{"schema_version":"1.0","canonical_url":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9853156","patent":{"patent_number":"US-9853156","title":"Source/drain contacts for non-planar transistors","assignee":null,"inventors":[],"filing_date":"2015-02-10T00:00:00.000Z","publication_date":"2017-12-26T00:00:00.000Z","cpc_codes":["H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L","H01L"],"num_claims":16,"abstract":"The present description relates to the field of fabricating microelectronic devices having non-planar transistors. Embodiments of the present description relate to the formation of source/drain contacts within non-planar transistors, wherein a titanium-containing contact interface may be used in the formation of the source/drain contact with a discreet titanium silicide formed between the titanium-containing interface and a silicon-containing source/drain structure."},"analysis":{"summary":"The patent \"Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors\" (US-9853156) introduces a critical innovation in the fabrication of microelectronic devices, specifically addressing challenges in forming effective source/drain contacts for non-planar transistors, such as FinFETs. The core innovation lies in a refined method for creating an optimal electrical interface.\n\nThe primary problem this invention solves is the high contact resistance prevalent in advanced non-planar transistor designs. As transistors shrink and adopt 3D geometries, the conventional methods for connecting them to the rest of the circuit become less efficient, leading to energy loss, slower performance, and reduced reliability. This resistance acts as a bottleneck, hindering the full potential of these advanced architectures.\n\nThe key technical approach involves utilizing a titanium-containing contact interface. This interface is precisely engineered to facilitate the formation of a *discreet* titanium silicide layer. This titanium silicide acts as an extremely efficient, low-resistance intermediary layer positioned directly between the titanium-containing contact and the silicon-containing source/drain structure. The controlled formation of this silicide ensures a robust, electrically conductive, and thermally stable connection.\n\nFrom a business perspective, this technology offers substantial value by enabling the continued scaling of semiconductor devices. It translates directly into microchips with enhanced performance (faster switching speeds), improved power efficiency (reduced energy consumption), and greater long-term reliability. These benefits are critical for a wide array of applications, from high-performance computing and AI accelerators to mobile devices and IoT sensors, where every nanometer and milliwatt counts.\n\nThe market opportunity for this innovation is significant, as it addresses a fundamental challenge in the production of virtually all advanced logic and memory chips. Companies that adopt this method can gain a competitive edge by producing more performant, energy-efficient, and reliable semiconductor components, thereby extending the lifecycle of Moore's Law and sustaining the rapid pace of technological advancement in the microelectronics industry.","layman_explanation":"### What Problem Does This Solve?\nImagine the tiny, tiny computer chips that power everything from your smartphone to massive data centers. These chips are made of billions of microscopic switches called transistors. For years, engineers made these switches smaller and smaller by laying them flat on a surface, like drawing on a piece of paper. But eventually, they hit a wall – they couldn't make them smaller without them leaking electricity or becoming unreliable. So, they started building them in 3D, like tiny skyscrapers or fins (hence 'FinFETs'). These 3D transistors are great for performance, but they introduced a new headache: how do you reliably connect these tiny 3D structures to the rest of the circuit?\n\nThe problem is 'contact resistance.' Think of it like a faulty electrical outlet. If the plug isn't perfectly snug, you lose power, things heat up, and your appliance doesn't work as well. In a microchip, if the connection points (called source/drain contacts) on these 3D transistors aren't perfect, the electricity struggles to flow, making the chip slower, hotter, and less energy-efficient. Existing solutions, designed for flat chips, simply don't work well enough for these intricate 3D geometries, creating a bottleneck that limits the potential of these advanced transistors.\n\n### How Does It Work?\nThe patent \"Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors\" offers a brilliant solution to this contact resistance problem. Instead of just trying to stick a wire to the 3D transistor, this invention introduces a special, highly engineered 'middleman' material at the connection point. It starts by applying a layer that contains titanium where the electrical contact needs to be made on the silicon transistor. Then, through a carefully controlled process, this titanium layer reacts with the silicon to form a *discreet* layer of titanium silicide. Think of this titanium silicide as a perfectly smooth, super-conductive bridge that forms *between* the main contact metal and the silicon transistor.