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:
Jun. 03, 2008
Filed:
Nov. 14, 2006
Andreas Hellmich, Dresden, DE;
Gunter Grasshoff, Radebeul, DE;
Fernando Koch, Bitterfeld, DE;
Andy Wei, Dresden, DE;
Thorsten Kammler, Ottendorf-Okrilla, DE;
Andreas Hellmich, Dresden, DE;
Gunter Grasshoff, Radebeul, DE;
Fernando Koch, Bitterfeld, DE;
Andy Wei, Dresden, DE;
Thorsten Kammler, Ottendorf-Okrilla, DE;
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Austin, TX (US);
Abstract
By patterning a spacer layer stack and etching a cavity in an in situ etch process, the process complexity, as well as the uniformity, during the formation of embedded strained semiconductor layers may be significantly enhanced. In an initial phase, the spacer layer stack may be patterned on the basis of an anisotropic etch step with a high degree of uniformity, since a selectivity between individual stack layers may not be necessary. Thereafter, a cleaning process may be performed followed by a cavity etch process, wherein a reduced over-etch time during the spacer patterning process significantly contributes to the uniformity of the finally obtained cavities, while the in situ nature of the process also provides a reduced overall process time.