Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080315317 | SEMICONDUCTOR SYSTEM HAVING COMPLEMENTARY STRAINED CHANNELS - A semiconductor system is provided including providing a semiconductor substrate; forming PMOS and NMOS transistors in and on the semiconductor substrate; forming a tensile strained layer on the semiconductor substrate; and relaxing the tensile strained layer around the PMOS transistor. | 12-25-2008 |
20090021292 | RELIABLE LEVEL SHIFTER OF ULTRA-HIGH VOLTAGE DEVICE USED IN LOW POWER APPLICATION - The present invention relates to integrated circuits. In particular, it relates to an IC comprising a receiving stage for receiving an input signal, an output stage for generating an output signal having a larger voltage range than the input signal and a level shifter. Embodiments of the invention provide a structure and a method for fabricating the IC wherein the level shifter is incorporated within the IC to improve reliability of the IC. | 01-22-2009 |
20090023280 | METHOD FOR FORMING HIGH-K CHARGE STORAGE DEVICE - Structures and methods of fabricating of a floating gate non-volatile memory device. In a first example embodiment, We form a bottom tunnel layer comprised of a lower oxide tunnel layer and a upper hafnium oxide tunnel layer; a charge storage layer comprised of a tantalum oxide and a top blocking layer preferably comprised of a lower hafnium oxide storage layer and an upper oxide storage layer. We form a gate electrode over the top blocking layer. We pattern the layers to form a gate structure and form source/drain regions to complete the memory device. In a second example embodiment, we form a floating gate non-volatile memory device comprised of: a bottom tunnel layer comprised essentially of silicon oxide; a charge storage layer comprised of a tantalum oxide; a top blocking layer comprised essentially of silicon oxide; and a gate electrode. The embodiments also comprise anneals and nitridation steps. | 01-22-2009 |
20090026549 | METHOD TO REMOVE SPACER AFTER SALICIDATION TO ENHANCE CONTACT ETCH STOP LINER STRESS ON MOS - An example process to remove spacers from the gate of a NMOS transistor. A stress creating layer is formed over the NMOS and PMOS transistors and the substrate. In an embodiment, the spacers on gate are removed so that stress layer is closer to the channel of the device. The stress creating layer is preferably a tensile nitride layer. The stress creating layer is preferably a contact etch stop liner layer. In an embodiment, the gates, source and drain region have a silicide layer thereover before the stress creating layer is formed. The embodiment improves the performance of the NMOS transistors. | 01-29-2009 |
20090053864 | METHOD FOR FABRICATING A SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURE HAVING HETEROGENEOUS CRYSTALLINE ORIENTATIONS - A method for fabricating a semiconductor structure having heterogeneous crystalline orientations by forming a region including a semiconductor material having a specified crystalline orientation using an epitaxial buffer overlying a semiconductor substrate. The buffer provides a transfer body such that the semiconductor material has a crystalline orientation that differs from the crystalline orientation of a semiconductor region underlying the buffer. The method also includes fabricating a semiconductor structure having a p-type device region and an n-type device region, where a supporting semiconductor substrate is either n-type or p-type and where the semiconductor material is separated from the substrate by a buffer and has a crystalline orientation that differs from the crystalline orientation of the substrate. | 02-26-2009 |
20090088002 | METHOD OF FABRICATING A NITROGENATED SILICON OXIDE LAYER AND MOS DEVICE HAVING SAME - A method for fabricating a nitrogen-containing dielectric layer and semiconductor device including the dielectric layer in which a silicon oxide layer is formed on a substrate, such that an interface region resides adjacent to substrate and a surface region resides opposite the interface region. Nitrogen is introduced into the silicon oxide layer by applying a nitrogen plasma. After applying nitrogen plasma, the silicon oxide layer is annealed. The processes of introducing nitrogen into the silicon oxide layer and annealing the silicon oxide layer are repeated to create a bi-modal nitrogen concentration profile in the silicon oxide layer. In the silicon oxide layer, the peak nitrogen concentrations are situated away from the interface region and at least one of the peak nitrogen concentrations is situated in proximity to the surface region. A method for fabricating a semiconductor device is incorporating the nitrogen-containing silicon oxide layers also disclosed. | 04-02-2009 |
20090108257 | CRITICAL DIMENSION FOR TRENCH AND VIAS - Test structures including test trenches are used to define critical dimension of trenches in a via level of an integrated circuit to produce substantially the same depth. The trenches are formed at the periphery of the IC to serve as guard rings. | 04-30-2009 |
20090132992 | STATISTICAL OPTICAL PROXIMITY CORRECTION - An optical proximity correction (OPC) model incorporates inline process variation data. OPC is performed by adjusting an input mask pattern with a mask bias derived from the OPC model to correct errors in the input mask pattern. | 05-21-2009 |
