Gate Insulator Structure Constructed Of Diverse Dielectrics (e.g., Mnos, Etc.) Or Of Nonsilicon Compound Patents (Class 438/287)
  • Patent number: 8349695
    Abstract: In sophisticated manufacturing techniques, the work function and thus the threshold voltage of transistor elements may be adjusted in an early manufacturing stage by providing a work function adjusting species within the high-k dielectric material with substantially the same spatial distribution in the gate dielectric materials of different thickness. After the incorporation of the work function adjusting species, the final thickness of the gate dielectric materials may be adjusted by selectively forming an additional dielectric layer so that the further patterning of the gate electrode structures may be accomplished with a high degree of compatibility to conventional manufacturing techniques. Consequently, extremely complicated processes for re-adjusting the threshold voltages of transistors having a different thickness gate dielectric material may be avoided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Inc.
    Inventors: Thilo Scheiper, Andy Wei, Martin Trentzsch
  • Publication number: 20130001700
    Abstract: A method is provided for forming an interconnect in a semiconductor memory device. The method includes forming a pair of source select transistors on a substrate. A source region is formed in the substrate between the pair of source select transistors. A first inter-layer dielectric is formed between the pair of source select transistors. A mask layer is deposited over the pair of source select transistors and the inter-layer dielectric, where the mask layer defines a local interconnect area between the pair of source select transistors having a width less than a distance between the pair of source select transistors. The semiconductor memory device is etched to remove a portion of the first inter-layer dielectric in the local interconnect area, thereby exposing the source region. A metal contact is formed in the local interconnect area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Publication date: January 3, 2013
    Applicant: SPANSION LLC
    Inventor: Simon S. CHAN
  • Publication number: 20130005104
    Abstract: Provided are a nonvolatile memory device and a method for fabricating the same. The nonvolatile memory device may include a stacked structure, a semiconductor pattern, an information storage layer, and a fixed charge layer. The stacked structure may be disposed over a semiconductor substrate. The stacked structure may include conductive patterns and interlayer dielectric patterns alternately stacked therein. The semiconductor pattern may be connected to the semiconductor substrate by passing through the stacked structure. The information storage layer may be disposed between the semiconductor pattern and the conductive patterns. The fixed charge layer may be disposed between the semiconductor pattern and the interlayer dielectric pattern. The fixed charge layer may include fixed charges. Electrical polarity of the fixed charges may be equal to electrical polarity of majority carriers of the semiconductor pattern.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Publication date: January 3, 2013
    Inventors: ZongLiang HUO, Myoungbum LEE, Kihyun HWANG, Seungmok SHIN, Sunjung KIM
  • Patent number: 8343826
    Abstract: When forming sophisticated high-k metal gate electrode structures in an early manufacturing stage on the basis of a silicon/germanium semiconductor alloy for adjusting appropriate electronic conditions in the channel region, the efficiency of a strain-inducing embedded semiconductor alloy, such as a silicon/germanium alloy, may be enhanced by initiating a crystal growth in the silicon material of the gate electrode structure after the gate patterning process. In this manner, the negative strain of the threshold voltage adjusting silicon/germanium alloy may be reduced or compensated for.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.
