A high-voltage MOS transistor includes a semiconductor substrate, a gate oxide layer on the semiconductor substrate, a gate on the gate oxide layer, a spacer covering a sidewall of the gate, a source on one side of the gate, and a drain on the other side of the gate. The gate includes at least a first discrete segment and a second discrete segment. The first discrete segment is not in direct contact with the second discrete segment. The spacer fills into a gap between the first discrete segment and the second discrete segment.

Techniques are disclosed for forming transistor devices having reduced parasitic contact resistance relative to conventional devices. The techniques can be implemented, for example, using a standard contact stack such as a series of metals on, for example, silicon or silicon germanium (SiGe) source/drain regions. In accordance with one example such embodiment, an intermediate boron doped germanium layer is provided between the source/drain and contact metals to significantly reduce contact resistance. Numerous transistor configurations and suitable fabrication processes will be apparent in light of this disclosure, including both planar and non-planar transistor structures (e.g., FinFETs), as well as strained and unstrained channel structures. Graded buffering can be used to reduce misfit dislocation. The techniques are particularly well-suited for implementing p-type devices, but can be used for n-type devices if so desired.

A semiconductor device can be reduced in size. The semiconductor device has a first conductivity type p type well layer extending in the X direction of the main surface of a semiconductor substrate; a reference potential wire coupled with the p type well layer, and extending in the X direction; first and second active regions arranged on the opposite sides of the reference potential wire in the Y direction; and a gate electrode layer extending in the Y direction in such a manner as to cross with the first and second active regions . Then, the gate electrode layer has a first gate electrode of a second conductivity type at the crossing part with the first active region, a second gate electrode of the second conductivity type at the crossing part with the second active region, and a non-doped electrode between the first gate electrode and the second gate electrode.

A method for forming a semiconductor structure includes providing a semiconductor substrate having a metal gate structure formed on the semiconductor substrate; forming a first dielectric layer covering a side surface of the metal gate structure on the semiconductor substrate; forming a cap layer on the metal gate structure; etching a top portion of the first dielectric layer using the cap layer as an etching mask; forming a protective sidewall spacer on a side surface of the cap layer and a side surface of a portion of the first dielectric layer under the cap layer; forming a second dielectric layer to cover the cap layer, the protective sidewall spacer and a top surface of the etched first dielectric layer; forming at least a first through-hole in the second dielectric layer; and forming a first conductive via in the first through-hole.

An integrated circuit contains a logic MOS transistor and a memory MOS transistor of a same polarity. The logic MOS transistor has a logic channel stop layer. The memory MOS transistor has a memory channel stop layer. An average dopant density of the memory channel stop layer is higher than an average dopant density of the logic channel stop layer. The integrated circuit is formed by forming a global mask which exposes both the logic and memory MOS transistors. A global channel stop dose of dopants is implanted in the logic and memory MOS transistors. A memory mask is formed which exposes the memory MOS transistor and covers the logic MOS transistor. A memory channel stop dose of dopants of the same polarity is implanted into the memory MOS transistors. The memory channel stop dose of dopants are blocked from the logic MOS transistors.

A semiconductor device includes a transistor configuration including first and second gate electrodes, each of the first and second gate electrodes having at least a bottom layer and an upper layer including polycrystalline silicon grains, wherein the first gate electrode is a nMOS gate electrode formed in an nMOS region of the transistor configuration, wherein the polycrystalline silicon grains included in the bottom layer of the first gate electrode have a greater particle diameter than the polycrystalline grains included in the upper layer of the second gate electrode.

A semiconductor device includes a substrate and a gate dielectric layer on the substrate. The gate dielectric layer includes a single metal oxide layer. The semiconductor device includes a gate electrode stack on the gate dielectric layer. The gate electrode stack includes a metal filling line. The gate electrode stack includes a work function layer covering the sidewall and the bottom surface of the metal filling line. The gate electrode stack includes a capping layer in contact with the gate dielectric layer between sidewalls of the gate dielectric layer and sidewalls of the work function layer. The capping layer includes TaC and at least one of TiN or TaN. The gate electrode stack includes a barrier layer interposed between the capping layer and the sidewalls of the work function layer. The barrier layer comprises TaC and WN, and the barrier layer is in contact with the capping layer.

A method to form a semiconductor structure with an active region and a compatible dielectric layer is described. In one embodiment, a semiconductor structure has a dielectric layer comprised of an oxide of a first semiconductor material, wherein a second (and compositionally different) semiconductor material is formed between the dielectric layer and the first semiconductor material. In another embodiment, a portion of the second semiconductor material is replaced with a third semiconductor material in order to impart uniaxial strain to the lattice structure of the second semiconductor material.

A replacement metal gate transistor structure and method with thin silicon nitride sidewalls and with little or no high-k dielectric on the vertical sidewalls of the replacement gate transistor trench

An integrated circuit (IC) using high- metal gate (HKMG) technology with an embedded silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory cell is provided. A logic device is arranged on a semiconductor substrate and comprises a logic gate. The logic gate is arranged within a high dielectric layer. A memory cell is arranged on the semiconductor substrate and comprises a control transistor and a select transistor laterally adjacent to one another. The control and select transistors respectively comprise a control gate and a select gate. The control transistor further comprises a charge trapping layer underlying the control gate. The control and select gates are a first material, and the logic gate is a second material. A high--last method for manufacturing the IC is also provided.