U.S. patent application number 11/567349 was filed with the patent office on 2007-05-03 for high resistance cmos resistor.
This patent application is currently assigned to SYSTEM GENERAL CORP.. Invention is credited to TUO-HSIN CHIEN, CHIH-FENG HUANG.
Application Number | 20070096255 11/567349 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35061087 |
Filed Date | 2007-05-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070096255 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
HUANG; CHIH-FENG ; et
al. |
May 3, 2007 |
HIGH RESISTANCE CMOS RESISTOR
Abstract
A high resistance CMOS resistor with a relatively small die size
is provided. The CMOS resistor includes a p-field region disposed
in a n-well of a substrate and a pair of p-type contact regions
respectively disposed beside a field oxide layer in the n-well. The
pair of p-type contact regions are respectively connected to two
sides of the p-field region as a first ohmic contact and a second
ohmic contact for the CMOS resistor. The CMOS resistor according to
the present invention has a resistance of, for example, 10
k.OMEGA.-20 k.OMEGA. per square.
Inventors: |
HUANG; CHIH-FENG; (HSINCHU
COUNTY, TW) ; CHIEN; TUO-HSIN; (TAIPEI, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
J C PATENTS, INC.
4 VENTURE, SUITE 250
IRVINE
CA
92618
US
|
Assignee: |
SYSTEM GENERAL CORP.
3F., NO. 1, ALLEY 8, LANE 45, BAO-SHING ROAD, SHIN-DIAN,
TAIPEI HSIEN
TW
|
Family ID: |
35061087 |
Appl. No.: |
11/567349 |
Filed: |
December 6, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10823238 |
Apr 12, 2004 |
7169661 |
|
|
11567349 |
Dec 6, 2006 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
257/536 ;
257/E21.004; 257/E27.016; 257/E27.047 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 27/0802 20130101;
H01L 28/20 20130101; H01L 27/0629 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
257/536 |
International
Class: |
H01L 29/00 20060101
H01L029/00 |
Claims
1. A semiconductor structure of a CMOS resistor, comprising: a
p-type silicon substrate; an n-well disposed in the p-type silicon
substrate; a p-well disposed in a non-active area of the p-type
silicon substrate; a first p-field region disposed in the p-well; a
second p-field region disposed in the n-well; a field oxide layer
disposed on the first p-field region and the second p-field region;
an n-type contact region disposed in the n-well; and a pair of two
p-type contact regions respectively disposed beside the field oxide
layer in the n-well as a first ohmic contact and a second ohmic
contact.
2. The semiconductor structure according to claim 1, further
comprising a patterned BPSG layer formed to build two contact
openings exposing a portion of the n-type contact region and the
two p-type contact regions.
3. The semiconductor structure according to claim 2, further
comprising two metal contact plugs disposed in the contact openings
to electrically connect to the first ohmic contact and the second
ohmic contact of the CMOS resistor.
4. The semiconductor structure according to claim 3, further
comprising a passivation layer deposited over the contact plugs
covering the CMOS resistor.
5. The semiconductor structure according to claim 1, wherein the
CMOS resistor is formed compatibly with a standard CMOS
process.
6. A semiconductor structure of a CMOS resistor, comprising: an
n-well; a first p-type contact region disposed in the n-well; a
second p-field region coupled to the first p-type contact region; a
second p-type contact region coupled to the second p-field region;
and a field oxide layer formed on the second p-field region.
7. The semiconductor structure according to claim 6, further
comprising an n-type contact region coupled to the first p-type
contact region.
8. The semiconductor structure according to claim 6, further
comprising a p-well coupled to the n-well.
9. The semiconductor structure according to claim 8, further
comprising a first p-field region formed on the p-well.
10. The semiconductor structure according to claim 9, further
comprising a field oxide layer formed on the second p-field
region.