    Inventors: Stephan-Detlef Kronholz, Peter Javorka, Maciej Wiatr
  • Patent number: 8343839
    Abstract: A method for forming a field effect transistor device includes forming an oxide layer on a substrate, forming a dielectric layer on the oxide layer, forming a first TiN layer on the dielectric layer, forming a metallic layer on the first layer, forming a second TiN layer on the metallic layer, removing a portion of the first TiN layer, the metallic layer, and the second TiN layer to expose a portion of the dielectric layer, forming a layer of stoichiometric TiN on the exposed portion of the dielectric layer and the second TiN layer, heating the device, and forming a polysilicon layer on the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Takashi Ando, Changhwan Choi, Unoh Kwon, Vijay Narayanan
  • Patent number: 8344418
    Abstract: A group III chalcogenide layer for interfacing a high-k dielectric to a III-V semiconductor surface and methods of forming the same. A III-V QWFET includes a gate stack which comprises a high-K gate dielectric layer disposed on an interfacial layer comprising a group III chalcogenide. In an embodiment, a III-V semiconductor surface comprising a native oxide is sequentially exposed to TMA and H2S provided in an ALD process to remove substantially all the native oxide and form an Al2S3 layer on the semiconductor surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Willy Rachmady, Marko Radosavljevic, Gilbert Dewey, Robert S. Chau
  • Patent number: 8343840
    Abstract: A band gap engineered, charge trapping memory cell includes a charge trapping element that is separated from a gate by a blocking layer of metal doped silicon oxide material having a medium dielectric constant, such as aluminum doped silicon oxide, and separated from the semiconductor body including the channel by an engineered tunneling dielectric.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Macronix International Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Sheng-Chih Lai, Hang-Ting Lue, Chien-Wei Liao
  • Publication number: 20120326222
    Abstract: A memory structure including a memory cell is provided, and the memory cell includes following elements. A first gate is disposed on a substrate. A stacked structure includes a first dielectric structure, a channel layer, a second dielectric structure and a second gate disposed on the first gate, a first charge storage structure disposed in the first dielectric structure and a second charge storage structure disposed in the second dielectric structure. At least one of the first charge storage structure and the second charge storage structure includes two charge storage units which are physically separated. A first dielectric layer is disposed on the first gate at two sides of the stacked structure. A first source and drain and a second source and drain are disposed on the first dielectric layer and located at two sides of the channel layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2011
    Publication date: December 27, 2012
    Applicant: MACRONIX INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Cheng-Hsien Cheng, Wen-Jer Tsai, Shih-Guei Yan, Chih-Chieh Cheng, Jyun-Siang Huang
  • Publication number: 20120329230
    Abstract: A method of fabricating a silicon-containing oxide layer that includes providing a chemical oxide layer on a surface of a semiconductor substrate, removing the chemical oxide layer in an oxygen-free environment at a temperature of 1000° C. or greater to provide a bare surface of the semiconductor substrate, and introducing an oxygen-containing gas at a flow rate to the bare surface of the semiconductor substrate for a first time period at the temperature of 1000° C. The temperature is then reduced to room temperature during a second time period while maintaining the flow rate of the oxygen containing gas to provide a silicon-containing oxide layer having a thickness ranging from 0.5 ? to 10 ?.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 21, 2011
    Publication date: December 27, 2012
    Applicants: GLOBALFOUNDRIES INC., INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michael P. Chudzik, Min Dai, Joseph F. Shepard, JR., Shahab Siddiqui, Jinping Liu
  • Publication number: 20120326243
    Abstract: A transistor having an aluminum metal gate includes a substrate, a high-k gate dielectric layer, an aluminum metal gate and a source/drain region. The high-k gate dielectric layer is disposed on the substrate. The aluminum metal gate includes a work function tuning layer and an aluminum metal layer disposed orderly on the high-k gate dielectric layer, where the aluminum metal layer comprises a first aluminum metal layer and a second aluminum metal layer. Furthermore, the source/drain region is disposed in the substrate at each of two sides of the aluminum metal gate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2011
    Publication date: December 27, 2012
    Inventors: Hsin-Fu Huang, Chi-Mao Hsu, Min-Chuan Tsai, Chin-Fu Lin, Chun-Hsien Lin
  • Publication number: 20120319215
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same, comprising: forming an insulating isolation layer on a substrate; forming an insulating isolation layer trench in the insulating isolation layer; forming an active region layer in the insulating isolation layer trench; and forming a semiconductor device structure in and above the active region layer, wherein the carrier mobility of the active region layer is higher than that of the substrate. In accordance with the semiconductor device and the manufacturing method thereof in the present invention, an active region formed of a material different from that of the substrate is used, the carrier mobility in the channel region is enhanced, thereby the device response speed is substantially improved and the device performance is enhanced greatly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2011
