Vlsi Technology, Inc.

Yi-Hen Wei

Chenming Hu

Chung S Wang

Ying T Loh

Kuang-Yeh Chang

The present invention provides a bipolar transistor in which a lightly doped n-type hot-carrier shield extends in an epitaxial layer adjacent from a poly-emitter to an extrinsic base. This hot-carrier shield minimizes performance impairment that would otherwise occur due to a hot-carrier effect. Key steps in the method of making the bipolar transistor include a differential thermal oxidation while the poly-emitter is covered with a nitride cap. After the nitride cap is removed, an n-type dopant is implanted. The unprotected poly emitter is heavily doped. The implant partially penetrates a relatively thin oxide growth, thereby forming the hot-carrier shield. Other areas, such as the extrinsic base, and a polycrystalline base extension are covered by a relatively thick oxide growth and are unaffected by the n-type implant.

Hot-carrier shield formation for bipolar transistor

An integrated circuit device including a substrate, a gate structure formed over the substrate, a channel formed in the substrate under the gate, a lightly-doped drain-side LDD region formed in the substrate adjacent to a drain-side of the channel (preferably by a LATID process), a drain region formed in the substrate near to the drain-side LDD region, and a drain-side DDD region substantially separating the drain-side LDD region from the drain region. Preferably, the integrated circuit device is symmetrically formed such that a lightly-doped source-side LDD region is formed in the substrate adjacent to a source-side of the channel (again preferably by a LATID process), a source region is formed in the substrate near to the source-side LDD region, and a source-side DDD region is formed in the substrate to substantially separate the source-side LDD region from the source region. Further preferably, the DDD regions substantially isolate the source and drain from a bulk portion of the substrate. A method of the present invention includes the steps of providing a semiconductor substrate, forming a gate over the substrate to define a channel, doping the substrate to form a pair of LDD regions in the substrate, doping the region to form a drain region and a source region, and doping the substrate to form a drain-side DDD region in the substrate which substantially separates the drain region from a drain-side LDD region and which substantially isolates the drain region from a bulk portion of the substrate, and to form a source-side DDD region in the substrate which substantially separates the source region from a source-side LDD region and substantially isolates the source region from a bulk portion of the substrate.

ESD and hot carrier resistant integrated circuit structure

A method of fabricating BiCMOS devices, and the resultant BiCMOS device, are disclosed. According to the present invention, over-etching to the substrate on the deposited polysilicon emitter is prevented by providing additional oxide beneath a polysilicon layer as an etch stop. Despite inclusion of an oxide to define an end-point during patterning of an emitter, fabrication complexity is reduced by avoiding additional SAT masking and oxidation steps.

CMOS locos isolation for self-aligned NPN BJT in a BiCMOS process

Method of forming an ESD and hot carrier resistant integrated circuit

Gate oxide on a semiconductor wafer is effectively stressed on a per-wafer basis during fabrication. Because it was effectively stressed, gross testing the gate oxide after device fabrication provides a good indication whether a completed MOS device will be subject to infant mortality. After the gate oxide is formed, a source of overvoltage may be coupled between the raw oxide and the underside of the wafer, to accelerate stress due to defects in the oxide. Alternatively, the oxide may be stressed after deposition of the gate material by coupling a source of overvoltage directly to the gate material and to a probe on the underside of the wafer. The oxide may also be stressed after patterning and definition of the gate material by coupling a source of over-voltage to all of the gates simultaneously, preferably using a mercury probe, plasma or a conductive conforming membrane, and to a probe on the underside of the wafer. The overvoltage is sufficiently large to stress defect-containing oxide, but not to breakdown good oxide. After stress, prior art procedures to complete fabrication, post-fabrication burn-in and testing may be carried out. Because the present invention effectively stresses 100% of the gate oxide, fabricated ICs containing MOS devices whose oxide has defects will generally not pass GO/NO GO post-fabrication testing. In this manner, ICs likely to fail due to infant mortality are identified during post-fabrication testing and discarded.

Per-wafer method for globally stressing gate oxide during device

The present invention provides a BiCMOS integrated circuit with bipolar, NMOS and PMOS transistors. In a bipolar transistor, an emitter buffer is provided to minimize a hot carrier effect. The emitter buffer is implanted using the same mask used for a base link. However, the n-type dopant is implant using a large angle, while the p-type dopant is implanted using a normal implant. A 'base' oxide is grown over the implant region. This oxide ultimate isolates the emitter buffer from the polysilicon emitter contact section. Local interconnects are formed using a 'dual-gate' technique, in which a tungsten silicide cap layer is formed over polysilicon to short pn junctions in the interconnect.

Method for forming laterally graded deposit-type emitter for bipolar

A circuit protects the series coupled PMOS-NMOS transistor output stage, input stage or input/output stage commonly found in a CMOS device from output pad ESD, whether or not the CMOS device is mounted in a circuit board or coupled to a power source. The circuit includes a second PMOS transistor whose output leads are coupled between the output pad and the gate of the output NMOS transistor, and also includes a resistor coupled between the gate of this second PMOS transistor and a voltage source node. A positive potential ESD at the output pad will turn on the second PMOS transistor, thereby coupling positive ESD potential to the gate of the output NMOS transistor. This causes the output NMOS transistor to turn on, avoiding the 'snapback' mode destruction that would occur if the second PMOS transistor were not present. The resistor cooperates with the intrinsic capacitance present at the gate of the second PMOS transistor to form an RC filter that prevents noise transients coupled to this gate from turning on the second PMOS transistor. A second preferred embodiment is a protective circuit that includes the above described series coupled output PMOS, NMOS transistors, the second PMOS transistor, and the resistor. This embodiment provides output pad ESD protection to other circuits (drivers, for example) coupled to the input gate of the output transistors, or circuits (input buffers, for example), coupled to the output pad.

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Saratoga, CA, United States of America

Yi-Hen Wei