Vertical Channel Patents (Class 438/212)
  • Patent number: 7482218
    Abstract: A transistor formed on a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type in a well formed in the substrate and doped with the first conductivity type to an impurity level higher than that of the substrate. A drain doped to a second conductivity type opposite to said first conductivity type is disposed in the well. A pair of opposed source regions doped to the second conductivity type are disposed in the well and are electrically coupled together. They are separated from opposing outer edges of the drain region by channels. A pair of gates are electrically coupled together and disposed above and insulated from the channels. A region of the well disposed below the drain is doped so as to reduce capacitive coupling between the drain and the well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2009
    Assignee: Actel Corporation
    Inventors: John McCollum, Fethi Dhaoui
  • Patent number: 7482645
    Abstract: A method for forming a semiconductor structure includes the following steps. A starting semiconductor substrate having a top-side surface and a back-side surface is provided. A recess is formed in the starting semiconductor substrate through the top-side of the starting semiconductor substrate. A semiconductor material is formed in the recess. A vertically conducting device is formed in and over the semiconductor material, where the starting semiconductor substrate serves as a terminal of the vertically conducting device. A non-recessed portion of the starting semiconductor substrate allows a top-side contact to be made to portions of the starting semiconductor substrate extending beneath the semiconductor material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2009
    Assignee: Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventors: Chun-Tai Wu, Ihsiu Ho
  • Patent number: 7482285
    Abstract: The epitaxial silicon junction receiving layer of a power semiconductor device is formed of upper and lower layers. The lower layer has a resistivity of more than that of the upper layer and a thickness of more than that of the upper layer. The total thickness of the two layers is less than that of a single epitaxial layer that would be used for the same blocking voltage. P-N junctions are formed in the upper layer to define a vertical conduction power MOSFET device. The on-resistance is reduced more than 10% without any blocking voltage reduce. The upper epitaxial layer can be either by direct second layer deposition or by ion implantation of a uniform epitaxial layer followed by a driving process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2009
    Assignee: International Rectifier Corporation
    Inventors: Zhijun Qu, Kenneth Wagers
  • Patent number: 7473596
    Abstract: An integrated circuit memory cell includes a combined first capacitor electrode and first transistor source/drain, a second capacitor electrode, a capacitor dielectric between the first and second electrodes, and a vertical transistor above and including the first source/drain. The second source/drain may be included in a digit line inner conductor connecting a digit line to a transistor channel of the vertical transistor. The channel may include a semiconductive upward extension of the combined first electrode and first source/drain. The memory cell may be included in an array of a plurality of such memory cells wherein the second electrode is a common electrode among the plurality. The memory cell may provide a straight-line conductive path between the first electrode and a digit line, the path extending through the vertical transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2009
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Alex Paterson
  • Patent number: 7473946
    Abstract: A complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) structure includes a semiconductor substrate having first mesa having a first ratio of channel effective horizontal surface area to channel effective vertical surface area. The CMOS structure also includes a second mesa having a second ratio of the same surface areas that is greater than the first ratio. A first device having a first polarity uses the first mesa as a channel and benefits from the enhanced vertical crystallographic orientation. A second device having a second polarity different from the first polarity uses the second mesa as a channel and benefits from the enhanced horizontal crystallographic orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2009
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Brent A. Anderson, Edward J. Nowak, Jed H. Rankin
  • Publication number: 20080318375
    Abstract: The invention provides a method of fabricating an extremely short-length dual-gate FET, using conventional semi-conductor processing techniques, with extremely small and reproducible fins with a pitch and a width that are both smaller than can be obtained with photolithographic techniques. On a protrusion (2) on a substrate (1), a first layer (3) and a second layer (4) are formed, after which the top surface of the protrusion (2) is exposed. A portion of the first layer (3) is selectively removed relative to the protrusion (2) and the second layer (4), thereby creating a fin (6) and a trench (5). Also a method is presented to form a plurality of fins (6) and trenches (5). The dual-gate FET is created by forming a gate electrode (7) in the trench(es) (5) and a source and drain region. Further a method is presented to fabricate an extremely short-length asymmetric dual-gate FET with two gate electrodes that can be biased separately.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 23, 2006
    Publication date: December 25, 2008
    Applicant: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Wibo Daniel Van Noort, Franciscus Petrus Widdershoven, Radu Surdeanu
  • Patent number: 7465622
    Abstract: A method for fabricating a vertical channel transistor device is provided. An opening is formed in a dielectric stack comprised of a pad nitride layer and a pad oxide layer. A plurality of epitaxial silicon growth and dry etching processes are carried out to form drain, vertical channel and source in the opening. Subsequently, sidewall gate dielectric and sidewall gate electrode are formed on the vertical channel. The present invention is suited for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices, particularly suited for very high-density trench-capacitor DRAM devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: Nanya Technology Corp.
