A high voltage transistor may include a plurality of source/drain regions, a gate structure, and a gate oxide layer that enables the gate structure to selectively control a channel region between the source/drain regions. The gate oxide layer may extend laterally outward toward one or more of the plurality of source/drain regions such that at least a portion of the gate oxide layer is not under the gate structure. The gate oxide layer extending laterally outward from under the gate structure enables the gate oxide layer to be used as a self-aligned structure for forming the source/drain regions of the high voltage transistor. In particular, the gate oxide layer extending laterally outward from under the gate structure enables the gate oxide layer to be used to form the source/drain regions at a greater spacing from the gate structure without the use of additional implant masks when forming the source/drain regions.

In some embodiments, a semiconductor device is provided. The semiconductor device includes a gate electrode disposed on a substrate. Source/drain regions are disposed on or within the substrate along opposing sides of the gate electrode. A noise reducing component is arranged along an upper surface of the gate electrode and/or along an upper surface of the substrate over the source/drain regions. A cap layer covers the upper surface of the gate electrode and/or the upper surface of the substrate over the source/drain regions. An inter-level dielectric (ILD) is disposed over and along one or more sidewalls of the cap layer.

A semiconductor device includes a substrate; a channel region disposed in the substrate; and a diffusion region disposed in the substrate on a side of the channel region. The diffusion region comprises a LDD region and a heavily doped region within the LDD region. A gate electrode is disposed over the channel region. The gate electrode partially overlaps with the LDD region. A spacer is disposed on a sidewall of the gate electrode. A gate oxide layer is disposed between the gate electrode and the channel region, between the gate electrode and the LDD region, and between the spacer and the LDD region. A silicide layer is disposed on the heavily doped region and is spaced apart from the edge of the spacer.

A transistor structure includes a semiconductor body, a source region, a drain region and a gate region. The semiconductor body has a convex structure and the convex structure has at least four conductive channels extending upward. The source region contacts with a first end of the convex structure. The drain region contacts with a second end of the convex structure. The gate region has a gate conductive layer, wherein the gate conductive layer is across over the convex structure. Two or four conductive channels are not parallel to each other, and there is no shallow trench isolation region among the at least four conductive channels.

A semiconductor structure, the semiconductor structure includes a substrate with a first conductivity type and a laterally diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor (LDMOS) device on the substrate, the LDMOS device includes a first well region on the substrate, and the first well region has a first conductivity type. A second well region with a second conductivity type, the second conductivity type is complementary to the first conductivity type, a source doped region in the second well region with the first conductivity type, and a deep drain doped region in the first well region, the deep drain doped region has the first conductivity type.

A method and structure providing a high-voltage transistor (HVT) including a gate dielectric, where at least part of the gate dielectric is provided within a trench disposed within a substrate. In some aspects, a gate oxide thickness may be controlled by way of a trench depth. By providing the HVT with a gate dielectric formed within a trench, embodiments of the present disclosure provide for the top gate stack surface of the HVT and the top gate stack surface of a low-voltage transistor (LVT), formed on the same substrate, to be substantially co-planar with each other, while providing a thick gate oxide for the HVTs. Further, because the top gate stack surface of HVT and the top gate stack surface of the LVT are substantially co-planar with each other, over polishing of the HVT gate stack can be avoided.

A method for forming an ultra-shallow junction includes the following operations: providing a semiconductor substrate, forming an epitaxial layer on the semiconductor substrate, providing a dopant and implanting the dopant into the epitaxial layer and a part of the semiconductor substrate, and removing the epitaxial layer, to form the ultra-shallow junction.

Apparatuses including spark gap structures for electrical overstress (EOS) monitoring or protection, and associated methods, are disclosed. In an aspect, a spark gap array includes a sheet resistor and an array of arcing electrode pairs formed over a substrate. The array of arcing electrode pairs includes first arcing electrodes formed on the sheet resistor and a second arcing electrode arranged as a sheet formed over the first arcing electrodes and separated from the first arcing electrodes by an arcing gap. The first arcing electrodes and second arcing electrode are electrically connected to first and second voltage nodes, respectively, and the arcing electrode pairs are configured to generate arc discharges in response to an EOS voltage signal received between the first and second voltage nodes.

Apparatuses including spark gap structures for electrical overstress (EOS) monitoring or protection, and associated methods, are disclosed. In an aspect, a spark gap device includes first and second conductive layers formed over a substrate, where the first and second conductive layers are electrically connected to first and second voltage nodes, respectively. The first conductive layer includes a plurality of arcing tips configured to form arcing electrode pairs with the second conductive layer to form an arc discharge in response to an EOS voltage between the first and second voltage nodes. The spark gap device further includes a series ballast resistor electrically connected between the arcing tips and the first voltage node, where the ballast resistor in formed in a metallization layer over the substrate and a resistance of the series ballast resistor is substantially higher than a resistance of the second conductive layer.

Apparatuses including spark gap structures for electrical overstress (EOS) monitoring or protection, and associated methods, are disclosed. In an aspect, a vertical spark gap device includes a substrate having a horizontal main surface, a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer each extending over the substrate and substantially parallel to the horizontal main surface while being separated in a vertical direction crossing the horizontal main surface. One of the first and second conductive layers is electrically connected to a first voltage node and the other of the first and second conductive layers is electrically connected to a second voltage node. The first and second conductive layers serve as one or more arcing electrode pairs and have overlapping portions configured to generate one or more arc discharges extending generally in the vertical direction in response to an EOS voltage signal received between the first and second voltage nodes.