Abstract: An erasable-programmable read only memory (EPROM) allowing a miniaturization of an isolation region (a field insulating layer) without generating a parasitic transistor. The EPROM includes a semiconductor substrate, a field insulating layer defining a device formation region of the semiconductor substrate, a gate insulating layer and a floating gate formed on the field insulating layer and the field insulating layer. The EPROM further includes a trench insulating layer extending into the semiconductor substrate at the center portion of the field insulating layer so that one of the side walls of the trench insulating layer is self-aligned with the end face of the floating gate. A first interlaminar insulating layer covers the floating gate, and a control gate is located above the first interlaminar insulating layer. A second interlaminar insulating layer is formed over the control gate and a bit line is formed on the second interlaminar insulating layer.

Abstract: A semiconductor device has a nobel configuration. The device includes a semiconductor substrate, element isolation regions formed on the main surface of the semiconductor substrate and at least one element region formed on the main surface of the semiconductor substrate and enclosed by the element isolation regions. In the device, the depth of each trench from the main surface to the bottom of the semiconductor substrate is shallow at a region where the trench width is less than a specified length, and it is deep at a region where the trench width is larger than the specified length.

Abstract: A new planarized device isolation structure within a semiconductor substrate is described. The device isolation structure comprises narrow device isolation regions each consisting of a deep trench having a thin oxide covering its sidewalls and bottom and filled with silicon oxide, wide device isolation regions each consisting of two deep trenches flanking a shallow trench wherein each deep trench has a thin oxide covering its sidewalls and bottom and is filled with silicon oxide and wherein the shallow trench is filled with a field oxide. The top surface of the narrow and wide device isolation regions and the semiconductor substrate is planarized.

Abstract: A semiconductor memory device including a plurality of memory cells of one-transistor and one-capacitor type is disclosed. The memory cells are formed respectively in active regions each isolated from peripheral active regions by trench isolation regions in a first direction and by isolation gate conductors supplied with a bias potential in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. Each of the trench isolation regions comprises a trench selectively formed in a semiconductor substrate and a first insulating film filling the trench and each of the isolation conductors is formed simultaneously with word lines and is thus isolated from the substrate by a second insulating film which has the same thickness as the gate insulating film of the cell transistor.

Abstract: A semiconductor device for element isolation comprises a semiconductor substrate having an impurity region of a first conductivity type whose impurity concentration attains the maximum at a predetermined depth from the surface in the depth direction, a trench formed to a predetermined depth in the impurity region of the first conductivity type, and an impurity diffusion region of the first conductivity type formed in the trench with an oxide film interposed and having only its bottom portion connected to the impurity region of the first conductivity type of the semiconductor substrate. In the semiconductor device, a uniform P.sup.+ high concentration region is substantially formed in a bottom portion of an isolation region, so that an isolation threshold value is not affected.

Abstract: A process for manufacturing isolated semi conductor components in a semi conductor wafer of the type used in bipolar technology. In this process, polycrystalline silicon is deposited in a recess in a silicon substrate whose walls are insulated by a silicon nitride layer except for an opening formed in this nitride layer at the bottom of said recess. Then, the polycrystalline silicon is re-epitaxied so as to become monocrystalline silicon by thermal heating from the "nucleus" formed by the underlying silicon in said opening.

Abstract: Improved, planarized semiconductor structures are described. They are prepared by a method which involves the creation of a series of subminimum (i.e., 50 to 500 Angstroms thick) silicon pillars extending vertically upward from the base of a wide trench, and oxidizing the pillars. When the substrate is covered with a conformal CVD oxide, the pillars prevent the formation of a single deep depression above the trench.

Abstract: In a microelectronic device formed on a substrate 12, a pair of trenches 30, 36 branch at their intersection to provide branches 31-34 surrounding a sacrificial island 42. Sacrificial island 42 may comprise substrate material or other material or a void for absorbing the axial stresses propagated along the lengths of trenches 30, 36.

Abstract: The reliability of integrated circuits fabricated with trench isolation is improved by increasing the thickness of the gate dielectric overlying the trench corner. After the trench isolation region (40, 56) has been formed a thin layer of silicon dioxide (44) is chemically vapor deposited over the trench isolation region (44) and the adjacent active region (23). A transistor gate electrode (46) is subsequently formed over the thin layer of silicon dioxide (44). The thin layer of silicon dioxide (44) increases the thickness of the gate dielectric that lies between the transistor gate electrode (46) and the trench corner, and therefore the breakdown voltage of the gate dielectric at the trench corner is increased.

Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a number of programmable elements arranged in a matrix of rows and columns. The elements each have a doped semiconductor region (10) and a conductor region (20) which are mutually separated by an insulating layer (8). The conductor region (20) can be a material suitable for forming a rectifying junction (35) with the material of the semiconductor region (10). Within a row, the conductor regions of the programmable elements present therein are coupled to a common row conductor (21 . . . 23), and within a column the semiconductor regions of the programmable elements situated therein are connected to a common column conductor (11 . . . 14). To program an element, a programming voltage V.sub.

Abstract: A method for forming isolation structures in an integrated circuit, and the structures so formed, are disclosed. After definition of active regions of the surface is accomplished by provision of masking layers, recesses are etched into the exposed locations, to a depth on the order of the final thickness of the insulating isolation structure. Sidewall spacers of silicon dioxide, or another insulating amorphous material, are disposed along the sidewalls of the recesses, with silicon at the bottom of the recesses exposed. Selective epitaxial growth of silicon then forms a layer of silicon within the recesses, preferably to a thickness on the order of half of the depth of the recess. The epitaxial silicon is thermally oxidized, filling the recesses with thermal silicon dioxide, having a top surface which is substantially coplanar with the active regions of the surface.

Abstract: A semiconductor body has a first and a second element formation surface. The semiconductor body is constructed in such a manner that a first semiconductor substrate, which has a first main surface at which the plane appears, is laminated to a second semiconductor substrate, which has a second main surface at which the plane appears. Made in the first semiconductor substrate is at least one opening at which the second main surface of the second semiconductor substrate. The first main surface of the first semiconductor substrate becomes the first element formation surface of the semiconductor body, and the second main surface of the second semiconductor substrate becomes the second element formation surface of the body.

Abstract: A dielectrics dividing wafer is disclosed in which embedded dielectric films are provided in the interior of the wafer in a predetermined pattern extending laterally parallel to a face surface of the wafer, and partition dielectric films, in the form of vertical walls extending from the face surface and the rear surface of the wafer, to the embedded dielectric films, are provided to define semiconductor areas extending continuously from the face surface of the wafer to the rear surface of the wafer. The semiconductor areas can be used for vertical circuit elements. The partition dielectric films in conjunction with the embedded dielectric films and the face surface of the wafer also define additional planar semiconductor areas that can be used for planar structure circuit elements.

Abstract: A dielectric isolation substrate comprises a first semiconductor wafer, a second semiconductor wafer bonded on the first semiconductor wafer with a first insulating layer interposed therebetween, a semiconductor layer formed on the second semiconductor wafer, a first groove formed in the semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor wafer so as to reach the first insulating layer, thereby isolating the semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor wafer, and a second insulating layer formed on the side face of the first groove or embedded in the first groove. In this dielectric isolation substrate, a high breakdown voltage element and a low breakdown voltage element are formed in a region isolated by the first groove.

Abstract: The present invention provides a semiconductor device, in particular, a semiconductor device comprising a vertical npn transistor, a vertical pnp transistor and an IIL which are integrated on the same one-conductivity type semiconductor substrate (1) . The IIL comprises an emitter, a base and a collector which are respectively comprised of a high-density n.sup.+ -type first buried layer (5), a p.sup.+ -type second buried layer (8) having a lower impurity density than the n.sup.+ -type first buried layer (5), and at least one of n.sup.+ -type diffused layer (31). The semiconductor device thus constituted makes it possible to increase the emitter injection efficiency while the base impurity density is kept high, and also to decrease the base width, so that the collector-emitter breakdown voltage and current gain of the IIL can be more improved and also the operation speed of the IIL can be made higher.

Abstract: This is a method of forming a semiconductor-on-insulator water with a single-crystal semiconductor substrate.

Abstract: The objects of the present invention are accomplished by merging a MOSFET device and a floating gate into a three dimensional trench structure. The trench device cell has four vertical sides and bottom. The bottom of the trench forms the channel region of the transfer FET of the EEPROM cell. The heavily doped source and drain regions are formed on two vertical sidewalls of the trench and oppositely face each other. The heavily doped regions cover the entire sidewall and have a depth which is greater than the trench depth so that the channel region is defined by the bottom of the trench. The remaining two vertical sidewalls of the trench are formed by isolation oxide. A first silicon dioxide layer covers the bottom of the trench and forms part of the gate oxide of the cell device. A second silicon dioxide layer covers the vertical sidewalls of the trench. The second silicon dioxide layer is relatively thin with respect to the gate oxide layer.

