Lsi Logic Corporation

Ncr Corporation

Hyundai Electronics America, Inc.

At&t Global Information Solutions Company

Symbios Logic Inc.

Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC

Lsi Corporation

Derryl D Allman

John W Gregory

Kenneth P Fuchs

Richard Thomas Schultz

Gayle W Miller

James P Yakura

Dim-Lee Kwong

Steven S Lee

David W Daniel

Verne C Hornback

Matthew S Von Thun

Jan Fure

Richard K Cole

Brian R Lee

Crystal J Hass

Jefferson W Hall

Peter Austin Burke

Michael J Berman

Steven E Reder

Michael F Chisholm

John J Seliskar

Samuel C Gioia

Sallie Hose

Charles W Jurgensen

Dim Lee Kwong

Curtis C Hainds

Gerald L Shipley

Ponce Saopraseuth

Leslie H Allen

Ramanath Ganapathiraman

James A Maiolo

William J Crosby

A semiconductor device having a fuse structure includes a region of semiconductor material having a major surface. A dielectric region is over the major surface. A first fuse terminal is over a first part of the dielectric region, a second fuse terminal is over a second part of the dielectric region and spaced apart from the first fuse terminal to provide a gap region, and a fuse body over a third part of the dielectric region interposed between and connected to the first fuse terminal and the second fuse terminal. A dummy structure is over the dielectric region in the gap region on a first side of the fuse body, the dummy structure spaced apart and electrically isolated from the fuse body, the first fuse terminal, and the second fuse terminal. The dummy structure is configured to reduce the presence of or reduce the effects of defects, such as cracks or voids that can emanate from the fuse structure.

Semiconductor fuse structure and method of manufacturing a semiconductor fuse structure

An energy storage device such as a metal-insulator-metal capacitor and a method for manufacturing the energy storage device. The metal-insulator-metal capacitor includes an insulating material positioned between a bottom electrode or bottom plate and a top electrode or top plate. The surface area of the bottom electrode is greater than the surface area of the insulating material and the surface area of the insulating material is greater than the surface area of the top electrode. The top electrode and the insulating layer have edges that are laterally within and spaced apart from edges of the bottom electrode. A protective layer covers the top electrode, the edges of the top electrode, and the portions of the insulating layer that are uncovered by the top electrode. The protective layer serves as an etch mask during the formation of the bottom electrode.

Method for manufacturing an energy storage device and structure therefor

A system and method for collecting and analyzing integrated circuit test vehicle test data by identifying various blocks of circuitry through at least two different intersecting test paths. In one embodiment, the process test circuits may be arranged in a matrix format and connected so that they may be tested along rows or columns. When a failure along a specific row and a specific column is identified, the process test circuit at the intersection may be identified as the failure point.

Test vehicle data analysis

A test vehicle a system and method for evaluating an interconnect module manufacturing process while dynamically testing performance with high-speed operational frequencies is disclosed. The test vehicle incorporates a self-timed or gated speed circuit that can detect subtle resistive faults and also show the exact location in the array where the speed fault occurred based on test program data logs from scan flip flops. One embodiment incorporates a gated clock in the gated speed circuit producing gated data that delivers greater statistical properties with respect to Integrated Circuit Direct Drain Quiescent Current (IDDQ) testing.

Self-timed reliability and yield vehicle with gated data and clock

A system and method for collecting and analyzing optical inspection results obtained during the manufacturing process and comparing those results to actual functional results of a specially designed test vehicle integrated circuit. The test vehicle integrated circuit allows failures to be localized to very small areas, which allows more accurate correlation between inspection faults and functional failures. The correlation of inspection faults to actual functional failures is used to change the sensitivity settings for an optical inspection system to more accurately detect defects that are likely to be functional failures.

Defect analysis using a yield vehicle

Within metal interconnect layers above a substrate of an integrated circuit, a vertical metal-insulator-metal (VMIM) capacitor is formed by the same damascene metallization types of processes that formed the metal interconnect layers. The metal interconnect layers have horizontal metal conductor lines, are vertically separated from other metal interconnect layers by an interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer, and electrically connect to the other metal interconnect layers through via connections extending through the ILD layer. One vertical capacitor plate of the VMIM capacitor is defined by a metal conductor line and a via connection. The other vertical capacitor plate is defined by a metal region adjacent to the metal conductor line and the via connection. The metal conductor line, the via connection and the metal region are formed by the damascene metallization processes.