\n\nThis isn't just any bridge; it's engineered at a molecular level to be incredibly efficient at conducting electricity. By precisely controlling its formation, this technology ensures that electrons can flow from the silicon transistor to the metal contact (and vice-versa) with minimal resistance, almost as if there were no junction at all. It's like upgrading a bumpy, narrow dirt road to a multi-lane, perfectly paved highway for electrical signals, ensuring maximum speed and minimal energy loss.\n\n### Why Does This Matter?\nThis innovation matters immensely because it directly impacts the fundamental performance and efficiency of all advanced electronic devices. By solving the contact resistance bottleneck:\n*   **Faster Devices:** It allows microchips to operate at higher speeds, leading to quicker processing in everything from your laptop to AI servers.\n*   **Lower Power Consumption:** Less resistance means less energy is wasted as heat, translating into longer battery life for mobile devices and reduced electricity costs for data centers.\n*   **Greater Reliability:** A stable and efficient contact connection makes chips more durable and less prone to failure over time, reducing warranty issues and improving customer satisfaction.\n*   **Continued Innovation:** This technology enables chip manufacturers to continue shrinking transistors and packing more power into smaller spaces, effectively extending the lifespan of Moore's Law and driving the next wave of technological advancements.\n\nFor businesses, this means the ability to produce more competitive products, gain market share, and reduce operational costs associated with power and maintenance. It's a foundational improvement that underpins the performance of countless industry sectors.\n\n### What's Next?\nThe principles behind Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors are likely to be widely adopted across the semiconductor industry. As chip designs push further into sub-5nm nodes and explore even more complex architectures like Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistors, the need for ultra-low resistance contacts will only intensify. This innovation provides a proven methodology that can be adapted and refined for future generations of silicon, ensuring that the relentless demand for faster, more efficient computing can continue to be met. Expect to see the benefits of this kind of contact engineering in the next wave of flagship devices and enterprise-level computing solutions, driving investment and further research in advanced materials and fabrication processes.","technical_analysis":"The patent US-9853156, titled \"Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors,\" delves into a crucial aspect of advanced microelectronic device fabrication, specifically targeting the challenges associated with creating efficient source/drain (S/D) contacts in non-planar transistor architectures. As planar scaling reached its limits, the industry transitioned to 3D structures like FinFETs to maintain electrostatic control over the channel. While FinFETs offer superior gate control and reduced leakage, their intricate geometries complicate the formation of low-resistance S/D contacts, which are essential for high-performance operation.\n\n**Technical Architecture and Problem Statement:**\nIn non-planar transistors, the S/D regions are typically formed on or around silicon fins. The contact area is inherently smaller, and the three-dimensional nature introduces challenges for uniform deposition and reaction processes. High contact resistance ($R_c$) at the metal-semiconductor junction becomes a dominant parasitic resistance, limiting the effective drive current ($I_{ON}$) and degrading transistor switching speed and power efficiency. Traditional self-aligned silicide (salicide) processes, effective for planar devices, struggle with the conformal coverage and precise reaction control required for FinFETs.\n\n**Implementation Details and Algorithm Specifics:**\nThis patent proposes a sophisticated method centered on the controlled formation of a titanium silicide (TiSi$_x$) layer. The key steps described, implicitly or explicitly, would involve:\n1.  **Preparation of Source/Drain Regions:** After gate formation, the silicon-containing S/D regions of the non-planar transistor are exposed. These regions may involve epitaxial growth to raise the S/D height and reduce series resistance.\n2.  **Titanium-Containing Layer Deposition:** A layer containing titanium is deposited over the entire structure, ensuring conformal coverage of the complex 3D topography. This deposition can be achieved via techniques like Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) or Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), the latter being preferred for its excellent conformality on high-aspect-ratio features.\n3.  **Controlled Silicidation:** A critical rapid thermal anneal (RTA) step is performed. The temperature, duration, and ambient of this anneal are precisely controlled. This thermal budget is carefully chosen to induce a solid-state reaction between the deposited titanium and the underlying silicon of the S/D regions. The goal is to form a *discreet* titanium silicide layer. The term 'discreet' implies a well-defined, uniform, and phase-controlled silicide layer (e.g., C54-TiSi$_2$), rather than an uncontrolled or intermixed interface. This controlled reaction minimizes the formation of high-resistance phases or excessive consumption of the silicon S/D material.