Written by Deviprasad Jena; edited by Jaya Anand.

(Targeted News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) By Targeted News Service ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 18 — Globalfoundries, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, has been assigned a patent (8,536,040) developed by Chang Seo Park, Clifton Park, N.Y., for “techniques for using material substitution processes to form replacement metal gate electrodes of semiconductor devices with self-aligned contacts.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Generally, the present disclosure is directed to techniques for using material substitution processes to form replacement metal gate electrodes, and for forming self-aligned contacts to semiconductor devices made up of the same.

One illustrative method disclosed herein includes removing at least a dummy gate electrode to define a gate cavity, forming a work-function material in said gate cavity, forming a semiconductor material above said work-function material, and performing a material substitution process on said semiconductor material to substitute a replacement material for at least a portion of said semiconductor material.”

The patent application was filed on April 3, 2012 (13/438,394). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=8536040.PN.&OS=PN/8536040&RS=PN/8536040