Qualcomm Incorporated

Lixin Ge

Bin Yang

Ye Lu

John Jianhong Zhu

Yun Yue

Junjing Bao

Jihong Choi

Seong-Ook Jung

Zhongze Wang

Mohamed Hassan Abu-Rahma

Giridhar Nallapati

Seung-Chul Song

Pr Chidambaram

Beom-Mo Han

P R Chidambaram

Hyunkook Park

Haining S Yang

Kern Rim

Stanley Seungchul Song

Periannan Chidambaram

Jun Yuan

Jun Chen

Kwanyong Lim

Bo Yu

Jie Deng

Chuan-Hsing Chen

Ken Liao

Mingu Kang

Jiefeng Jeff Lin

Mohamed Abu-Rahama

Disclosed are examples of a device and method of fabricating a device including a first top contact, a second top contact, adjacent the first top contact, a first mesa disposed below the first top contact and a second mesa disposed below the second top contact. A first plate of a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor is disposed below the first top contact and electrically coupled to the first top contact. A first insulator of the MIM capacitor is disposed on the first plate. A second plate of the MIM capacitor is disposed on the first insulator and electrically coupled to the second top contact. A second insulator of the MIM capacitor is disposed on the second plate. A third plate of the MIM capacitor is disposed on the second insulator and electrically coupled to the first top contact.

Metal-insulator-metal capacitor with top contact

3D vertically-integrated FETs electrically coupled by integrated vertical FET-to-FET interconnects for reducing an area of CMOS cell circuits are disclosed. Vertically integrated FETs reduce a footprint area of an integrated circuit chip. The FETs include horizontal channel structures that are vertically integrated by stacking a second channel structure of a second FET above a first channel structure of a first FET. The first and second FETs can include a combination of a PFET and NFET that can be used to form a 3D CMOS cell circuit as an example. The area occupied by the 3D CMOS cell circuit includes interconnects for electrically coupling terminal regions of the FETs internally and externally. Vertical FET-to-FET interconnects extend between the FETs to electrically couple terminal regions of the FETs to reduce a number of vias from a semiconductor layer of the 3D CMOS cell circuit to metal interconnect layers above the vertically-integrated FETs.

Three-dimensional (3D), vertically-integrated field-effect transistors (FETs) electrically coupled by integrated vertical FET-to-FET interconnects for complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) cell circuits

An integrated circuit may include a substrate, a first three-dimensional (3D) transistor formed on a first diffusion region of the substrate, and a second 3D transistor formed on a second diffusion region of the substrate. The first 3D transistor may include a gate that extends from between a source and a drain of the first 3D transistor, across an isolation region of the substrate, to and between a source and a drain of the second 3D transistor. The gate may include a gate metal that has an isolation portion extending over the isolation region of the substrate and a diffusion portion extending over the first and second diffusion regions of the substrate. The isolation portion of the gate metal has a thickness less than a maximum thickness of the diffusion portion of the gate metal.

Integrated circuit with metal gate having dielectric portion over isolation area

A Field-Effect Transistor (FET) with a negative capacitance layer to increase power density provides a negative capacitor connected in series with a conventional positive capacitor. The dimensions of the negative capacitor are controlled to allow the difference in capacitances between the negative capacitor and the positive capacitor to approach zero, which in turn provides a large total capacitance. The large total capacitance provides for increased power density.

Controlling dimensions of a negative capacitance layer of a gate stack of a field-effect transistor (FET) to increase power density

An integrated circuit (IC) device may include a semiconductor structure. The semiconductor structure may include a source contact, a drain contact, and a gate. A first fluorocarbon spacer may be between the gate and the source contact. A second fluorocarbon spacer may be between the gate and the drain contact.

Transistor with fluorinated graphene spacer

A complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistor may include a first semiconductor structure and a gate stack on the first semiconductor structure. The gate stack may include a gate dielectric layer on the first semiconductor structure, a work function material on the gate dielectric layer, and a gate metal fill material on the work function material of the gate stack. The gate metal fill material may include a low resistivity carbon alloy. A dielectric fill material may be included on the gate stack.

Transistor with low resistivity carbon alloy

A short-channel metal oxide semiconductor varactor may include a source region of a first polarity having a source via contact. The varactor may further include a drain region of the first polarity having a drain via contact. The varactor may further include a channel region of the first polarity between the source region and the drain region. The channel region may include a gate. The varactor may further include at least one self-aligned contact (SAC) on the gate and between the source via contact and the drain via contact.

Self-aligned contact (SAC) on gate for improving metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) varactor quality factor

Middle-of-line (MOL) metal resistor temperature sensors for localized temperature sensing of active semiconductor areas in integrated circuits (ICs) are disclosed. One or more metal resistors are fabricated in a MOL layer in the IC adjacent to an active semiconductor area to sense ambient temperature in the adjacent active semiconductor area. Voltage of the metal resistor will change as a function of ambient temperature of the metal resistor, which can be sensed to measure the ambient temperature around devices in the active semiconductor layer adjacent to the metal resistor. By fabricating a metal resistor in the MOL layer, the metal resistor can be localized adjacent and close to semiconductor devices to more accurately sense ambient temperature of the semiconductor devices. The same fabrication processes used to create contacts in the MOL layer can be used to fabricate the metal resistor.