\n4.  **Selective Etching (Optional but Common):** Unreacted titanium on dielectric sidewalls (e.g., spacers) is selectively removed using a wet etch, ensuring that the low-resistance silicide is confined solely to the S/D contact areas and preventing electrical shorts.\n5.  **Subsequent Metallization:** After silicide formation, the remaining contact metal (e.g., tungsten, copper) is deposited and patterned to complete the electrical connection to the chip's interconnect layers.\n\n**Integration Patterns and Performance Characteristics:**\nThis technology integrates seamlessly into existing FinFET fabrication flows. The use of titanium silicide is a mature process in semiconductor manufacturing, but the innovation lies in its application and control within non-planar geometries. The resulting performance characteristics include:\n*   **Ultra-Low Contact Resistance:** The discreet TiSi$_x$ layer provides a highly conductive path, significantly reducing the parasitic $R_c$ compared to non-optimized contacts. This is crucial for sub-10nm and sub-7nm nodes where $R_c$ can dominate overall device resistance.\n*   **Enhanced Drive Current ($I_{ON}$):** Lower $R_c$ directly translates to higher $I_{ON}$ at a given gate overdrive, improving transistor switching speed and overall circuit performance.\n*   **Improved Power Efficiency:** Reduced resistance means less power is dissipated as heat at the contacts, contributing to lower chip power consumption and better thermal management.\n*   **Robust Reliability:** A well-formed and stable silicide interface enhances the long-term reliability of the contacts, mitigating issues like electromigration and stress-induced voiding.\n\n**Code-Level Implications:**\nWhile not directly impacting 'code-level implications' in a software sense, the enablement of higher-performance and more reliable transistors has profound implications for hardware architects and software developers. Faster transistors allow for more complex and efficient instruction sets, higher clock frequencies, and reduced latency, which directly benefits operating systems, compilers, and application software. Developers can leverage the increased computational horsepower and energy efficiency for more demanding algorithms, AI models, and real-time processing tasks. This approach to Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors provides the foundational hardware improvements that software innovation builds upon.","business_analysis":"The patent \"Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors\" (US-9853156) represents a crucial enabler for the continued advancement of the semiconductor industry, directly impacting the performance, power efficiency, and reliability of virtually all modern microprocessors and memory devices. Its business implications are substantial, addressing a fundamental bottleneck in the fabrication of advanced integrated circuits.\n\n**Market Opportunity Size:**\nThe market for advanced semiconductor devices, particularly those utilizing non-planar transistors like FinFETs, is immense and growing. This includes high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators, data center processors, 5G infrastructure, automotive electronics, and high-end mobile devices. The global semiconductor market is projected to reach over a trillion dollars in the coming years, with advanced logic and memory components forming a significant portion. Any innovation that enhances the core performance and efficiency of these fundamental building blocks has a direct and expansive market opportunity. This technology, by improving transistor contacts, directly contributes to the value proposition of every chip manufactured using non-planar designs.\n\n**Competitive Advantages:**\nCompanies that successfully implement the principles outlined in this patent can gain several key competitive advantages:\n1.  **Performance Leadership:** Delivering chips with lower contact resistance translates to higher clock speeds, better current drive, and overall superior performance, critical for leadership in CPU, GPU, and NPU markets.\n2.  **Power Efficiency:** Reduced power dissipation at the transistor level leads to more energy-efficient products, a major selling point in data centers (reducing operational costs) and mobile devices (extending battery life).\n3.  **Enhanced Reliability and Yield:** Stable, low-resistance contacts contribute to higher manufacturing yields and improved long-term device reliability, reducing warranty claims and enhancing brand reputation.\n4.  **Cost-Effectiveness:** If the described process can be integrated efficiently into existing fabrication lines, it offers a cost-effective way to extract more performance from current technology nodes without requiring entirely new infrastructure.\n5.  **Future-Proofing:** This innovation helps extend the viability of current and next-generation non-planar architectures, providing a roadmap for continued scaling and delaying the need for more radical, expensive architectural shifts.