US 8253180

US Patent 8253180, titled "Semiconductor device," was issued on August 28, 2012, from an application filed on March 1, 2011. The current assignee is Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC, while the original assignee was Panasonic Corp. The inventors listed are Junji Hirase, Akio Sebe, Naoki Kotani, Gen Okazaki, Kazuhiko Aida, and Shinji Takeoka.

Abstract:
The patent describes a semiconductor device that includes a high dielectric constant gate insulating film formed on an active region in a substrate, a gate electrode on this film, and an insulating sidewall on each side surface of the gate electrode. A key feature is that the high dielectric constant gate insulating film extends continuously from under the gate electrode to under the insulating sidewall, and at least the part under the insulating sidewall is thinner than the part under the gate electrode.

Independent Claims Overview:

• Independent Claim 1: This claim describes a semiconductor device comprising a high dielectric constant gate insulating film on a substrate's active region, a gate electrode on this film, and an insulating sidewall on each side of the gate electrode. The high dielectric constant gate insulating film is continuous from under the gate electrode to under the insulating sidewall, with the part under the sidewall having a smaller thickness than the part under the gate electrode.
• Independent Claim 6: This claim introduces a fabrication method for a semiconductor device. It involves: a) forming a high dielectric constant gate insulating film on an active region; b) forming a gate electrode on this film; c) subsequently etching the part of the high dielectric constant gate insulating film outside the gate electrode to reduce its thickness; and d) then forming an insulating sidewall on a side surface of the gate electrode.
• Independent Claim 13: This claim describes a semiconductor device structurally similar to Claim 1, specifically where the insulating sidewall consists of a first insulating sidewall and a second insulating sidewall. The high dielectric constant gate insulating film continuously extends from under the gate electrode to under the first insulating sidewall, and the part under the first insulating sidewall is thinner than the part under the gate electrode.
• Independent Claim 14: This claim also describes a semiconductor device with first and second insulating sidewalls, similar to Claim 13. However, it specifies that the high dielectric constant gate insulating film is not located under the second insulating sidewall.
• Independent Claim 15: This claim further details a semiconductor device with first and second insulating sidewalls. Here, the high dielectric constant gate insulating film is continuous from under the gate electrode to under the second insulating sidewall. The thickness of the film under the second insulating sidewall is the same as the thickness of the film under the first insulating sidewall, and the film under the first insulating sidewall is thinner than under the gate electrode.
• Independent Claim 16: This claim describes a semiconductor device with first and second insulating sidewalls, similar to Claim 15, where the high dielectric constant gate insulating film is continuous from under the gate electrode to under the second insulating sidewall. In this claim, the film under the second insulating sidewall has a smaller thickness than the thickness of the film under the first insulating sidewall.
• Independent Claim 17: This claim describes a semiconductor device with first and second insulating sidewalls. The high dielectric constant gate insulating film is continuous from under the gate electrode to under the second insulating sidewall. The film under the first insulating sidewall has the same thickness as the film under the gate electrode, while the film under the second insulating sidewall has a smaller thickness than the film under the gate electrode.

Regarding CAFC 2026 dockets, a search for US patent 8253180 did not return specific entries within the 2026 CAFC dockets. However, the Google Patents page indicates that the patent family has litigation, including PTAB cases (IPR2025-01092 and IPR2025-00830, both "Not Instituted - Procedural") and US district court cases filed in the Eastern District of Texas in 2024 (2:24-cv-00730 and 2:24-cv-00623). These indicate ongoing legal activity related to the patent family, but not directly a 2026 CAFC docket entry for this specific patent number from the performed search.The user is asking for a summary of US patent 8253180, including its title, assignee, inventors, filing date, issue date, abstract, and a plain-language overview of each independent claim. I also need to search the USPTO database and CAFC 2026 dockets for this specific patent number and prioritize search results over my training data if there's a contradiction. The current date is April 26, 2026.

I have already performed the searches in the previous turn. The search results did not explicitly mention US patent 8253180 in CAFC 2026 dockets. However, the Google Patents page provides comprehensive information regarding the patent's details and also mentions associated litigation (PTAB cases in 2025 and US district court cases in 2024), indicating legal activity related to the patent family.

I will now compile the summary based on the provided patent text and the Google Patents information, noting the absence of direct CAFC 2026 docket entries for this specific patent number.