Middle-of-line (MOL) metal resistor temperature sensors for localized temperature sensing of active semiconductor areas in integrated circuits (ICs)

A 5 Transistor Static Random Access Memory (5T SRAM) is designed for reduced cell size and immunity to process variation. The 5T SRAM includes a storage element for storing data, wherein the storage element is coupled to a first voltage and a ground voltage. The storage element can include symmetrically sized cross-coupled inverters. A single access transistor controls read and write operations on the storage element. Control logic is configured to generate a value of the first voltage a write operation that is different from the value of the first voltage for a read operation.

Low-power 5T SRAM with improved stability and reduced bitcell size

Stable SRAM cells utilizing Independent Gate FinFET architectures provide improvements over conventional SRAM cells in device parameters such as Read Static Noise Margin (RSNM) and Write Noise Margin (WNM). Exemplary SRAM cells comprise a pair of storage nodes, a pair of bit lines, a pair of pull-up devices, a pair of pull-down devices and a pair of pass-gate devices. A first control signal and a second control signal are configured to adjust drive strengths of the pass-gate devices, and a third control signal is configured to adjust drive strengths of the pull-up devices, wherein the first control signal is routed orthogonal to a bit line direction, and the second and third control signals are routed in a direction same as the bit line direction. RSNM and WNM are improved by adjusting drive strengths of the pull-up and pass-gate devices during read and write operations.

Stable SRAM bitcell design utilizing independent gate FinFET

A semiconductor device arranged between a source voltage (Vss) and a power voltage (Vdd) may include a first terminal coupled to the power voltage Vdd. The semiconductor device may also include a decoupling capacitor. The decoupling capacitor may include a semiconductor fin coupled to the first terminal, a dielectric layer on the semiconductor fin, and a gate on the dielectric layer. The semiconductor device may further include a second terminal. The second terminal may include a conductive gate resistor coupled in series with the gate of the decoupling capacitor. The second terminal may be coupled to the source voltage Vss via a first interconnect layer (M1).

High density area efficient thin-oxide decoupling capacitor using conductive gate resistor

An orthogonal finger capacitor includes a layer having an anode bone frame adjacent a cathode bone frame, the anode bone frame having a first portion extending along an axis and a second portion extending perpendicular to the axis. A set of anode fingers extends from the first portion. A set of cathode fingers extends from the cathode bone frame, interdigitated with the set of anode fingers. An overlaying layer has another anode bone frame having a first portion parallel to the axis and a perpendicular second portion. A via couples the overlaying anode bone frame to the underlying anode bone frame. The via is located where the first portion of the overlaying anode bone frame overlaps the second portion of the underlying anode bone frame or, optionally, where the second portion of the overlying anode bone frame overlaps the first portion of the underlying anode bone frame.

Bone frame, low resistance via coupled metal oxide-metal (MOM) orthogonal finger capacitor

A complementary back end of line (BEOL) capacitor (CBC) structure includes a metal oxide metal (MOM) capacitor structure. The MOM capacitor structure is coupled to a first upper interconnect layer of an interconnect stack of an integrated circuit (IC) device. The MOM capacitor structure includes a lower interconnect layer of the interconnect stack. The CBC structure also includes a second upper interconnect layer of the interconnect stack coupled to the MOM capacitor structure. The CBC structure also includes a metal insulator metal (MIM) capacitor layer between the first upper interconnect layer and the second upper interconnect layer. In addition, CBC structure also includes a MIM capacitor structure coupled to the MOM capacitor structure. The MIM capacitor structure includes a first capacitor plate having a portion of the first upper interconnect layer, and a second capacitor plate having a portion of the MIM capacitor layer(s).

Complementary back end of line (BEOL) capacitor

A complementary back end of line (BEOL) capacitor (CBC) structure includes a metal oxide metal (MOM) capacitor structure. The MOM capacitor structure is coupled to a first upper interconnect layer of an interconnect stack of an integrated circuit (IC) device. The MOM capacitor structure includes at least one lower interconnect layer of the interconnect stack. The CBC structure may also include a second upper interconnect layer of the interconnect stack coupled to the MOM capacitor structure. The CBC structure also includes at least one metal insulator metal (MIM) capacitor layer between the first upper interconnect layer and the second upper interconnect layer. In addition, CBC structure may also include a MIM capacitor structure coupled to the MOM capacitor structure. The MIM capacitor structure includes a first capacitor plate having at least a portion of the first upper interconnect layer, and a second capacitor plate having at least a portion of the MIM capacitor layer(s).

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Lixin Ge