\n\n**Revenue Potential and Business Models:**\nWhile this patent describes a foundational manufacturing process, its revenue potential can be realized through several business models:\n*   **Licensing:** Semiconductor IP (Intellectual Property) firms or the patent holder could license the technology to major foundries (e.g., TSMC, Samsung Foundry, Intel Foundry Services) and integrated device manufacturers (IDMs).\n*   **Product Differentiation:** Chip designers and manufacturers incorporating this technology can command premium pricing for their superior-performing and more energy-efficient products.\n*   **Tooling and Material Sales:** Companies specializing in deposition equipment, annealing systems, or titanium-containing precursor materials could see increased demand driven by the adoption of this contact formation method.\n\n**Strategic Positioning:**\nThis patent strategically positions its adopters at the forefront of advanced semiconductor manufacturing. By solving a critical physical limitation, it enables companies to maintain their competitive edge in performance-driven markets. It supports a strategy of continuous innovation within established and emerging transistor technologies, ensuring that the benefits of miniaturization are not negated by parasitic resistances. This approach is particularly relevant as the industry moves towards sub-5nm nodes, where contact resistance becomes an even more dominant factor.\n\n**ROI Projections:**\nInvestment in R&D and implementation of this technology would yield high ROI through:\n*   **Increased Market Share:** Superior products attract more customers.\n*   **Higher Average Selling Prices (ASPs):** Premium performance justifies premium pricing.\n*   **Reduced Manufacturing Costs:** Improved yields and less rework due to contact issues.\n*   **Extended Product Lifecycles:** Reliable chips lead to satisfied customers and repeat business.\n*   **Strategic Advantage:** Maintaining technological leadership and influencing industry standards.","faqs":[{"answer":"Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors (US-9853156) is a groundbreaking patent in the field of microelectronic device fabrication. It describes an innovative method for creating highly efficient electrical connections, known as source/drain contacts, within advanced non-planar transistors. These non-planar transistors, such as FinFETs, are the building blocks of modern computer chips, offering superior performance and energy efficiency compared to older, flat transistor designs.\n\nThe invention specifically focuses on overcoming a critical challenge in these 3D structures: the difficulty of forming low-resistance contacts. By introducing a precisely engineered interface, this patent ensures that electricity can flow smoothly and quickly in and out of the transistor, maximizing its potential.\n\nEssentially, this technology is about building better, faster, and more reliable tiny 'bridges' for electrons in our most advanced computer chips, enabling them to perform at their peak. It's a foundational improvement that underpins the capabilities of next-generation electronic devices. This innovation is crucial for continued progress in semiconductor scaling and performance.","question":"What is Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors?"},{"answer":"The Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors patent works by creating a specialized, highly conductive layer at the interface between the metal contact and the silicon-containing source/drain structure of a non-planar transistor. The core mechanism involves using a titanium-containing contact interface.\n\nHere's a simplified breakdown:\n1.  **Titanium Layer Application:** A material containing titanium is first deposited precisely onto the source/drain regions of the non-planar transistor.\n2.  **Controlled Silicide Formation:** Through a carefully controlled thermal process (like rapid heating), this titanium layer reacts with the underlying silicon. This reaction isn't random; it's engineered to form a *discreet* layer of titanium silicide.\n3.  **The Super-Conductive Bridge:** This titanium silicide layer acts as an exceptionally efficient electrical bridge. It has very low resistance, allowing electrons to flow with minimal impedance from the silicon transistor to the metal contact and vice-versa.\n\nThis precise engineering of the interface minimizes contact resistance, which is a major bottleneck in advanced chip performance. The discrete nature of the titanium silicide ensures uniformity and optimal electrical properties, leading to faster, more efficient, and more reliable transistors. This method improves the fundamental electrical connection, unlocking the full potential of 3D transistor designs.","question":"How does Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors work?"},{"answer":"The Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors patent primarily solves the problem of *high contact resistance* in advanced microelectronic devices, particularly those utilizing non-planar transistor architectures like FinFETs. As transistors have shrunk and adopted complex 3D geometries, forming reliable, low-resistance electrical connections to their source and drain terminals has become increasingly challenging.