    Publication date: December 20, 2012
    Inventors: Guilei Wang, Chunlong Li, Chao Zhao
  • Publication number: 20120319206
    Abstract: An integrated circuit including at least one isolating trench that delimits an active area made of a monocrystalline semiconductor material, the or each trench comprising an upper portion including an insulating layer that encapsulates a lower portion of the trench, the lower portion being at least partly buried in the active area and the encapsulation layer comprising nitrogen or carbon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2012
    Publication date: December 20, 2012
    Applicant: STMicroelectronics (Crolles 2) SAS
    Inventors: Grégory Bidal, Laurent Favennec, Raul Andres Bianchi
  • Patent number: 8334183
    Abstract: A method is provided for forming a semiconductor device containing a buried threshold voltage adjustment layer. The method includes providing a substrate containing an interface layer, depositing a first high-k film on the interface layer, depositing a threshold voltage adjustment layer on the first high-k film, and depositing a second high-k film on the threshold voltage adjustment layer such that the threshold voltage adjustment layer is interposed between the first and second high-k films. The semiconductor device containing a patterned gate stack is described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Robert D. Clark, Gerrit J. Leusink
  • Patent number: 8330227
    Abstract: A SRAM device with metal gate transistors is provided. The SRAM device includes a PMOS structure and an NMOS structure over a substrate. Each of the PMOS and the NMOS structure includes a p-type metallic work function layer and an n-type metallic work function layer. The p-type work metallic function layer and the n-type metallic work function layer form a combined work function for the PMOS and the NMOS structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Sheng Chiang Hung, Huai-Ying Huang, Ping-Wei Wang
  • Patent number: 8330210
    Abstract: A blocking dielectric engineered, charge trapping memory cell includes a charge trapping element that is separated from a gate by a blocking dielectric including a buffer layer in contact with the charge trapping element, such as silicon dioxide which can be made with high-quality, and a second capping layer in contact with said one of the gate and the channel. The capping layer has a dielectric constant that is higher than that of the first layer, and preferably includes a high-? material. The second layer also has a conduction band offset that is relatively high. A bandgap engineered tunneling layer between the channel and the charge trapping element is provided which, in combination with the multilayer blocking dielectric described herein, provides for high-speed erase operations by hole tunneling. In an alternative, a single layer tunneling layer is used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Macronix International Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Sheng-Chih Lai, Hang-Ting Lue, Chien-Wei Liao
  • Patent number: 8329525
    Abstract: At least three metal-oxide semiconductor transistors with different threshold voltages are formed in and above corresponding first, second and third parts of a semiconductor substrate. The second transistor has a lower threshold voltage than the second transistor, and the third transistor has a lower threshold voltage than the second transistor. The gate oxide layers for the three transistors are formed as follows: a first oxide layer having a first thickness is formed above the first, second and third parts. The first oxide layer above the second part is etched and a second oxide layer having a second thickness smaller than the first thickness is formed. The first oxide layer above the third part is etched and a third oxide layer having a third thickness smaller than the second thickness is formed. The second and the third oxide layers are then nitrided to form first and second oxy-nitride layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics, Inc.
    Inventor: Franck Arnaud
  • Patent number: 8324681
    Abstract: A stacked non-volatile memory device comprises a plurality of bit line and word line layers stacked on top of each other. The bit line layers comprise a plurality of bit lines that can be formed using advanced processing techniques making fabrication of the device efficient and cost effective. The device can be configured for NAND operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Macronix International Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Erh-Kun Lai, Hang-Ting Lue, Kuang Yeu Hsieh
  • Patent number: 8324051
    Abstract: Methods of manufacturing NOR-type flash memory device include forming a tunnel oxide layer on a substrate, forming a first conductive layer on the tunnel oxide layer, forming first mask patterns parallel to one another on the first conductive layer in a y direction of the substrate, and selectively removing the first conductive layer and the tunnel oxide layer using the first mask patterns as an etch mask. Thus, first conductive patterns and tunnel oxide patterns are formed, and first trenches are formed to expose the surface of the substrate between the first conductive patterns and the tunnel oxide patterns. A photoresist pattern is formed to open at least one of the first trenches, and impurity ions are implanted using the photoresist pattern as a first ion implantation mask to form an impurity region extending in a y direction of the substrate. The photoresist pattern is removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Young-Soo Song, Joong-Shik Shin