Abstract: In a semiconductor device having an element isolation region including a LOCOS type field oxide film formed in a surface of a silicon substrate and a U-trench isolation region provided in the silicon substrate, the U-trench isolation region is constituted with a U-trench provided such that it penetrates the field oxide film, a channel stopper provided in a portion of the silicon substrate exposed on a bottom face of the U-trench, a first film in a form of a silicon oxide film formed by thermal oxidation of an exposed portion of the silicon substrate in the U-trench, a second film comprising a buried layer having thermal reflow characteristics and burying the U-trench, a third film having non-thermal reflow characteristics and having a top face substantially coplanar with a top face of the field oxide film and a bottom face connected to a top face of the second films and a fourth film in a form of an insulating film connected to the top face of the third film at an upper end of said U-trench and covering the U

Abstract: The present invention comprises a buried element isolation region, an inversion preventing impurity diffusion region formed in a groove of a semi-conductor substrate, a shallow channel impurity diffusion region, a deep channel impurity diffusion region, source and drain diffusion regions formed inside the buried element isolation region, an electrode wiring layer connected to the buried element isolation region across these diffusion regions, a first side-wall impurity diffusion region which is along the buried element isolation region, is in contact with the source and drain diffusion regions, and is formed at a position corresponding to at least the electrode wiring layer in a shallow region from the substrate surface, and a second side-wall impurity diffusion region formed in a deep region separated from the substrate surface at a position below the first side-wall impurity diffusion region and having an impurity concentration which is different from that of the deep channel impurity diffusion region and i

Abstract: Field oxide regions are formed between drive regions of a silicon substrate by forming over the substrate a sandwich of silicon dioxide, silicon nitride and silicon dioxide layers, opening the layers to expose a portion of the silicon substrate, removing a layer of the exposed substrate, forming side wall spacers on the edges of the opening, removing a layer of the silicon substrate exposed between the side wall spacers, and then reaching the exposed substrate for the thermal oxidation of the exposed substrate for forming the field oxide region. In those structures in which the field oxide is buried in the substrate as shown in FIG. 12, it may be feasible to use thicker field oxide regions and thereby to reduce the need for the heavily doped surface layer under the field oxide.

Abstract: A method for dielectrically isolating a semiconductor integrated circuit is provided. Each integrated circuit is substantially surrounded by silicon oxide sidewalls which have been appropriately doped to be of an opposite conductivity type as the surrounding substrate. The doped silicon oxide sidewalls are formed prior to the growth of epitaxial silicon within the sidewalls. Upon deposition of the epitaxial silicon the dopant within the oxide sidewalls diffuses into the adjacent epitaxial silicon, thereby resulting in a heavily doped, low resistivity region of epitaxial silicon adjacent to and along the entire length of the oxide sidewall. This heavily doped region results in the substantial elimination of charge-depleting parasitic currents along the sidewalls during use of the integrated circuit. In addition, the heavily doped, low resistivity epitaxial region provides an electrically conductive contact to a buried layer within an integrated circuit having such a buried layer.

Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a first substrate made of a semiconductor, a first insulator layer which is formed on the first substrate, second substrate made of a semiconductor and formed on the first insulator layer, a trench which extends from a top surface of the second substrate to at least a part of the first insulator layer, and a second insulator layer which substantially defines a side wall of the trench.

Abstract: A channel stop is self-aligned with a trench sidewall of a trench-isolated semiconductor architecture, so that there is no alignment tolerance between the stop and the trench wall. An initial masking layer, through which the trench pattern is to be formed in a semiconductor island layer, is used as a doping mask for introducing a channel stop dopant into a surface portion of the semiconductor layer where the trench is to be formed. The lateral diffusion of the dopant beneath the oxide and adjacent to the trench aperture defines the eventual size of the channel stop. The semiconductor layer is then anisotropically etched to form a trench to a prescribed depth, usually intersecting the underlying semiconductor substrate. Because the etch goes through only a portion of the channel stop diffusion, leaving that portion which has laterally diffused beneath the oxide mask, the channel stop is self-aligned with the sidewall of the trench.

Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, first and second semiconductor layers of opposite conductivity types successively disposed on the semiconductor substrate, and a via hole structure including a hole penetrating through the first and second semiconductor layers and into the substrate, the via holes being defined by a side wall of the first and second layers and of the substrate, an electrically conducting material disposed on the side wall contacting the first and second semiconductor layers, and an electrically isolating region disposed in the first and second layers at the side wall and contacting the electrically conducting material. The electrically isolating region is formed with an ion flux applied either before or after etching of the via hole.

Abstract: In a dielectric isolation structure for elements in a semiconductor integrated circuit device, thermal stress and the resistance to hydrofluoric acid have been improved by using silicon boron nitride, silicon oxynitride or silicon nitride as an insulator material in the manner embedded in grooves or trenches formed on a surface of a substrate of the device. Additional merit of reducing parasitic capacitance of the dielectric isolation structure can be obtained by introducing therein a composite layer comprising a layer of porous silicon oxide and a layer of the insulator material as above.