Texas Instruments Corporation

Pallab K Chatterjee

Al F Tasch, Jr

Horng-Sen Fu

Ashwin H Shah

Aloysious F Tasch, Jr

Satwinder S Malhi

Geoff W Taylor

Geoffrey W Taylor

Shivaling S Mahant-Shetti

Hisashi Shichijo

William F Richardson

Thomas C Holloway

Kenneth E Bean

James D Gallia

John E Leiss

Charles C Driscoll

A semiconductor device and method of manufacture employs an improved insulating layer to laterally separate conductive layers or regions. A relatively thick insulating layer is anisotropically patterned to form an electrode having a thick insulating layer on its side walls. Subsequently defined conductive regions are separated from the electrode by a distance determined by the thickness of the insulating layer. In devices requiring multiple level polycrystalline silicon electrodes, shorts between electrodes are reduced; in MOS devices, operating parameters are improved due to decreased overlap of the gate electrode over the source or drain region, decreased contamination of the gate electrode during manufacture, and more uniform gate oxide definition along the active channel between the source and drain.

Method of making semiconductor having improved interlevel conductor

A dRAM cell and array of cells, together with a method of fabrication, are disclosed wherein the cell includes one field effect transistor and one storage capacitor with the capacitor formed in a trench in a substrate and the transistor channel formed by epitaxial growth on the substrate. The transistor source and drain are insulated from the substrate, and the transistor may be adjacent the trench or on the upper portion of the trench sidewalls. Signal charge is stored on the capacitor plate insulated from the substrate.

DRAM Cell with trench capacitor and vertical channel in substrate

A semiconductor device and method of manufacture employs an improved insulating layer to laterally separate conductive layers or regions. A relatively thick insulating layer is anistropically patterned to form an electrode having a thick insulating layer on its side walls. Subsequently defined conductive regions are separated from the electrode by a distance determined by the thickness of the insulating layer. In devices requiring multiple level polycrystalline silicon electrodes, shorts between electrodes are reduced; in MOS devices, operating parameters are improved due to decreased overlap of the gate electrode over the source or drain region, decreased contamination of the gate electrode during manufacture, and more uniform gate oxide definition along the active channel between the source and drain.

Semiconductor having improved interlevel conductor insulation

DRAM cells and arrays of cell on a semiconductor substrate, together with methods of fabrication, are disclosed wherein the cells are formed in pairs or quartets by excavating a trench or two trenches through the cell elements to split an original cell into two or four cells during the fabrication. The cells include vertical field effect transistors and capacitors along the trech sidewalls with word lines and bit lines crossing over the cells.

Vertical DRAM cell and method

A process for forming backside contacts includes first forming an etch stop layer (12) beneath the surface of a silicon substrate. An active circuit is then formed in the silicon surface and associated metal interconnecting layers formed on the upper surface of the substrate. A planarizing layer is then formed on the upper surface of the substrate which is operable to be connected to a mechanical support. Thereafter, the backside of the substrate is etched away up to the etch stop layer (12). The thickness of the remaining substrate between the metal layers on the upper surface and the etch stop layer is sufficiently thin that the alignment marks on the upper surface can be seen through the substrate. These alignement marks are utilized to form vias from the backside to the active elements and then deposit and pattern interconnecting layers on the backside.

Integrated circuit with metal interconnecting layers above and below

A static random access memory, wherein power consumption is reduced by using asynchronous edge-triggered power down gates to power up only elements in the critical circuit path for only as long as necessary to access the memory. Thus, power consumption in the memory is reduced to nearly an absolute minimum. This invention uses the address transition clock to provide an asynchronous power up function to various parts of the static RAM so that only the circuit which is propagating the signal is powered up and the power is held high just long enough for the signal to propagate. This is performed using intrinsic timing elements of the RAM critical path so that the timing of the signal and power cycles track each other.

Static random access memory with asynchronous power-down

A process for forming backside contacts includes first forming an etch stop layer (12) beneath the surface of a silicon substrate. An active circuit is then formed in the silicon surface and associated metal interconnecting layers formed on the upper surface of the substrate. A planarizing layer is then formed on the upper surface of the substrate which is operable to be connected to a mechanical support. Thereafter, the backside of the substrate is etched away up to the etch stop layer (12). The thickness of the remaining substrate between the metal layers on the upper surface and the etch stop layer is sufficiently thin that the alignment marks on the upper surface can be seen through the substrate. These alignment marks are utilized to form vias from the backside to the active elements and then deposit and pattern interconnecting layers on the backside.