  • Publication number: 20120300547
    Abstract: A non-volatile memory device comprising a plurality of strings each including a drain select transistor, drain-side memory cells, a pipe transistor, source-side memory cells, and a source select transistor coupled in series, wherein the plurality of strings are arranged in a first direction and a second direction, and the strings arranged in the second direction form each of string columns; a plurality of bit lines extended in the second direction and coupled to the drain select transistors of the strings included in each string column; and a plurality of source lines extended in the first direction and in common coupled to the source select transistors of strings adjacent to each other in the second direction, wherein strings included in one of the string columns are staggered in the first direction and each of the string columns are coupled to at least two of the bit lines.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 22, 2012
    Publication date: November 29, 2012
    Inventor: Eun Seok CHOI
  • Publication number: 20120299085
    Abstract: A select transistor for use in a memory device including a plurality of memory transistors connected in series includes a tunnel insulating layer formed on a semiconductor substrate, a charge storage layer formed on the tunnel insulating layer, a blocking insulating layer formed on the charge storage layer and configured to be irradiated with a gas cluster ion beam containing argon as source gas, a gate electrode formed on the blocking insulating layer, and a source/drain region formed within the semiconductor substrate at both sides of the gate electrode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2012
    Publication date: November 29, 2012
    Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Yoshitsugu TANAKA
  • Publication number: 20120302025
    Abstract: The present application provides a method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure, which comprises following steps: providing a substrate; forming a gate dielectric layer on the substrate; forming a dummy gate structure on the gate dielectric layer, wherein the dummy gate is formed from a polymer material; implanting dopants into portions of the substrates on opposite sides of the dummy gate structure to form source/drain regions; removing the dummy gate; annealing the source/drain regions to activate the dopants; and forming a metal gate. According to the present invention, it is proposed to manufacture a dummy gate structure with a polymer material, which significantly simplifies the subsequent etching process for removing the dummy gate structure and alleviates the etching difficulty accordingly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2011
    Publication date: November 29, 2012
    Applicant: INSTITUTE OF MICROELECTRONICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
    Inventors: Haizhou Yin, Huilong Zhu, Zhijiong Luo
  • Publication number: 20120299087
    Abstract: A non-volatile memory device includes gate structures including first insulation layers that are alternately stacked with control gate layers over a substrate, wherein the gate structures extend in a first direction, channel lines that each extend over the gate structures in a second direction different from the first direction, a memory layer formed between the gate structures and the channel lines and arranged to trap charges by electrically insulating the gate structures from the channel lines, bit line contacts forming rows that each extend in the first direction and contacting top surfaces of the channel lines, source lines that each extend in the first direction and contact the top surfaces of the channel lines, wherein the source lines alternate with the rows of bit line contacts, and bit lines that are each formed over the bit line contacts and extend in the second direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2011
    Publication date: November 29, 2012
    Inventors: Han-Soo JOO, Yu-Jin PARK
  • Patent number: 8318565
    Abstract: Methods for fabricating gate electrode/high-k dielectric gate structures having an improved resistance to the growth of silicon dioxide (oxide) at the dielectric/silicon-based substrate interface. In an embodiment, a method of forming a transistor gate structure comprises: incorporating nitrogen into a silicon-based substrate proximate a surface of the substrate; depositing a high-k gate dielectric across the silicon-based substrate; and depositing a gate electrode across the high-k dielectric to form the gate structure. In one embodiment, the gate electrode comprises titanium nitride rich in titanium for inhibiting diffusion of oxygen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Huiming Bu, Michael P. Chudzik, Wei He, William K. Henson, Siddarth A. Krishnan, Unoh Kwon, Naim Moumen, Wesley C. Natzle
  • Publication number: 20120292720
    Abstract: A metal gate structure includes a high dielectric constant (high-K) gate dielectric layer, a metal gate having at least a U-shaped work function metal layer positioned on the high-K gate dielectric layer, and a silicon carbonitride (SiCN) seal layer positioned on sidewalls of the high-K gate dielectric layer and of the metal gate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2011
    Publication date: November 22, 2012
    Inventors: Chih-Chung Chen, Yu-Ren Wang, Tsuo-Wen Lu, Wen-Yi Teng
  • Patent number: 8313993