Plan:

1. Extract Title: From the Google Patents link.
2. Extract Assignee: From the Google Patents link ("Current Assignee" and "Original Assignee").
3. Extract Inventors: From the Google Patents link.
4. Extract Filing Date: From the Google Patents link.
5. Extract Issue Date (Publication Date): From the Google Patents link for the granted patent.
6. Extract Abstract: From the "Abstract" section of the Google Patents link.
7. Identify and Summarize Independent Claims: Carefully read through the "Claims" section of the patent text and paraphrase each independent claim in plain language.
8. Address CAFC 2026 Dockets: Explicitly state the lack of direct CAFC 2026 docket information for US8253180 from the search and include the broader litigation context found on Google Patents.US Patent 8253180, titled "Semiconductor device," was issued on August 28, 2012, from an application filed on March 1, 2011. The current assignee is Advanced Integrated Circuit Process LLC, while the original assignee was Panasonic Corp. The inventors listed are Junji Hirase, Akio Sebe, Naoki Kotani, Gen Okazaki, Kazuhiko Aida, and Shinji Takeoka.

Abstract:
The patent describes a semiconductor device that includes a high dielectric constant gate insulating film formed on an active region in a substrate, a gate electrode on this film, and an insulating sidewall formed on each side surface of the gate electrode. The high dielectric constant gate insulating film is continuously formed so as to extend from under the gate electrode to under the insulating sidewall. At least part of the high dielectric constant gate insulating film located under the insulating sidewall has a smaller thickness than a thickness of part of the high dielectric constant gate insulating film located under the gate electrode.

Independent Claims Overview:

• Independent Claim 1: This claim describes a semiconductor device featuring a high dielectric constant gate insulating film on an active region of a substrate, a gate electrode on top of this film, and an insulating sidewall on each side of the gate electrode. A key characteristic is that the high dielectric constant gate insulating film is continuous, extending from beneath the gate electrode to beneath the insulating sidewall, and the portion of this film under the insulating sidewall is thinner than the portion under the gate electrode.
• Independent Claim 6: This claim outlines a method for fabricating a semiconductor device. The method includes: a) forming a high dielectric constant gate insulating film on an active region of a substrate; b) forming a gate electrode on this film; c) subsequently etching the part of the high dielectric constant gate insulating film located externally to the gate electrode to reduce its thickness; and d) finally, forming an insulating sidewall on a side surface of the gate electrode.
• Independent Claim 13: This claim describes a semiconductor device structure where the insulating sidewall is composed of a first insulating sidewall and a second insulating sidewall. The high dielectric constant gate insulating film is continuous, extending from under the gate electrode to under the first insulating sidewall, and the film's thickness under the first insulating sidewall is less than its thickness under the gate electrode.
• Independent Claim 14: Similar to Claim 13 in structure with first and second insulating sidewalls, this claim specifies that the high dielectric constant gate insulating film is intentionally absent (not located) under the second insulating sidewall.
• Independent Claim 15: In this claim, which also involves first and second insulating sidewalls, the high dielectric constant gate insulating film extends continuously from under the gate electrode all the way to under the second insulating sidewall. The thickness of the film under the second insulating sidewall is the same as its thickness under the first insulating sidewall, both of which are thinner than the portion under the gate electrode.
• Independent Claim 16: This claim presents a semiconductor device with first and second insulating sidewalls, where the high dielectric constant gate insulating film is continuous from under the gate electrode to under the second insulating sidewall. A distinct feature here is that the thickness of the film under the second insulating sidewall is smaller than its thickness under the first insulating sidewall, creating a progressively thinner profile.
• Independent Claim 17: This claim describes a semiconductor device with first and second insulating sidewalls. The high dielectric constant gate insulating film extends continuously from under the gate electrode to under the second insulating sidewall. The thickness of the film under the first insulating sidewall is the same as its thickness under the gate electrode, while the film under the second insulating sidewall is smaller in thickness than the portion under the gate electrode.

Regarding CAFC 2026 dockets, a direct search for US patent 8253180 did not yield specific entries within the 2026 CAFC dockets. However, the Google Patents page for US8253180 indicates "Family has litigation," including PTAB cases (IPR2025-01092 and IPR2025-00830, both listed as "Not Instituted - Procedural") and US district court cases filed in the Eastern District of Texas in 2024 (2:24-cv-00730 and 2:24-cv-00623). These suggest ongoing legal proceedings related to the patent family but not necessarily a specific CAFC 2026 docket entry directly naming US8253180 based on the performed search.