first insulating film interposed therebetween; forming a second insulating film to cover the first conductive film; forming a third conductive film selectively over the first conductive film which is formed over the first semiconductor film, with the second insulating film interposed therebetween, and doping the first semiconductor film with an impurity element with the third conductive film serving as a mask and doping the second semiconductor film with the impurity element through the second conductive film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshinobu Asami
  • Patent number: 8649895
    Abstract: A lot of buildings have been built while it is concerned that a building material is used fraudulently. Therefore, the present invention provides a managing method of the material and a system thereof. The present invention provides a managing method including a step of attaching a sheet including a plurality of memories to each surface of a plurality of materials, a step of dividing the plurality of materials with the sheet in accordance with data in the memory, a step of constructing a building by using the divided material in accordance with the data in the memory, and a step of checking the data on the constructed building, which is stored in the plurality of memories.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2014
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshinobu Asami
  • Publication number: 20140014953
    Abstract: A semiconductor device that can transmit and receive data without contact is popular partly as some railway passes, electronic money cards, and the like; however, it has been a prime task to provide an inexpensive semiconductor device for further popularization. In view of the above current conditions, a semiconductor device of the present invention includes a memory with a simple structure for providing an inexpensive semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof. A memory element included in the memory includes a layer containing an organic compound, and a source electrode or a drain electrode of a TFT provided in the memory element portion is used as a conductive layer which forms a bit line of the memory element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2013
    Publication date: January 16, 2014
    Applicant: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshinobu ASAMI, Tamae TAKANO, Masayuki SAKAKURA, Ryoji NOMURA, Shunpei YAMAZAKI
  • Patent number: 8629490
    Abstract: It is an object to provide a nonvolatile semiconductor storage device that prevents increase in a contact resistance value due to etching of a semiconductor layer when etching an interlayer insulating film and that has superiority in a writing characteristic and an electric charge-holding characteristic, and a manufacturing method thereof. A conductive layer is provided between a source or drain region and a source or drain wiring. The conductive layer is made of the same conductive layer that forms a control gate electrode. An insulating film is provided so as to cover the conductive layer, and the insulating film has a contact hole for exposing part of the conductive layer. The source or drain wiring is formed so that the contact hole is filled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2014
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshinobu Asami
  • Patent number: 8604547
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a nonvolatile memory device, in which additional writing is possible other than in manufacturing and forgery and the like due to rewriting can be prevented, and a semiconductor device having the memory device. It is another object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive and nonvolatile memory device with high reliability and a semiconductor device. According to one feature of the present invention, a memory device includes a first conductive layer formed over an insulating surface, a second conductive layer, a first insulating layer interposed between the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer, and a second insulating layer which covers a part of the first conductive layer, wherein the first insulating layer covers an edge portion of the first conductive layer, the insulating surface, and the second insulating layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2013
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mikio Yukawa, Tamae Takano, Yoshinobu Asami, Shunpei Yamazaki, Takehisa Sato
  • Patent number: 8526216
    Abstract: A semiconductor device that can transmit and receive data without contact is popular partly as some railway passes, electronic money cards, and the like; however, it has been a prime task to provide an inexpensive semiconductor device for further popularization. In view of the above current conditions, a semiconductor device of the present invention includes a memory with a simple structure for providing an inexpensive semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof. A memory element included in the memory includes a layer containing an organic compound, and a source electrode or a drain electrode of a TFT provided in the memory element portion is used as a conductive layer which forms a bit line of the memory element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Asami, Tamae Takano, Masayuki Sakakura, Ryoji Nomura, Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 8399881
    Abstract: On object of the invention is to provide a nonvolatile memory device, in which data can be added to the memory device after a manufacturing process and forgery and the like by rewriting can be prevented, and a semiconductor device including the memory device. Another object of the invention is to provide a highly-reliable, inexpensive, and nonvolatile memory device and a semiconductor device including the memory device. A memory element includes a first conductive layer, a second conductive layer, a first insulating layer with a thickness of 0.1 nm or more and 4 nm or less being in contact with the first conductive layer, and an organic compound layer interposed between the first conductive layer, the first insulating layer, and the second conductive layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mikio Yukawa, Nobuharu Ohsawa, Yoshinobu Asami
  • Publication number: 20130056715
    Abstract: To provide a photoelectric conversion device which has little light loss caused by light absorption in a window layer, the photoelectric conversion device includes a first electrode, a first semiconductor layer formed over the first electrode, a second semiconductor layer formed over the first semiconductor layer, a third semiconductor layer formed over the second semiconductor layer, and a second electrode formed over the third semiconductor layer; and the first semiconductor layer is a light-transmitting semiconductor layer containing an organic compound and an inorganic compound, and the second semiconductor layer and the third semiconductor layer are each a semiconductor layer containing an organic compound.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2012
    Publication date: March 7, 2013
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshinobu ASAMI, Riho KATAISHI