    Abstract: A dual work function semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same are disclosed. In one aspect, a device includes a first and second transistor on a first and second substrate region. The first and second transistors include a first gate stack having a first work function and a second gate stack having a second work function respectively. The first and second gate stack each include a host dielectric, a gate electrode comprising a metal layer, and a second dielectric capping layer therebetween. The second gate stack further has a first dielectric capping layer between the host dielectric and metal layer. The metal layer is selected to determine the first work function. The first dielectric capping layer is selected to determine the second work function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignees: IMEC, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hag-Ju Cho, Anabela Veloso, HongYu Yu, Stefan Kubicek, Shou-Zen Chang
  • Patent number: 8314455
    Abstract: A non-volatile semiconductor storage device includes: a memory cell area in which a plurality of electrically rewritable memory cells are formed; and a peripheral circuit area in which transistors that configure peripheral circuits to control the memory cells are formed. The memory cell area has formed therein: a semiconductor layer formed to extend in a vertical direction to a semiconductor substrate; a plurality of conductive layers extending in a parallel direction to, and laminated in a vertical direction to the semiconductor substrate; and a property-varying layer formed between the semiconductor layer and the conductive layers and having properties varying depending on a voltage applied to the conductive layers. The peripheral circuit area has formed therein a plurality of dummy wiring layers that are formed on the same plane as each of the plurality of conductive layers and that are electrically separated from the conductive layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Shiino, Atsuhiro Sato, Takeshi Kamigaichi, Fumitaka Arai
  • Patent number: 8313991
    Abstract: A method is provided for fabricating a high-K metal gate MOS device. The method includes providing a semiconductor substrate having a surface region, a gate oxide layer on the surface region, a sacrificial gate electrode on the gate oxide layer, and a covering layer on the sacrificial gate electrode, an inter-layer dielectric layer on the semiconductor substrate and the sacrificial gate electrode. The method also includes planarizing the inter-layer dielectric layer to expose a portion of the covering layer atop the sacrificial gate electrode, implanting nitrogen ions into the inter-layer dielectric layer until a depth of implantation is deeper than a thickness of the portion of the covering layer atop the sacrificial gate electrode and polishing the inter-layer dielectric layer to expose a surface of the sacrificial gate electrode, removing the sacrificial gate electrode, and depositing a metal gate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2012
    Assignee: Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp
    Inventors: Li Jiang, Mingqi Li
  • Publication number: 20120289014
    Abstract: A method is provided for fabricating a transistor. The transistor includes a silicon layer including a source region and a drain region, a gate stack disposed on the silicon layer between the source region and the drain region, and a sidewall spacer disposed on sidewalls of the gate stack. The gate stack includes a first layer of high dielectric constant material, a second layer comprising a metal or metal alloy, and a third layer comprising silicon or polysilicon. The sidewall spacer includes a high dielectric constant material and covers the sidewalls of at least the second and third layers of the gate stack. Also provided is a method for fabricating such a transistor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 26, 2012
    Publication date: November 15, 2012
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Leland CHANG, Isaac LAUER, Jeffrey W. SLEIGHT
  • Patent number: 8309419
    Abstract: A method and apparatus are described for fabricating single metal gate electrodes (35, 36) over a high-k gate dielectric layer (31, 32) that is separately doped in the PMOS and NMOS device areas (96, 97) by forming first capping oxide layer (23) with a first dopant species on a high-k gate dielectric layer (22) in at least the NMOS device area and also forming second capping oxide layer (27) with a second dopant species on a high-k gate dielectric layer (22) in at least the PMOS device area, where the first and second dopant species are diffused into the gate dielectric layer (22) to form a first fixed charge layer (31) in the PMOS device area of the high-k gate dielectric area and a second fixed charge layer (32) in the NMOS device area of the high-k gate dielectric area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2012
    Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: James K. Schaeffer, Eric D. Luckowski
  • Publication number: 20120282748
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing a gate stack structure and adjusting a gate work function for a PMOS device, comprising: growing an ultra-thin interface oxide layer or oxynitride layer on a semiconductor substrate by rapid thermal oxidation or chemical method after conventional LOCOS or STI dielectric isolation is completed; depositing high-K gate dielectric and performing rapid thermal annealing; depositing a composite metal gate; depositing a barrier metal layer; depositing a polysilicon film and a hard mask and then performing photolithography and etching the hard mask; removing photoresist and etching the polysilicon film, the barrier metal layer, the metal gate, the high-K gate dielectric, and the interface oxide layer in sequence to form a gate stack structure of polysilicon film/barrier metal layer/metal gate/high-K gate dielectric; forming spacers, source/drain implantation in a conventional manner and performing rapid thermal annealing, whereby while source/drain dopants ar
