In one aspect, a method of forming a silicon-insulator layer is provided. The method includes arranging a silicon structure in a plasma etch process chamber and applying a plasma to the silicon structure in the plasma etch process chamber at a temperature of the silicon structure equal to or below 100 C. The plasma includes a component and a halogen derivate, thereby forming the silicon-insulator layer. The silicon-insulator layer includes silicon and the component. In another aspect, a semiconductor device is provided having a silicon-insulator layer formed by the method.

To provide a novel nonvolatile latch circuit and a semiconductor device using the nonvolatile latch circuit, a nonvolatile latch circuit includes a latch portion having a loop structure where an output of a first element is electrically connected to an input of a second element, and an output of the second element is electrically connected to an input of the first element; and a data holding portion for holding data of the latch portion. In the data holding portion, a transistor using an oxide semiconductor as a semiconductor material for forming a channel formation region is used as a switching element. In addition, an inverter electrically connected to a source electrode or a drain electrode of the transistor is included. With the transistor, data held in the latch portion can be written into a gate capacitor of the inverter or a capacitor which is separately provided.

Various embodiments of the present application are directed towards a method to integrate NVM devices with a logic or BCD device. In some embodiments, an isolation structure is formed in a semiconductor substrate. The isolation structure demarcates a memory region of the semiconductor substrate, and further demarcates a peripheral region of the semiconductor substrate. The peripheral region may, for example, correspond to BCD device or a logic device. A doped well is formed in the peripheral region. A dielectric seal layer is formed covering the memory and peripheral regions, and further covering the doped well. The dielectric seal layer is removed from the memory region, but not the peripheral region. A memory cell structure is formed on the memory region using a thermal oxidation process. The dielectric seal layer is removed from the peripheral region, and a peripheral device structure including a gate electrode is formed on the peripheral region.

The present application discloses a method for manufacturing semiconductor devices having gate dielectric layers at different thickness. The gate dielectric layers having other than the minimum thickness are respectively formed by the following steps: step 1: forming a first mask layer; step 2: etching the first mask layer to form a first opening; step 3: etching a semiconductor substrate at the bottom of the first opening to form a second groove; step 4: filling the second groove and the first opening with the second material layer; step 5: etching back the second material layer to form the gate dielectric layer, such that the second material layer is flush with the top surface of the semiconductor substrate; and step 6: removing the first mask layer.

It is related to improving a performance of a semiconductor device and suppressing yield deterioration. Using a resist pattern as a mask, an ion-implantation is performed from an upper surface of a semiconductor substrate to form an ion-implanted layer in the semiconductor substrate. By subsequently, another ion-implantation is performed. Then, another ion-implanted layer is formed in the semiconductor substrate so as to overlap with the ion-implanted layer. Next, a heat treatment is performed on the semiconductor substrate to diffuse impurities contained in the ion-implanted layers, thereby an p-type floating region is formed.

A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate having a gate trench including of an upper trench and a lower trench. The upper trench is wider than the lower trench. A gate is embedded in the gate trench. The gate includes an upper portion and a lower portion. A first gate dielectric layer is between the upper portion and a sidewall of the upper trench. The first gate dielectric layer has a first thickness. A second gate dielectric layer is between the lower portion and a sidewall of the lower trench and between the lower portion and a bottom surface of the lower trench. The second gate dielectric layer has a second thickness that is smaller than the first thickness.

The memory device includes a conductive layer, a plurality of first electrode layers stacked over the conductive layer and spaced from each other in a first direction, a semiconductor layer extending through the first electrode layers in the first direction, a second electrode layer provided between the conductive layer and the first electrode layers, and a semiconductor base, located between the conductive layer and the semiconductor layer and extending through the second electrode layer, wherein the semiconductor base has a first width at a portion thereof extending through the second electrode layer in the first direction and second width at a portion thereof connected to the semiconductor layer, and the first width is greater than the second width.

This disclosure relates to the technical field of semiconductors, and discloses a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method therefor. The semiconductor device may include a substrate; a first fin on the substrate for forming a first electronic component; a first gate structure on a portion of the first fin including a first gate dielectric layer on a portion of the first fin and a first gate on the first gate dielectric layer; and a first source region and a first drain region that each at one of two sides of the first gate structure and at least partially located in the first fin, where the first gate dielectric layer comprises a first region abutting against the first drain region, a second region abutting against the first source region, and a third region between the first region and the second region, and wherein thickness of the first region is greater than that of the third region.

Embodiments of the invention are directed to a method of forming a semiconductor device. A non-limiting example of the method includes forming a semiconductor layer within or on a portion of a substrate, wherein the semiconductor layer includes a first type of semiconductor material. A gate stack is formed over a first exposed surface of the semiconductor layer. A first hydrogenated and doped semiconductor layer is formed over a second exposed surface of the semiconductor layer. A second hydrogenated and doped semiconductor layer is formed over a third exposed surface of the semiconductor layer, wherein a lateral dimension of the first hydrogenated and doped semiconductor layer terminates at a first sidewall of the gate stack, and wherein a lateral dimension of the second hydrogenated and doped semiconductor layer terminates at a second sidewall of the gate stack.

A method for fabricating semiconductor device includes the steps of: forming a shallow trench isolation (STI) in the substrate; removing part of the STI to form a trench in a substrate; forming an amorphous silicon layer in the trench and on the STI; performing an oxidation process to transform the amorphous silicon layer into a silicon dioxide layer; and forming a barrier layer and a conductive layer in the trench.