Inventors list

Assignees list

Classification tree browser

Top 100 Inventors

Top 100 Assignees


Frank S. Johnson

Frank S. Johnson, Wappinger Falls, NY US

Patent application numberDescriptionPublished
20100267237METHODS FOR FABRICATING FINFET SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES USING ASHABLE SACRIFICIAL MANDRELS - Methods are provided for fabricating a semiconductor device on and in a semiconductor substrate. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention, one method comprises forming a sacrificial mandrel overlying the substrate, the sacrificial mandrel having sidewalls. Sidewall spacers are formed adjacent the sidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel. The sacrificial mandrel is removed using an ashing process, and the substrate is etched using the sidewall spacers as an etch mask after removal of the sacrificial mandrel.10-21-2010
20100267238METHODS FOR FABRICATING FINFET SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES USING PLANARIZED SPACERS - Methods of fabricating a semiconductor device on and in a semiconductor substrate are provided. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention, one method comprises forming a sacrificial mandrel overlying the substrate, wherein the sacrificial mandrel has sidewalls. Sidewall spacers are formed adjacent the sidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel, the sidewall spacers having an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion of the sidewall spacers is removed. The sacrificial mandrel is removed and the semiconductor substrate is etched using the lower portion of the sidewall spacers as an etch mask.10-21-2010
20100308381FINFET STRUCTURES WITH STRESS-INDUCING SOURCE/DRAIN-FORMING SPACERS AND METHODS FOR FABRICATING THE SAME - Methods for fabricating FinFET structures with stress-inducing source/drain-forming spacers and FinFET structures having such spacers are provided herein. In one embodiment, a method for fabricating a FinFET structure comprises fabricating a plurality of parallel fins overlying a semiconductor substrate. Each of the fins has sidewalls. A gate structure is fabricated overlying a portion of each of the fins. The gate structure has sidewalls and overlies channels within the fins. Stress-inducing sidewall spacers are formed about the sidewalls of the fins and the sidewalls of the gate structure. The stress-inducing sidewall spacers induce a stress within the channels. First conductivity-determining ions are implanted into the fins using the stress-inducing sidewall spacers and the gate structure as an implantation mask to form source and drain regions within the fins.12-09-2010
20100308382SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURES AND METHODS FOR REDUCING SILICON OXIDE UNDERCUTS IN A SEMICONDUCTOR SUBSTRATE - Methods are provided for fabricating semiconductor structures with an etch resistant layer that reduces undercuts in a silicon oxide layer of a semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate is provided having the silicon oxide layer. The etch resistant layer is formed which uses at least a portion of the silicon oxide layer. A silicon-comprising material layer is formed overlying the etch resistant layer. The silicon-comprising material layer has an etch rate greater than an etch rate of the etch resistant layer when subjected to an etchant. The silicon-comprising material layer is etched with an etchant to form a fin structure on the silicon oxide layer. The etch resistant layer may be formed by ion implantation, diffusing nitrogen-supplying species into the silicon oxide layer, or forming an insulator material layer overlying the silicon oxide layer.12-09-2010
20100308409FINFET STRUCTURES WITH FINS HAVING STRESS-INDUCING CAPS AND METHODS FOR FABRICATING THE SAME - FinFET structures with fins having stress-inducing caps and methods for fabricating such FinFET structures are provided. In an exemplary embodiment, a method for forming stressed structures comprises forming a first stress-inducing material overlying a semiconductor material and forming spacers overlying the first stress-inducing material. The first stress-inducing material is etched using the spacers as an etch mask to form a plurality of first stress-inducing caps. The semiconductor material is etched using the plurality of first stress-inducing caps as an etch mask.12-09-2010
20100308440SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURES AND METHODS FOR STABILIZING SILICON-COMPRISING STRUCTURES ON A SILICON OXIDE LAYER OF A SEMICONDUCTOR SUBSTRATE - Methods are provided for substantially preventing and filling overetched regions in a silicon oxide layer of a semiconductor substrate. The overetched regions may be formed as a result of overetching of the silicon oxide layer during etching of an overlying silicon-comprising material layer to form a silicon-comprising structure. An etch resistant spacer may be formed after the initial or subsequent overetches. The etch resistant spacer may be formed by depositing an etch resistant material into the overetched region and etching the deposited etch resistant material to leave residual etch resistant material forming the etch resistant spacer. The etch resistant spacer may also be formed by exposing the silicon oxide layer in the overetched region to a nitrogen-supplying material to form a silicon oxynitride etch resistant spacer.12-09-2010
20110021026METHODS FOR FABRICATING FINFET SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES USING L-SHAPED SPACERS - Methods for fabricating semiconductor structures, such as fin structures of FinFET transistors, are provided. In one embodiment, a method comprises providing a semiconductor substrate and forming a plurality of mandrels overlying the semiconductor substrate. Each of the mandrels has sidewalls. L-shaped spacers are formed about the sidewalls of the mandrels. Each L-shaped spacer comprises a rectangular portion disposed at a base of a mandrel and an orthogonal portion extending from the rectangular portion. Each L-shaped spacer also has a spacer width. The orthogonal portions are removed from each of the L-shaped spacers leaving at least a portion of the rectangular portions. The semiconductor substrate is etched to form fin structures, each fin structure having a width substantially equal to the spacer width.01-27-2011

