U.S. patent application number 14/924151 was filed with the patent office on 2016-02-18 for integrated circuits with dual silicide contacts and methods for fabricating same.
The applicant listed for this patent is GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Inc.. Invention is credited to Guillaume Bouche, Shao Ming Koh, Jeremy A. Wahl, Andy Wei.
Application Number | 20160049490 14/924151 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52739266 |
Filed Date | 2016-02-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160049490 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bouche; Guillaume ; et
al. |
February 18, 2016 |
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS WITH DUAL SILICIDE CONTACTS AND METHODS FOR
FABRICATING SAME
Abstract
Integrated circuits with dual silicide contacts are provided. In
an embodiment, an integrated circuit includes a semiconductor
substrate including a first area and a second area. The integrated
circuit includes a first source/drain region in and/or overlying
the first area of the semiconductor substrate and a second
source/drain region in and/or overlying the second area of the
semiconductor substrate. The integrated circuit further includes a
first contact over the first source/drain region and comprising a
first metal silicide. The integrated circuit also includes a second
contact over the second source/drain region and comprising a second
metal silicide different from the first metal silicide.
Inventors: |
Bouche; Guillaume; (Albany,
NY) ; Koh; Shao Ming; (Clifton Park, NY) ;
Wahl; Jeremy A.; (Delmar, NY) ; Wei; Andy;
(Queensbury, NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Inc. |
Grand Cayman |
|
KY |
|
|
Family ID: |
52739266 |
Appl. No.: |
14/924151 |
Filed: |
October 27, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
14043017 |
Oct 1, 2013 |
9196694 |
|
|
14924151 |
|
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|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
257/369 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 27/092 20130101;
H01L 21/823814 20130101; H01L 29/41725 20130101; H01L 29/45
20130101 |
International
Class: |
H01L 29/45 20060101
H01L029/45; H01L 27/092 20060101 H01L027/092 |
Claims
1. An integrated circuit comprising: a semiconductor substrate
including a first area and a second area; a first source/drain
region in and/or overlying the first area of the semiconductor
substrate; a second source/drain region in and/or overlying the
second area of the semiconductor substrate; a first contact over
the first source/drain region and comprising a first metal
silicide; and a second contact over the second source/drain region
and comprising a second metal silicide different from the first
metal silicide.
2. The integrated circuit of claim 1 wherein the second metal
silicide is formed from a second metal, and wherein the integrated
circuit further comprises a layer of the second metal over the
first contact.
3. The integrated circuit of claim 2 further comprising a metal
fill material overlying the layer of second metal over the first
contact and overlying the second contact.
4. The integrated circuit of claim 2 wherein the first metal
silicide is platinum silicide, wherein the second metal silicide is
titanium silicide, and wherein the second metal includes
titanium.
5. The integrated circuit of claim 4 wherein the second metal
includes a layer of titanium and a capping layer of titanium
nitride.
6. The integrated circuit of claim 4 wherein the second metal
includes a layer of titanium and cobalt and a capping layer of
titanium nitride.
7. The integrated circuit of claim 4 wherein the metal fill
material is tungsten.
8. The integrated circuit of claim 1 wherein the first metal
silicide is on the first source/drain region and the second metal
silicide is on the second source/drain region.
9. The integrated circuit of claim 8 wherein the second metal
silicide is formed from a second metal, and wherein the integrated
circuit further comprises a layer of the second metal on the first
contact.
10. The integrated circuit of claim 9 further comprising a metal
fill material, wherein a first portion of the metal fill material
is on the layer of second metal on the first contact and a second
portion of the metal fill material is on the second contact.
11. The integrated circuit of claim 8 wherein the second metal
silicide is formed from a second metal, and wherein the integrated
circuit further comprises: a layer of the second metal on the first
contact; and a capping layer on the layer of the second metal on
the first contact and on the second metal silicide.
12. The integrated circuit of claim 11 further comprising a metal
fill material, wherein a first portion of the metal fill material
is on the capping layer on the layer of second metal on the first
contact and a second portion of the metal fill material is on the
capping layer on the second metal silicide.
13. The integrated circuit of claim 1 wherein the first area is a
PFET area and the second area is an NFET area.