\n\nHigh contact resistance acts as a significant impediment to device performance. It leads to several critical issues:\n*   **Reduced Speed:** Electrons encounter 'traffic jams' at the contact points, slowing down the transistor's switching speed and overall chip performance.\n*   **Increased Power Consumption:** The resistance causes energy to be lost as heat, leading to higher power dissipation, reduced battery life for mobile devices, and increased energy costs for data centers.\n*   **Degraded Reliability:** Poorly formed contacts can lead to device degradation over time, impacting the long-term stability and lifespan of integrated circuits.\n\nBy providing a method to create ultra-low resistance contacts through a precisely formed titanium silicide interface, this innovation removes a major bottleneck, allowing non-planar transistors to operate at their intended high speeds and efficiencies. It's a critical enabler for the continued scaling and performance improvement of modern microchips.","question":"What problem does Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors solve?"},{"answer":"The patent US-9853156, titled \"Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors,\" does not list specific inventors or an assignee in the provided data. In many cases, patents are filed by corporations, and the inventors are employees of that corporation. The assignee, which is the entity to whom the patent rights are assigned, is often a large semiconductor company or research institution.\n\nWhile the specific individuals behind this ingenious method are not listed in this particular abstract, it represents the collective effort and expertise of engineers and scientists working in the highly specialized field of semiconductor research and development. These innovations are typically the result of extensive R&D programs aimed at overcoming fundamental physical limitations in microchip fabrication.\n\nThe underlying concepts and technologies described in this patent likely emerged from a team dedicated to advancing transistor contact technology, a critical area for extending the capabilities of modern microprocessors. The absence of specific names here is common when the primary focus is on the technological contribution itself rather than individual recognition in a public-facing summary.","question":"Who invented Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors?"},{"answer":"The Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors patent offers several key benefits that are crucial for the advancement of microelectronic devices:\n\n1.  **Enhanced Transistor Performance:** By significantly reducing contact resistance, the technology enables transistors to switch faster and carry higher currents. This directly translates to quicker processing speeds for CPUs, GPUs, and other logic circuits, boosting the overall performance of electronic devices.\n2.  **Improved Power Efficiency:** Lower resistance means less energy is wasted as heat at the contact points. This leads to reduced power consumption, which is vital for extending battery life in mobile devices and lowering the operational costs and environmental footprint of data centers and high-performance computing systems.\n3.  **Greater Device Reliability and Lifespan:** The formation of a stable and uniform titanium silicide interface ensures more robust electrical connections. This reduces issues like electromigration and stress-induced degradation, leading to more reliable chips with a longer operational lifespan and fewer defects.\n4.  **Enables Continued Miniaturization (Scaling):** As transistors become ever smaller and more complex, contact resistance becomes a dominant limiting factor. This innovation helps overcome that barrier, allowing for the continued scaling of semiconductor devices to sub-7nm and even 3nm technology nodes, extending the validity of Moore's Law.\n\nThese benefits collectively contribute to the development of more powerful, efficient, and dependable electronic devices across a wide array of applications, from consumer electronics to advanced AI hardware.","question":"What are the key benefits of Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors?"},{"answer":"The Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors patent distinguishes itself from prior art by offering a more precise and effective method for forming low-resistance contacts in the challenging 3D geometries of non-planar transistors. Prior art solutions, often adapted from planar transistor fabrication, struggled with several issues when applied to FinFETs.\n\nKey differences include:\n*   **Controlled Discreet Silicide Formation:** Unlike prior methods that might result in non-uniform or less controlled silicide layers, this invention emphasizes the formation of a *discreet* titanium silicide layer. This means the silicide is formed uniformly, with optimal thickness and crystal phase, specifically at the interface. This precision is difficult to achieve with older, less refined techniques.\n*   **Addressing 3D Topography:** Prior art often faced challenges with conformal deposition and uniform reaction on the high-aspect-ratio fins of non-planar transistors, leading to inconsistent contact quality. This patent's approach, implicitly utilizing advanced deposition and annealing control, is better suited to these complex 3D structures.