    Inventor: Shian-Jyh Lin
  • Patent number: 7462532
    Abstract: A high voltage metal oxide semiconductor device comprising a substrate, an N-type epitaxial layer, an isolation structure, a gate dielectric layer, a gate, an N-type drain region, a P-type well, an N-type source region, a first N-type well and a buried N-doped region is provided. The first N-type well is disposed in the N-type epitaxial layer under the isolation structure and on one side of the gate. The first N-type well overlaps with the N-type drain region. The buried N-doped region is disposed in the substrate under the N-type epitaxial layer and connected to the first N-type well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2008
    Assignee: United Microelectronics Corp.
    Inventors: Chih-Hua Lee, Ming-I Chen
  • Patent number: 7456439
    Abstract: A semiconductor device may comprise a plurality of memory cells. A memory cell may comprise a thyristor, at least a portion of which is formed in a pillar of semiconductor material. The pillar may comprise sidewalls defining a cylindrical circumference of a first diameter. In a particular embodiment, the pillars associated with the plurality of memory cells may define rows and columns of an array. In a further embodiment, a pillar may be spaced by a first distance of magnitude up to the first diameter relative to a neighboring pillar within its row. In an additional further embodiment, the pillar may be spaced by a second distance of a magnitude up to twice the first diameter, relative to a neighboring pillar within its column.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2008
    Assignee: T-RAM Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventor: Andrew E. Horch
  • Patent number: 7436022
    Abstract: This invention discloses a semiconductor power device that includes an active cell area having a plurality of power transistor cells and a junction barrier Schottky (JBS) area. The semiconductor power device includes the JBS area that further includes a plurality of Schottky diodes each having a PN junction disposed on an epitaxial layer near a top surface of a semiconductor substrate wherein the PN junction further includes a counter dopant region disposed in the epitaxial layer for reducing a sudden reversal of dopant profile near the PN junction for preventing an early breakdown in the PN junction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2008
    Assignee: Alpha & Omega Semiconductors, Ltd.
    Inventors: Anup Bhalla, Daniel Ng, Sik K Lui
  • Patent number: 7432145
    Abstract: A low on-state resistance power semiconductor device has a shape and an arrangement that increase the channel density and the breakdown voltage The power semiconductor device comprises a plurality of individual cells formed on a semiconductor substrate (62). Each individual cell comprises a plurality of radially extending branches (80) having source regions (37) within base regions (36). The plurality of individual cells are arranged such that at least one branch of each cell extends towards at least one branch of an adjacent cell and wherein the base region (36) of the extending branches merge together to form a single and substantially uniformly doped base region (36) surrounding drain islands (39) at the surface of the semiconductor substrate (62).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2008
    Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: Jean-Michel Reynes, Ivana Deram, Adeline Feybesse
  • Patent number: 7432134
    Abstract: A semiconductor device 100 includes an element-forming region having gate electrode 108 formed therein, and a circumferential region formed in the outer circumference of the element-forming region and having an element-isolating region 118 formed therein. On the main surface of the semiconductor substrate 101, there is formed a parallel pn layer having an N-type drift region 104 and P-type column regions 106 alternately arranged therein. In the circumferential region, there is formed a field electrode 120, but the field electrode 120 is not formed on the P-type column regions 106. The P-type column regions 106 in the circumferential region are formed with a depth larger than or equal to that of the P-type column regions 106 in the element-forming region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2008
    Assignee: NEC Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Hitoshi Ninomiya, Yoshinao Miura
  • Patent number: 7429523
    Abstract: a Schottky diode having a semiconductor region is formed as follows. A plurality of charge control electrodes are formed in the semiconductor region so as to influence an electric field in the semiconductor region, wherein at least two of the charge control electrodes are adapted to be biased differently from one another. The semiconductor region is overlaid with a metal layer to thereby form a Schottky barrier therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2008
    Assignee: Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventor: Christopher Boguslaw Kocon
  • Publication number: 20080224209
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate including an NMOS region and a PMOS region, active regions of the semiconductor substrate defined by a device isolation structure formed in the semiconductor substrate, the active regions including an NMOS active region defined in the NMOS region and a PMOS active region defined in the PMOS region, a gate insulating film disposed over the active regions, and a dual poly gate including an amorphous titanium layer formed over the gate insulating film in the NMOS region and the PMOS region. The dual poly gate includes a stacked structure having a lower gate electrode formed of an impurity doped polysilicon layer, a barrier layer including the amorphous titanium layer, and an upper gate electrode formed of a tungsten layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2007