11. A CMOS resistor, comprising: a p-field region disposed in a
n-well of a substrate; and a pair of p-type contact regions
respectively disposed beside a field oxide layer in the n-well,
wherein the pair of p-type contact regions are respectively
connected to two sides of the p-field region as a first ohmic
contact and a second ohmic contact for the CMOS resistor.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation application of a prior
application Ser. No. 10/823,238, filed Apr. 12, 2004. All
disclosure of the U.S. application is incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a semiconductor structure,
and more specifically to a high resistance CMOS resistor.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] Many common circuits manufactured using CMOS process require
resistor elements. In the area of analog circuits, resistor
elements having high-resistance values (100 k.OMEGA.-500 k.OMEGA.)
are sometimes desired. The demand for such resistors is especially
common in the field of power-relative analog circuits.
[0006] In one common application, many power-relative analog
circuits include voltage dividers constructed from a pair of CMOS
resistors. Such voltage dividers provide reference voltages that
are stepped down from a supply voltage. The higher the resistance
of the resistors is, the less standby power will be consumed.
[0007] Currently, most widely used CMOS resistors are either
junction resistors or film resistors. Common junction resistor
types include NW resistors, PW resistors, NDIFF(N+S/D) resistors,
and PDIFF(N+S/D) resistors. Common film resistor types include Poly
resistors, M1 resistors, and M2 resistors.
[0008] Though these resistors have satisfactory resistor
characteristics, their resistance is generally limited to 1
k.OMEGA.-5 k.OMEGA. per square. When a high-resistance element is
required, it can be created either by using extra die space, or by
performing additional masking steps during the manufacturing
process. However, neither of these alternatives is desirable
because they both increase the cost of manufacturing the
circuit.
[0009] Creating a high-resistance resistor (for example, from 100
k.OMEGA. to 500 k.OMEGA.) with traditional CMOS resistors is often
commercially impractical due to die-size and cost restrictions.
Therefore, there exists a need for a CMOS resistor having a
significantly higher resistance per square than existing CMOS
resistors. Furthermore, the process for manufacturing such a CMOS
resistor should not require any additional masking steps.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention provides a CMOS resistor with a
relatively small die-size. Such a CMOS component can reduce the
cost and the die-size of existing circuits to fabricate many novel
CMOS circuit designs.
[0011] While current CMOS resistors generally do not exceed 1
k.OMEGA.-5 k.OMEGA. per square, the present invention presents a
high resistance CMOS resistor having a high resistance, for
example, from 10 k to 20 k.OMEGA. per square. Furthermore, unlike
many existing processes of fabricating CMOS resistors, the process
according to the present invention does not require any additional
masking steps.
[0012] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a CMOS
resistor is provided. The CMOS resistor includes a p-field region
disposed in a n-well of a substrate and a pair of p-type contact
regions respectively disposed beside a field oxide layer in the
n-well. The pair of p-type contact regions are respectively
connected to two sides of the p-field region as a first ohmic
contact and a second ohmic contact for the CMOS resistor.
[0013] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a
semiconductor structure of a CMOS resistor is provided. The
semiconductor structure of the CMOS resistor includes a p-type
silicon substrate; an n-well disposed in the p-type silicon
substrate; a p-well disposed in a non-active area of the p-type
silicon substrate; a first p-field region disposed in the p-well; a
second p-field region disposed in the n-well; a field oxide layer
disposed on the first p-field region and the second p-field region;
an n-type contact region disposed in the n-well; and a two p-type
contact regions respectively disposed beside the field oxide layer
in the n-well as a first ohmic contact and a second ohmic
contact.
[0014] The CMOS resistor according to the present invention
substantially reduces the standby power consumption of voltage
dividers that are widely used for generating reference voltages. A
CMOS resistor having a resistance of 10 k.OMEGA.-20 k.OMEGA. per
square could also substantially reduce the manufacturing and
operating costs of many other existing circuits. A higher
resistance per square could also make many new analog circuit
designs involving high-resistance resistors possible.
[0015] However, the scope of this invention is no way limited to
the field of low standby-power electronics, or to voltage dividers.
There are many other types of circuits that could potentially
benefit from the use of such high-resistance CMOS resistors. Still
further objects and advantages will become apparent from a
consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate
embodiments of the invention and, together with the description,
serve to explain the principles of the invention.