20090140292 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AND METHOD OF FABRICATION THEREOF - A method of forming an integrated circuit structure comprising the steps of forming a first and second device region on a surface of a wafer, forming a spacer of a first width on a sidewall of a first gate stack in the first device region, forming a spacer of a second width on a sidewall of a second gate stack in the second device region, with the first width being different from the second width. | 06-04-2009 |
20090146262 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT SYSTEM EMPLOYING SELECTIVE EPITAXIAL GROWTH TECHNOLOGY - An integrated circuit system that includes: providing a substrate; depositing a dielectric on the substrate; depositing an isolation dielectric on the dielectric; forming a trench through the isolation dielectric and the dielectric to expose the substrate; depositing a dielectric liner over the integrated circuit system; processing the dielectric liner to form a trench spacer; and depositing an epitaxial growth within the trench that includes a crystalline orientation that is substantially identical to the substrate. | 06-11-2009 |
20090146296 | Method of forming high-k dielectric stop layer for contact hole opening - A composite etch stop layer which comprises primary and secondary stop layers is used to form contacts in a dielectric layer to contact regions in a substrate. The secondary etch stop layer includes a high-k dielectric material to achieve high etch selectivity with the dielectric layer during contact formation. The secondary stop layer is removed to expose the contact regions. Removal of the secondary stop layer is achieved with high selectivity to the materials therebelow. | 06-11-2009 |
20090194788 | STRAINED CHANNEL TRANSISTOR STRUCTURE AND METHOD - A transistor device structure comprising: a substrate portion formed from a first material; and a source region, a drain region and a channel region formed in said substrate, the source and drain regions comprising a plurality of islands of a second material different from the first material, the islands being arranged to induce a strain in said channel region of the substrate. | 08-06-2009 |
20090206408 | NESTED AND ISOLATED TRANSISTORS WITH REDUCED IMPEDANCE DIFFERENCE - A processing layer, such as silicon, is formed on a metal silicide contact followed by a metal layer. The silicon and metal layers are annealed to increase the thickness of the metal silicide contact. By selectively increasing the thickness of silicide contacts, R | 08-20-2009 |
20090218597 | METHOD FOR FABRICATING A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE HAVING AN EPITAXIAL CHANNEL AND TRANSISTOR HAVING SAME - A transistor having an epitaxial channel and a method for fabricating a semiconductor device having an epitaxial channel, the method including forming a hardmask on a substrate and forming an opening in the hardmask. The opening is geometrically characterized by a long dimension and a short dimension, and the opening is arranged in a predetermined manner relative to the channel region of a transistor. An epitaxial material is formed in the opening that induces strain in substrate regions proximate to the epitaxial material. The epitaxial material is confined to the opening, such that an epitaxial channel is formed. A transistor is fabricated in proximity to the epitaxial channel, such that the strain induced in the substrate provides enhanced transistor performance. By confining the epitaxial material to a predefined channel in the substrate, plastic strain relaxation of the epitaxial material is minimized and a maximum amount of strain is induced in the substrate. | 09-03-2009 |
20090233441 | INTERCONNECTIONS FOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS - The present invention discloses a method of manufacturing an integrated circuit on a semiconductor substrate having a semiconductor device provided thereon, including the steps of forming a copper layer having an overburden of a desired thickness, forming a layer of inert metal on the copper layer, annealing the copper layer and removing the layer of inert metal. | 09-17-2009 |
20090261448 | METHOD OF FORMING SHALLOW TRENCH ISOLATION STRUCTURES FOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS - A method of forming shallow trench isolation (STI) structures using a multi-step etch process is disclosed. The first etch step is performed by selectively etching the substrate at a substantially higher etching rate than the mask layer to form preliminary openings having steep taper angles. The second etch step is performed by non-selectively etching the substrate to deepen the preliminary openings to form STI gaps with substantially flat bottoms. | 10-22-2009 |
20090289309 | METHOD FOR REDUCING SILICIDE DEFECTS IN INTEGRATED CIRCUITS - A method for forming silicide contacts in integrated circuits (ICs) is described. A spacer pull-back etch is performed during the salicidation process to reduce the stress between the spacer and source/drain silicide contact at the spacer undercut. This prevents the propagation of surface defects into the substrate, thereby minimizing the occurrence of silicide pipe defects. The spacer pull-back etch can be performed after a first annealing step to form the silicide contacts. | 11-26-2009 |