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2011
    Publication date: November 8, 2012
    Inventors: Qiuxia Xu, Yongliang Li
  • Publication number: 20120280305
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a flash memory device. The flash memory device comprises a semiconductor substrate and a flash memory area located on the semiconductor substrate. The flash memory area comprises a first doped well, which is divided into a first region and a second region by an isolation region, the second region being doped with an impurity having an electrical conductivity opposite to that of the first doped well; a high-k gate dielectric layer located on the first doped well; and a metal layer located on the high-k gate dielectric layer. The present invention enables compatibility between the high-k dielectric metal gate and the erasable flash memory and increases the operation performance of the flash memory. The present invention also provides a manufacturing method of the flash memory device, which greatly increases the production efficiency and yield of flash memory devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2010
    Publication date: November 8, 2012
    Applicant: INSTITUTE OF MICROELECTRONICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
    Inventors: Huilong Zhu, Zhijiong Luo, Haizhou Yin
  • Patent number: 8304306
    Abstract: A method for forming a semiconductor device includes forming a first field effect transistor (FET) and a second FET on a substrate, the first FET comprising a first interfacial oxide layer, and the second FET comprising a second interfacial oxide layer; encapsulating the first interfacial oxide layer of the first FET; and performing lateral oxidation of the second interfacial oxide layer of the second FET, wherein the lateral oxidation of the second interfacial oxide layer of the second FET converts a portion of the substrate located underneath the second FET into additional interfacial oxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Jin Cai, Eduard A. Cartier, Martin M. Frank, Marwan H. Khater
  • Patent number: 8298900
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a nonvolatile semiconductor storage device includes sequentially forming a charge storage film, a conductive film, and a mask film on a semiconductor substrate, sequentially removing the mask film, the conductive film, and the charge storage film at a given portion to form a groove, forming a word gate electrode to fill in the groove whose inside is covered with an insulating film, after said forming the word gate electrode, removing the mask film, after said removing the mask film, forming a spacer film to cover the conductive film and the word gate electrode, etching back the spacer film to form a spacer layer on both sides of the word gate electrode through the insulating film, removing the conductive film and the charge storage film to form a control gate electrode, and forming a source drain diffusion layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2012
    Assignee: Renesas Electronics Corporation
    Inventor: Fumihiko Hayashi
  • Patent number: 8298899
    Abstract: Exposed are a semiconductor device and method of fabricating the same. The device includes an insulation film that is disposed between an active pattern and a substrate, which provides various improvements. This structure enhances the efficiency of high integration and offers an advanced structure for semiconductor devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Chang-Woo Oh, Sung-Hwan Kim, Dong-Gun Park
  • Patent number: 8299521
    Abstract: Provided are a nonvolatile memory device having a vertical folding structure and a method of manufacturing the nonvolatile memory device. A semiconductor structure includes first and second portions that are substantially vertical. A plurality of memory cells are arranged along the first and second portions of the semiconductor structure and are serially connected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jung-hyun Lee, Young-eal Kim, Chang-soo Lee, Dong-joon Ma
  • Publication number: 20120267726
    Abstract: In view of the foregoing, disclosed herein are embodiments of an improved field effect transistor (FET) structure and a method of forming the structure. The FET structure embodiments each incorporate a unique gate structure. Specifically, this gate structure has a first section above a center portion of the FET channel region and second sections above the channel width edges (i.e., above the interfaces between the channel region and adjacent isolation regions). The first and second sections differ (i.e., they have different gate dielectric layers and/or different gate conductor layers) such that they have different effective work functions (i.e., a first and second effective work-function, respectively). The different effective work functions are selected to ensure that the threshold voltage at the channel width edges is elevated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2012
    Publication date: October 25, 2012
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Brent A. Anderson, Edward J. Nowak
  • Patent number: 8293610
    Abstract: By providing a CMP stop layer in a metal gate stack, the initial height thereof may be efficiently reduced after the definition of the deep drain and source areas, thereby providing enhanced process conditions for forming highly stressed dielectric materials. Consequently, the dielectric material may be positioned more closely to the channel region substantially without deteriorating gate conductivity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.