[0017] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a step of
forming an n-well in a p-type silicon substrate according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a step of
forming a p-well and the n-well in the p-type silicon substrate
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a step of
forming an active area in the p-type silicon substrate according to
an embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a step of
forming a p-field area in the n-well and forming another p-field
area in the p-well according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0021] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a step of
performing a field oxidation process according to an embodiment of
the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a step of
forming an n-type contact region according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0023] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a step of
forming two p-type contact regions according to an embodiment of
the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating steps of
forming two metal contact plugs, and a passivation layer according
to an embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0025] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a high
resistance CMOS resistor is provided. The process of fabricating
the high resistance CMOS resistor comprises for example, the
following steps. An n-well and a p-well are formed in a p-type
silicon substrate. A nitride layer is then deposited over the
p-type silicon substrate. Next, photolithography and etching steps
are used to pattern the nitride layer to form a patterned mask
layer for defining a non-active area and active area over the
p-type silicon substrate. In general, some p-type ions are
implanted into the non-active area of the p-well. Some
channel-stops are also implanted for increasing the isolation
capability.
[0026] To form a CMOS resistor in another embodiment, the CMOS
process includes injecting the same p-type ions into the n-well to
form a p-field region. After that, a field oxide is formed on the
CMOS resistor. Heavily doped p-type contact regions are formed as
the ohmic contacts of the CMOS resistor, after the
photolithography, etching, and implanting steps. Finally, two
contact openings and two metal contact plugs are formed to
electrically connect two ohmic contacts of the CMOS resistor. Thus,
a high resistance resistor is formed without requiring any
additional masking steps. In addition, this process is fully
compatible with standard CMOS processes.
[0027] Referring now to the drawings wherein the contents are for
purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention
only and not for purposes of limiting the same. Referring to FIG.
1, phosphorus ions are implanted in a p-type silicon substrate 20
to form an n-well 22. The p-type silicon substrate 20 is doped with
boron ions to achieve a resistance of 8.OMEGA.-12.OMEGA. per cm.
The n-well 22 can be formed via well-known photolithography,
etching and implantation process as follows. A photoresist layer is
formed over the p-type silicon substrate 20. Next, the photoresist
layer is exposed using a mask to expose predetermined portions of
the photoresist layers. Next, the exposed photoresist is etched to
remove the predetermined portions of the p-type silicon substrate
20. Next, an ion implementation is then carried out using an energy
level of 100 KeV using phosphorus ions with a dosage level ranging
from 6.times.10.sup.12 to 9.times.10.sup.12 ions/cm.sup.2.
[0028] Next, as FIG. 2 shows, boron ions are implanted into the
p-type silicon substrate 20 to form a p-well 30. The implantation
is done using an energy level of 40 KeV, with a dosage level
ranging from 8.times.10.sup.12 to 9.times.10.sup.12 ions/cm.sup.2.
Next, a thermal annealing process is carried at, for example, a
temperature of about 1150.degree. C., to diffuse the n-type and
p-type ions into the respective regions within the p-type silicon
substrate 20.
[0029] As shown in FIG. 3, a pad oxide layer 40 having a thickness
of about 350 angstroms is formed over the surface of the p-type
silicon substrate 20. The pad oxide layer 40 is formed, for example
but limited to, by performing a thermal oxidation at a temperature
of 900.degree. C. Next, a nitride layer having a thickness of 1250
angstroms is then deposited at a temperature of 850.degree. C. over
the pad oxide layer 40. Next, the nitride layer is etched via
photolithography and etching process to form a patterned mask layer
42 over the surface of the pad oxide layer 40. The patterned mask
42 serves as a mask in the subsequent process.
[0030] Hereinafter, as FIG. 4 shows, performing an ion implantation
process 46 using the patterned mask layer 42 as the mask forms a
p-field region 50 and a p-field region 52. Boron ions are then
implanted at an energy level of 50 KeV with a dosage level ranging
from 4.times.10.sup.13 to 6.times.10.sup.13 ions/cm.sup.2.