\n*   **Optimized Interface Quality:** The controlled formation of titanium silicide specifically aims for a superior metal-semiconductor interface, minimizing interface defects and achieving a nearly ohmic contact. This is a significant improvement over prior art contacts that might suffer from higher Schottky barriers or varied electrical properties.\n\nIn essence, while titanium silicide itself is not new, the innovation lies in the *methodology* and *precision* of its formation within the intricate context of non-planar transistors. This allows for significantly lower contact resistance and superior electrical performance compared to previous, less optimized approaches.","question":"How is Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors different from prior art?"},{"answer":"The Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors patent will have a profound impact across virtually all industries reliant on advanced microelectronic devices. Its foundational nature means that improvements at the transistor level ripple throughout the entire technology ecosystem.\n\nKey impacted industries include:\n*   **High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Data Centers:** Faster and more power-efficient processors are critical for cloud computing, large-scale simulations, and scientific research. This technology will reduce operational costs and enhance computational capabilities.\n*   **Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning:** AI accelerators (GPUs, NPUs) demand immense computational power and energy efficiency. Improved transistor contacts will enable faster AI training and inference, accelerating breakthroughs in AI research and applications.\n*   **Consumer Electronics:** Smartphones, laptops, tablets, and gaming consoles will benefit from faster processing speeds, longer battery life, and more reliable performance, leading to enhanced user experiences.\n*   **Telecommunications (5G/6G):** The complex base stations and edge devices for next-generation wireless networks require high-performance, energy-efficient chips. This innovation helps meet these demands.\n*   **Automotive Industry:** Autonomous vehicles, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and in-car infotainment systems rely on powerful and reliable processors. Improved contacts contribute to the safety and functionality of these critical systems.\n*   **Internet of Things (IoT):** Edge devices require low-power, high-performance chips. This technology enables more capable and energy-efficient IoT solutions.\n\nBy enabling more powerful and efficient microchips, this patent acts as a catalyst for innovation across these diverse sectors, driving technological advancement and economic growth.","question":"What industries will Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors impact?"},{"answer":"The patent titled \"Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors,\" identified as US-9853156, has specific dates associated with its filing and publication.\n\n*   **Filing Date:** The patent application for Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors was filed on **February 10, 2015**.\n*   **Publication Date (Grant Date):** The patent was subsequently granted and published on **December 26, 2017**.\n\nThese dates are significant as they mark the official journey of the innovation through the patent system. The filing date establishes the priority date of the invention, while the publication date signifies when the patent was officially issued, making its details publicly available. This timeline indicates a period of approximately two years and ten months from filing to grant, reflecting the rigorous examination process by the patent office.\n\nThe fact that this patent was granted underscores the novelty, non-obviousness, and utility of the method described for forming source/drain contacts in non-planar transistors. It highlights the recognition of this technology as a significant advancement in semiconductor manufacturing at that time.","question":"When was Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors filed/granted?"},{"answer":"The commercial applications of the Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors patent are extensive and underpin the performance of a vast array of modern electronic products. By enabling the production of faster, more power-efficient, and reliable microchips, this technology is critical for the competitiveness and advancement of numerous industries.\n\nKey commercial applications include:\n*   **Microprocessors (CPUs, GPUs, NPUs):** Found in all computers, smartphones, servers, and AI accelerators, these chips directly benefit from reduced contact resistance, leading to higher clock speeds and more efficient processing for demanding tasks like gaming, video editing, and machine learning.\n*   **Memory Chips (DRAM, NAND Flash):** While the patent specifically mentions transistors, the principles of advanced contact formation can be crucial for high-density, high-speed memory devices, improving data access times and overall memory system performance.