Frank S. Johnson, Wappingers Falls, NY US

Patent application numberDescriptionPublished
20090159932INTEGRATION SCHEME FOR REDUCING BORDER REGION MORPPHOLOGY IN HYBRID ORIENTATION TECHNOLOGY (HOT) USING DIRECT SILICON BONDED (DSB) SUBSTRATES - Optimizing carrier mobilities in MOS transistors in CMOS ICs requires forming (100)-oriented silicon regions for NMOS and (110) regions for PMOS. Boundary regions between (100) and (110) regions must be sufficiently narrow to support high gate densities and SRAM cells appropriate for the technology node. This invention provides a method of forming an integrated circuit (IC) substrate containing regions with two different silicon crystal lattice orientations. Starting with a (110) direct silicon bonded (DSB) layer on a (100) substrate, regions in the DSB layer are amorphized and recrystallized on a (100) orientation by solid phase epitaxy (SPE). Lateral templating by the DSB layer is reduced by amorphization of the upper portion of the (110) regions through a partially absorbing amorphization hard mask. Boundary morphology is less than 40 nanometers wide. An integrated circuit formed with the inventive method is also disclosed.06-25-2009
20090159933INTEGRATION SCHEME FOR CHANGING CRYSTAL ORIENTATION IN HYBRID ORIENTATION TECHNOLOGY (HOT) USING DIRECT SILICON BONDED (DSB) SUBSTRATES - Optimizing carrier mobilities in MOS transistors in CMOS ICs requires forming (06-25-2009
20090191675Method for Forming CMOS Transistors Having FUSI Gate Electrodes and Targeted Work Functions - A method for making CMOS transistors that includes forming a NMOS transistor and a PMOS transistor having an undoped polysilicon gate electrode and a hardmask. The method also includes forming a layer of insulating material and then removing the hardmasks and a portion of the layer of insulating material. A layer of silicidation metal is formed and a first silicide anneal changes the undoped polysilicon gate electrodes into partially silicided gate electrodes. Dopants of a first type and a second type are implanted into the partially silicided gate electrode of the PMOS and NMOS transistors and a second silicide anneal is performed to change the doped partially silicided gate electrodes into fully silicided gate electrodes.07-30-2009
20100197096METHODS FOR FABRICATING FINFET STRUCTURES HAVING DIFFERENT CHANNEL LENGTHS - Methods for fabricating FinFET structures having gate structures of different gate widths are provided. The methods include the formation of sidewall spacers of different thicknesses to define gate structures of the FinFET structures with different gate widths. The width of a sidewall spacer is defined by the height of the structure about which the sidewall spacer is formed, the thickness of the sidewall spacer material layer from which the spacer is formed, and the etch parameters used to etch the sidewall spacer material layer. By forming structures of varying height, forming the sidewall spacer material layer of varying thickness, or a combination of these, sidewall spacers of varying width can be fabricated and subsequently used as an etch mask so that gate structures of varying widths can be formed simultaneously.08-05-2010
20110014791METHODS FOR FABRICATING FINFET STRUCTURES HAVING DIFFERENT CHANNEL LENGTHS - Methods for fabricating FinFET structures having gate structures of different gate widths are provided. The methods include the formation of sidewall spacers of different thicknesses to define gate structures of the FinFET structures with different gate widths. The width of a sidewall spacer is defined by the height of the structure about which the sidewall spacer is formed, the thickness of the sidewall spacer material layer from which the spacer is formed, and the etch parameters used to etch the sidewall spacer material layer. By forming structures of varying height, forming the sidewall spacer material layer of varying thickness, or a combination of these, sidewall spacers of varying width can be fabricated and subsequently used as an etch mask so that gate structures of varying widths can be formed simultaneously.01-20-2011
20110108893INTEGRATION SCHEME FOR CHANGING CRYSTAL ORIENTATION IN HYBRID ORIENTATION TECHNOLOGY (HOT) USING DIRECT SILICON BONDED (DSB) SUBSTRATES - Optimizing carrier mobilities in MOS transistors in CMOS ICs requires forming (100)-oriented silicon regions for NMOS and (05-12-2011