    Publication date: September 18, 2008
    Inventor: Yun Seok Chun
  • Publication number: 20080224208
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate including an NMOS region and a PMOS region, a device isolation structure formed on the semiconductor substrate to define an active region, a recess channel structure formed in the active region, a gate insulating film disposed in the recess channel structure, and a gate including an undoped amorphous silicon layer formed over the gate insulating film, the gate filling the recess channel structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2007
    Publication date: September 18, 2008
    Inventor: Yun Seok Chun
  • Patent number: 7375408
    Abstract: A high voltage metal oxide semiconductor device comprising a substrate, an N-type epitaxial layer, an isolation structure, a gate dielectric layer, a gate, an N-type drain region, a P-type well, an N-type source region, a first N-type well and a buried N-doped region is provided. The first N-type well is disposed in the N-type epitaxial layer under the isolation structure and on one side of the gate. The first N-type well overlaps with the N-type drain region. The buried N-doped region is disposed in the substrate under the N-type epitaxial layer and connected to the first N-type well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2008
    Assignee: United Microelectronics Corp.
    Inventors: Chih-Hua Lee, Ming-I Chen
  • Patent number: 7374990
    Abstract: A vertical transistor having a wrap-around-gate and a method of fabricating such a transistor. The wrap-around-gate (WAG) vertical transistors are fabricated by a process in which source, drain and channel regions of the transistor are automatically defined and aligned by the fabrication process, without photolithographic patterning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2008
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Sanh D. Tang, Robert J. Burke, Anand Srinivasan
  • Patent number: 7368353
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a trench type power semiconductor device which includes process steps for forming proud gate electrodes in order to decrease the resistivity thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: International Rectifier Corporation
    Inventors: Jianjun Cao, Paul Harvey, Dave Kent, Robert Montgomery, Hugo Burke, Kyle Spring
  • Patent number: 7364997
    Abstract: In one implementation, field oxide is grown within bulk semiconductive material in a first circuitry area and not over immediately adjacent bulk semiconductive material in a second circuitry area. The field oxide is etched from the first circuitry area. After the etching, a circuit component is formed in the first circuitry area and a circuit component is formed in the second circuitry area. Dielectric material is formed over the first and second circuitry areas. The dielectric material comprises a conductive contact extending outwardly from the circuit component in the first circuitry area. The dielectric material has a first outermost surface. A portion of the dielectric material and a portion of the conductive contact are removed to form a second outermost surface of the dielectric material which has greater degree of planarity than did the first outermost surface. Other aspects are contemplated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Werner Juengling
  • Patent number: 7352034
    Abstract: Methods of forming a semiconductor structure having FinFET's and planar devices, such as MOSFET's, on a common substrate by a damascene approach. A semiconductor fin of the FinFET is formed on a substrate with damascene processing in which the fin growth may be interrupted to implant ions that are subsequently transformed into a region that electrically isolates the fin from the substrate. The isolation region is self-aligned with the fin because the mask used to form the damascene-body fin also serves as an implantation mask for the implanted ions. The fin may be supported by the patterned layer during processing that forms the FinFET and, more specifically, the gate of the FinFET. The electrical isolation surrounding the FinFET may also be supplied by a self-aligned process that recesses the substrate about the FinFET and at least partially fills the recess with a dielectric material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Roger Allen Booth, Jr., Jack Allan Mandelman, William Robert Tonti
  • Patent number: 7341896
    Abstract: In a method of manufacturing a vertical MOS transistor, a body region, a trench, a gate oxide film, a gate electrode, a source region, and a body contact region are successively formed in a semiconductor substrate. A first insulating film is deposited over the main surface of the semiconductor substrate and the gate electrode, and the first insulating film is then etched to form side spacers made of the first insulating film on the wall surfaces of the trench so as to overly the gate electrode. A second insulating film is deposited over a main surface of the semiconductor substrate, the gate electrode, and the first insulating film. The second insulating film is then etched back so as to entirely expose the source region and the body contact region. A source metal electrode is formed over the main surface of the semiconductor substrate so as to cover the source region and body contact region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2008
    Assignee: Seiko Instruments Inc.