    Inventors: Sven Beyer, Rolf Stephan, Martin Trentzsch, Patrick Press
  • Publication number: 20120261771
    Abstract: Semiconductor structures with dual trench regions and methods of manufacturing the semiconductor structures are provided herein. The method includes forming a gate structure on an active region and high-k dielectric material formed in one or more trenches adjacent to the active region. The method further includes forming a sacrificial material over the active region and portions of the high-k dielectric material adjacent sidewalls of the active region. The method further includes removing unprotected portions of the high-k dielectric material, leaving behind a liner of high-k dielectric material on the sidewalls of the active region. The method further includes removing the sacrificial material and forming a raised source and drain region adjacent to sidewalls of the gate structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2011
    Publication date: October 18, 2012
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Reinaldo A. VEGA, Hongwen YAN
  • Publication number: 20120261772
    Abstract: A semiconductor device comprises a gate stack, a source region, a drain region, a contact plug and an interlayer dielectric, the gate stack being formed on a substrate, the source region and the drain region being located on opposite sides of the gate stack and embedded in the substrate, the contact plug being embedded in the interlayer dielectric, wherein the contact plug comprises a first portion which is in contact with the source region and/or drain region, the upper surface of the first portion is flushed with the upper surface of the gate stack, and the angle between a sidewall and a bottom surface of the first portion is less than 90°. There is also provided a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2011
    Publication date: October 18, 2012
    Inventors: Haizhou Yin, Huilong Zhu, Zhijiong Luo
  • Patent number: 8288811
    Abstract: Memories, systems, and methods for forming memory cells are disclosed. One such memory cell includes a charge storage node that includes nanodots over a tunnel dielectric and a protective film over the nanodots. In another memory cell, the charge storage node includes nanodots that include a ruthenium alloy. Memory cells can include an inter-gate dielectric over the protective film or ruthenium alloy nanodots and a control gate over the inter-gate dielectric. The protective film and ruthenium alloy can be configured to protect at least some of the nanodots from vaporizing during formation of the inter-gate dielectric.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: D. V. Nirmal Ramaswamy, Matthew N. Rocklein, Rhett T. Brewer
  • Patent number: 8288234
    Abstract: To provide a method of manufacturing a dielectric film having a high dielectric constant. In an embodiment of the present invention, an HfN/Hf laminated film is formed on a substrate on which a thin silicon oxide film is formed and a dielectric film of a metal nitride made of a mixture of Hf, Si, O and N is manufactured by annealing treatment. According to the present invention, it is possible to (1) reduce an EOT, (2) reduce a leak current to Jg=1.0×10?1 A/cm2 or less, (3) suppress hysteresis caused by the generation of fixed charges, and (4) prevent an increase in EOT even if heat treatment at 700° C. or more is performed and obtain excellent heat resistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Anelva Corporation
    Inventors: Takuya Seino, Takashi Nakagawa, Naomu Kitano, Toru Tatsumi
  • Publication number: 20120256248
    Abstract: Gate induced drain leakage in a tunnel field effect transistor is reduced while drive current is increased by orienting adjacent semiconductor bodies, based on their respective crystal orientations or axes, to optimize band-to-band tunneling at junctions. Maximizing band-to-band tunneling at a source-channel junction increases drive current, while minimizing band-to-band tunneling at a channel-drain junction decreases GIDL. GIDL can be reduced by an order of magnitude in an embodiment. Power consumption for a given frequency can also be reduced by an order of magnitude.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2011
    Publication date: October 11, 2012
    Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mohit Bajaj, Kota V.R.M. Murali, Edward J. Nowak, Rajan K. Pandey
  • Patent number: 8283232
    Abstract: A gate electrode structure may be formed on the basis of a silicon nitride cap material in combination with a very thin yet uniform silicon oxide based etch stop material, which may be formed on the basis of a chemically driven oxidation process. Due to the reduced thickness, a pronounced material erosion, for instance, during a wet chemical cleaning process after gate patterning, may be avoided, thereby not unduly affecting the further processing, for instance with respect to forming an embedded strain-inducing semiconductor alloy, while nevertheless providing the desired etch stop capabilities during removing the silicon nitride cap material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.