20090315115 | Implantation for shallow trench isolation (STI) formation and for stress for transistor performance enhancement - A method (and semiconductor device) of fabricating a semiconductor device provides a shallow trench isolation (STI) structure or region by implanting ions in the STI region. After implantation, the region (of substrate material and ions of a different element) is thermally annealed producing a dielectric material operable for isolating two adjacent field-effect transistors (FET). This eliminates the conventional steps of removing substrate material to form the trench and refilling the trench with dielectric material. Implantation of nitrogen ions into an STI region adjacent a p-type FET applies a compressive stress to the transistor channel region to enhance transistor performance. Implantation of oxygen ions into an STI region adjacent an n-type FET applies a tensile stress to the transistor channel region to enhance transistor performance. | 12-24-2009 |
20100009527 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT SYSTEM EMPLOYING SINGLE MASK LAYER TECHNIQUE FOR WELL FORMATION - A method for manufacturing an integrated circuit system that includes: providing a substrate; forming a mask layer over the substrate; implanting a first well through an opening in the mask layer into the substrate; and implanting a second well through the mask layer and the opening via a single implant into the substrate. | 01-14-2010 |
20100019329 | Method and apparatus to reduce thermal variations within an integrated circuit die using thermal proximity correction - A method (and semiconductor device) of fabricating a semiconductor device utilizes a thermal proximity correction (TPC) technique to reduce the impact of thermal variations during anneal. Prior to actual fabrication, a location of interest (e.g., a transistor) within an integrated circuit design is determined and an effective thermal area around the location is defined. Thermal properties of structures intended to be fabricated within this area are used to calculate an estimated temperature that would be achieved at the location of interest from a given anneal process. If the estimated temperature is below or above a predetermined target temperature (or range), TPC is performed. Various TPC techniques may be performed, such as the addition of dummy cells and/or changing dimensions of the structure to be fabricated at the location of interest (resulting in an modified thermally corrected design, to suppress local variations in device performance caused by thermal variations during anneal. | 01-28-2010 |
20100044869 | RELIABLE INTERCONNECTS - A method for forming a semiconductor device is presented. The method includes providing a substrate prepared with a dielectric layer formed thereon. The dielectric layer having a conductive line disposed in an upper portion of the dielectric layer. The substrate is processed to produce a top surface of the dielectric layer that is not coplanar with a top surface of the conductive line to form a stepped topography. | 02-25-2010 |
20100059831 | Spacer-less Low-K Dielectric Processes - A first example embodiment provides a method of removing first spacers from gates and incorporating a low-k material into the ILD layer to increase device performance. A second example embodiment comprises replacing the first spacers after silicidation with low-k spacers. This serves to reduce the parasitic capacitances. Also, by implementing the low-k spacers only after silicidation, the embodiments' low-k spacers are not compromised by multiple high dose ion implantations and resist strip steps. The example embodiments can improve device performance, such as the performance of a rim oscillator. | 03-11-2010 |
20100087061 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT SYSTEM EMPLOYING BACKSIDE ENERGY SOURCE FOR ELECTRICAL CONTACT FORMATION - A method for manufacturing an integrated circuit system includes: providing a first material; forming a second material over a first side of the first material; and exposing a second side of the first material to an energy source to form an electrical contact at an interface of the first material and the second material. | 04-08-2010 |
20100109045 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT SYSTEM EMPLOYING STRESS-ENGINEERED LAYERS - An integrated circuit system that includes: providing a substrate including an active device; forming a trench within the substrate adjacent the active device; forming a first layer with a first lattice constant within the trench; and forming a second layer with a second lattice constant over the first layer, the second lattice constant differing from the first lattice constant. | 05-06-2010 |
20100196805 | MASK AND METHOD TO PATTERN CHROMELESS PHASE LITHOGRAPHY CONTACT HOLE - A method of making a mask is disclosed. The method includes providing a first and a second mask layers and disposing a first phase shift region on the first mask layer. A second phase shift region is disposed on the second mask layer, wherein the first and second phase shift regions are out of phase. A continuous unit cell is formed in the first phase shift region. The unit cell comprises a center section and distinct extension sections. The extension sections are contiguous to and extend outwards from the center section. The distinct extension sections have a same width as the center section. The second phase shift region is adjacent to the unit cell in the first phase shift region. | 08-05-2010 |
20100267236 | METHOD FOR REDUCING SILICIDE DEFECTS IN INTEGRATED CIRCUITS - A method for forming silicide contacts in integrated circuits (ICs) is described. A spacer pull-back etch is performed during the salicidation process to reduce the stress between the spacer and source/drain silicide contact at the spacer undercut. This prevents the propagation of surface defects into the substrate, thereby minimizing the occurrence of silicide pipe defects. The spacer pull-back etch can be performed after a first annealing step to form the silicide contacts. | 10-21-2010 |
