Kovio, Inc.

Thin Film Electronics Asa

Kovlo, Inc.

Joerg Rockenberger

Brent Ridley

Wenzhuo Guo

Fabio R Zurcher

James Montague Cleeves

Klaus Kunze

Fabio Zürcher

Vladimir K Dioumaev

Scott T Haubrich

Arvind Kamath

Mao Takashima

Erik C Scher

Christopher S Gudeman

J Devin MacKenzie

Patrick Smith

Laila Francisco

Criswell Choi

Dmitry Karshtedt

Vik Pavate

Dan Good

Max Davis

Aditi Chandra

Chris Gudeman

Chris Spindt

Nassrin Sleiman

James C Dunphy

Steven E Molesa

Brian N Hubert

Ikuo Mori

Yu Chen

Vikram Pavate

Alfred Floyd Renaldo

Mao Ito

Colin Bulthaup

Fabio Zūrcher

Partick Smith

In one aspect, the present invention provides undoped and doped siloxanes, germoxanes, and silagermoxanes that are substantially free from carbon and other undesired contaminants. In a second aspect, the present invention provides methods for making such undoped and doped siloxanes, germoxanes, and silagermoxanes. In still another aspect, the present invention provides compositions comprising undoped and/or doped siloxanes, germoxanes, and silagermoxanes and a solvent, and methods for forming undoped and doped dielectric films from such compositions. Undoped and/or doped siloxane compositions as described advantageously provide undoped and/or doped dielectric precursor inks that may be employed in forming substantially carbon-free undoped and/or doped dielectric films.

Siloxanes, doped siloxanes, methods for their synthesis, compositions containing the same, and films formed therefrom

Doped semiconductor ink formulations, methods of making doped semiconductor ink formulations, methods of coating or printing thin films, methods of forming electronic devices and/or structures from the thin films, and methods for modifying and controlling the threshold voltage of a thin film transistor using the films are disclosed. A desired dopant may be added to an ink formulation comprising a Group IVA compound and a solvent, and then the ink may be printed on a substrate to form thin films and conductive structures/devices, such as thin film transistors. By adding a customized amount of the dopant to the ink prior to printing, the threshold voltage of a thin film transistor made from the doped semiconductor ink may be independently controlled upon activation of the dopant.

Method for modifying and controlling the threshold voltage of thin film transistors

Methods, algorithms, processes, circuits, and/or structures for laser patterning suitable for customized RFID designs are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of laser patterning of an identification device can include the steps of: (i) depositing a patternable resist formulation on a substrate having configurable elements and/or materials thereon; (ii) irradiating the resist formulation with a laser tool sufficiently to change the solubility characteristics of the resist in a developer; and (iii) developing exposed areas of the resist using the developer. Embodiments of the present invention can advantageously provide a relatively low cost and high throughput approach for customized RFID devices.

Laser processing enabling radio frequency identification (RFID) customization

A method for making an electronic device, such as a MOS transistor, including the steps of forming a plurality of semiconductor islands on an electrically functional substrate, printing a first dielectric layer on or over a first subset of the semiconductor islands and optionally a second dielectric layer on or over a second subset of the semiconductor islands, and annealing. The first dielectric layer contains a first dopant, and the (optional) second dielectric layer contains a second dopant different from the first dopant. The dielectric layer(s), semiconductor islands and substrate are annealed sufficiently to diffuse the first dopant into the first subset of semiconductor islands and, when present, the second dopant into the second subset of semiconductor islands.

Printed dopant layers

Embodiments relate to printing features from an ink containing a material precursor. In some embodiments, the material includes an electrically active material, such as a semiconductor, a metal, or a combination thereof. In another embodiment, the material includes a dielectric. The embodiments provide improved printing process conditions that allow for more precise control of the shape, profile and dimensions of a printed line or other feature. The composition(s) and/or method(s) improve control of pinning by increasing the viscosity and mass loading of components in the ink. An exemplary method thus includes printing an ink comprising a material precursor and a solvent in a pattern on the substrate; precipitating the precursor in the pattern to form a pinning line; substantially evaporating the solvent to form a feature of the material precursor defined by the pinning line; and converting the material precursor to the patterned material.

