It is desirable to design and manufacture electronic chips that are resistant to modern reverse engineering techniques. Disclosed is a method and device that allows for the design of chips that are difficult to reverse engineer using modern teardown techniques. The disclosed device uses devices having the same geometry but different voltage levels to create different logic devices. Alternatively, the disclosed uses devices having different geometries and the same operating characteristics. Also disclosed is a method of designing a chip using these devices.

Some embodiments include transistor constructions having a first insulative structure lining a recess within a base. A first conductive structure lines an interior of the first insulative structure, and a ferroelectric structure lines an interior of the first conductive structure. A second conductive structure is within a lower region of the ferroelectric structure, and the second conductive structure has an uppermost surface beneath an uppermost surface of the first conductive structure. A second insulative structure is over the second conductive structure and within the ferroelectric structure. A pair of source/drain regions are adjacent an upper region of the first insulative structure and are on opposing sides of the first insulative structure from one another.

Various embodiments provide a memory cell that includes a vertical selection gate, a floating gate extending above the substrate, wherein the floating gate also extends above a portion of the vertical selection gate, over a non-zero overlap distance, the memory cell comprising a doped region implanted at the intersection of a vertical channel region extending opposite the selection gate and a horizontal channel region extending opposite the floating gate.

A heterostructure field effect transistor (HFET) gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor power device comprises a hetero-junction structure comprises a first semiconductor layer interfacing a second semiconductor layer of two different band gaps thus generating an interface layer as a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) layer. The power device further comprises a source electrode and a drain electrode disposed on two opposite sides of a gate electrode disposed on top of the hetero-junction structure for controlling a current flow between the source and drain electrodes in the 2DEG layer. The power device further includes a floating gate located between the gate electrode and hetero-junction structure, wherein the gate electrode is insulated from the floating gate with an insulation layer and wherein the floating gate is disposed above and padded with a thin insulation layer from the hetero-junction structure and wherein the floating gate is charged for continuously applying a voltage to the 2DEG layer to pinch off the current flowing in the 2DEG layer between the source and drain electrodes whereby the HFET semiconductor power device is a normally off device.

An ISFET includes a control gate coupled to a floating gate in a CMOS device. The control gate, for example, a poly-to-well capacitor, is configured to receive a bias voltage and effect movement of a trapped charge between the control gate and the floating gate. The threshold voltage of the ISFET can therefore by trimmed to a predetermined value, thereby storing the trim information (the amount of trapped charge in the floating gate) within the ISFET itself.

A memory device that includes a plurality of ROM cells each having spaced apart source and drain regions formed in a substrate with a channel region therebetween, a first gate disposed over and insulated from a first portion of the channel region, a second gate disposed over and insulated from a second portion of the channel region, and a conductive line extending over the plurality of ROM cells. The conductive line is electrically coupled to the drain regions of a first subgroup of the ROM cells, and is not electrically coupled to the drain regions of a second subgroup of the ROM cells. Alternately, a first subgroup of the ROM cells each includes a higher voltage threshold implant region in the channel region, whereas a second subgroup of the ROM cells each lack any higher voltage threshold implant region in the channel region.

A 3D semiconductor device, the device including: a first level including a first single crystal layer and including first transistors which each includes a single crystal channel; a first metal layer; a second metal layer overlaying the first metal layer; a second level including second transistors, first memory cells including at least one second transistor, and overlaying the second metal layer; a third level including third transistors and overlaying the second level; a fourth level including fourth transistors, second memory cells including at least one fourth transistor, and overlaying the third level, where at least one of the second transistors includes a metal gate, where the first level includes memory control circuits which control writing to the second memory cells, and at least one Phase-Lock-Loop (PLL) circuit or at least one Digital-Lock-Loop (DLL) circuit.

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming an SGT in a semiconductor pillar on a semiconductor substrate and forming a wiring semiconductor layer so as to contact a side surface of an impurity region present in a center portion of the semiconductor pillar or a side surface of a gate conductor layer. A first alloy layer formed in a side surface of the wiring semiconductor layer is directly connected to the impurity region and the gate conductor layer and is connected to an output wiring metal layer through a contact hole formed on an upper surface of a second alloy layer formed in an upper surface and the side surface of the wiring semiconductor layer.

According to one embodiment, the first separation film separates the control electrode, the first insulating layer, the charge storage layer, the intermediate insulating layer, the floating electrode layer, and the second insulating layer in a first direction. The second separation film separates a first stacked unit in a second direction. The first stacked unit includes the charge storage layer, the intermediate insulating layer, the floating electrode layer, the second insulating layer, and the semiconductor layer. The second direction intersects the first direction. The second separation film contains silicon.

A semiconductor memory device according to an embodiment includes a plurality of channel layers, a gate-insulating film disposed on the channel layer, a floating gate electrode disposed on the gate-insulating film, a block insulating film disposed over the floating gate electrode, the block insulating film including at least a first insulating film and a second insulating film, the second insulating film including lanthanum and aluminum, and a control gate electrode disposed on the block insulating film. The second insulating film includes an upwardly convex curved portion in a region between the channel layers.