U.S. patent application number 10/865401 was filed with the patent office on 2005-12-15 for method for fabricating a floating gate memory device.
This patent application is currently assigned to Macronix International Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Huang, Chong-Jen, Pan, Shyi-Shuh.
Application Number | 20050277250 10/865401 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35430394 |
Filed Date | 2005-12-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050277250 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pan, Shyi-Shuh ; et
al. |
December 15, 2005 |
METHOD FOR FABRICATING A FLOATING GATE MEMORY DEVICE
Abstract
Roughly described, a device having twin bit floating gate memory
cells is fabricated by first providing a substrate having formed
thereon, within a memory area, a composite charge storage film and
a protective liner layer over the composite film. The memory area
further includes oxide features over buried diffusion regions in
the substrate, and polysilicon spacers over the composite film
against the sidewalls of the oxide features. The method further
involves etching an isolation trench through the composite film
laterally between two of the oxide features, using the polysilicon
spacers as a mask, and forming an insulator in the trench. A gate
conductor is then formed overlying both the composite film and the
filled isolation trench between the two oxide features.
Inventors: |
Pan, Shyi-Shuh; (Kaohsiung,
TW) ; Huang, Chong-Jen; (Hsin-chi City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HAYNES BEFFEL & WOLFELD LLP
P O BOX 366
HALF MOON BAY
CA
94019
US
|
Assignee: |
Macronix International Co.,
Ltd.
Hsinchu
TW
|
Family ID: |
35430394 |
Appl. No.: |
10/865401 |
Filed: |
June 10, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
438/257 ;
257/E21.645; 257/E21.679; 257/E27.081 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 27/11573 20130101;
H01L 27/1052 20130101; H01L 27/105 20130101; H01L 27/11568
20130101; H01L 29/7923 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
438/257 |
International
Class: |
H01L 021/469 |
Claims
1. A method for fabricating a device having a twin bit floating
gate memory cell, comprising the steps of: providing a material
including a substrate having a memory area, the substrate having
formed thereon within the memory area a composite charge storage
structure and a protective liner layer over the composite charge
storage structure, the material further including, within the
memory area, buried diffusion oxide features least partially
overlying respective buried diffusion regions in the substrate and
extending vertically through the composite charge storage structure
at least down through all charge storage sublayers of the composite
charge storage structure, the buried diffusion oxide features
having sidewalls extending higher than the top surface of the
composite charge storage structure adjacent to the buried diffusion
oxide features, the composite charge storage structure further
having a subject segment extending laterally between two of the
buried diffusion oxide features, the material further including
spacer features over the composite charge storage structure against
the sidewalls of the buried diffusion oxide features; etching a
trench through the subject segment of the composite charge storage
structure, at least down through all charge storage sublayers of
the composite charge storage structure, using the spacer features
as a mask; forming an insulator in the trench, at least to an
elevation above the top surface of the highest charge storage
sublayers of the composite charge storage structure; and forming a
gate conductor overlying at least a portion of the subject segment
of the composite charge storage structure.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the composite charge
storage structure in the material as provided in the step of
providing comprises a composite layer having a bottom insulating
sublayer underlying a charge storage sublayer, the charge storage
sublayer underlying a top insulating sublayer, wherein the step of
etching a trench etches the trench at least down through the charge
storage sublayer of the composite layer, and wherein the step of
forming an insulator in the trench forms the insulator at least to
an elevation above the top surface of the charge storage
sublayer.
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the step of forming an
insulator in the trench forms the insulator to an elevation that is
substantially coplanar with the top surface of composite charge
storage structure.
4. A method according to claim 2, wherein the charge storage
sublayer in the material as provided in the step of providing
comprises a charge trapping material.
5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the charge trapping
material comprises a nitride.
6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of providing a
material comprises the steps of: providing a preliminary material
including the substrate, the composite charge storage structure,
the protective liner layer and the buried diffusion oxide features;
and forming the spacer features over at least part of the
preliminary material.
7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the step of forming the
spacer features over at least part of the preliminary material
comprises the step of forming a spacer material over the entire
lateral extent of the subject segment of the composite charge
storage structure, including against the sidewalls.
8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the spacer material and
the protective liner material are essentially the same
material.
9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the spacer material and
the protective liner material are essentially the same
material.
10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the spacer features are
conductive.
11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the spacer features and
the gate conductor are formed of essentially the same material.
12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of providing a
material comprises the steps of: forming the composite charge
storage structure over the substrate, at least within the memory
area; forming a sacrificial layer over the composite charge storage
structure, at least within the memory area; forming openings over
the buried diffusion regions and through both the first sacrificial
layer and the composite charge storage structure; implanting buried
diffusions using the first sacrificial layer as a mask; forming the
buried diffusion oxide features in the openings to an elevation
higher than the top surface of the composite charge storage
structure; and removing the sacrificial layer, at least within the
memory area.
13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the step of forming the
buried diffusion oxide features in the openings comprises the steps
of: depositing oxide in the openings and over at least part of the
sacrificial material, such that the oxide fills the openings to an
elevation higher than the top surface of the sacrificial layer; and
etching the oxide back until the oxide in the openings has an
elevation below the top surface of the sacrificial layer and parts
of the sacrificial layer are exposed.
14. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming an
insulator in the trench comprises the steps of: forming oxide in
the trench and over the spacer features and over the buried
diffusion oxide features; and etching the oxide back until the
oxide fills the trench to substantially the same elevation as the
top surface of the top insulating sublayer of the composite layer
and the spacer features are exposed.
15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the step of forming a
gate conductor comprises the step of forming gate conductor
material over the spacer features and the oxide in the trench and
the buried diffusion oxide features such that the gate conductor
material is in electrical contact with the spacer features.
16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the gate conductor
material and the spacer features are made from essentially the same
material.
17. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming a
gate conductor forms the gate conductor to overly also at least a
portion of the buried diffusion oxide features.
18. A method according to claim 1, comprising the step of forming a
gate oxide in a logic area different from the memory area, the gate
oxide having a thickness different from that of the top insulating
layer of the composite layer in the memory area.
19. A method according to claim 18, wherein the gate oxide has a
thickness substantially greater than that of the top insulating
layer of the composite layer in the memory area.
20. A method according to claim 1, wherein the material further has
a logic area, and wherein the step of providing a material
comprises the steps of: over the substrate, forming the composite
layer; in the logic area, removing the composite layer at least
down to the bottom insulating sublayer; and forming a gate oxide in
the logic area.
21. A method according to claim 20, wherein the step of providing a
material further comprises the step of forming the protective liner
layer over the composite layer in the memory area and over the gate
oxide in the logic area.
22. A method according to claim 21, wherein the step of providing a
material further comprises the step of forming the buried diffusion
oxide features and the spacer features in the memory area after the
step of forming the protective liner layer.
23. A method according to claim 22, further comprising, after the
step of providing a material and before the step of etching a
trench, the step of forming a photoresist over the substrate,
patterned to protect the logic area during the step of etching a
trench.
24. A method according to claim 23, further comprising the step of
removing the photoresist after the step of etching a trench and
before the step of forming a gate conductor.
25. A method according to claim 21, further comprising the step of
exposing the gate oxide over at least selected regions in the logic
area.
26. A method for fabricating a device having an array of twin bit
floating gate memory cells, comprising the steps of: providing a
material including a substrate having a memory area having a
plurality of bit cells arranged in an array, the substrate having
formed thereon within the memory area a composite charge storage
structure and a protective liner layer over the composite charge
storage structure, the material further including, within the
memory area, oxide features least partially overlying respective
bit lines buried in the substrate and extending vertically through
the composite charge storage structure at least down through all
charge storage sublayers of the composite charge storage structure,
the buried bit lines each extending laterally through a plurality
of memory cells in the array, the oxide features having sidewalls
extending higher than the top surface of the composite charge
storage structure adjacent to the oxide features, each bit cell in
the memory area being defined laterally by a respective adjacent
pair of the oxide features and a respective subject segment of the
composite charge storage structure extending laterally between
respective adjacent pair of the oxide features, each cell further
including spacer features over the composite charge storage
structure against the facing sidewalls of the oxide features
defining the cell; etching a trench through the subject segment of
the composite charge storage structure of each of the cells, at
least down through all charge storage sublayers of the composite
charge storage structure, using the spacer features as a mask;
forming an insulator in each of the trenches, at least to an
elevation above the top surface of the highest charge storage
sublayers of the composite charge storage structure; and forming a
gate conductor overlying at least a portion of the subject segment
of the composite charge storage structure in each of the cells.
27. A method according to claim 26, wherein the composite charge
storage structure in the material as provided in the step of
providing comprises a composite layer having a bottom insulating
sublayer underlying a charge trapping sublayer, the charge trapping
sublayer underlying a top insulating sublayer, wherein the step of
etching a trench etches the trench at least down through the charge
trapping sublayer of the composite layer, and wherein the step of
forming an insulator in the trench forms the insulator to an
elevation that is substantially coplanar with the top surface of
composite charge storage structure.
28. A method according to claim 26, wherein the step of providing a
material comprises the steps of: providing a preliminary material
including the substrate, the composite charge storage structure,
the protective liner layer and the oxide features; and forming the
spacer features over at least part of the preliminary material.
29. A method according to claim 28, wherein the step of forming the
spacer features over at least part of the preliminary material
comprises the step of forming a spacer material over the entire
lateral extent of the subject segments of the composite charge
storage structure, including against the sidewalls.
30. A method according to claim 26, wherein the spacer material and
the protective liner material are essentially the same
material.
31. A method according to claim 26, wherein the spacer features and
the gate conductor are conductive and are formed of essentially the
same material.
32. A method according to claim 26, wherein the step of providing a
material comprises the steps of: forming the composite charge
storage structure over the substrate, at least within the memory
area; forming a sacrificial layer over the composite charge storage
structure, at least within the memory area; forming openings over
the buried bit lines and through both the first sacrificial layer
and the composite charge storage structure; implanting buried bit
line diffusions using the first sacrificial layer as a mask;
forming the oxide features in the openings to an elevation higher
than the top surface of the composite charge storage structure; and
removing the sacrificial layer, at least within the memory
area.
