摘要:
A conductive member is described with a surface of controlled roughness thereon which is useful in the construction of an integrated circuit structure. In a preferred embodiment, the conductive member is formed using a mixture of germanium and silicon which is then oxidized, resulting in the formation of a roughened surface on the germanium/silicon conductive member due to the difference in the respective rates of oxidation of the germanium and silicon. After oxidation of the conductive member, the oxide layer may be removed, leaving the roughened surface on the germanium/silicon conductive member. When an integrated circuit structure such as an EPROM is to be formed using this conductive member with a roughened surface, a further layer of oxide is then deposited over the roughened surface followed by deposition of a second layer of conductive material such as polysilicon or a germanium/silicon mixture, from which the control gate will be formed. A further oxide layer may then be formed over the second conductive layer followed by a patterning step to respectively form the floating gate (from the germanium/silicon layer) and the control gate from the second conductive layer.
摘要:
A conductive member is described with a surface of controlled roughness thereon which is useful in the construction of an integrated circuit structure. In a preferred embodiment, the conductive member is formed using a mixture of germanium and silicon which is then oxidized, resulting in the formation of a roughened surface on the germanium/silicon conductive member due to the difference in the respective rates of oxidation of the germanium and silicon. After oxidation of the conductive member, the oxide layer may be removed, leaving the toughened surface on the germanium/silicon conductive member. When an integrated circuit structure such as an EPROM is to be formed using this conductive member with a roughened surface, a further layer of oxide is then deposited over the roughened surface followed by deposition of a second layer of conductive material such as polysilicon or a germanium/silicon mixture, from which the control gate will be formed. A further oxide layer may then be formed over the second conductive layer followed by a patterning step to respectively form the floating gate (from the germanium/silicon layer) and the control gate from the second conductive layer.
摘要:
A process which enables storage of more than two logic states in a memory cell. In one embodiment, a via is used to couple a diode between a word read line and a data read line. The via has a resistance which is set to one of a plurality of values at the time of manufacture. When the word read line is asserted, the voltage drop sustained across the via is indicative of the stored logic state. An analog-to-digital (A/D) converter is coupled to the data read line so as to sense the voltage drop and determine the state represented. Since the additional logic states may be used to represent additional information bits, this memory circuit increases the number of bits that may be stored per memory cell, thereby increasing the storage density and reducing the cost per bit.
摘要:
A DRAM memory array including a temperature sensor for adjusting a refresh rate depending upon temperature. The DRAM memory array includes a plurality of memory cells, each configured to allow storage and retrieval of more than two discrete memory states. A refresh circuit is coupled to the memory array for periodically refreshing the discrete storage state of each memory cell. The temperature sensor is situated on the same semiconductor die upon which the memory array is fabricated, and generates a signal indicative of the temperature of the semiconductor die. A control circuit receives the signal from the temperature sensor and responsively generates a refresh rate signal which is provided to control the refresh rate of the refresh circuit. In one specific implementation, a ROM look-up table is coupled to the control circuit and includes a plurality of entries which indicate the desired refresh rates for particular temperatures. By controlling the refresh rate dependent upon the temperature of the semiconductor die, proper state retention is ensured within each of the memory cells while allowing performance to be optimized.
摘要:
A semiconductor memory device which includes a word line, a bit line and a storage capacitor having first and second ends. A pair of FEATS each having gates coupled to the word line and one side coupled to the bit line. The other side of each FEAT is coupled to a storage capacitor upon which a selected one of four potential levels, corresponding to stored values of zero, one, two, or three, can be stored and thereafter read. One of the FEATS has a thicker gate oxide than the other and thus a higher threshold voltage. Voltage stored on the capacitor is read in two cycles thereby producing in the first cycle a high level pulse, a low level pulse, or no pulse and in the second cycle, a low level pulse or no pulse, depending upon the level of charge stored on the capacitor.
摘要:
There is disclosed herein a bipolar transistor structure having a self aligned extended silicide base contact. The contact extends to the position of a base contact window located outside the perimeter of the isolation island on a contact pad formed over the field oxide. This allows the size of the isolation island to be kept smaller and allows a smaller extrinsic base regions to be formed. The base contact is formed of titanium and titanium silicide where the titanium/silicide boundary is self aligned with the edge of the device isolation island. The silicide is formed by reacting the titanium which completely covers the exposed epitaxial silicon inside the isolation island. An anisotropically etched oxide sidewall spacer insulates the silicide from the sidewall of the silicide-covered, polysilicon emitter contact.
摘要:
A method for using an inverter with a pair of complementary junction field effect transistors (CJFET) with a small linewidth is provided. The method includes having an input capacitance for said CJFET inverter to be less than the corresponding input capacitance of a CMOS inverter of similar linewidth. The CJFET operates at a power supply with a lesser value than the voltage drop across a forward-biased diode having a reduced switching power as compared to said CMOS inverter and having a propagation delay for said CJFET inverter that is at least comparable to the corresponding delay of said CMOS inverter.
摘要:
An apparatus and method of manufacture for metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors is disclosed. Devices in accordance with the invention are operable at voltages below 2V. The devices are area efficient, have improved drive strength, and have reduced leakage current. A dynamic threshold voltage control scheme comprised of a forward biased diode in parallel with a capacitor is used, implemented without changing the existing MOS technology process. This scheme controls the threshold voltage of each transistor. In the OFF state, the magnitude of the threshold voltage of the transistor increases, keeping the transistor leakage to a minimum. In the ON state, the magnitude of the threshold voltage decreases, resulting in increased drive strength. The invention is particularly useful in MOS technology for both bulk and silicon on insulator (SOI) CMOS. The use of reverse biasing of the well, in conjunction with the above construct to further decrease leakage in a MOS transistor, is also shown.
摘要:
A microelectronic integrated circuit includes a semiconductor substrate, and a plurality of CMOS microelectronic devices formed on the substrate. Each device includes a hexagonal ANY element of a first conductivity type (PMOS or NMOS), and a hexagonal ALL element of a second conductivity type (NMOS or PMOS), the ANY and ALL elements each having a plurality of inputs and an output that are electrically interconnected respectively. The ANY element is basically an OR element, and the ALL element is basically an AND element. However, the power supply connections and the selection of conductivity type (NMOS or PMOS) for the ANY and ALL elements can be varied to provide the device as having a desired NAND, AND, NOR or OR configuration, in which the ANY element acts as a pull-up and the ALL element acts as a pull-down, or vice-versa.
摘要:
A memory circuit which enables storage of three logic states in a memory cell. Since the additional logic states may be used to represent additional information bits, this memory circuit increases the number of bits that may be stored per memory cell, thereby increasing the storage density and reducing the cost per bit. The disclosed memory circuit comprises an analog-to-digital converter coupled to detect a current through a transistor in a memory cell. The current is determined by the state of a tri-state flip-flop. By enabling the current to be detected as positive, negative, or zero, it becomes possible to represent more than one bit of information with the state of the flip-flop.