A semiconductor device including reentrant isolation structures and a method for making such a device. A preferred embodiment comprises a substrate of semiconductor material forming at least one isolation structure having a reentrant profile and isolating one or more adjacent operational components. The reentrant profile of the at least one isolation structure is formed of substrate material and is created by ion implantation, preferably using oxygen ions applied at a number of different angles and energy levels. In another embodiment the present invention is a method of forming an isolation structure for a semiconductor device performing at least one oxygen ion implantation.

A semiconductor device includes an interfacial layer on a substrate and agate structure on the interfacial layer. Preferably, the gate structure includes a patterned high-k dielectric layer, the patterned high-k dielectric layer comprises a metal oxide layer, and a horizontal direction width of the patterned high-k dielectric layer and a horizontal direction width of the interfacial layer are different. The semiconductor device also includes a first spacer adjacent to the gate structure and on part of the interfacial layer and contacting a top surface of the interfacial layer and a second spacer on the sidewalls of the first spacer and the interfacial layer. Preferably, a planar bottom surface of the second spacer is lower than a planar bottom surface of the first spacer and extending along a same direction as the planar bottom surface of the first spacer.

An integrated circuit includes an NMOS transistor, a PMOS transistor and a vertical bipolar transistor. The vertical bipolar transistor has an intrinsic base with a band barrier at least 25 meV high at a surface boundary of the intrinsic base, except at an emitter-base junction with an emitter, and except at a base-collector junction with a collector. The intrinsic base may be laterally surrounded by an extrinsic base with a higher dopant density than the intrinsic base, wherein a higher dopant density provides the band barrier at lateral surfaces of the intrinsic base. A gate may be disposed on a gate dielectric layer over a top surface boundary of the intrinsic base adjacent to the emitter. The gate is configured to accumulate the intrinsic base immediately under the gate dielectric layer, providing the band barrier at the top surface boundary of the intrinsic base.

A flash memory device and method of making the same are disclosed. The flash memory device is located on a substrate and includes a floating gate electrode, a tunnel dielectric layer located between the substrate and the floating gate electrode, a smaller length control gate electrode and a control gate dielectric layer located between the floating gate electrode and the smaller length control gate electrode. The length of a major axis of the smaller length control gate electrode is less than a length of a major axis of the floating gate electrode.

Semiconductor devices and methods of fabricating such devices are provided. The devices include source and drain regions on one conductivity type separated by a channel length and a gate structure. The devices also include a channel region of the one conductivity type formed in the device region between the source and drain regions and a screening region of another conductivity type formed below the channel region and between the source and drain regions. In operation, the channel region forms, in response to a bias voltage at the gate structure, a surface depletion region below the gate structure, a buried depletion region at an interface of the channel region and the screening region, and a buried channel region between the surface depletion region and the buried depletion region, where the buried depletion region is substantially located in channel region.

A semiconductor device includes a substrate having a memory array region and a peripheral region, isolation layers formed in the peripheral region to define an active region, offset insulating layers separated from each other and formed in the active region, and a gate electrode having edges overlapping with the offset insulating layers and arranged in the active region between the offset insulating layers.

A semiconductor structure includes first, second, and third transistor elements each having a first screening region concurrently formed therein. A second screening region is formed in the second and third transistor elements such that there is at least one characteristic of the screening region in the second transistor element that is different than the second screening region in the third transistor element. Different characteristics include doping concentration and depth of implant. In addition, a different characteristic may be achieved by concurrently implanting the second screening region in the second and third transistor element followed by implanting an additional dopant into the second screening region of the third transistor element.

An integrated circuit having an improved gate contact and a method of making the circuit are provided. In an exemplary embodiment, the method includes receiving a substrate. The substrate includes a gate stack disposed on the substrate and an interlayer dielectric disposed on the gate stack. The interlayer dielectric is first etched to expose a portion of the gate electrode, and then the exposed portion of the gate electrode is etched to form a cavity. The cavity is shaped such that a portion of the gate electrode overhangs the electrode. A conductive material is deposited within the cavity and in electrical contact with the gate electrode. In some such embodiments, the etching of the gate electrode forms a curvilinear surface of the gate electrode that defines the cavity.

An ion beam etching device includes a grid provided between a treatment chamber and a plasma generation chamber, and for forming an ion beam by drawing ions from the plasma generation chamber; a gas introduction unit for introducing discharge gas into the plasma generation chamber; an exhaust for exhausting the treatment chamber; a substrate holder; a control unit to receive a measurement result of an in-plane film thickness distribution before the substrate is processed; and an electromagnetic coil provided outside of the plasma generation chamber in a ceiling portion opposite to the grid of the plasma generation chamber. The electromagnetic coil includes an outer coil provided on an outer circumference of the ceiling portion and an inner coil provided on an inner circumference of the ceiling portion, and the control unit controls the currents applied to the outer coil and the inner coil in accordance with the measurement result.

The thickness of an insulating film, which will serve as an offset spacer film and is formed in an offset monitor region, is managed as the thickness of an offset spacer film formed over the side wall surface of a gate electrode of an SOTB transistor STR, etc. When the measured thickness is within the tolerance of a standard thickness, standard implantation energy and a standard dose amount are set. When the measured thickness is smaller than the standard thickness, implantation energy and a dose amount, which are respectively lower than the standard values thereof, are set. When the measured thickness is larger than the standard thickness, implantation energy and a dose amount, which are respectively higher than the standard values thereof, are set.