33. A method according to claim 32, wherein the step of forming the
oxide features in the openings comprises the steps of: depositing
oxide in the openings and over at least part of the sacrificial
material, such that the oxide fills the openings to an elevation
higher than the top surface of the sacrificial layer; and etching
the oxide back until the oxide in the openings has an elevation
below the top surface of the sacrificial layer and parts of the
sacrificial layer are exposed.
34. A method according to claim 26, wherein the step of forming an
insulator in each of the trenches comprises the steps of: forming
oxide in each of the trenches and over the spacer features and over
the oxide features; and etching the oxide back until the oxide
fills the trenches to substantially the same elevation as the top
surface of the top insulating sublayer of the composite layer and
the spacer features are exposed.
35. A method according to claim 34, wherein the gate conductor
material and the spacer features are made from essentially the same
material, and wherein the step of forming a gate conductor
comprises the step of forming gate conductor material over the
spacer features and the oxide in the trenches and the oxide
features such that the gate conductor material is in electrical
contact with the spacer features.
36. A method according to claim 26, wherein the step of forming a
gate conductor forms the gate conductor to overly also at least a
portion of the oxide features.
37. A method according to claim 26, comprising the step of forming
a gate oxide in a logic area different from the memory area, the
gate oxide having a thickness substantially greater than that of
the top insulating layer of the composite layer in the memory
area.
38. A method according to claim 26, wherein the material further
has a logic area, and wherein the step of providing a material
comprises the steps of: over the substrate, forming the composite
layer; in the logic area, removing the composite layer at least
down to the bottom insulating sublayer; and forming a gate oxide in
the logic area.
39. A method according to claim 38, wherein the step of providing a
material further comprises the steps of: forming the protective
liner layer over the composite layer in the memory area and over
the gate oxide in the logic area; and forming the oxide features
and the spacer features in the memory area after the step of
forming the protective liner layer.
40. A method according to claim 39, further comprising: after the
step of providing a material and before the step of etching the
trenches, the step of forming a photoresist over the substrate,
patterned to protect the logic area during the step of etching the
trenches; and removing the photoresist after the step of etching
the trenches and before the step of forming a gate conductor.
41. A method for fabricating a device having a twin bit floating
gate memory cell, comprising the steps of: providing a material
including a substrate having a memory area, the substrate having
formed thereon within the memory area an oxide-nitride-oxide
composite film and a polysilicon liner layer over the composite
film, the material further including, within the memory area,
buried diffusion oxide features least partially overlying
respective buried diffusion bit lines in the substrate and
extending vertically through the composite film at least down
through the nitride sublayer of the composite film, the buried
diffusion oxide features having sidewalls extending higher than the
top surface of the composite film adjacent to the buried diffusion
oxide features, the composite film further having a subject segment
extending laterally between two of the buried diffusion oxide
features, the material further including polysilicon spacer
features over the composite film against the sidewalls of the
buried diffusion oxide features; etching a trench through the
subject segment of the composite film, at least down through the
nitride sublayer of the composite film, using the spacer features
as a mask; forming oxide in the trench; and forming a polysilicon
gate conductor overlying at least a portion of the subject segment
of the composite film.
42. A method according to claim 41, wherein the step of providing a
material comprises the steps of: providing a preliminary material
including the substrate, the composite film, the polysilicon liner
layer and the buried diffusion oxide features; and forming a spacer
material over the entire lateral extent of the subject segment of
the composite film, including against the sidewalls.
43. A method according to claim 41, wherein the step of providing a
material comprises the steps of: forming the composite film over
the substrate, at least within the memory area; forming a
sacrificial layer over the composite film, at least within the
memory area; forming openings over the buried diffusion lines and
through both the first sacrificial layer and the composite film;
implanting buried diffusions using the first sacrificial layer as a
mask; forming the buried diffusion oxide features in the openings
to an elevation higher than the top surface of the composite film;
and removing the sacrificial layer, at least within the memory
area.
44. A method according to claim 41, wherein the step of forming
oxide in the trench comprises the steps of: forming oxide in the
trench and over the spacer features and over the buried diffusion
oxide features; and etching the oxide back until the oxide fills
the trench to substantially the same elevation as the top surface
of the composite film and the spacer features are exposed, and
wherein the step of forming a gate conductor comprises the step of
forming gate conductor material over the spacer features and the
oxide in the trench and the buried diffusion oxide features such
that the gate conductor material is in electrical contact with the
spacer features.