  • Publication number: 20120273778
    Abstract: A semiconductor device that can transmit and receive data without contact is popular partly as some railway passes, electronic money cards, and the like; however, it has been a prime task to provide an inexpensive semiconductor device for further popularization. In view of the above current conditions, a semiconductor device of the present invention includes a memory with a simple structure for providing an inexpensive semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof. A memory element included in the memory includes a layer containing an organic compound, and a source electrode or a drain electrode of a TFT provided in the memory element portion is used as a conductive layer which forms a bit line of the memory element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2012
    Publication date: November 1, 2012
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshinobu ASAMI, Tamae TAKANO, Masayuki SAKAKURA, Ryoji NOMURA, Shunpei YAMAZAKI
  • Patent number: 8295104
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a volatile organic memory in which data can be written other than during manufacturing and falsification by rewriting can be prevented, and to provide a semiconductor device including such an organic memory. It is a feature of the invention that a semiconductor device includes a plurality of bit lines extending in a first direction; a plurality of word lines extending in a second direction different from the first direction; a memory cell array including a plurality of memory cells each provided at one of intersections of the bit lines and the word lines; and memory elements provided in the memory cells, wherein the memory elements include bit lines, an organic compound layer, and the word lines, and the organic compound layer includes a layer in which an inorganic compound and an organic compound are mixed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroko Abe, Mikio Yukawa, Tamae Takano, Yoshinobu Asami, Kiyoshi Kato, Ryoji Nomura, Yoshitaka Moriya
  • Patent number: 8288197
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique in which a high-performance and highly reliable semiconductor device can be manufactured at low cost with high yield. A memory device according to the present invention has a first conductive layer including a plurality of insulators, an organic compound layer over the first conductive layer including the insulators, and a second conductive layer over the organic compound layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mikio Yukawa, Nobuharu Ohsawa, Yoshinobu Asami, Ikuko Kawamata, Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Publication number: 20120234392
    Abstract: A photoelectric conversion device with high open-circuit voltage and high conversion efficiency is provided. A photoelectric conversion device including a p-n junction is formed by stacking a first semiconductor layer having p-type conductivity, a second semiconductor layer having p-type conductivity, and a third semiconductor layer having n-type conductivity between a pair of electrodes. The first semiconductor layer is a compound semiconductor layer, and the second semiconductor layer is formed using an organic compound and an inorganic compound. A material having a high hole-transport property is used as the organic compound, and a transition metal oxide having an electron-accepting property is used as the inorganic compound.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2012
    Publication date: September 20, 2012
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Asami, Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Publication number: 20120217566
    Abstract: An object is to suppress reading error even in the case where writing and erasing are repeatedly performed. Further, another object is to reduce writing voltage and erasing voltage while increase in the area of a memory transistor is suppressed. A floating gate and a control gate are provided with an insulating film interposed therebetween over a first semiconductor layer for writing operation and erasing operation and a second semiconductor layer for reading operation which are provided over a substrate; injection and release of electrons to and from the floating gate are performed using the first semiconductor layer; and reading is performed using the second semiconductor layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2012
    Publication date: August 30, 2012
    Applicant: SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Yoshinobu ASAMI
  • Patent number: 8252643
    Abstract: A semiconductor device which is formed in a self-aligned manner without causing a problem of misalignment in forming a control gate electrode and in which a leak between the control gate electrode and a floating gate electrode is not generated, and a manufacturing method of the semiconductor device are provided. A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor film, a first gate insulating film over the semiconductor film, a floating gate electrode over the first gate insulating film, a second gate insulating film which covers the floating gate electrode, and a control gate electrode over the second gate insulating film. The control gate electrode is formed so as to cover the floating gate electrode with the second gate insulating film interposed therebetween, the control gate electrode is provided with a sidewall, and the sidewall is formed on a stepped portion of the control gate electrode, generated due to the floating gate electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshinobu Asami
  • Patent number: 8238152
    Abstract: A semiconductor device that can transmit and receive data without contact is popular partly as some railway passes, electronic money cards, and the like; however, it has been a prime task to provide an inexpensive semiconductor device for further popularization. In view of the above current conditions, a semiconductor device of the present invention includes a memory with a simple structure for providing an inexpensive semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof. A memory element included in the memory includes a layer containing an organic compound, and a source electrode or a drain electrode of a TFT provided in the memory element portion is used as a conductive layer which forms a bit line of the memory element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshinobu Asami, Tamae Takano, Masayuki Sakakura, Ryoji Nomura, Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 8227863
    Abstract: A semiconductor layer having a channel formation region provided between a pair of impurity regions spaced from each other is provided, and a first insulating layer a floating gate, a second insulating layer, and a control gate are provided above the semiconductor layer. The semiconductor material forming the floating gate preferably has a band gap smaller than that of the semiconductor layer. The band gap of a channel formation region in the semiconductor material forming the floating gate is preferably smaller than that of the semiconductor layer by 0.1 eV or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Yoshinobu Asami, Tamae Takano, Makoto Furuno