Patent applications by Frank S. Johnson, Wappingers Falls, NY US

Frank S. Johnson, Richardson, TX US

Patent application numberDescriptionPublished
20080233747Semiconductor Device Manufactured Using an Improved Plasma Etch Process for a Fully Silicided Gate Flow Process - In one aspect, there us provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device that comprises placing an oxide layer over a gate electrode and sidewall spacers located adjacent thereto, placing a protective layer over the oxide layer, conducting a plasma etch to remove portions of the protective layer and the first oxide layer that are located over the gate electrode and expose a surface of the gate electrode, wherein the plasma etch is selective to polysilicon. A soft etch is conducted subsequent to the plasma etch. The soft etch includes an inorganic-based fluorine containing gas and an inert gas, wherein the plasma etch leaves a film on the gate electrode that inhibits silicidation of the gate electrode and wherein the soft etch removes the film. The gate electrode is silicided with a metal subsequent to conducting the soft etch.09-25-2008
20090050976PROCESS METHOD TO FULLY SALICIDE (FUSI) BOTH N-POLY AND P-POLY ON A CMOS FLOW - An improved method of forming a fully silicided (FUSI) gate in both NMOS and PMOS transistors of the same MOS device is disclosed. In one example, the method comprises forming a first silicide in at least a top portion of a gate electrode of the PMOS devices and not over the NMOS devices. The method further comprises concurrently forming a second silicide in at least a top portion of a gate electrode of both the NMOS and PMOS devices, and forming a FUSI gate silicide of the gate electrodes. In one embodiment, the thickness of the second silicide is greater than the first silicide by an amount which compensates for a difference in the rates of silicide formation between the NMOS and PMOS devices.02-26-2009

Patent applications by Frank S. Johnson, Richardson, TX US

Frank S. Johnson, Wappingers Fall, NY US

Patent application numberDescriptionPublished
20110180881INTEGRATION SCHEME FOR REDUCING BORDER REGION MORPHOLOGY IN HYBRID ORIENTATION TECHNOLOGY (HOT) USING DIRECT SILICON BONDED (DSB) SUBSTRATES - Optimizing carrier mobilities in MOS transistors in CMOS ICs requires forming (07-28-2011