    Inventor: Hirofumi Harada
  • Publication number: 20080049486
    Abstract: A substrate forming an array of vertical transistor cells for selecting one of a plurality of memory cells and wherein each memory cell couples a transistor to a bit line via a memory element and is addressable by selecting two word lines and a bit line is disclosed. For minimizing the area of a cell and reducing complexity in production, one word line trench takes one word line, wherein in a first embodiment a first word line in a first word line trench forms a plurality of gate electrodes on one sidewall of active areas of a first and a second, adjacent row of transistor cells in word line direction, and wherein a second word line in an adjacent word line trench forms a plurality of gate electrodes on the opposite sidewall of active areas of the second and of a third row of transistor cells in wordline direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2006
    Publication date: February 28, 2008
    Applicant: QIMONDA AG
    Inventor: Ulrike Gruening-von Schwerin
  • Patent number: 7332386
    Abstract: A fin field effect transistor (FinFET) includes a substrate, a fin, a gate electrode, a gate insulation layer, and source and drain regions in the fin. The fin is on and extends laterally along and vertically away from the substrate. The gate electrode covers sides and a top of a portion of the fin. The gate insulation layer is between the gate electrode and the fin. The source region and the drain region in the fin and adjacent to opposite sides of the gate electrode. The source region of the fin has a different width than the drain region of the fin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2008
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Chul Lee, Min-Sang Kim, Dong-gun Park, Choong-ho Lee, Chang-woo Oh, Jae-man Yoon, Dong-won Kim, Jeong-dong Choe, Ming Li, Hye-jin Cho
  • Patent number: 7323380
    Abstract: A high density vertical single transistor gain cell is realized for DRAM operation. The gain cell includes a vertical transistor having a source region, a drain region, and a floating body region therebetween. A gate opposes the floating body region and is separated therefrom by a gate oxide on a first side of the vertical transistor. A floating body back gate opposes the floating body region on a second side of the vertical transistor and is separated therefrom by a dielectric to form a body capacitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2008
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Leonard Forbes
  • Publication number: 20080012066
    Abstract: A method for fabricating a vertical channel transistor device is provided. An opening is formed in a dielectric stack comprised of a pad nitride layer and a pad oxide layer. A plurality of epitaxial silicon growth and dry etching processes are carried out to form drain, vertical channel and source in the opening. Subsequently, sidewall gate dielectric and sidewall gate electrode are formed on the vertical channel. The present invention is suited for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices, particularly suited for very high-density trench-capacitor DRAM devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2006
    Publication date: January 17, 2008
    Inventor: Shian-Jyh Lin
  • Publication number: 20070298564
    Abstract: A semiconductor device, a method of forming the same, and a power converter including the semiconductor device. In one embodiment, the semiconductor device includes a heavily doped substrate, a source/drain contact below the heavily doped substrate, and a channel layer above the heavily doped substrate. The semiconductor device also includes a heavily doped source/drain layer above the channel layer and another source/drain contact above the heavily doped source/drain layer. The semiconductor device further includes pillar regions through the another source/drain contact, the heavily doped source/drain layer, and portions of the channel layer to form a vertical cell therebetween. Non-conductive regions of the semiconductor device are located in the portions of the channel layer within the pillar regions. The semiconductor device still further includes a gate above the non-conductive regions in the pillar regions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2007
    Publication date: December 27, 2007
    Inventors: Berinder P. S. Brar, Wonill Ha
  • Patent number: 7306984
    Abstract: For improving the filing properties between vertical MISFETs constituting a SRAM memory cell, the vertical MISFETs are formed over horizontal drive MISFETs and transfer MISFETs, and they are disposed with a narrow pitch in the Y direction and a wide pitch in the X direction. After a first insulating film (O3-TEOS) having good coverage is disposed over columnar laminates having a lower semiconductor layer, an intermediate semiconductor layer, an upper semiconductor layer and a silicon nitride film and a gate electrode formed over the side walls of the laminates via a gate insulating film to completely fill a narrow pitch space, a second insulating film (HDP silicon oxide film) is deposited over the first insulating film, resulting in an improvement in the filling properties, even in a narrow pitch portion, between vertical MISFETs having a high aspect ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2007