45. A method according to claim 41, wherein the material further
has a logic area, and wherein the step of providing a material
comprises the steps of: over the substrate, forming the composite
film; throughout the logic area, removing at least the top oxide
sublayer and the nitride sublayer of the composite film; forming a
gate oxide in the logic area immediately overlying the top surface
remaining after the step of removing; forming the polysilicon liner
layer over the composite film in the memory area and over the gate
oxide in the logic area; and forming the buried diffusion oxide
features and the spacer features in the memory area after the step
of forming the polysilicon liner layer.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to the fabrication of floating gate
memory devices, and more particularly to the fabrication of twin
bit cell memory devices that can also incorporate logic.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] A read only memory (ROM), comprising a plurality of memory
cells, is a semiconductor device with a primary function of memory
storage. ROMs can be made mask programmable, field programmable
(PROM), erasable (EPROM), or electrically erasable (EEPROM). A
Flash memory is an EEPROM memory device, but due to a simplified
array structure, it achieves significantly higher density and lower
cost. The simplified array structure means flash memories are
slower to write, and can be erased only on a sector-by-sector
basis, but these drawback have not prevented flash memories from
dramatically increased deployment in numerous kinds of systems.
[0005] Flash memory cells and other EEPROM cells use a floating
gate below the control gate in order to store charge. The floating
gate can be polysilicon or metal, for example. A nitride read only
memory (NROM) differs from other types of EEPROM cells by using a
silicon nitride dielectric layer as the charge-trapping medium. Due
to a highly-compacted nature of the nitride layer, hot electrons
tunneling from the MOS transistor into the silicon nitride layer
are trapped to form an unequal concentration distribution so as to
increase data reading speed and avoid current leakage.
[0006] Each memory cell of a nitride-based flash memory array
includes a source and a drain formed in a semiconductor substrate.
A bottom oxide, a nitride, and a top oxide (an ONO structure) are
formed on the surface of the semiconductor substrate laterally
between the source and the drain, thereby forming a floating gate
for storing charge. A control gate for controlling access to data
is formed above the ONO structure.
[0007] The state of a flash memory depends on the charge density of
the floating gate, and the operation thereof depends on the
technique of injecting charges into or removing charges from the
floating gate. Therefore, when program data is written in, a high
voltage is applied to the control gate to let hot electrons pass
through the oxide from the drain and be injected into the nitride
of the floating gate, hence enhancing the threshold voltage to read
data. When erasing data, hot hole injection is used to let holes
enter the nitride of the floating gate and reach the same positions
of the above electrons to compensate the electrons, hence achieving
the object of erase.
[0008] In early EEPROM memory devices, including early flash
memories, each memory cell could store only one data bit. Soon twin
bit cells were developed, in which each cell could store two bits
of data, one at each end of the channel. The source diffusion was
used in programming one of the bits, and the drain diffusion was
used in programming the other. Twin bit cell designs were aided by
the use of dielectric charge trapping materials such as silicon
nitride. But this solution was imperfect because despite the
dielectric nature of the nitride, charge tended to leak along the
common nitride layer from one charge storage region toward the
other, resulting in crosstalk. In addition, since electrons and
holes spread differently in the nitride layer, hole injection on
erase did not always completely overlap the charged regions of the
nitride, resulting in incomplete erasure.
[0009] In order to solve these problems, many flash memory
structures have included an isolation region in the nitride layer
laterally between the two charge storage regions. In some devices,
the isolation region was created by implanting certain ions into a
laterally central region between the two charge storage regions, in
order to increasing the insulating capacity of the layer within
that region. In other devices, the isolation region was created by
etching through the ONO in the central region.
[0010] The various methods that have been developed for fabricating
twin bit flash memory devices with a split charge storage layer
still suffer from several deficiencies. As one example, some of the
prior art methods produce charge trapping regions that are curved
in shape, with varying vertical thickness. This structure can
induce a weak and un-controlled electron field for electron/hole
injection location control.
[0011] Other prior art methods may produce flat charge trapping
regions with constant vertical thickness, but do not integrate well
into the fabrication process used for the logic areas of the
device. In particular, for example, the integration of certain
flash memory processes into the logic process results in a less
than optimal relationship between the thickness of the top ONO
oxide layer and the thickness of the gate oxide layer of logic
transistors. As another example, in certain logic processes, it is
necessary to clean the top surface of the gate oxide while the
delicate top ONO oxide layer is exposed, thereby damaging the
delicate top ONO oxide layer.
[0012] Yet other prior art methods involve a step of etching
through the ONO layer to form the twin bit isolation regions, but
that etch also damages the delicate top oxide layer of the ONO
segments that are to remain.
[0013] Yet other prior art methods require the use of additional
photolithographic masking steps, which tend to limit the density of
memory cells achievable. In addition, if masking steps are used to
define the lateral location of the twin bit isolation regions
relative to the length of the ONO layer, then small misalignments
can produce significantly asymmetric charge storage in the ONO
film.
[0014] Accordingly, there is an urgent need for a fabrication
method for forming twin-bit floating gate memory cells and arrays
that avoid or overcome some or all of the above deficiencies with
prior art methods.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] The legal scope of the invention is set out only in the
claims, and the following is only a rough description of certain
aspects. This description should not be read to narrow or enlarge
the scope of protection as set forth in the claims.