Metal-insulator-metal capacitor formed by damascene processes between metal interconnect layers and method of forming same

A capacitor has a titanium nitride layer deposited on a silicon substrate for stress reduction and adherence promotion, and a layer of tantalum is deposited thereon. The tantalum layer is oxidized to produce a tantalum pentoxide layer. A top electrode of metal or polysilicon is then deposited on the tantalum pentoxide layer. The top electrode may be made from polysilicon or a similar semiconducting material so that a space charge layer will form in the electrode which will change the rate at which the capacitor charges and discharges. Alternatively, the top electrode may be made from metal to provide an optimal linear response for use in analog applications. Further, an undoped polysilicon layer may be provided above the tantalum pentoxide layer to store charge for non-volatile memory applications. For this purpose, polysilicon can be used to form the top electrode; alternatively, materials such as silicon nitride may be used.

Capacitor having a tantalum lower electrode and method of forming the same

A method for forming an active area in a substrate includes the steps of growing an isolation oxide on a silicon substrate, providing a photresist mask to define the active areas on the substrate, performing etching and stripping processes, removing the residual oxide from the active areas and selectively growing an epitaxial silicon layer.

Method for the formation of active area utilizing reverse trench isolation

A method of creating a layer-to-layer alignment mark in a semiconductor wafer includes the step of depositing a first conductor layer on a substrate associated with the semiconductor wafer. The method also includes the step of fabricating a number of alignment trenches in the first conductor layer. Moreover, the method includes the step of depositing a first insulator layer on the first conductor layer so as to fill the number of alignment trenches. Yet further, the method includes the step of removing material associated with the first insulator layer from the number of alignment trenches such that an upper surface of the first conductor layer and an upper surface of the first insulator layer define a first alignment step feature which possesses a predetermined height. The method also includes the step of depositing a second conductor layer on the semiconductor wafer subsequent to the removing step. A semiconductor wafer is also disclosed.

Semiconductor wafer having a layer-to-layer alignment mark and method

A method of planarizing a semiconductor wafer to a distance from a semiconductor substrate of the wafer is disclosed. The method includes the step of forming in the wafer a metallic reporting substance that is at the predetermined distance from the substrate of the wafer. The method also includes the step of polishing a first side of the wafer in order to remove material from the wafer. The method further includes the step of utilizing an atomic absorption spectroscopic technique to detect the presence of the metallic reporting substance in the material removed from the wafer. Moreover, the method includes the step of terminating the polishing step in response to the detection of the metallic reporting substance. An associated apparatus for polishing a semiconductor wafer down to a metallic reporting substance of the wafer is also described.

Apparatus and method of detecting a polishing endpoint layer of a

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, preferably a capacitor, and a method of forming the same. The method adds only a single additional masking step to the fabrication process and reduces problems relating to alignment of various layers. A relatively thick insulation layer is formed over a bottom electrode. An opening having a sidewall that is etched in the insulation layer using a mask to expose a portion of the bottom electrode. Once the mask is removed, a dielectric layer and conductive layer are then sequentially deposited over the entire structure, including sidewalls. Thereafter, chemical-mechanical polishing is used to remove portions of the conductive layer and the dielectric layer so that the conductive layer and dielectric layer which remains forms, for example, the top electrode and dielectric layer of the integrated circuit capacitor. The top electrode is thus disposed above a central region which remains of the dielectric layer and between a peripheral region which remains of the dielectric layer.

Integrated circuit device having a capacitor with the dielectric

A method of polishing a first layer of a semiconductor wafer down to a second layer of the semiconductor wafer is disclosed. One step of the method includes heating a back surface of the semiconductor wafer to a first temperature level so as to cause a front surface of the semiconductor wafer to have a second temperature level. Another step of the method includes polishing the semiconductor wafer whereby material of the first layer is removed from the semiconductor wafer. The polishing step causes the second temperature level of the front surface to change at a first rate as the material of the first layer is being removed. The method also includes the step of halting the polishing step in response to the second temperature level of the front surface changing at a second rate that is indicative of the second layer being polished during the polishing step. Polishing systems are also disclosed which detect a polishing endpoint for a semiconductor wafer based upon heat conducted through the semiconductor wafer.

Method and apparatus for detecting a polishing endpoint based upon heat

The present invention applies a silicon nitride or the like as a mask over portions of a substrate, such as an active region, where oxide growth is undesired. Thereafter, without the formation of a recess in the substrate, a high pressure oxidation process is used to grow an oxide, preferably in a furnace. The oxide thus grows into the non-masked areas of the substrate, as well as over the silicon nitride used as a mask. Thereafter, a chemical-mechanical polish is used to etch away undesired oxide, with the silicon nitride being used as an endpoint to terminate the polish operation.

Isolation method utilizing a high pressure oxidation

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Colorado Springs, CO, United States of America

Derryl D Allman