    Assignee: Renesas Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Tatsunori Murata, Takahiro Nakamura, Yasumichi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 7291533
    Abstract: A method for producing trench DRAM cells, each having a trench capacitor and a fin field-effect transistor with a curved channel (CFET) for addressing the trench capacitor, is described. The memory cells are arranged in cell rows offset with respect to one another and are separated from one another by strip-like isolator structures. Buried word lines are embedded in the isolator structures and run along the longitudinal faces of semiconductor fins which are formed along the cell rows and include the active regions of the selection transistors. The internal electrodes of the trench capacitors are each connected with a low impedance via surface straps to first source/drain areas of the respective selection transistors. In one embodiment, one word line is formed for each isolator structure using an open bit line architecture, with only every alternate word line being used for addressing. A reinforced word line/trench isolator is provided between the word lines and the trench capacitors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2007
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies, AG
    Inventor: Ulrike Gruening von Schwerin
  • Patent number: 7288815
    Abstract: A semiconductor device (20, 21, 22), including: a channel region (4) of a first conductivity type formed at a surface layer portion of a semiconductor substrate (1); a source region (25) of a second conductivity type which is different from the first conductivity type, the source region (25) being formed at a rim of a trench (17) having a depth sufficient to penetrate through the channel region (4); a drain region (2) of the second conductivity type formed at a region adjacent to a bottom of the trench (17); a gate insulating film (13) formed along an inner side wall of the trench (17); a gate electrode (26, 36) arranged in the trench (17) so as to be opposed to the channel region (4) with the gate insulating film (13) interposed therebetween; a conductive layer (37, 40, 40a, 40b) formed in the trench (17) so as to be nearer to the drain region (2) than the gate electrode (26, 36); and an insulating layer (15) surrounding the conductive layer (37, 40, 40a, 40b) to electrically insulate the conductive layer (3
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2007
    Assignee: Rohm Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Masaru Takaishi
  • Patent number: 7276742
    Abstract: A compound semiconductor light emitting device for preparing a chip which improves the light extraction efficiency, enables mounting of easy positioning with only once wire bonding, and leads to a reduction in the manhour. One face of an insulative substrate (11) is overlaid with a semiconductor layer (4) consisting of a plurality of semiconductor thin films to form an active layer (15). One electrode (33) is formed on the top face of this semiconductor layer (4), and the other electrode (33) on the other face of the insulative substrate (11). For the exposure of a first semiconductor thin film layer (13) connected to the other electrode (33), the semiconductor film over the first semiconductor thin film layer (13) is removed to form an exposure region (10). This exposure region (10) is provided with a through hole (2) penetrating through the insulative substrate (11) and first semiconductor thin film layer (13).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2007
    Assignees: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Tottori Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Keishi Kohno, Katsumi Yagi
  • Patent number: 7271048
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a trench MOSFET with high cell density is disclosed. The method introduces a sidewall oxide spacer for narrowing the opening of the trench structure, thereby decreasing the cell pitch of the memory units. Moreover, the source structure is formed automatically by means of an extra contact silicon etch for preventing the photoresist from lifting during the ion implantation of the prior art. On the other hand, the contact structure is filled with W-plug for overcoming the defect of poor metal step coverage resulted from filling the contact structure with AlSiCu according to the prior art. Thus, the cell density of the device can be increased; and the Rds-on and the power loss of the device can be decreased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2007
    Assignee: Mosel Vitelic, Inc.
