Semiconductor device

US9166061B2 · US · B2

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-9166061-B2
Application numberUS-201414450997-A
CountryUS
Kind codeB2
Filing dateAug 4, 2014
Priority dateDec 23, 2011
Publication dateOct 20, 2015
Grant dateOct 20, 2015

How to read this patent

A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.

  1. Title

    What the patent document calls the invention.

  2. Abstract

    A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.

  3. Assignees and inventors

    Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.

  4. Key dates

    Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.

  5. First independent claim

    The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.

  6. CPC / IPC classifications

    Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.

  7. Citations and related patents

    Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.

Abstract

Official abstract text for this publication.

Provided is a transistor which includes an oxide semiconductor film and has stable electrical characteristics. In the transistor, over an oxide film which can release oxygen by being heated, a first oxide semiconductor film which can suppress oxygen release at least from the oxide film is formed. Over the first oxide semiconductor film, a second oxide semiconductor film is formed. With such a structure in which the oxide semiconductor films are stacked, the oxygen release from the oxide film can be suppressed at the time of the formation of the second oxide semiconductor film, and oxygen can be released from the oxide film in later-performed heat treatment. Thus, oxygen can pass through the first oxide semiconductor film to be favorably supplied to the second oxide semiconductor film. Oxygen supplied to the second oxide semiconductor film can suppress the generation of oxygen deficiency, resulting in stable electrical characteristics.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

The invention claimed is: 1. A semiconductor device comprising: a first oxide semiconductor film; and a second oxide semiconductor film over the first oxide semiconductor film, wherein the first oxide semiconductor film and the second oxide semiconductor film each comprises indium, gallium, and zinc, wherein the first oxide semiconductor film has a lower content percentage of indium and a higher content percentage of gallium than the second oxide semiconductor film, and wherein the second oxide semiconductor film comprises a crystal portion having a c-axis aligned in a direction parallel to a normal vector of a surface where the second oxide semiconductor film is formed. 2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein the first oxide semiconductor film comprises a low-resistance region and a high-resistance region, the high-resistance region being located outside the second oxide semiconductor film. 3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein the second oxide semiconductor film comprises a channel region and a pair of low-resistance regions in contact with the channel region. 4. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein either end of the second oxide semiconductor film in a channel width direction comprises a high-resistance region. 5. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein a content percentage of gallium is higher than or equal to a content percentage of indium in the first oxide semiconductor film. 6. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein a content percentage of indium is higher than a content percentage of gallium in the second oxide semiconductor film. 7. A semiconductor device comprising: a first oxide semiconductor film over an oxide film; a second oxide semiconductor film over the first oxide semiconductor film; a gate insulating film over the second oxide semiconductor film; and a gate electrode over the second oxide semiconductor film with the gate insulating film interposed therebetween, wherein the first oxide semiconductor film and the second oxide semiconductor film each comprises indium, gallium, and zinc, wherein the first oxide semiconductor film has a lower content percentage of indium and a higher content percentage of gallium than the second oxide semiconductor film, and wherein the second oxide semiconductor film comprises a crystal portion having a c-axis aligned in a direction parallel to a normal vector of a surface where the second oxide semiconductor film is formed. 8. The semiconductor device according to claim 7 , wherein the first oxide semiconductor film comprises a low-resistance region and a high-resistance region, the high-resistance region being located outside the second oxide semiconductor film. 9. The semiconductor device according to claim 7 , wherein the second oxide semiconductor film comprises a channel region and a pair of low-resistance regions in contact with the channel region. 10. The semiconductor device according to claim 7 , wherein either end of the second oxide semiconductor film in a channel width direction comprises a high-resistance region. 11. The semiconductor device according to claim 7 , wherein a content percentage of gallium is higher than or equal to a content percentage of indium in the first oxide semiconductor film. 12. The semiconductor device according to claim 7 , wherein a content percentage of indium is higher than a content percentage of gallium in the second oxide semiconductor film. 13. The semiconductor device according to claim 7 , further comprising: a source electrode and a drain electrode over the gate insulating film, wherein the gate insulating film has a first opening and a second opening, wherein the source electrode and a drain electrode are electrically connected to the second oxide semiconductor film through the first opening and the second opening, respectively, and wherein the distance between the gate electrode and the first opening and the distance between the gate electrode and the second opening are different.

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

  • Oxide semiconductors, e.g. zinc oxide, copper aluminium oxide or cadmium stannate · CPC title

  • Orientations of crystalline planes · CPC title

  • characterised by the materials · CPC title

  • characterised by the structure of the channel, e.g. transverse or longitudinal shape or doping profile (TFTs having channel structures for preventing kink or snapback effects H10D30/6708; TFTs having lightly-doped source or drain extensions H10D30/6715) · CPC title

  • Amorphous oxide semiconductors · CPC title

Patent family

Related publications grouped by family.

External sources

Frequently asked questions

Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.

What does patent US9166061B2 cover?
Provided is a transistor which includes an oxide semiconductor film and has stable electrical characteristics. In the transistor, over an oxide film which can release oxygen by being heated, a first oxide semiconductor film which can suppress oxygen release at least from the oxide film is formed. Over the first oxide semiconductor film, a second oxide semiconductor film is formed. With such a s…
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Semiconductor Energy Lab, Semiconcductor Energy Lab Co Ltd
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification H10D30/6755. Mapped technology areas include Electricity.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Tue Oct 20 2015 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
What related patents are in patentsdb?
We list 8 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).