20100297844 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT SYSTEM WITH THROUGH SILICON VIA AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE THEREOF - A method of manufacture of an integrated circuit system includes: providing a substrate including an active device; forming a through-silicon-via into the substrate; forming an insulation layer over the through-silicon-via to protect the through-silicon-via; forming a contact to the active device after forming the insulation layer; and removing the insulation layer. | 11-25-2010 |
20100301424 | NESTED AND ISOLATED TRANSISTORS WITH REDUCED IMPEDANCE DIFFERENCE - A processing layer, such as silicon, is formed on a metal silicide contact followed by a metal layer. The silicon and metal layers are annealed to increase the thickness of the metal silicide contact. By selectively increasing the thickness of silicide contacts, R | 12-02-2010 |
20100308374 | STRAINED CHANNEL TRANSISTOR STRUCTURE AND METHOD - A transistor device structure comprising: a substrate portion formed from a first material; and a source region, a drain region and a channel region formed in said substrate, the source and drain regions comprising a plurality of islands of a second material different from the first material, the islands being arranged to induce a strain in said channel region of the substrate. | 12-09-2010 |
20100314774 | RELIABLE INTERCONNECTS - A method for forming a semiconductor device is presented. The method includes providing a substrate prepared with a dielectric layer formed thereon. The dielectric layer having a conductive line disposed in an upper portion of the dielectric layer. The substrate is processed to produce a top surface of the dielectric layer that is not coplanar with a top surface of the conductive line to form a stepped topography. | 12-16-2010 |
20110032348 | DEFECT MONITORING IN SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE FABRICATION - A method of forming a device is presented. The method includes providing a substrate containing at least a partially formed device thereon. The device comprises at least one defect site. A pixilated image of the defect site is acquired, and each pixel comprises a grey level value (GLV). Surrounding noises of the defect site is eliminated. A point of the image is identified as the center of the defect. A plurality of iterations to exclude outer edge pixels surrounding the center of the defect image is performed. The defect is categorized as a killer or non-killer defect. | 02-10-2011 |
20110074039 | RELIABLE INTERCONNECT FOR SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - A method for forming a semiconductor device is presented. A substrate prepared with a dielectric layer formed thereon is provided. A sacrificial and a hard mask layer are formed on the dielectric layer. The dielectric, sacrificial and hard mask layers are patterned to form an interconnect opening. The interconnect opening is filled with a conductive material to form an interconnect. The conductive material is processed to produce a top surface of the conductive material that is substantially planar with a top surface of the sacrificial layer. The sacrificial layer is removed. The sacrificial layer protects the dielectric layer during processing of the conductive material. | 03-31-2011 |
20110114949 | TEST CHIPLETS FOR DEVICES - A method of forming a device is disclosed. The method includes providing a substrate on which the device is formed. It also includes forming a test cell on the substrate. The test cell includes a defect programmed into the cell to facilitate defect detection. | 05-19-2011 |
20110116085 | DEFECT DETECTION RECIPE DEFINITION - A method of forming a device is disclosed. The method includes providing a substrate and processing a layer of the device on the substrate. The layer is inspected with an inspection tool for defects. The inspection tool is programmed with an inspection recipe determined from studying defects programmed into the layer at known locations. | 05-19-2011 |
20110237072 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT SYSTEM WITH THROUGH SILICON VIA AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE THEREOF - A method of manufacture of an integrated circuit system includes: providing a substrate including an active device; forming a through-silicon-via into the substrate; forming an insulation layer over the through-silicon-via to protect the through-silicon-via; forming a contact to the active device after forming the insulation layer; and removing the insulation layer. | 09-29-2011 |
20110281410 | METHOD FOR FABRICATING A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE HAVING AN EPITAXIAL CHANNEL AND TRANSISTOR HAVING SAME - A transistor having an epitaxial channel and a method for fabricating a semiconductor device having an epitaxial channel, the method including forming a hardmask on a substrate and forming an opening in the hardmask. The opening is geometrically characterized by a long dimension and a short dimension, and the opening is arranged in a predetermined manner relative to the channel region of a transistor. An epitaxial material is formed in the opening that induces strain in substrate regions proximate to the epitaxial material. The epitaxial material is confined to the opening, such that an epitaxial channel is formed. A transistor is fabricated in proximity to the epitaxial channel, such that the strain induced in the substrate provides enhanced transistor performance. By confining the epitaxial material to a predefined channel in the substrate, plastic strain relaxation of the epitaxial material is minimized and a maximum amount of strain is induced in the substrate. | 11-17-2011 |