    Inventors: Chien-Ping Chang, Mao Song Tseng, Hsin Huang Hsieh, Tien-Min Yuan
  • Patent number: 7268032
    Abstract: A trench MIS device is formed in a P-epitaxial layer that overlies an N-epitaxial layer and an N+ substrate. In one embodiment, the device includes an N-type drain-drift region that extends from the bottom of the trench to the N-epitaxial layer. Preferably, the drain-drift region is formed at least in part by fabricating spacers on the sidewalls of the trench and implanting an N-type dopant between the sidewall spacers and through the bottom of the trench. The drain-drift region can be doped more heavily than the conventional “drift region” that is formed in an N-epitaxial layer. Thus, the device has a low on-resistance. The device can be terminated by a plurality of polysilicon-filled termination trenches located near the edge of the die, with the polysilicon in each termination trench being connected to the mesa adjacent the termination trench. The polysilicon material in each termination trenches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2007
    Assignee: Siliconix incorporated
    Inventors: Mohamed N. Darwish, Kyle W. Terrill, Jainhai Qi, Qufei Chen
  • Patent number: 7259052
    Abstract: For improving the filling properties between vertical MISFETs constituting a SRAM memory cell, the vertical MISFETs are formed over horizontal drive MISFETs and transfer MISFETs, and they are disposed with a narrow pitch in the Y direction and a wide pitch in the X direction. After a first insulating film (O3-TEOS) having good coverage is disposed over columnar laminates having a lower semiconductor layer, an intermediate semiconductor layer, an upper semiconductor layer and a silicon nitride film and a gate electrode formed over the side walls of the laminates via a gate insulating film to completely fill a narrow pitch space, a second insulating film (HDP silicon oxide film) is deposited over the first insulating film, resulting in an improvement in the filling properties, even in a narrow pitch portion, between vertical MISFETs having a high aspect ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2007
    Assignee: Renesas Technology Corp.
    Inventors: Tatsunori Murata, Takahiro Nakamura, Yasumichi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 7256086
    Abstract: A semiconductor device is provided that can be manufactured by a simpler process than a conventional lateral trench power MOSFET for use with an 80V breakdown voltage, and which has a lower device pitch and lower on-state resistance per unit area than a conventional lateral power MOSFET for use with a lower breakdown voltage than 80V. A gate oxide film is formed thinly along the lateral surfaces of a trench at a uniform thickness. Then, a gate oxide film is formed along the bottom surface of the trench by selective oxidation so as to be thicker than the gate oxide film on the lateral surfaces of the trench and so as to become progressively thicker from the edge of the bottom surface of the trench toward drain polysilicon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2007
    Assignee: Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsuya Tabuchi, Naoto Fujishima, Mutsumi Kitamura, Akio Sugi
  • Patent number: 7241655
    Abstract: A vertical transistor having a wrap-around-gate and a method of fabricating such a transistor. The wrap-around-gate (WAG) vertical transistors are fabricated by a process in which source, drain and channel regions of the transistor are automatically defined and aligned by the fabrication process, without photolithographic patterning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Sanh D. Tang, Robert J. Burke, Anand Srinivasan
  • Patent number: 7241654
    Abstract: Memory devices, arrays, and strings are described that facilitate the use of NROM memory cells in NAND architecture memory strings, arrays, and devices. NROM NAND architecture memory embodiments of the present invention include NROM memory cells in high density vertical NAND architecture arrays or strings facilitating the use of reduced feature size process techniques. These NAND architecture vertical NROM memory cell strings allow for an improved high density memory devices or arrays that can take advantage of the feature sizes semiconductor fabrication processes are generally capable of and yet do not suffer from charge separation issues in multi-bit NROM cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Leonard Forbes
  • Patent number: 7235439
    Abstract: A power semiconductor device has an active region that includes a drift region. At least a portion of the drift region is provided in a membrane which has opposed top and bottom surfaces. In one embodiment, the top surface of the membrane has electrical terminals connected directly or indirectly thereto to allow a voltage to be applied laterally across the drift region. In another embodiment, at least one electrical terminal is connected directly or indirectly to the top surface and at least one electrical terminal is connected directly or indirectly to the bottom surface to allow a voltage to be applied vertically across the drift region. In each of these embodiments, the bottom surface of the membrane does not have a semiconductor substrate positioned adjacent thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2007
    Assignee: Cambridge Semiconductor Limited
    Inventors: Florin Udrea, Gehan A J Amaratunga
  • Patent number: 7229872