Print processing for patterned conductor, semiconductor and dielectric materials

A RF MOS- or nonlinear device-based surveillance identification tag, and methods for its manufacture and use. The tag includes an inductor, a capacitor plate coupled to the inductor, a dielectric film on the capacitor plate, a semiconductor component on the dielectric film, and a conductor providing electrical communication between the semiconductor component and the inductor. The method of manufacture includes depositing a semiconductor material/precursor on a dielectric film; forming a semiconductor component from the semiconductor material/precursor; forming a conductive structure at least partly on the semiconductor component; and etching the electrically functional substrate to form an inductor and/or a second capacitor plate. The method of use includes causing/inducing a current in the tag sufficient to generate detectable electromagnetic radiation; detecting the radiation; and selectively deactivating the tag. The present invention provides a low cost tag capable of operating at MHz frequencies and in frequency division and/or multiplication modes.

MOS electronic article surveillance, RF and/or RF identification tag/device, and methods for making and using the same

Epitaxial structures, methods of making epitaxial structures, and devices incorporating such epitaxial structures are disclosed. The methods and the structures employ a liquid-phase Group IVA semiconductor element precursor ink (e.g., including a cyclo- and/or polysilane) and have a relatively good film quality (e.g., texture, density and/or purity). The Group IVA semiconductor element precursor ink forms an epitaxial film or feature when deposited on a (poly)crystalline substrate surface and heated sufficiently for the Group IVA semiconductor precursor film or feature to adopt the (poly)crystalline structure of the substrate surface. Devices incorporating a selective emitter that includes the present epitaxial structure may exhibit improved power conversion efficiency relative to a device having a selective emitter made without such a structure due to the improved film quality and/or the perfect interface formed in regions between the epitaxial film and contacts formed on the film.

Epitaxial structures and methods of forming the same

Metal ink compositions, methods of forming such compositions, and methods of forming conductive layers are disclosed. The ink composition includes a bulk metal, a transition metal source, and an organic solvent. The transition metal source may be a transition metal capable of forming a silicide, in an amount providing from 0.01 to 50 at. % of the transition metal relative to the bulk metal. Conductive structures may be made using such ink compositions by forming a silicon-containing layer on a substrate, printing a metal ink composition on the silicon-containing layer, and curing the composition. The metal inks of the present invention have high conductivity and form low resistivity contacts with silicon, and reduce the number of inks and printing steps needed to fabricate integrated circuits.

Metal inks for improved contact resistance

Compositions and methods for controlled polymerization and/or oligomerization of hydrosilanes compounds including those of the general formulae SiHand SiHas well as alkyl- and arylsilanes, to produce soluble silicon polymers as a precursor to silicon films having low carbon content.

Silicon polymers, methods of polymerizing silicon compounds, and methods of forming thin films from such silicon polymers

Heterocyclosilane compounds and methods for making the same. Such compounds (and/or ink compositions containing the same) are useful for printing or spin coating a doped silane film onto a substrate that can easily be converted into a doped amorphous silicon film (that may also be hydrogenated to some extent) or doped polycrystalline semiconductor film suitable for electronic devices. Thus, the present invention advantageously provides commercial qualities and quantities of doped semiconductor films from a 'doped liquid silicon' composition.

Heterocyclic semiconductor precursor compounds, compositions containing the same, and methods of making such compounds and compositions

A self-aligned top-gate thin film transistor (TFT) and a method of forming such a thin film transistor, by forming a semiconductor thin film layer; printing a doped glass pattern thereon, a gap in the doped glass pattern defining a channel region of the TFT; forming a gate electrode on or over the channel region, the gate electrode comprising a gate dielectric film and a gate conductor thereon; and diffusing a dopant from the doped glass pattern into the semiconductor thin film layer.

Printed, self-aligned, top gate thin film transistor

Dopant-group substituted (cyclo)silane compounds, liquid-phase compositions containing such compounds, and methods for making the same. Such compounds (and/or ink compositions containing the same) are useful for printing or spin coating a doped silane film onto a substrate that can easily be converted into a doped amorphous or polycrystalline silicon film suitable for electronic devices. Thus, the present invention advantageously provides commercial qualities and quantities of doped semiconductor films from a doped 'liquid silicon' composition.

Dopant group-substituted semiconductor precursor compounds, compositions containing the same, and methods of making such compounds and compositions

Methods of forming contacts (and optionally, local interconnects) using an ink comprising a silicide-forming metal, electrical devices such as diodes and/or transistors including such contacts and (optional) local interconnects, and methods for forming such devices are disclosed. Electrical devices, such as diodes and transistors may be made using such printed contact and/or local interconnects. A metal ink may be printed for contacts as well as for local interconnects at the same time, or in the alternative, the printed metal can act as a seed for electroless deposition of other metals if different metals are desired for the contact and the interconnect lines. This approach advantageously reduces the number of processing steps and does not necessarily require any etching.

Method of forming metal silicide contact and metal interconnect

Growing community of inventors

Redwood City, CA, United States of America

Joerg Rockenberger