International Business Machines Corporation

Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Rick L Mohler

William R Tonti

Wilfried Haensch

Wayne S Berry

Juergen Faul

David V Horak

Claude Louis Bertin

Russell J Houghton

Erik L Hedberg

Jerome Brett Lasky

Max Gerald Levy

Timothy Charles Krywanczyk

Donald W Brouillette

Wayne M Trickle

Gorden Seth Starkey, Jr

Wolfgang Otto Rauscher

Jeffrey P Gambino

Jack Allan Mandelman

Carl John Radens

Wendell P Noble

John Kenneth DeBrosse

Gary Bela Bronner

Paul Christian Parries

Mark C H Lamorey

Nicky C Lu

Glen L Miles

Brian J Machesney

Chung-Yu Ting

Robert Arthur Horr

Stephen D Warley

Dale L Critchlow

A method, system and program product to verify a data preparation employed on a plurality of design layers that make up an article. An instruction algorithm representative of the data preparation is restated in terms of fundamental algorithms having corresponding graphical representations. The graphical representations can be combined to form a combination graphical representation that is used to determine whether the data preparation is correct. The invention can be used to verify correct data preparation of highly complex articles.

Layered article data verification

Method for forming a first one time, voltage programmable logic element in a semiconductor substrate of first conductivity type, forming a first layer beneath a surface of the substrate, the first layer having a second conductivity type. A trench is formed through the surface and passing through the first layer. The trench comprises an interior surface, a dielectric material lining the interior surface and a conductive material filling the lined trench. The first logic element is configured so that a predetermined voltage or higher applied between the conductive material and the first layer causes a breakdown within a region of the trench.

Method for forming a voltage programming element

A first one time, voltage programmable logic element is provided in a semiconductor substrate of first conductivity type that comprises a first layer beneath a surface of the substrate, the first layer having a second conductivity type; and a trench formed through the surface and passing through the first layer. The trench comprises an interior surface, a dielectric material lining the interior surface and a conductive material filling the lined trench. The first logic element is configured so that a predetermined voltage or higher applied between the conductive material and the first layer causes a breakdown within a region of the trench. A second one time, voltage programmable logic element is provided in a semiconductor substrate of first conductivity type that comprises a first layer formed in a surface of the substrate, the first layer having a second conductivity type; and a trench formed through the surface and passing through the first layer. The trench comprises an interior surface, a first dielectric material lining the interior surface and a second dielectric material filling the lined trench. The second logic element further comprises a dielectric layer formed over a portion of the first layer and contacting the first dielectric material lining the trench at a merge location; and an electrode extending over a portion of both the dielectric layer and the filled trench. The second logic element is configured so that a predetermined voltage or higher applied between the electrode and the first layer causes a breakdown near the merge location.

Electrically programmable antifuses and methods for forming the same

A memory cell which comprises a substrate having a top surface; a capacitor extending vertically into the substrate for storing a voltage representing a datum, said capacitor occupying a geometrically shaped horizontal area; a transistor formed above the capacitor and occupying a horizontal area substantially equal to the geometrically shaped horizontal area, and having a vertical device depth, for establishing an electrical connection with the capacitor, in response to a control signal, for reading from, and writing to, the capacitor, wherein the transistor includes a gate formed near the periphery of said horizontal device area and having a vertical depth approximately equal to the vertical device depth; an oxide layer on an inside surface of the gate; a conductive body formed inside the oxide layer, said conductive body having a top surface and a bottom surface and a vertical depth approximately equal to the vertical device depth; and diffusion regions in the body near the top and bottom surfaces and a method of manufacturing the same is provided.

Vertical DRAM cell with TFT over trench capacitor

A method of providing a predetermined level and state of stress in a film deposited on a surface of a substrate. In one embodiment, a layer of crystalline material is deposited on a surface of a substrate and then a layer of amorphous material is deposited on the layer of crystalline material. Then, the layers are heated, causing the amorphous material to crystallize. Such crystallization reduces, or even changes the state of, stress in the amorphous layer, which in turn alters the forces applied by the layer to adjacent regions of the substrate. The method may be used for filling a deep-trench capacitor of the type used in trench-storage DRAMs.

Method of controlling stress in a film

Trench capacitors are fabricated utilizing a method which results in a metallic nitride as a portion of a node electrode in a lower region of the trench. The metallic nitride-containing trench electrode exhibits reduced series resistance compared to conventional trench electrodes of similar dimensions, thereby enabling reduced ground rule memory cell layouts and/or reduced cell access time. The trench capacitors of the invention are especially useful as components of DRAM memory cells having various trench configuration and design.

Low resistance fill for deep trench capacitor

Corner conduction in a conduction channel of a field effect transistor is controlled by the geometrical configuration of the gate oxide and gate electrode at the sides of the conduction channel. Rounding the corners of the conduction channel or forming depressions at edges of trench structures such as deep or shallow trench isolation structures and/or trench capacitors develop recesses in a surface of a substrate at an interface of active areas and trench structures in which a portion of the gate oxide and gate electrode are formed so that the gate oxide and gate electrode effectively wrap around a portion of the conduction channel of the transistor. Particularly when such transistors are formed in accordance with sub-micron design rules, the geometry of the gate electrode allows the electric field in the conduction channel to be modified without angled implantation to regulate the effects of corner conduction in the conduction channel. Thus the conduction characteristic near cut-off can be tailored to specific applications and conduction/cut-off threshold voltage can be reduced at will utilizing a simple, efficient and high-yield manufacturing process.

Geometrical control of device corner threshold

A method of forming a bridge contact between a source diffusion region of a transfer gate FET and a polysilicon-filled trench storage capacitor electrodes of the FET. A layer of titanium is evaporated at a temperature of approximately 370.degree. C., so that the titanium has a substantially columnar grain structure and a minimum of matrix material. The bottom portions of the columnar grains have a lateral length that approximates the lateral length of the dielectric separating the source diffusion from the poly-filled trench. Thus, upon sintering at 700.degree. C. in an N.sub.2 atmosphere, titanium silicide will form over all exposed silicon regions as well as the dielectric, without shorting the FET electrodes together.

Silicide bridge contact process

A method for forming a silicide bridge bewteen a diffusion region and an adjacent poly-filled trench separated by a thin dielectric. Silicon is selectively grown over exposed silicon regions under conditions that provide controlled lateral growth over the thin dielectric without also permitting lateral growth over other insulator regions. A refractory metal layer is then deposited and sintered under conditions that limit lateral silicide growth, forming the bridge. This process avoids the random fails produced by previous processes while enhancing the compatibility of bridge formation with shallow junctions, without introducing extra masking steps or other process complexities.

Method for providing silicide bridge contact between silicon regions

A process is provided for making semiconductor structures, such as CMOS structures, which includes forming on a surface of a semiconductor body a layer from a material which is impervious to oxygen diffusion therethrough and patterning this layer to define the position of both the active and field isolation regions by partially removing this layer from the areas where the field isolation regions are to be formed. This oxygen impervious layer may be a dual dielectric structure consisting of a layer of silicon dioxide adjoining the semiconductor body and a layer of silicon nitride adjoining the silicon dioxide. The resulting structure includes an oxygen impervious layer which is used both for protecting all underlying oxidizing regions from oxidation and for defining the position of the active regions of the structure.

Process for making self aligned field isolation regions in a

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Williston, VT, United States of America

Rick L Mohler