    Inventors: Sven Beyer, Berthold Reimer, Falk Graetsch
  • Patent number: 8278169
    Abstract: The present invention provides a technology capable of reducing an area occupied by a nonvolatile memory while improving the reliability of the nonvolatile memory. In a semiconductor device, the structure of a code flash memory cell is differentiated from that of a data flash memory cell. More specifically, in the code flash memory cell, a memory gate electrode is formed only over the side surface on one side of a control gate electrode to improve a reading speed. In the data flash memory cell, on the other hand, a memory gate electrode is formed over the side surfaces on both sides of a control gate electrode. By using a multivalued memory cell instead of a binary memory cell, the resulting data flash memory cell can have improved reliability while preventing deterioration of retention properties and reduce its area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2012
    Assignee: Renesas Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Koichi Toba, Yasushi Ishii, Yoshiyuki Kawashima, Takashi Hashimoto, Kosuke Okuyama
  • Patent number: 8278168
    Abstract: A semiconductor device and associated methods, the semiconductor device including a semiconductor substrate with a first well region, a first gate electrode disposed on the first well region, and a first N-type capping pattern, a first P-type capping pattern, and a first gate dielectric pattern disposed between the first well region and the first gate electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hongbae Park, Hagju Cho, Sunghun Hong, Sangjin Hyun, Hoonjoo Na, Hyung-seok Hong
  • Publication number: 20120244673
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a method is disclosed for manufacturing a semiconductor device. The method can include selectively implanting an impurity into a underlying layer containing silicon using a mask to form a boron-added region and an etched region. The boron-added region contains boron, and a boron concentration of the etched region is lower than a boron concentration in the boron added region. The method can include forming a pair of holes reaching the etched region in the stacked body including a plurality of layers of electrode layers. The method can include forming a depression part connected to a lower end of each of the pair of holes in the underlying layer by removing the etched region through the holes using an etching solution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2011
    Publication date: September 27, 2012
    Applicant: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Hiroshi SHINOHARA, Daigo Ichinose
  • Publication number: 20120241875
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a field-effect transistor comprises a gate insulating film which is provided on a part of a Ge-containing substrate and the gate insulating film includes at least a GeO2 layer, a gate electrode which is provided on the gate insulating film, a source-drain region which is provided in the substrate so as to sandwich a channel region under the gate electrode, and a nitrogen-containing region which is formed on both side parts of the gate insulating film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2011
    Publication date: September 27, 2012
    Inventor: Tsutomu Tezuka
  • Publication number: 20120244670
    Abstract: A substrate including an NMOS transistor region and a PMOS transistor region is prepared. A silicon-germanium layer is formed on the PMOS transistor region. Nitrogen atoms are injected in an upper portion of the silicon-germanium layer. A first gate dielectric layer is formed on the NMOS transistor region and the PMOS transistor region. The nitrogen atoms are injected into the upper portion of the silicon-germanium layer before forming the first gate dielectric layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2012
    Publication date: September 27, 2012
    Applicant: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jinho Do, Hajin Lim, WeonHong Kim, Kyungil Hong, Moonkyun Song
  • Publication number: 20120235118
    Abstract: A semiconductor structure which includes a substrate; a graphene layer on the substrate; a source electrode and a drain electrode on the graphene layer, the source electrode and drain electrode being spaced apart by a predetermined dimension; a nitride layer on the graphene layer between the source electrode and drain electrode; and a gate electrode on the nitride layer, wherein the nitride layer is a gate dielectric for the gate electrode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2011
    Publication date: September 20, 2012
    Applicant: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Phaedon Avouris, Deborah Neumayer, Wenjuan Zhu
  • Publication number: 20120235223
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory including a first gate insulating film formed on a channel region of a semiconductor substrate, a first particle layer formed in the first gate insulating film, a charge storage part formed on the first gate insulating film, a second gate insulating film which is formed on the charge storage part, a second particle layer formed in the second gate insulating film, and a gate electrode formed on the second gate insulating film. The first particle layer includes first conductive particles that satisfy Coulomb blockade conditions. The second particle layer includes second conductive particles that satisfy Coulomb blockade conditions and differs from the first conductive particles in average particle diameter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2012
    Publication date: September 20, 2012
    Inventors: Ryuji OHBA, Daisuke Matsushita