[0016] Roughly described, the invention overcomes at least some of
the above deficiencies in prior art methods for fabricating
floating gate memory devices. In an embodiment, a substrate has an
ONO layer provided thereon. The ONO is removed in the logic area of
the substrate, and replaced by an oxide. This oxide will become the
gate oxide for transistors in the logic area. The entire wafer is
then covered with a protective layer of, for example, polysilicon.
In the memory area, buried diffusion oxide features are formed
above buried diffusion regions, and an additional material, again
preferably polysilicon, is formed over the entire wafer. The
additional material is deposited in such a way as to form spacer
features against the sidewalls of the buried diffusion oxide
features. The ONO is then etched to form the isolation trenches
between the twin bits of the memory cells. The etch of the ONO
layer is done through the polysilicon liner above the ONO layer,
using the polysilicon spacers against the sidewalls of the buried
diffusion oxide features as a self-aligned mask. The polysilicon
spacers also protect the top oxide layer of the ONO during this
etching step. An insulator is then formed in the isolation trenches
and a gate conductor is formed above.
[0017] The charge storage structure resulting from this embodiment
is flat rather than curved. In addition, the process integrates
well into the fabrication process used for the logic areas of the
device, for example because the thickness of the top ONO oxide
layer in the memory area and the thickness of the gate oxide layer
of logic transistors are controlled independently, and because the
top surface of the gate oxide in the logic area can be cleaned
without damaging the delicate top ONO oxide layer, which is covered
by other layers at the time the gate oxide is cleaned. Furthermore,
the process requires only a minimum of high-resolution masking
steps.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The invention will be described with respect to specific
embodiments thereof, and reference will be made to the drawings, in
which:
[0019] FIGS. 1-13 illustrate in cross-sectional view an embodiment
of a process flow in accordance with the invention.
[0020] FIG. 14 is a plan view of pertinent features of the
structure of FIG. 13.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] The following description is presented to enable any person
skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and is provided
in the context of a particular application and its requirements.
Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily
apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles
defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications
without departing from the spirit and scope of the present
invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be
limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest
scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed
herein.
[0022] FIGS. 1-13 illustrate the process flow of an embodiment of
the invention. Beginning with FIG. 1, a material is formed that
includes a substrate 110 with a charge storage structure 112 formed
on the surface. As used herein, since various embodiments of the
invention can involve different structures formed above or below
the surface of the substrate, no distinction is made herein between
structures formed "in" or "on" the substrate. The two terms are
used interchangeably herein.
[0023] The material of FIG. 1 will be used to form both logic and
memory. In the illustration of FIG. 1, the memory area is area 114,
shown to the right of dividing line 116, and the logic area is 118,
shown to the left of dividing line 116. Basically, the memory area
differs from the logic area in that the memory area will contain
floating gate transistors, whereas the logic area will contain
conventional field effect transistors (FET's). The substrate 110 as
shown in FIG. 1 already includes the N-well diffusions 120 and 122
in the logic and memory areas, respectively; a P-well 124 in the
logic area 118; P-well implants 126 and 128 in the logic and memory
areas, respectively, and field oxides 130 in the logic area 118.
Although the memory area and the logic area are shown as two
distinct regions in the figures, it will be understood that a
single wafer could include multiple logic areas interspersed with
memory areas or vice-versa.
[0024] The charge storage structure 112 is a layer that stores
charge in a nonvolatile state. Typically it includes three
sublayers: a bottom dielectric layer 132, a middle charge-storage
layer 134, and a top dielectric layer 136. The bottom and top
dielectric layer's 132 and 136 are typically formed of a silicon
oxide, and the middle charge storage layer 134 can be either a
conductive material (for example polysilicon or a metal) or a
charge "trapping" material such as the dielectric is silicon
nitride (SiN), Al2O3, HFOx, ZrOx, or other metal oxides. In other
embodiments, the charge trapping structure 112 need not includes
three distinct sublayers as shown in FIG. 1. The latter kinds of
charge trapping structures include, for example, layers made of a
dielectric treated in such a way as to form charge trapping sites
dispersed throughout all or part of the material in the layer. As
used herein, the term "layer" can include sublayers, which
themselves can be considered herein to constitute layers. Also as
used herein, a "layer" may be patterned or unpatterned. By itself
the term does not imply either condition.
[0025] In the embodiment to FIG. 1, the charge storage structure
112 is a three-layer structure in which the top and bottom
dielectric layers 136 and 132 are silicon oxides, and the middle
charge storage layer is silicon nitride. Thus the charge storage
structure 112 is a three layer composite oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO)
structure. Processes for forming ONO structures on a silicon
substrate are well known.
[0026] As mentioned, in certain conventional processes, when
integrated into a logic process, there is an interdependence
between the thickness of the top oxide layer of the ONO structure
and they gate oxide used in conventional FETs in the logic areas.
In particular, in many processes, oxide is deposited in a single
layer on all areas of the wafer, causing the ONO top oxide to have
the same thickness as the gate oxide in the logic areas. To avoid
this problem, after the ONO deposition of FIG. 1, photoresist is
formed over the ONO and removed above only the logic areas 118. The
ONO composite layer is then etched away as shown in FIG. 2, only
above the logic areas 118 using for example a CH4 dry etch.