\n*   **System-on-Chip (SoC) Devices:** These integrated circuits combine multiple components onto a single chip, commonly found in mobile devices. Enhanced contact technology improves the performance and battery life of these complex SoCs.\n*   **Network Processors and Communication Chips:** Used in routers, switches, and 5G/6G infrastructure, these chips require high-speed data processing and low power consumption, areas directly improved by this patent.\n*   **Embedded Systems and IoT Devices:** From smart home devices to industrial sensors, these applications often require compact, low-power, and reliable chips, which benefit from the efficiency gains provided by this technology.\n\nUltimately, any product that uses advanced semiconductor components leveraging non-planar transistor architectures will see performance, power, and reliability improvements due to the innovations in Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors. This directly translates to better products for consumers and more efficient infrastructure for businesses.","question":"What are the commercial applications of Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors?"},{"answer":"The principles established by the Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors patent lay a crucial foundation for future developments in semiconductor contact technology. As the industry continues to push the limits of miniaturization and explore new transistor architectures, the need for ultra-low resistance and highly reliable contacts will only intensify.\n\nExpected future developments include:\n*   **Adaptation to Next-Generation Architectures:** The core methodology will likely be adapted for future transistor designs beyond FinFETs, such as Gate-All-Around (GAA) FETs and nanosheet transistors. These architectures present even greater challenges for contact formation, making the precise interfacial engineering described in this patent even more critical.\n*   **Exploration of Alternative Materials:** While titanium silicide is highly effective, future research may explore other metal silicides (e.g., nickel silicide, cobalt silicide) or even novel contact materials with even lower resistivity or better compatibility with exotic semiconductor channels (e.g., SiGe, III-V materials).\n*   **Advanced Deposition and Annealing Techniques:** Continued advancements in Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) for ultra-conformal titanium precursor deposition and highly localized, precise annealing methods (e.g., laser annealing) will further refine the formation of discreet silicide layers.\n*   **Integration with 3D Stacking and Advanced Packaging:** As chips move towards 3D stacking and heterogeneous integration, optimized on-chip contacts enabled by this technology will be essential for efficient vertical interconnects and overall system performance.\n*   **AI-Driven Process Optimization:** Future fabrication processes, including those for contact formation, may leverage AI and machine learning to predict optimal deposition and annealing parameters, further enhancing yield and performance.\n\nThis patent provides a robust framework for addressing fundamental contact challenges, ensuring that the relentless drive for smaller, faster, and more efficient microchips can continue for decades to come. The future of Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors lies in its evolution and adaptation to increasingly complex and demanding semiconductor landscapes.","question":"What are the future developments expected for Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors?"}],"topics":["Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors","non-planar transistors","FinFET contacts","titanium silicide","semiconductor manufacturing","relentless","quest","higher"],"tech_cluster":null},"seo":{"title":"Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors - Patent US-9853156","description":"Discover how Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors optimizes FinFET performance by creating low-resistance titanium silicide interfaces. Detailed patent analysis.","keywords":["Source/drain Contacts for Non-planar Transistors","non-planar transistors","FinFET contacts","titanium silicide","semiconductor manufacturing","contact resistance","microelectronics","patent US-9853156","chip performance","device reliability","advanced logic devices"]},"attribution":{"source":"Patentable","source_url":"https://patentable.app","canonical_url":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9853156","license":"CC-BY-4.0-like","license_terms":"AI-generated analysis on this page (summary, layman_explanation, technical_analysis, business_analysis, faqs) may be reused with attribution and a visible link back to the canonical URL above. Patent abstracts, claims, and bibliographic data are USPTO public domain.","required_link":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9853156","citation_suggestion":"Patentable. \"Source/drain contacts for non-planar transistors\" (US-9853156). https://patentable.app/patents/US-9853156","copyright_holder":"Nomic Interactive Technology LLC"},"links":{"html":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9853156","json":"https://patentable.app/api/llm-context/US-9853156","site":"https://patentable.app","llms_txt":"https://patentable.app/llms.txt"},"generated_at":"2026-06-06T09:41:13.531Z"}