US4268348A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method for making semiconductor structure
Assignee: Signetics Corp
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Filing: 1966-08-01
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Granted: 1981-05-19
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Expires: 1986-08-01
Abstract
Abstract 1. In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body, forming a grid structure in the semiconductor body, forming a support structure upon the grid structure, removing only a portion of the semiconductor body to provide a semiconductor body which has a substantially uniform thickness in the vicinity of the grid structure and in which the grid structure does not intercept the exposed surface of the semiconductor body, and forming additional grid structure in the semiconductor body joining the first named grid structure so that islands of semiconductor material are formed in the semiconductor body which are isolated from each other and from the support structure. 23. In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body having a surface, forming a layer of insulating material on the surface of the semiconductor body, forming a recessed grid in the layer of insulating material and extending into the semiconductor body, forming a layer of insulating material on the recessed grid adhering to said surface and having a depth which is insufficient to fill the recessed grid to form a grid structure in a semiconductor body prior to the formation of a semiconductor device in the semiconductor body, forming a support structure upon the grid structure, removing a portion of the semiconductor body and diffusing isolation fences into the semiconductor body which extend and make contact with the layer of insulating material to form a plurality of islands of semiconductor material isolated from each other and from the support structure.
Inventors
- 👤 David F. Allison
- 👤 David A. Maxwell
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 18:43
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10P; H10P50/00; H10P50/60; H10P50/64; H10P50/642; H10D; H10D84/00; H10D84/60; H10D84/611; H10D84/613; H10D88/00; H10P52/00; H10W; H10W10/00; H10W10/01; H10W10/011; H10W10/019; H10W10/10; H10W20/00; H10W20/40; H10W70/00; H10W70/60; H10W70/67; H10W70/69; H10W70/698; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S438/00; Y10S438/928
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 35
Claim 1
Independent Claim
108 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body, forming a grid structure in the semiconductor body, forming a support structure upon the grid structure, removing only a portion of the semiconductor body to provide a semiconductor body which has a substantially uniform thickness in the vicinity of the grid structure and in which the grid structure does not intercept the exposed surface of the semiconductor body, and forming additional grid structure in the semiconductor body joining the first named grid structure so that islands of semiconductor material are formed in the semiconductor body which are isolated from each other and from the support structure.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
108 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body, forming a grid structure in the semiconductor body, forming a support structure upon the grid structure, removing only a portion of the semiconductor body to provide a semiconductor body which has a substantially uniform thickness in the vicinity of the grid structure and in which the grid structure does not intercept the exposed surface of the semiconductor body, and forming additional grid structure in the semiconductor body joining the first named grid structure so that islands of semiconductor material are formed in the semiconductor body which are isolated from each other and from the support structure.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method as in claim 1 wherein mechanical stops are utilized during removal of a portion of the semiconductor body to control the depth of the semiconductor body.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
81 words
A method as in claim 1 together with the steps of forming stops of a material substantially harder than the semiconductor body on the support structure, lapping away the semiconductor body until the stops are encountered to provide a semiconductor body of controlled uniform thickness in the vicinity of the grid structure, and forming the grid structure to cause islands of the semiconductor material to be embedded in the grid structure and isolated from each other and from the support structure.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
74 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body, forming a grid structure of insulating material on the semiconductor body, forming stops of a material harder than the semiconductor body upon the semiconductor body, forming a support structure upon the grid structure and upon the stops, and removing portions of the semiconductor body until the stops are encountered to provide a semiconductor body of substantially uniform thickness overlying the grid structure.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
74 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body, forming a grid structure of insulating material on the semiconductor body, forming stops of a material harder than the semiconductor body upon the semiconductor body, forming a support structure upon the grid structure and upon the stops, and removing portions of the semiconductor body until the stops are encountered to provide a semiconductor body of substantially uniform thickness overlying the grid structure.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
92 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body of one type conductivity, forming a layer of semiconductor material of opposite conductivity on the semiconductor body, enclosing the semiconductor body and layer in a layer of insulating material, forming a support structure upon the layer of insulating material, removing by electrochemical etching the portion of the insulating material covering the semiconductor body and the semiconductor body, forming troughs in the semiconductor layer to provide islands of the semiconductor layer, and forming layers of insulating material over the semiconductor islands.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
92 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body of one type conductivity, forming a layer of semiconductor material of opposite conductivity on the semiconductor body, enclosing the semiconductor body and layer in a layer of insulating material, forming a support structure upon the layer of insulating material, removing by electrochemical etching the portion of the insulating material covering the semiconductor body and the semiconductor body, forming troughs in the semiconductor layer to provide islands of the semiconductor layer, and forming layers of insulating material over the semiconductor islands.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