20110316166 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT SYSTEM WITH VIA AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE THEREOF - A method of manufacture of an integrated circuit system includes: forming an etch stop layer over a bulk substrate; forming a buffer layer on the etch stop layer; forming a hard mask on the buffer layer; forming a through silicon via through the etch stop layer with the hard mask detected and the buffer layer removed with a low down force; and forming a passivation layer on the through silicon via and the etch stop layer. | 12-29-2011 |
20120012940 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AND METHOD OF FABRICATION THEREOF - A method of forming an integrated circuit structure comprising the steps of forming a first and second device region on a surface of a wafer, forming a spacer of a first width on a sidewall of a first gate stack in the first device region, forming a spacer of a second width on a sidewall of a second gate stack in the second device region, with the first width being different from the second width. | 01-19-2012 |
20120074537 | DIELECTRIC STACK - A method of forming a device is disclosed. The method includes providing a substrate and forming a device layer on the substrate having a formed thickness T | 03-29-2012 |
20120086468 | Method and system for introducing physical damage into an integrated circuit device for verifying testing program and its results - According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a method verifies bitmap information or test data information for a semiconductor device. The method places a defect on a semiconductor device at an actual defect location using a laser to physically damage the semiconductor device. A logical address associated with the defect is detected and bitmap information or test data information is reviewed to determine an expected location corresponding to the logical address. Then, the accuracy of the bitmap information or the test data information is determined by comparing the actual defect location with the expected location. A deviation between the two indicates an inaccuracy. | 04-12-2012 |
20120205806 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT SYSTEM WITH THROUGH SILICON VIA AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE THEREOF - A method of manufacture of an integrated circuit system includes: providing a substrate including an active device; forming a through-silicon-via into the substrate; forming an insulation layer over the through-silicon-via to protect the through-silicon-via; forming a contact to the active device after forming the insulation layer; and removing the insulation layer. | 08-16-2012 |
20120255586 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR CLEANING AND DRYING OF WAFERS - An first example method and apparatus for etching and cleaning a substrate comprises device with a first manifold and a second manifold. The first manifold has a plurality of nozzles for dispensing chemicals onto the substrate. The second manifold is attached to a vacuum source and/or a dry air/gas source. A second example embodiment is a wafer cleaning device and method that uses a manifold with capillary jet nozzles and a liquid capillary jet stream to clean substrates. | 10-11-2012 |
20130099321 | METHOD AND APPARATUS TO REDUCE THERMAL VARIATIONS WITHIN AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DIE USING THERMAL PROXIMITY CORRECTION - A method (and semiconductor device) of fabricating a semiconductor device utilizes a thermal proximity correction (TPC) technique to reduce the impact of thermal variations during anneal. Prior to actual fabrication, a location of interest (e.g., a transistor) within an integrated circuit design is determined and an effective thermal area around the location is defined. Thermal properties of structures intended to be fabricated within this area are used to calculate an estimated temperature that would be achieved at the location of interest from a given anneal process. If the estimated temperature is below or above a predetermined target temperature (or range), TPC is performed. Various TPC techniques may be performed, such as the addition of dummy cells and/or changing dimensions of the structure to be fabricated at the location of interest (resulting in an modified thermally corrected design, to suppress local variations in device performance caused by thermal variations during anneal. | 04-25-2013 |
20140001538 | DIELECTRIC STACK | 01-02-2014 |
20140084486 | RELIABLE INTERCONNECT FOR SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - A method for forming a semiconductor device is presented. A substrate prepared with a dielectric layer formed thereon is provided. A sacrificial and a hard mask layer are formed on the dielectric layer. The dielectric, sacrificial and hard mask layers are patterned to form an interconnect opening. The interconnect opening is filled with a conductive material to form an interconnect. The conductive material is processed to produce a top surface of the conductive material that is substantially planar with a top surface of the sacrificial layer. The sacrificial layer is removed. The sacrificial layer protects the dielectric layer during processing of the conductive material. | 03-27-2014 |