    Abstract: A trench type power MOSFET has a thin vertical gate oxide along its side walls and a thickened oxide with a rounded bottom at the bottom of the trench to provide a low RDSON and increased VDSMAX and VGSMAX and a reduced Miller capacitance. The walls of the trench are first lined with nitride to permit the growth of the thick bottom oxide to, for example 1000 ? to 1400 ? and the nitride is subsequently removed and a thin oxide, for example 320 ? is regrown on the side walls. In another embodiment, the trench bottom in amorphized and the trench walls are left as single crystal silicon so that oxide can be grown much faster and thicker on the trench bottom than on the trench walls during an oxide growth step. A reduced channel length of about 0.7 microns is used. The source diffusion is made deeper than the implant damage depth so that the full 0.7 micron channel is along undamaged silicon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2007
    Assignee: International Rectifier Corporation
    Inventor: Naresh Thapar
  • Patent number: 7226840
    Abstract: A process for forming an electronic device can include forming a first set of discontinuous storage elements over a primary surface of a substrate and forming a trench within the substrate. The process can also include forming a second set of discontinuous storage elements within the trench. The process can further include forming a first gate electrode within the trench, wherein a discontinuous storage element lies between the first gate electrode and a wall of the trench. The process can still further include removing a part of the second set of discontinuous storage elements and forming a second gate electrode over the first gate electrode. After forming the second gate electrode, substantially none of the second set of discontinuous storage elements lies along the wall of the trench at an elevation between an upper surface of the first gate electrode and the primary surface of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2007
    Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: Gowrishankar L. Chindalore, Cheong M. Hong, Craig T. Swift
  • Patent number: 7223646
    Abstract: An ideal step-profile in a channel region is realized easily and reliably, whereby suppression of the short-channel effect and prevention of mobility degradation are achieved together. A silicon substrate is amorphized to a predetermined depth from a semiconductor film, and impurities to become the source/drain are introduced in this state. Then the impurities are activated, and the amorphized portion is recrystallized, by low temperature solid-phase epitaxial regrowth. With the processing temperature required for the low temperature solid-phase epitaxial regrowth being within a range of 450° C.–650° C., thermal diffusion of the impurities into the semiconductor film is suppressed, thereby maintaining the initial steep step-profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2007
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Toshihiko Miyashita, Kunihiro Suzuki
  • Patent number: 7211487
    Abstract: A process for forming an electronic device can include forming a first trench within a substrate, wherein the trench includes a wall and a bottom and extends from a primary surface of the substrate. The process can also include forming discontinuous storage elements and forming a first gate electrode within the trench such that, a first discontinuous storage element of the discontinuous storage elements lies between the first gate electrode and the wall of the trench. The process can further include removing the discontinuous storage elements that overlie the primary surface of the substrate. The process can still further include forming a second gate electrode that overlies the first gate electrode and the primary surface of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2007
    Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: Gowrishankar L. Chindalore, Paul A. Ingersoll, Criag T. Swift
  • Patent number: 7205608
    Abstract: An electronic device can include a substrate having a trench that includes a wall and a bottom. The electronic device can also include a first set of discontinuous storage elements that overlie a primary surface of the substrate and a second set of discontinuous storage elements that lie within the trench. The electronic device can also include a first gate electrode, wherein substantially none of the discontinuous storage elements lies along the wall of the trench at an elevation between and upper surface of the first gate electrode and the primary surface of the substrate. The electronic device can also include a second gate electrode overlying the first gate electrode and the primary surface. In another embodiment, a conductive line can be electrically connected to one or more rows or columns of memory cells, and another conductive line can be more rows or more columns of memory cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: Gowrishankar L. Chindalore, Cheong M. Hong, Craig T. Swift
  • Patent number: 7205196
    Abstract: The present invention provides a manufacturing process and the structure of an integrated circuit. In one embodiment, one polysilicon layer deposition and one polysilicon layer etching are used to form the gate of a trench device and the polysilicon layer of a planar device simultaneously. The present invention not only has overcome the problem of the electric leakage, but also has the advantages of withstanding a higher voltage, reducing the relevant cost and increasing the yields. The present invention possesses the outstanding technical features in the field of the power device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: Mosel Vitelic, Inc.