Preferably, the etch is stopped when less than 50 Angstroms of
substrate silicon has been lost. The gate oxide layer 210 is then
formed over the exposed silicon by an oxidation method, to
thickness of approximately 150 Angstroms. Using this method,
therefore, the thickness of the gate oxide layer 210 can be
completely independent of the thickness of top oxide layer 136 of
the composite layer 112 in the memory area 114.
[0027] Also as shown in FIG. 2, the photoresist over the memory
area is then removed and a polysilicon layer 212 is formed over the
entire surface of the device. In other embodiments, silicon
germanium (SiGe) can be used here instead of polysilicon. The
polysilicon layer 212 is deposited to a thickness of approximately
50 to 1000 Angstroms, for example using an SiH4 furnace process. It
will be seen that the polysilicon layer 212 performs a function of
masking the logic areas 118 during certain etches of the memory
area 114. The polysilicon layer 212 also protects the delicate top
surface of the top oxide layer 136 of the ONO composite layer 112
during etching of the isolation regions and during subsequent
cleaning of the gate oxide in the logic areas 118.
[0028] In FIG. 3, a sacrificial layer 310, which may be silicon
nitride, is deposited to an approximate thickness of 1000-3000
Angstroms. The silicon nitride layer may be deposited using, for
example, an NH3/SiH2Cl2/N2 furnace process.
[0029] In FIG. 4, photoresist is applied over the entire surface of
the device, and a mask is used to expose regions for buried
diffusions. The buried diffusions regions will be elongated
conductive N+ doped lines (bit lines) extending under more than one
memory cell. These regions are then etched by a four-step process:
first, CH4+HBr is used to etch through the silicon nitride
sacrificial layer 310. Second, an HBr/O2 plasma is used to etch
through the polysilicon layer 212, stopping on the top oxide layer
136. Third, CF4 is used to etch through the top oxide layer to stop
on the silicon nitride charge storage layer 134, and finally an
etching gas atmosphere containing HBr, SF6 and CHF3 is used to etch
through the silicon nitride layer 134 to stop at the bottom oxide
132. At this point the device has been openings 412 in the film
above buried diffusion line regions. The buried diffusions lines
414 are now implanted through the openings 412 using the silicon
nitride and polysilicon layer's 310 and 212 as a mask. Implantation
can be accomplished using a rapid thermal pocket implant process,
such as furnace anneal, furnace oxidation and rapid thermal
oxidation. The buried diffusion lines 414 defined the lateral
extent of the memory cell transistors in the memory area 114, since
for each memory cell, one of the buried diffusion regions 414 acts
as the source while the other acts as the drain. The segment of
substrate 110 which extends laterally between the two buried
diffusion lines 414 constitutes a channel of the transistor, and
the segment of the ONO composite layer extending laterally between
each pair of buried diffusion regions contains the floating
gate.
[0030] As used herein, a particular patterned layer is "used as a
mask" for a particular process step if it is the top layer present
when the particular process step is performed, and also if it is
only an intermediate layer present when the particular process step
is performed, as long as any superposing layers are patterned the
same as the particular layer. In other words, as used herein, if
the structure includes two commonly-patterned layers, then each of
them individually, as well as both of them together, are all
considered herein to act as a "mask" for the particular process
step. The presence of a superposing layer having the same pattern
as the particular layer does not prevent the particular layer from
being "used as a mask" for the particular process step. Also as
used herein, layers which are termed "above" or "below" other
layers, can in various embodiments be separated from such other
layers by one or more intervening layers. If no intervening layer
is intended, then the terms "immediately above" or "immediately
below" are used herein. The same interpretation is intended for
layers described herein as "superposing", "underlying" or "over"
another layer.
[0031] In FIG. 5, another oxide layer 510 is deposited by a
high-density plasma CVD, to a thickness on the order of 1000-3000
Angstroms. The layer 510 is formed over the entire surface of the
device, and fills the openings over the buried diffusion lines 314.
In FIG. 6, photoresist is applied over the structure and opened
over the logic area 118. The oxide layer 510 is then etched back
over the logic area 118 to stop on the silicon nitride layer 310.
The latter etch can be accomplished, for example, using a dry etch
having a CF4+CHF3 main step with an etch endpoint and a C4F8+N2+CO
over-etch step with time mode control. The photoresist is then
removed over the entire wafer and the wafer is subjected to an
oxide dip to reveal the silicon nitride edge for liftoff. At this
point the oxide 510 remaining in the openings 412 above the buried
diffusion lines 414 form oxide features 610 which will be used in a
subsequent to self-aligned step. As can be seen, the oxide features
610 have sidewalls extending higher than the top surface of the top
oxide layer 136 of the composite film 112.