111 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body, forming an insulating layer on the semiconductor body, forming a support structure upon the insulating layer, removing a substantial portion of the semiconductor body to provide a body of substantially uniform depth, forming a layer of insulating material over the semiconductor body, and diffusing impurities of the opposite conductivity of the layer into the layer to meet the layer of insulating material on the support structure to provide in combination with the layer of insulating material a grid structure of insulating material with islands of said layer of semiconductor material isolated from each other and from the support structure.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
111 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body, forming an insulating layer on the semiconductor body, forming a support structure upon the insulating layer, removing a substantial portion of the semiconductor body to provide a body of substantially uniform depth, forming a layer of insulating material over the semiconductor body, and diffusing impurities of the opposite conductivity of the layer into the layer to meet the layer of insulating material on the support structure to provide in combination with the layer of insulating material a grid structure of insulating material with islands of said layer of semiconductor material isolated from each other and from the support structure.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
157 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body, forming a layer of insulating material over at least one portion of the semiconductor body, electrochemically etching away portions of the body not covered by said layer of insulating material so that a raised mesa or mound is formed underlying the insulating layer, depositing an insulating layer over the mesa and the immediately adjoining portions of the body, forming a grid recess in the insulating layer which surrounds the mesa and which extends through the insulating layer to expose the semiconductor body, depositing a support structure in the grid recess and over the insulating layer, electrochemically removing the semiconductor body by causing current to pass through the support structure through the material deposited in the grid recess and through the semiconductor body until the insulating layer is exposed to break electrical contact between the mesas and the portions of the material within the grid recess.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
157 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body, forming a layer of insulating material over at least one portion of the semiconductor body, electrochemically etching away portions of the body not covered by said layer of insulating material so that a raised mesa or mound is formed underlying the insulating layer, depositing an insulating layer over the mesa and the immediately adjoining portions of the body, forming a grid recess in the insulating layer which surrounds the mesa and which extends through the insulating layer to expose the semiconductor body, depositing a support structure in the grid recess and over the insulating layer, electrochemically removing the semiconductor body by causing current to pass through the support structure through the material deposited in the grid recess and through the semiconductor body until the insulating layer is exposed to break electrical contact between the mesas and the portions of the material within the grid recess.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
169 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body, forming a layer of insulating material on the semiconductor body, removing the insulating material from the surface of said body with the exception of at least one portion of the body, etching away exposed portions of the body to provide a raised portion of the body underlying each of the remaining portions of the insulating layer, forming an insulating layer over the entire body and the raised portions, forming a recess in the insulating layer extending down to the semiconductor body and surrounding said raised portions, depositing a semiconductor material upon the insulating layer and in the grid recess to form a support structure, electrochemically etching away the semiconductor body by causing current to pass through the semiconductor body, the material in the grid recess and the support structure until the insulating layer is exposed to form the raised portions into islands isolated electrically from each other and isolated electrically from the remainder of the semiconductor structure.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
169 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body, forming a layer of insulating material on the semiconductor body, removing the insulating material from the surface of said body with the exception of at least one portion of the body, etching away exposed portions of the body to provide a raised portion of the body underlying each of the remaining portions of the insulating layer, forming an insulating layer over the entire body and the raised portions, forming a recess in the insulating layer extending down to the semiconductor body and surrounding said raised portions, depositing a semiconductor material upon the insulating layer and in the grid recess to form a support structure, electrochemically etching away the semiconductor body by causing current to pass through the semiconductor body, the material in the grid recess and the support structure until the insulating layer is exposed to form the raised portions into islands isolated electrically from each other and isolated electrically from the remainder of the semiconductor structure.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
116 words
A process of fabricating semiconductor devices comprising the steps of forming isolation channels in the upper surface of a monocrystalline semiconductor wafer, forming an oxide layer over said surface and into said channels, forming openings in said oxide layer to said surface, growing a layer of semiconductor material over said oxide layer and into said previously formed openings to contact said surface, removing the monocrystalline material of said original wafer by electropolishing, the contact between said grown layer and said wafer at said openings providing a current path therefor, said removal step being continued until said oxide layer is reached, whereby said removal is automatically stopped, and forming devices in the isolated islands of monocrystalline material.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
116 words
A process of fabricating semiconductor devices comprising the steps of forming isolation channels in the upper surface of a monocrystalline semiconductor wafer, forming an oxide layer over said surface and into said channels, forming openings in said oxide layer to said surface, growing a layer of semiconductor material over said oxide layer and into said previously formed openings to contact said surface, removing the monocrystalline material of said original wafer by electropolishing, the contact between said grown layer and said wafer at said openings providing a current path therefor, said removal step being continued until said oxide layer is reached, whereby said removal is automatically stopped, and forming devices in the isolated islands of monocrystalline material.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
22 words
A process as defined in claim 9, wherein said wafer is constituted of silicon and said oxide layer is SiO 2 .
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
16 words
A process as defined in claim 9, wherein said grown layer is constituted of polycrystalline silicon.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
20 words
A process as defined in claim 9, wherein aid isolation pattern is etched into said wafer using HNO.sub.3 --HF--H.sub.2 O
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
128 words
A process of fabricating semiconductor devices comprising the steps of forming a plurality of moats completely surrounding discrete portions of semiconductor material on the surface of a monocrystalline wafer, forming an oxide layer over said surface and into said moats, forming openings in said oxide layer between adjacent moats, growing a layer of semiconductor material at said surface over said oxide layer and into said openings thereby to contact the surface of said wafer, removing the monocrystalline material of said original wafer by electropolishing, the contact between said grown layer and said wafer at said openings providing a current path therefor, said removal step being continued until said oxide layer is reached, whereby said removal is automatically stopped and, forming devices in the isolated islands of monocrystalline material.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
128 words
A process of fabricating semiconductor devices comprising the steps of forming a plurality of moats completely surrounding discrete portions of semiconductor material on the surface of a monocrystalline wafer, forming an oxide layer over said surface and into said moats, forming openings in said oxide layer between adjacent moats, growing a layer of semiconductor material at said surface over said oxide layer and into said openings thereby to contact the surface of said wafer, removing the monocrystalline material of said original wafer by electropolishing, the contact between said grown layer and said wafer at said openings providing a current path therefor, said removal step being continued until said oxide layer is reached, whereby said removal is automatically stopped and, forming devices in the isolated islands of monocrystalline material.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
22 words
A process as defined in claim 13, wherein said wafer is constituted of silicon and said oxide layer is SiO 2 .
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
16 words
A process as defined in claim 13, wherein said grown layer is constituted of polycrystalline silicon.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
20 words
A process as defined in claim 13, wherein said isolation pattern is etched into said wafer using HNO.sub.3 --HF--H.sub.2 O
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
113 words
A process of fabricating semiconductor devices comprising the steps of forming isolation channels in a surface of a semiconductor substrate, forming an insulating layer over said surface and into said channels, forming openings in said insulating layer to said surface, growing a layer of semiconductor material over said insulating layer and into said previously-formed openings to contact said surface, removing material from said substrate by electropolishing, the contact between said grown layer and said substrate at said openings providing a current path for the electropolishing operation, said removal step being continued until said insulating layer is reached, whereby removal of the material from the regions defined by the isolation channels is automatically stopped.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
113 words
A process of fabricating semiconductor devices comprising the steps of forming isolation channels in a surface of a semiconductor substrate, forming an insulating layer over said surface and into said channels, forming openings in said insulating layer to said surface, growing a layer of semiconductor material over said insulating layer and into said previously-formed openings to contact said surface, removing material from said substrate by electropolishing, the contact between said grown layer and said substrate at said openings providing a current path for the electropolishing operation, said removal step being continued until said insulating layer is reached, whereby removal of the material from the regions defined by the isolation channels is automatically stopped.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
19 words
A process as defined in claim 17, further including the step of forming devices in the thus-defined isolated regions.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
22 words
A process as defined in claim 18, wherein said substrate is constituted of silicon and said insulating layer is SiO 2 .
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
16 words
A process as defined in claim 18, wherein said openings are placed between adjacent isolation channels.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
183 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body having a surface, forming a layer of insulating material on the semiconductor body and overlying said surface prior to the formation of a semiconductor device in a semiconductor body, selectively opening at least one hole in the insulating material to expose a portion of the surface of the semiconductor body, removing a portion of the body exposed through said hole to form a slot in said body, forming a layer of insulating material in said slot and overlying said surface to a depth which is insufficient to fill said slot, forming a support structure directly on the layer of insulating material, forming said layer as a grid structure of insulating material to provide a plurality of islands of said semiconductor material imbedded in said grid structure and insulated from each other and from the remainder of the semiconductor body and from the support structure by said grid structure and removing a substantial portion of the semiconductor body utilizing mechanical stops to provide a semiconductor body having a substantially uniform controlled depth.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
183 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body having a surface, forming a layer of insulating material on the semiconductor body and overlying said surface prior to the formation of a semiconductor device in a semiconductor body, selectively opening at least one hole in the insulating material to expose a portion of the surface of the semiconductor body, removing a portion of the body exposed through said hole to form a slot in said body, forming a layer of insulating material in said slot and overlying said surface to a depth which is insufficient to fill said slot, forming a support structure directly on the layer of insulating material, forming said layer as a grid structure of insulating material to provide a plurality of islands of said semiconductor material imbedded in said grid structure and insulated from each other and from the remainder of the semiconductor body and from the support structure by said grid structure and removing a substantial portion of the semiconductor body utilizing mechanical stops to provide a semiconductor body having a substantially uniform controlled depth.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
191 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body having a surface, forming a layer of insulating material on the semiconductor body and overlying said surface prior to the formation of a semiconductor device in a semiconductor body, selectively opening at least one hole in the insulating material to expose a portion of the surface of the semiconductor body, removing a portion of the body exposed through said hole to form a slot in said body, forming a layer of insulating material in said slot and overlying said surface to a depth which is insufficient to fill said slot, forming a support structure directly on the layer of insulating material, forming said layer as a grid structure of insulating material to provide a plurality of islands of said semiconductor material imbedded in said grid structure and insulated from each other and from the remainder of the semiconductor body and from the support structure by said grid structure and forming a stop on the support structure and removing a substantial portion of the semiconductor body utilizing the stop to provide a semiconductor body having a substantially uniformly controlled depth.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
191 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body having a surface, forming a layer of insulating material on the semiconductor body and overlying said surface prior to the formation of a semiconductor device in a semiconductor body, selectively opening at least one hole in the insulating material to expose a portion of the surface of the semiconductor body, removing a portion of the body exposed through said hole to form a slot in said body, forming a layer of insulating material in said slot and overlying said surface to a depth which is insufficient to fill said slot, forming a support structure directly on the layer of insulating material, forming said layer as a grid structure of insulating material to provide a plurality of islands of said semiconductor material imbedded in said grid structure and insulated from each other and from the remainder of the semiconductor body and from the support structure by said grid structure and forming a stop on the support structure and removing a substantial portion of the semiconductor body utilizing the stop to provide a semiconductor body having a substantially uniformly controlled depth.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
143 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body having a surface, forming a layer of insulating material on the surface of the semiconductor body, forming a recessed grid in the layer of insulating material and extending into the semiconductor body, forming a layer of insulating material on the recessed grid adhering to said surface and having a depth which is insufficient to fill the recessed grid to form a grid structure in a semiconductor body prior to the formation of a semiconductor device in the semiconductor body, forming a support structure upon the grid structure, removing a portion of the semiconductor body and diffusing isolation fences into the semiconductor body which extend and make contact with the layer of insulating material to form a plurality of islands of semiconductor material isolated from each other and from the support structure.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
143 words
In a method for forming a semiconductor structure utilizing a semiconductor body having a surface, forming a layer of insulating material on the surface of the semiconductor body, forming a recessed grid in the layer of insulating material and extending into the semiconductor body, forming a layer of insulating material on the recessed grid adhering to said surface and having a depth which is insufficient to fill the recessed grid to form a grid structure in a semiconductor body prior to the formation of a semiconductor device in the semiconductor body, forming a support structure upon the grid structure, removing a portion of the semiconductor body and diffusing isolation fences into the semiconductor body which extend and make contact with the layer of insulating material to form a plurality of islands of semiconductor material isolated from each other and from the support structure.
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