[0031] As shown in FIG. 4, the p-field region 50 and the p-field
region 52 are formed below the pad oxide layer 40. As it will be
well known to those skilled in the art that the p-field
implantation is a standard CMOS process. In general, the p-field
region 50 is implanted into the p-well 30. The p-field region 50
acts as device isolation layers (ie, channel stops). However, it
should be understood that the p-field implantation could also be
done in an unconventional manner. The p-field region 52 is
implanted into the n-well 22 in order to form a window into the
n-well 22. The p-field region 52 forms a CMOS resistor. This step
enables the CMOS resistor, according to the present invention, to
be built without the use of any additional masking steps. A field
oxidation process is performed at a temperature of 980.degree. C.
to form a field oxide layer 60 over the p-type silicon substrate 20
as shown in FIG. 5. The field oxide layer 60 is grown to a
thickness of about 5000-6000 angstroms. When this step is
completed, the patterned mask layer 42 will be removed.
[0032] Now turning to FIG. 6, an n-type contact region 70 is formed
in the n-well 22. For example, the n-type contact region 70 can be
formed via a conventional photolithography and etching process to
form a patterned mask layer exposing predetermined portion of the
n-well 22. Arsenic ions are implanted at an energy level of 80 KeV,
with a dosage level in a range of 4.times.10.sup.15 to
6.times.10.sup.15 ions/cm.sup.2. The implantation is done with
heavier arsenic atoms because this forms the n-type contact region
70 with a shallow depth. This forms a window for the field oxide
layer 60.
[0033] As shown in FIG. 7, after forming the n-type contact region
70, p-type contact regions 80 and 82 are formed in the n-well 22.
Similarly, the p-type contact region 80 and p-type contact region
82 can also be formed by performing conventional photolithography
and etching process to form a patterned mask layer, and then using
the patterned mask layer as mask. Boron ions are implanted at an
energy level of 25 KeV with a dosage level ranging from
2.times.10.sup.15 to 4.times.10.sup.15 ions/cm.sup.2.
[0034] FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the p-type contact
region 82 implanted in the n-well 22. Therefore, the p-type contact
region 80 and the p-type contact region 82 are formed in the n-well
22. The p-type contact regions 80 and 82 act as two ohmic contacts
of the CMOS resistor. And this completes the fabrication of a high
resistance CMOS resistor.
[0035] Next, contact openings and metal contact plugs are formed to
electrically contact the two ohmic contacts of the CMOS resistor.
As shown in FIG. 8, a boro-phospho-silicate glass (BPSG) layer 90
is deposited to form two contact openings exposing a portion of the
n-type contact region and the two p-type contact regions. For
example, the thickness of the BPSG layer 90 is in the range of
5,000 to 8,000 angstroms. Subsequently, a metal layer 92 having a
thickness of 5,000 angstroms is sputtered over the BPSG layer 90.
For example, the metal layer 92 is an AlSiCu layer. Furthermore,
two metal contact plugs disposed in the contact openings to
electrically connect to the first ohmic contact and the second
ohmic contact of the CMOS resistor. Finally, an oxide layer 94
having a thickness in the range of 5,000 to 10,000 angstroms is
deposited over the resulting structure. The oxide layer 94 serves
as a passivation layer to protect the CMOS resistor and disposes
over the contact plugs covering the CMOS resistor.
[0036] Thus, a CMOS resistor having high resistance is formed
without any additional masking steps. In addition, this process is
fully compatible with standard CMOS processes. This CMOS resistor
will have a resistance of about 10 k.OMEGA.-20 k.OMEGA. per
square.
[0037] It is to be understood that this process of fabricating a
CMOS resistor according to the present invention is described for
the purpose of illustrating rather than limiting the scope of the
present invention.
[0038] Thus, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that
the method for manufacturing a CMOS resistor according to the
present invention could also be applied to manufacture an n-field
resistor in an n-type silicon substrate, without departing from the
spirit or the scope of the invention.
[0039] In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present
invention cover modifications and variations of this invention
provided they fall within the scope of the following claims or
their equivalents.
* * * * *