Active solid-state devices (e.g. – transistors – solid-state diode – Field effect device – Having insulated electrode
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-01
2001-02-27
Wojciechowicz, Edward (Department: 2815)
Active solid-state devices (e.g., transistors, solid-state diode
Field effect device
Having insulated electrode
C257S374000, C257S396000, C257S400000, C257S402000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06194766
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to integrated metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) devices and, in particular, to combining high voltage and low voltage devices on a single semiconductor substrate.
Refinements in the design and fabrication of integrated circuits (ICs) have provided circuits having more than one million transistors. With continued research and development, the microelectronics industry continues to push transistor densities even higher. One consequence of increasing transistor densities is that device operating voltages are generally getting lower. Whereas, older transistor-transistor logic (TTL) circuits were designed to operate at 5 volts (v), newer circuits such as memory devices and central processing units (CPU) are being designed to operate at 3.3v, 2.5v, and 1.8v.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention generally provides methods and apparatus to fabricate high voltage transistors (operating for example at approximately 12 volts and above) on a substrate of higher density, low voltage (operating for example at approximately 5 volts and below) devices. In one embodiment, a high voltage transistor is fabricated on a substrate of low voltage devices without any additional photolithographic or process steps. In other embodiments, photolithographic and process steps are added to allow operational refinements of the high voltage transistor.
Including high voltage and low voltage devices on a common substrate allows the fabrication of integrated circuits having increased functionality at a reduced cost over (functionally) equivalent combinations of circuits, some incorporating high voltage devices and some incorporating low voltage devices. Examples of high voltage circuits that can be implemented on a substrate of predominately low voltage devices in accordance with the invention include, but are not limited to: (1) on-chip programming devices for use in programmable read-only memory devices; (2) high voltage sense circuits; (3) liquid crystal display drivers; (4) servo control circuits; and (5) disk drive read channel circuitry. Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description.
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LSI Logic Corporation
Wojciechowicz Edward
LandOfFree
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