[0032] In FIG. 7, the sacrificial silicon nitride layer 310 is
removed by a liftoff technique, for example using DHF+H3PO4+SCl. At
this point the gate oxide 210 and a layer of polysilicon 212
remains over the logic area 118 of the device, and the polysilicon
layer 212 also remains protecting the top oxide layer 136 of the
ONO composite film 112, in the memory area 114. In FIG. 8,
additional liner polysilicon is deposited over the entire wafer to
an additional thickness of approximately 50-800 Angstroms, using a
SiH4 furnace process. The liner polysilicon layer thickens the
polysilicon layer 212 on the horizontal surfaces above the gate
oxide layer 210 and ONO composite layers 112. It also forms a layer
on the horizontal surfaces above the oxide features 610 in the
memory area 114, and further forms polysilicon spacers 810 on the
sidewalls of the oxide features 610. In some embodiments, the liner
layer formed in FIG. 8 need not be the same material as the
polysilicon layer 212 applied in FIG. 2. But where they are the
same material, the spacers features 810 have a thickness in the
vertical dimension which is greater than the thickness of the
protective liner layer in the vertical dimension over the ONO
composite regions, so that an anisotropic etch will etch through it
over the ONO composite regions before etching through the spacer
features. As used herein, "vertical" means essentially normal to
the substrate major surface. The "vertical" direction may or may
not coincide with the direction normal to any particular layer of
film at that point, since the surface of a film may be slanted or
uneven due to various processing steps and various non-coplanar
features underlying the film. "Lateral" means substantially
parallel to the major surface of the substrate.
[0033] Thus after the processing steps of FIG. 8, the wafer
includes the substrate 110 having a memory area 114 and a logic
area 118. Within the memory area the wafer has a charge storage
structure 112 comprising ONO, and a protective liner layer 212 over
the charge storage structure. Buried diffusion oxide features 610
overly respective buried diffusion lines 414 in the substrate and
extend vertically through the charge storage structure 112 down
through the nitride sublayer 134. The buried diffusion oxide
features 610 have sidewalls extending higher than the top surface
of the charge storage structure 112 adjacent to the buried
diffusion oxide features 610, and further have polysilicon spacer
features 810 over the charge storage structure 112 against the
sidewalls of the buried diffusion oxide features 610. In the logic
area 118, the polysilicon liner layer 212 overlies and protects the
gate oxide layer 210, which overlies the substrate 110.
[0034] In FIG. 9, photoresist is again applied to the entire
surface of the wafer and then opened up over the memory area 114
only. The memory region 114 is then etched anisotropically to form
a self-aligned isolation trench 910 in each of the cells. This
process step isolates the gate nodes in the ONO charge trapping
material. These gates in the ONO can control the electric field for
electrons or holes to trap in the ONO. This etch can be
accomplished, for example, by first using an HBr/02 plasma to etch
through the polysilicon layer 212, stopping on the top oxide layer
136. A CF4-containing gas is then used to etch through the top
oxide layer to stop on the silicon nitride charge storage layer
134, and an etching gas atmosphere containing HBr, SF6 and CHF3 is
then used to etch through the silicon nitride layer 134 to stop at
the bottom oxide 132. In another embodiment, a further etch can
take place to break all the way through the bottom oxide layer 132
if desired. The process steps of FIG. 9 use the spacer features 810
as a mask for the self aligned etch, thereby protecting the
delicate top oxide 136 from damage. As can be seen, the process
steps of FIG. 9 results in two narrow charge storage regions 912 in
each memory cell, against facing sidewalls of opposite oxide
features 610, and separated from each other electrically by an
isolation trench 910.
[0035] In FIGS. 10-12, a 3-step process is used to fill the
isolation trenches 910. First, in FIG. 10, the photoresist is
removed from the entire wafer and a new layer 1010 of insulating
material is formed on the surface to a thickness of approximately
500-2000 Angstrom. Preferably the new layer 1010 is an oxide formed
by a TEOS process. The layer fills the trenches 910, but also
overlies all other lateral surfaces on the wafer. In FIGS. 11 and
12, the oxide 1010 is etched back in the logic and memory areas
independently. More particularly, in FIG. 11, photoresist is
applied to the entire wafer, and opened over only the logic area
118. The exposed oxide is then etched all the way down to the
polysilicon layer 212, thereby completely removing the oxide layer
1010 in the logic area 118. FIG. 12, the remaining photoresist is
removed, exposing the oxide layer 1010 in the memory area 114. An
oxide dip is used to etch back this oxide. This etch is performed
until the oxide 1010 in the trenches 910 has an elevation on the
wafer approximately equal to the top surface of the composite layer
112.
[0036] In other embodiments this etch can be stopped while the
oxide 1010 in the trenches is still at a higher elevation, or after
the oxide in the trenches has been etched down below the top
surface of the composite layer 112. The insulator in the trenches
should, however, remain at least higher than the top surface of the
charge storage material in the charge storage structure 112, in
order to maintain insulation between the charge storage material
and the gate conductor (applied next). In the example of FIG. 10,
in which the charge storage material is a middle layer 134
sandwiched between two insulating layers 132 and 136, the oxide
1010 remaining in the trenches 910 after the etch of FIG. 12 need
only have an elevation higher than the top surface of the charge
storage layer 134. Nevertheless, it is preferable that the etch be
stopped when the top surface of the oxide 1010 in the trenches is
substantially coplanar with the top surface of the composite layer
112, providing a coplanar bottom surface of the control gate across
the entire lateral extent of the channel.
