The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 21, 2000
Filed:
Mar. 13, 1998
John Mark Anthony, McKinney, TX (US);
Robert M Wallace, Dallas, TX (US);
Yi Wei, Chandler, AR (US);
Glen Wilk, Dallas, TX (US);
Texas Instruments Incorporated, Dallas, TX (US);
Abstract
An embodiment of the instant invention is a method of forming a nano-rugged silicon-containing layer, the method comprising the steps of: providing a first silicon-containing layer (steps 202 or 802); providing a patterning layer over the first silicon-containing layer (steps 204 or 804); the patterning layer comprised of an amorphous substance; providing a second silicon-containing layer (steps 206 or 808) over the patterning layer; and wherein the patterning layer creates a nano-rugged texture in the second silicon-containing layer. Preferably, the first and second silicon-containing layers are comprised of polycrystalline silicon. In an alternative embodiment, the patterning layer is comprised of a material which has small holes such that the step of providing the second silicon-containing layer utilizes the first silicon-containing layer as a seed layer through the small holes so as to form the second silicon-containing layer. In another alternative embodiment, the second silicon-containing layer is comprised of a plurality of islands of the silicon-containing material separated by voids in the material. Preferably, the patterning layer is comprised of SiO.sub.2.