An integrated circuit device comprises a first integrated circuit and a second integrated circuit wherein the first and second integrated circuits are comprised on a single semiconductor die. The second integrated circuit is a safety circuit arranged to monitor the operation of the first integrated circuit, report any detected faults and drive the device into a failsafe state if a fault is detected. The first integrated circuit may be a power management module for a safety critical system. An isolation barrier in the form of a trench is formed between the two integrated circuits so that the safety circuit is protected from any high voltage or thermal stresses arising in the first integrated circuit. The device has particular application to automotive safety-critical systems such as electric power steering systems.

A method of fabricating a transistor device having a channel of a first conductivity type formed during operation in a body region having a second conductivity type includes forming a first well region of the body region in a semiconductor substrate, performing a first implantation procedure to counter-dope the first well region with dopant of the first conductivity type to define a second well region of the body region, and performing a second implantation procedure to form a source region in the first well region and a drain region in the second well region.

A nitride semiconductor device including a substrate, a channel layer, a carbon-poor barrier layer having a recess, a carbon-rich barrier layer disposed over the recess and the carbon-poor barrier layer, and a gate electrode above the recess, wherein the carbon-poor and carbon-rich barrier layers have bandgaps larger than that of the channel layer, the upper surface of the carbon-rich barrier layer includes a first main surface including a source electrode and a drain electrode, and a bottom surface of a depression disposed along the recess, and side surfaces of the depression connecting the first main surface to the bottom surface of the depression, and among edges of the depression of the carbon-rich barrier layer which are boundaries between the first main surface and the side surfaces of the depression, the edge of the depression of the carbon-rich barrier layer closest to the drain electrode is covered with the gate electrode.

A method of forming a semiconductor device is disclosed including providing a silicon-on-insulator substrate comprising a semiconductor bulk substrate, a buried oxide layer formed on the semiconductor bulk substrate and a semiconductor layer formed on the buried oxide layer, and forming a transistor device on the silicon-on-insulator substrate including providing a gate structure on the semiconductor layer having a gate electrode and a first cap layer on the gate electrode, growing an oxide liner on the transistor device having a first part covering the gate structure and a second part covering the semiconductor layer, forming a second cap layer on the oxide liner, at least partially removing the second part of the oxide liner underneath the second cap layer and the first part of the oxide liner, and epitaxially forming raised source/drain regions on the semiconductor layer.

A method includes probing at least one semiconductor fin using a four-point probe head, with four probe pins of the four-point probe head contacting the at least one semiconductor fin. A resistance of the at least one semiconductor fin is calculated. A carrier concentration of the semiconductor fin is calculated from the resistance.

The invention includes semiconductor constructions having trenched isolation regions. The trenches of the trenched isolation regions can include narrow bottom portions and upper wide portions over the bottom portions. Electrically insulative material can fill the upper wide portions while leaving voids within the narrow bottom portions. The trenched isolation regions can be incorporated into a memory array, and/or can be incorporated into an electronic system. The invention also includes methods of forming semiconductor constructions.

A driver IC includes a ring-shaped termination area, and a first area and a second area that are respectively arranged outside and inside the termination area on a layout. A sense MOS that is arranged between floating terminal and a first sense node and is driven at a power supply voltage is formed in the termination area. A fault detection circuit that detects presence of a fault when a voltage of the first sense node is higher than a decision voltage that has been deteLutined in advance in a period of time that a low side driver is driving a low side transistor into an ON state is formed in the first area.

Disclosed is a technique capable of reducing loss at the time of switching in a diode. A diode disclosed in the present specification includes a cathode electrode, a cathode region made of a first conductivity type semiconductor, a drift region made of a low concentration first conductivity type semiconductor, an anode region made of a second conductivity type semiconductor, an anode electrode made of metal, a barrier region formed between the drift region and the anode region and made of a first conductivity type semiconductor having a concentration higher than that of the drift region, and a pillar region formed so as to connect the barrier region to the anode electrode and made of a first conductivity type semiconductor having a concentration higher than that of the barrier region. The pillar region and the anode are connected through a Schottky junction.

Device structure and fabrication methods for a bipolar junction transistor. One or more trench isolation regions are formed in a substrate to define a device region having a first width. A protect layer is formed on a top surface of the one or more trench isolation regions and a top surface of the device region. An opening is formed in the protect layer. The opening is coincides with the top surface of the first device region and has a second width that is less than or equal to the first width of the first device region. A base layer is formed that has a first section on the device region inside the first opening and a second section on the protect layer.

A replacement gate FinFET manufacturing process in which the source/drain regions, gate structure and gate spacer are all defined by utilizing a single sidewall image transfer technique is provided. In the present application, the source/drain region (i.e., area) are defined by a mandrel structure, while the area for the functional gate structure are defined by the distance between spacers that are located on a pair of neighboring mandrel structures. The gate spacer is defined by the spacer present on the mandrel structures. In some embodiments, semiconductor fin erosion due to gate and gate spacer formation can be reduced or even eliminated.