    Inventors: Hsin-Huang Hsieh, Chien-Ping Chang, Mao-Song Tseng, Tien-Min Yuan
  • Patent number: 7183143
    Abstract: A method for forming a nitrided tunnel oxide layer is described. A silicon oxide layer as a tunnel oxide layer is formed on a semiconductor substrate, and a plasma nitridation process is performed to implant nitrogen atoms into the silicon oxide layer. A thermal drive-in process is then performed to diffuse the implanted nitrogen atoms across the silicon oxide layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2007
    Assignee: Macronix International Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tzu-Yu Wang
  • Patent number: 7176089
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing provides a vertical transistor particularly suitable for high density integration and which includes potentially independent gate structures on opposite sides of a semiconductor pillar formed by etching or epitaxial growth in a trench. The gate structure is surrounded by insulating material which is selectively etchable to isolation material surrounding the transistor. A contact is made to the lower end of the pillar (e.g. the transistor drain) by selectively etching the isolation material selective to the insulating material. The upper end of the pillar is covered by a cap and sidewalls of selectively etchable materials so that gate and source connection openings can also be made by selective etching with good registration tolerance. A dimension of the pillar in a direction parallel to the chip surface is defined by a distance between isolation regions and selective etching and height of the pillar is defined by thickness of a sacrificial layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiharu Furukawa, Mark C. Hakey, Steven J. Holmes, David V. Horak, James M. Leas, William H-L Ma, Paul A. Rabidoux
  • Patent number: 7166853
    Abstract: A system for electrically contacting a semiconductor wafer during implanting of the wafer includes one or more pairs of closely spaced contacts located adjacent the semiconductor wafer and a driving circuit connected to the contacts to provide a discharge from one contact to the semiconductor wafer and from the semiconductor wafer to the other contact of each pair of contacts. The contacts can be spaced apart from the wafer and the tips of the contacts closest to the wafer may have sharp points to aid in the establishment of corona at lower drive voltages. Alternately, the contacts may be rounded and may contact the wafer. The driving circuit may be adapted from a pulsed discharge circuit, such as a Kettering ignition circuit, a capacitance discharge ignition circuit, or a blocking oscillator circuit. Alternately, the driving circuit may be adapted from a continuous discharge circuit, such as a Tesla coil circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2007
    Assignee: Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc.
    Inventor: Kevin G. Rhoads
  • Patent number: 7138302
    Abstract: An exemplary embodiment relates to a method of FinFET channel structure formation. The method can include providing a compound semiconductor layer above an insulating layer, providing a trench in the compound semiconductor layer, and providing a strained semiconductor layer above the compound semiconductor layer and within the trench. The method can also include removing the strained semiconductor layer from above the compound semiconductor layer, thereby leaving the strained semiconductor layer within the trench and removing the compound semiconductor layer to leave the strained semiconductor layer and form the fin-shaped channel region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2006
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Qi Xiang, James N. Pan, Jung-Suk Goo
  • Patent number: 7136302
    Abstract: Structures and methods for DEAPROM memory with low tunnel barrier intergate insulators are provided. The DEAPROM memory includes a first source/drain region and a second source/drain region separated by a channel region in a substrate. A floating gate opposes the channel region and is separated therefrom by a gate oxide. A control gate opposes the floating gate. The control gate is separated from the floating gate by a low tunnel barrier intergate insulator having a tunnel barrier of less than 1.5 eV. The low tunnel barrier intergate insulator includes a metal oxide insulator selected from the group consisting of NiO, Al2O3, Ta2O5, TiO2, ZrO2, Nb2O5, Y2O3, Gd2O3, SrBi2Ta2O3, SrTiO3, PbTiO3, and PbZrO3. The floating gate includes a polysilicon floating gate having a metal layer formed thereon in contact with the low tunnel barrier intergate insulator. And, the control gate includes a polysilicon control gate having a metal layer formed thereon in contact with the low tunnel barrier intergate insulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2006
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Leonard Forbes, Jerome M. Eldridge, Kie Y. Ahn
  • Patent number: 7115945
    Abstract: Disclosing is a strained silicon finFET device having a strained silicon fin channel in a double gate finFET structure. The disclosed finFET device is a double gate MOSFET consisting of a silicon fin channel controlled by a self-aligned double gate for suppressing short channel effect and enhancing drive current. The silicon fin channel of the disclosed finFET device is a strained silicon fin channel, comprising a strained silicon layer deposited on a seed fin having different lattice constant, for example, a silicon layer deposited on a silicon germanium seed fin, or a carbon doped silicon layer deposited on a silicon seed fin. The lattice mismatch between the silicon layer and the seed fin generates the strained silicon fin channel in the disclosed finFET device to improve hole and electron mobility enhancement, in addition to short channel effect reduction characteristic inherently in a finFET device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2006
    Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America, Inc.
    Inventors: Jong-Jan Lee, Sheng Teng Hsu, Douglas J. Tweet, Jer-Shen Maa
  • Patent number: 7109516
    Abstract: The benefits of strained semiconductors are combined with silicon-on-insulator approaches to substrate and device fabrication.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2006
    Assignee: AmberWave Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas A. Langdo, Matthew T. Currie, Glyn Braithwaite, Richard Hammond, Anthony J. Lochtefeld, Eugene A. Fitzgerald