Method of fabricating an integrated circuit with metal interconnecting

An orthogonal chip mount system module (10) comprising a base module (12), an interconnect chip (14), orthogonal slots (16) and semiconductor chips (18) is provided. The interconnect chip (14) is fixed to the base module (12) by high thermal conductivity epoxy. The semiconductor chips (18) are interference fitted into the slots (16). Solder pads (20) on the semiconductor chips (18) are aligned with solder pads (22) on the interconnect chip (14) and the system module (10) is then heated to the reflow temperature of the solder forming joints (24).

Orthogonal chip mount system module and method

One embodiment of the present invention includes a vertical inverter. A layer of P-type material is formed on the surface of an N+-type substrate, followed by formation of an N+ layer, a P+ layer, an N- layer, and a P+ layer. (Of course different doping configurations may be used and remain within the scope of the invention.) A trench is then etched along one side of the stack thus formed and a connector is formed to the middle P+ and N- layers. Another trench is then formed where a gate insulator and a- gate are formed. The gate serves as the gate for both the N-channel and P-channel transistors thus formed.

Vertical inverter circuit

One embodiment of the present invention includes a vertical inverter. A layer of P-type material is formed on the surface of an N+-type substrate, followed by formation of an N+ layer, a P+ layer, an N- layer and a P+ layer. (Of course different doping configurations may be used and remain within the scope of the invention.) A trench is then etched along one side of the stack thus formed and a connector is formed to the middle P+ and N+ layers. Another trench is then formed where a gate insulator and a- gate are formed. The gate serves as the gate for both the N-channel and P-channel transistors thus formed.

Method of making vertical inverter

One embodiment of the present invention includes a vertical inverter. A layer of P-type material is formed on the surface of an N+-type substrate, followed by formation of an N+ layer, a P+ layer, an N- layer, and a P+ layer. (Of course different doping configurations may be used and remain within the scope of the invention). A trench is then etched along one side of the stack thus formed and a connector is formed to the middle P+ and N+ layers. Another trench is then formed where a gate insulator and a- gate are formed. The gate serves as the gate for both the N-channel and P-channel transistors thus formed.

Vertical inverter

A micropackage for providing high density, three dimensional packaging of integrated circuit chips. A chipmount (10) includes a plurality of channels (36) on the bottom surface thereof for holding a corresponding plurality of integrated circuit chips (16). A shallow cavity (34) is formed on the top surface of the chipmount (10) for holding another integrated circuit (14). Metallization interconnections (22) are formed on the top and bottom surfaces of the chipmount (10) and are terminated by solder pads (24, 39). Conductive conduits (26) are formed through the chipmount (10) for providing electrical continuity between an integrated circuit chip (14) mounted on the top side, to other integrated circuit chips (16) mounted on the bottom side of the chipmount. Other conductive conduits (30, 32) and a bridging member (28) insulates intersecting conductive paths (48, 50). The micropackage is fabricated with standard silicon technology.

High density micropackage for IC chips

A dRAM cell and array of cells, together with a method of fabrication, are disclosed wherein the cell includes one field effect transistor and one storage capacitor with both the transistor and the capacitor formed in a trench in a substrate. The transistor source, channel, and drain and one capacitor plate are formed in a layer of material inserted into the trench and insulated from the substrate; the gate and other capacitor plate are formed in the substrate trench sidewall. In preferred embodiments bit lines on the substrate surface connect to the inserted layer, and word lines on the substrate surface are formed as diffusions in the substrate which also form the gate. The trenches and cells are formed in the crossings of bit lines and word lines; the bit lines and the word lines form perpendicular sets of parallel lines.

dRAM cell and array

DRAM cells and arrays of cells on a semiconductor substrate, together with methods of fabrication, are disclosed wherein the cells are formed in pairs or quartets by excavating a trench or two trenches through the cell elements to split an original cell into two or four cells during the fabrication. The cells include vertical field effect transistors and capacitors along the trench sidewalls with word lines and bit lines crossing over the cells.

A memory including various selectively configurable peripherals which provide on-chip low-level control features and a configuration RAM storing bits which both provide unclocked full logic-level outputs to control the selectively configurable peripherals and can also be accessed and read out. That is, each cell in the configuration RAM has two output modes: a digital continuous output, which is provided as a continuous control signal to various peripheral circuits and a selectable analog output which is used to read the information stored in the configuration RAM.

Growing community of inventors

Dallas, TX, United States of America

Pallab K Chatterjee