Some embodiments include apparatuses and methods having a source material, a dielectric material over the source material, a select gate material over the dielectric material, a memory cell stack over the select gate material, a conductive plug located in an opening of the dielectric material and contacting a portion of the source material, and a channel material extending through the memory cell stack and the select gate material and contacting the conductive plug.

A method for producing a semiconductor device includes depositing an oxide film containing an impurity having a first conductivity type on a substrate. A nitride film and an oxide film containing an impurity having a second conductivity type different from the first conductivity type are deposited. The oxide film having the first conductivity type, the nitride film, and the oxide film having the second conductivity type are etched to form a contact hole. Epitaxial growth is performed in the contact hole to form a pillar-shaped silicon layer. The nitride film is removed and a metal is deposited to form an output terminal.

A semiconductor device includes a third first-conductivity-type semiconductor layer on a semiconductor substrate, and a first pillar-shaped semiconductor layer on the semiconductor substrate. The first pillar-shaped semiconductor layer including a first first-conductivity-type semiconductor layer, a first body region, a second first-conductivity-type semiconductor layer, a first second-conductivity-type semiconductor layer, a second body region, a second second-conductivity-type semiconductor layer, and a third second-conductivity-type semiconductor layer. A first gate insulating film is around the first body region, and a first gate is around the first gate insulating film. A second gate insulating film is around the second body region and a second gate is around the second gate insulating film. An output terminal is connected to the second first-conductivity-type semiconductor layer and the first second-conductivity-type semiconductor layer, and a first contact connects the first gate and the second gate.

A method providing a high aspect ratio through substrate via in a substrate is described. The through substrate via has vertical sidewalls and a horizontal bottom. The substrate has a horizontal field area surrounding the through substrate via. A first metallic barrier layer is deposited on the sidewalls of the through substrate via. A nitridation process converts a surface portion of the metallic barrier layer to a nitride surface layer. The nitride surface layer enhances the nucleation of subsequent depositions. A first metal layer is deposited to fill the through substrate via. A selective etch creates a recess in the first metal layer in the through substrate via. A second barrier layer is deposited over the recess. A second metal layer is patterned over the second barrier layer filling the recess and creating a contact. Another aspect of the invention is a device produced by the method.

A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device that have a new structure are provided, in which memory cells are laminated in a three dimensional state so that the chip area may be reduced. The nonvolatile semiconductor memory device of the present invention is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device that has a plurality of the memory strings, in which a plurality of electrically programmable memory cells is connected in series. The memory strings comprise a pillar shaped semiconductor; a first insulation film formed around the pillar shaped semiconductor; a charge storage layer formed around the first insulation film; the second insulation film formed around the charge storage layer; and first or nth electrodes formed around the second insulation film (n is natural number more than 1). The first or nth electrodes of the memory strings and the other first or nth electrodes of the memory strings are respectively the first or nth conductor layers that are spread in a two dimensional state.

The method for preventing epitaxial growth in a semiconductor device begins with cutting a set of long fins into a set of fins of a FinFET structure, the set of fins having respective cut faces of a set of cut faces located at respective fin ends of a set of fin ends. A photoresist layer is patterned over the set of fin ends of the set of fins of the FinFET structure. The photoresist pattern over the set of fin ends differs from the photoresist pattern over other areas of the FinFET structure as the photoresist pattern over the set of fin ends protects the first dielectric material at the set of fin ends. A set of dielectric blocks is formed at the set of fin ends, wherein each of the dielectric blocks covers at least one cut face. The set of dielectric blocks prevents epitaxial growth at the set of fin ends in a subsequent epitaxial growth step.

Techniques for integrating DC-DC power converters with other on-chip circuitry are provided. In one aspect, an integrated DC-DC power converter includes: a GaN transistor chip having at least one GaN switch formed thereon; an interposer chip, bonded to the GaN transistor chip, having at least one power driver transistor formed thereon; TSVs present in the interposer chip adjacent to the power driver transistor and which connect the power driver transistor to the GaN switch; and an on-chip magnetic inductor formed either on the GaN transistor chip or on the interposer chip. A method of forming a fully integrated DC-DC power converter is also provided.

Some embodiments of the invention provide a three-dimensional (3D) circuit that is formed by stacking two or more integrated circuit (IC) dies to at least partially overlap and to share one or more interconnect layers that distribute power, clock and/or data-bus signals. The shared interconnect layers include interconnect segments that carry power, clock and/or data-bus signals. In some embodiments, the shared interconnect layers are higher level interconnect layers (e.g., the top interconnect layer of each IC die). In some embodiments, the stacked IC dies of the 3D circuit include first and second IC dies. The first die includes a first semiconductor substrate and a first set of interconnect layers defined above the first semiconductor substrate. Similarly, the second IC die includes a second semiconductor substrate and a second set of interconnect layers defined above the second semiconductor substrate. As further described below, the first and second dies in some embodiments are placed in a face-to-face arrangement (e.g., a vertically stacked arrangement) that has the first and second set of interconnect layers facing each other. In some embodiments, a subset of one or more interconnect layers of the second set interconnect layers of the second die has interconnect wiring that carries power, clock and/or data-bus signals that are supplied to the first IC die.

A test structure for 3D memory arrays and methods of forming the same are disclosed. In an embodiment, a memory array includes a first word line over a semiconductor substrate and extending in a first direction; a second word line over the first word line and extending in the first direction; a memory film contacting the first word line and the second word line; an oxide semiconductor (OS) layer contacting a first source line and a first bit line, the memory film being between the OS layer and each of the first word line and the second word line; and a test structure over the first word line and the second word line, the test structure including a first conductive line electrically coupling the first word line to the second word line, the first conductive line extending in the first direction.

A transistor with a high on-state current and a semiconductor device with high productivity are provided. Included are a first oxide, a second oxide, a third oxide, and a fourth oxide over a first insulator; a first conductor over the third oxide; a second conductor over the fourth oxide; a second insulator over the first conductor; a third insulator over the second conductor; a fifth oxide positioned over the second oxide and between the third oxide and the fourth oxide; a sixth oxide over the fifth oxide; a fourth insulator over the sixth oxide; a third conductor over the fourth insulator; and a fifth insulator over the first insulator to the third insulator. The fifth oxide includes a region in contact with the second oxide to the fourth oxide and the first insulator. The sixth oxide includes a region in contact with the fifth oxide, the first conductor, and the second conductor. The fourth insulator includes a region in contact with at least the sixth oxide, the third conductor, and the fifth insulator.