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Patent Awarded for Semiconductor Fabrication Process

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded a patent (7,955,936) to Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Singapore, International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., Infineon Technologies North America, San Jose, Calif., and Infineon Technologies North America, Neubiberg, Germany, for a semiconductor fabrication process that includes an SiGe rework method. The patent was developed by eight co-inventors, including Yong Siang Tan, Chung Woh Lai, Jin-Ping Han, Henry K. Utomo, Judson R. Holt, Eric Harley, Richard O. Henry, and Richard J. Murphy. This process is designed to fabricate semiconductor devices with improved performance and reliability.

Key Takeaways:

  • The patented semiconductor fabrication process includes an SiGe rework method, which allows for the selective removal of excess surface portions of the SiGe region.
  • The SiGe region can be an embedded source and drain region, a compressive SiGe channel layer, or other SiGe regions within a semiconductor device.
  • The SC1 etching process is carried out at elevated temperatures ranging from about 25°C to about 65°C, and can be part of a rework method to selectively remove overgrowth regions of SiGe.
  • The co-inventors have successfully developed a method for fabricating semiconductor devices with improved performance and reliability.
  • The patent application was filed on July 14, 2008, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  • The patent has been assigned to multiple companies, including Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Singapore, and Infineon Technologies North America.

Statistics:

  • The patent number is 7,955,936.
  • The patent was developed by eight co-inventors, including Yong Siang Tan, Chung Woh Lai, Jin-Ping Han, et al.
  • The SiGe region can be removed using an SC1 solution at elevated temperatures ranging from about 25°C to about 65°C.
  • The etching process is carried out for a period of time sufficient to remove excess surface portions of SiGe.

Sources:

  • "U.S. Patent No. 7,955,936," U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Alexandria, Va.
  • "Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Singapore, International Business Machines, Armonk, N.Y., Infineon Technologies North America, San Jose, Calif., Infineon Technologies North America, Neubiberg, Germany," U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Alexandria, Va.

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