[0037] The top surface of the isolation trench oxide 1010 is now
cleaned, preferably using HF, before application of control gate
polysilicon. The polysilicon layer 212 protects the gate oxide
layer 210 from damage during this cleaning step.
[0038] As shown in FIG. 12, the oxide dip leaves a structure in
which each memory cell is bounded laterally by a pair of buried
diffusions 414 (bit lines), and has a composite film 112 extending
laterally between the two buried diffusions 414. An oxide-filled
trench 910 isolates two charge storage regions 1210 and 1212 of the
composite film 112, each of which is superposed by a respective
polysilicon spacer 810. The polysilicon spacers 810 are conductive,
but are separated from the charge storage regions 1210 and 1212 by
top oxide sub-layers 136 of the composite film 112. In the logic
area 118, the gate oxide layer 210 is superposed by a polysilicon
layer 212.
[0039] In one embodiment, the spacers 810 are insulating rather
than conductive material. In such an embodiment the spacers would
now be removed. Preferably the spacers are conductive however, and
even more preferably polysilicon, thereby avoiding any need to
remove them now.
[0040] In FIG. 13, another layer 1310 of polysilicon is deposited
over the entire wafer, followed by a layer 1312 of Tungsten
Silicide (WSi). The polysilicon layer 1310 fills the gaps between
the polysilicon spacers 810, thereby forming a uniform conductive
material over the entire channel region of each memory cell. The
combined polysilicon/WSi layer 1310/1312 also extends to a higher
elevation than the oxide features 610 on the substrate, so that it
may be patterned to form control gate conductors for the memory
array. The combined polysilicon/WSi layer 1310/1312 is then
photolithographically patterned to form control gates on the FET
transistors in the logic area 118, as well as other conductive
lines in the logic area 118, and to form the control gate
conductors 1314 in the memory area 114.
[0041] As can be seen, the embodiment of FIGS. 1-13 produces twin
bit memory cells in which the charge storage structures are flat,
i.e. have a substantially constant thickness throughout their
lateral extent, and therefore it is easier to control electron and
hole distribution within the charge storage regions. (As used
herein, a layer having "substantially constant thickness" means to
within manufacturing tolerances. For example, a layer laid down in
a single process step, which distributes the deposited material
relatively evenly over the entire surface of interest, will likely
have a "substantially constant thickness." It may not have a
"substantially constant elevation," however, for example if the
layer is formed over a bump or other elevated feature in an
underlying layer.) The flat charge storage structures result from
their formation early in the process on a flat underlying material
(the substrate), followed by subsequent selective etching, rather
than trying to form the isolated charge storage structures in a
later step.
[0042] The embodiment of FIGS. 1-13 also integrates well into the
fabrication process used for the logic areas of the device. In
particular, for example, the thickness of the top ONO oxide layer
and the thickness of the gate oxide layer of logic transistors are
controlled independently. As another example, the top surface of
the gate oxide in the logic area can be cleaned without damaging
the delicate top ONO oxide layer, which is covered by other layers
at the time the gate oxide is cleaned. Nor does the step of etching
twin bit isolation regions into the ONO layer damage the top oxide
layer of the ONO segments that are to remain, because those
segments are covered and protected by the polysilicon spacers at
the time of the etch.
[0043] The embodiment of FIGS. 1-13 also requires only two
high-resolution masking steps to perform the steps shown: the
buried diffusion bit line definition in FIG. 4, and the final
patterning of the poly 3 control gates in FIG. 13. The definition
of the isolation trenches in the composite layer is performed by a
self-aligned etch, so no separate high resolution masking step is
required for this step.
[0044] FIG. 14 is a top view of a portion of the memory area 114 of
the device after the patterning steps of FIG. 13. As can be seen,
the memory cells are organized into a regular array, with each bit
line diffusion 414 extending through more than one cell in the `y`
dimension, crossing under more than one control gate line 1314. As
used herein, an "array" of memory cells simply means more than one
memory cell. Typically an array has regularity of structure, such
as that shown in FIG. 14, but regularity is not essential.
[0045] As used herein, when "first" or "second", and so on, are
used to describe layers or other elements, these words are intended
only to provide structural differentiation and handles so the
elements can be referred back to unambiguously later. They are not
intended to require a temporal sequence.
[0046] The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the
present invention has been provided for the purposes of
illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive
or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.
Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to
practitioners skilled in this art. For example, while specific
illustrative process chemistries are set forth above for performing
particular steps, numerous alternative process chemistries and
mechanisms for performing such steps will be apparent to the
reader. In addition, and without limitation, any and all variations
described, suggested or incorporated by reference in the Background
section of this patent application are specifically incorporated by
reference into the description herein of embodiments of the
invention. The embodiments described herein were chosen and
described in order to best explain the principles of the invention
and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in
the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and
with various modifications as are suited to the particular use
contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be
defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *