Breakthrough in Semiconductor Technology: IBM's Patent 7,989,233

Strategic Insights -

A team of inventors at IBM has made a groundbreaking discovery in semiconductor technology with the patent of "Semiconductor nanowire with built-in stress." This innovation, assigned to International Business Machines Corporation, was created by Sekaric; Lidija, Chidambarrao; Dureseti, and Liu; Xiao H. The patent, issued on August 2, has the potential to significantly improve the performance of semiconductor devices, such as transistors, by introducing built-in stress into the nanowire structure.

Key Takeaways:

  • The patent, US Patent 7,989,233, was assigned to International Business Machines Corporation and invented by Sekaric; Lidija, Chidambarrao; Dureseti, and Liu; Xiao H.
  • The invention describes a semiconductor nanowire with two semiconductor pads on both ends, suspended over a substrate, and under longitudinal stress due to stress-generating liner portions.
  • A gate dielectric and a gate electrode are formed over the middle portion of the semiconductor nanowire while it is under longitudinal stress, creating a built-in inherent longitudinal stress after the removal of the stress-generating liners.
  • The middle of the line (MOL) dielectric layer may be formed directly on the source and drain pads, providing a semiconductor nanowire transistor.
  • The patent was filed on January 11, 2011, under Application No. 13/004,340.

Statistics:

  • Patent number: 7,989,233
  • Invention date: January 11, 2011
  • Application number: 13/004,340
  • Date of issuance: August 2 (no year specified)

Sources:

  • U.S. Patent & Trademark Office - US Patent 7,989,233
  • IBM Corporation documentation - Application No. 13/004,340