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US4131496A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Method of making silicon on sapphire field effect transistors with specifically aligned gates

Assignee: RCA Corp
•
Filing: 1977-12-15
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Granted: 1978-12-26
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Expires: 1997-12-15
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Abstract

Abstract The method comprises forming a blind hole in a sapphire substrate using a sulfur hexafluoride gas etchant and an etch mask comprising a single layer of silicon nitride. The blind holes are filled with epitaxially grown silicon and field effect transistors are laid out with their gates orthogonal to a line which is at a 45° angle to a standard wafer flat, i.e. orthogonal to the projection of the "c" axis onto the "r" plane of the sapphire wafer.

Inventors

  • 👤 Charles E. Weitzel
  • 👤 David R. Capewell

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-27 05:51
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10D; H10D62/00; H10D62/40; H10D86/00; H10D86/01; H10D86/03; H10P; H10P50/00; H10P50/20; H10P50/28; H10P50/282; H10P50/283; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S438/00; Y10S438/982

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim 146 words
A process for manufacturing field effect transistors on an insulating substrate selected from the group consisting of sapphire, spinel and beryllium oxide; comprising: (a) depositing a mask comprising a layer of silicon nitride directly on an exposed surface of said insulating substrate; (b) defining an aperture in said mask to expose portions of the underlying insulating substrate; (c) exposing said mask and said exposed portions of said insulating substrate to a gas mixture comprised of sulfur hexafluoride gas and a carrier gas at a temperature less than 1050° C. for a time period sufficient to form blind holes in said insulating substrate; (d) epitaxially growing silicon in said blind holes; and (e) forming field effect transistors in said epitaxially grown silicon, the gates of said field effect transistors being aligned orthogonal to the projection of the "c" axis on the "r" plane of said insulating substrate.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 146 words
A process for manufacturing field effect transistors on an insulating substrate selected from the group consisting of sapphire, spinel and beryllium oxide; comprising: (a) depositing a mask comprising a layer of silicon nitride directly on an exposed surface of said insulating substrate; (b) defining an aperture in said mask to expose portions of the underlying insulating substrate; (c) exposing said mask and said exposed portions of said insulating substrate to a gas mixture comprised of sulfur hexafluoride gas and a carrier gas at a temperature less than 1050° C. for a time period sufficient to form blind holes in said insulating substrate; (d) epitaxially growing silicon in said blind holes; and (e) forming field effect transistors in said epitaxially grown silicon, the gates of said field effect transistors being aligned orthogonal to the projection of the "c" axis on the "r" plane of said insulating substrate.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 24 words
The process of claim 1 wherein said insulating substrate is a sapphire substrate having a surface orientation substantially parallel to the [1102] crystallographic plane.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 20 words
The process of claim 2 wherein said aperture is defined in said mask by plasma etching said silicon nitride layer.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 36 words
The process of claim 2 further comprising depositing a layer of silicon dioxide on said layer of silicon nitride wherein the step of defining an aperture comprises defining said aperture also in said silicon dioxide layer.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 11 words
The process of claim 4 wherein the carrier gas is hydrogen.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 19 words
The process of claim 5 wherein sulfur hexafluoride comprises from 1/2% to 4% of the volume of the mixture.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 18 words
The process of claim 6 wherein said silicon nitride is deposited to a thickness of at least 500A.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 17 words
The process of claim 7 wherein said silicon dioxide layer has a thickness of at least 2000A.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 22 words
The process of claim 8 wherein the gas mixture has a flow rate over the substrate of from 10 to 50 liters/minute.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 24 words
The process of claim 9 wherein the substrate is exposed to the gas mixture for a time period of between 3 and 10 minutes.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 31 words
The process of claim 10 wherein the substrate with the mask thereon is heated to less than 1050° C. by a radio frequency coil positioned around a reactor housing the substrate.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US3471754A Cited
US3546036A Cited
US3493430A Cited
US3476991A Cited
US3652324A Cited
US3679502A Cited
US3743552A Cited
US3969753A Cited
US4052251A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1981-12-25 1982-06-26 1982-12-26 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1985-12-25 1986-06-26 1986-12-26 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1989-12-25 1990-06-26 1990-12-26 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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