14. An integrated circuit comprising: a semiconductor substrate
including a PFET area and an NFET area; a PFET gate structure
interposed between source/drain regions in the PFET area; an NFET
gate structure interposed between source/drain regions in the NFET
area; first contacts on the source/drain regions in the PFET area,
wherein the first contacts are a first metal silicide; second
contacts on the source/drain regions in the NFET area, wherein the
second contacts are a second metal silicide different from the
first metal silicide; and a second metal layer, wherein first
portions of the second metal layer are overlying the first contacts
and second portions of the second metal layer are overlying the
second contacts, and wherein the second metal silicide is formed
from the second portions of the second metal layer.
15. The integrated circuit of claim 14 further comprising: a
dielectric material overlying the contacts and gate structures; an
electrical gate contact in electrical connection with a selected
gate structure; and an electrical source/drain contact in
electrical connection with a selected contact.
16. The integrated circuit of claim 14 further comprising a metal
fill material overlying the first portions and second portions of
the second metal layer.
17. The integrated circuit of claim 16 wherein the first metal
silicide is platinum silicide, wherein the second metal silicide is
titanium silicide, and wherein the second metal includes
titanium.
18. The integrated circuit of claim 17 wherein the second metal
layer includes titanium and a capping layer of titanium
nitride.
19. The integrated circuit of claim 16 wherein the metal fill
material is tungsten.
20. An integrated circuit comprising: a semiconductor substrate
having PFET areas and NFET areas; first contacts over the
semiconductor substrate in the PFET areas, wherein the first
contacts are a first metal silicide; and second contacts over the
semiconductor substrate in the NFET areas, wherein the second
contacts are a second metal silicide different from the first metal
silicide.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This is a divisional application of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 14/043,017, filed Oct. 1, 2013.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to integrated
circuits and methods for fabricating integrated circuits, and more
particularly relates to integrated circuits with dual silicide
contacts and methods for fabricating integrated circuits with dual
silicide contacts.
BACKGROUND
[0003] The majority of present day integrated circuits are
implemented by using a plurality of interconnected field effect
transistors (FETs), also called metal oxide semiconductor field
effect transistors (MOSFETs or MOS transistor devices). Such a
transistor device includes a gate electrode as a control electrode
that is formed overlying a semiconductor substrate and spaced-apart
source and drain regions that are formed within the semiconductor
substrate and between which a current can flow. A control voltage
applied to the gate electrode controls the flow of current through
a channel in the semiconductor substrate between the source and
drain regions and beneath the gate electrode.
[0004] The MOS transistor device is accessed via a conductive
contact typically formed on the source/drain regions between the
gate electrodes of two MOS transistor devices. The conductive
contact is usually formed by siliciding a metal on the source/drain
regions and then depositing an insulating layer over the silicided
source/drain regions and etching a contact opening in the
insulating layer. A thin barrier layer, typically of titanium
nitride and/or other metals and alloys, is deposited in the contact
opening and the opening then is filled by a chemical vapor
deposited layer of tungsten.
[0005] At reduced technology nodes, more and more circuitry is
incorporated on a single integrated circuit chip and the sizes of
each individual device in the circuit and the spacing between
device elements decreases. However, one of the limiting factors in
the continued shrinking of integrated semiconductor devices is the
resistance of contacts to doped regions such as the source and
drain regions. As device sizes decrease, the width of contacts
decreases. As the width of the contacts decreases, the resistance
of the contacts becomes increasingly larger. In turn, as the
resistance of the contacts increases, the drive current of the
devices decreases, thus adversely affecting device performance.
Therefore, the importance of reducing contact resistance at
source/drain regions is amplified at reduced technology nodes.
[0006] Accordingly, it is desirable to provide integrated circuits
and methods for fabricating integrated circuits that exhibit lower
contact resistance. In addition, it is desirable to provide
integrated circuits and methods for fabricating integrated circuits
that utilize dual silicide contacts, i.e., two different types of
silicide contacts for PFET and NFET devices, to reduce contact
resistance. Furthermore, other desirable features and
characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from
the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the
appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings and this background of the invention.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0007] Integrated circuits with dual silicide contacts are
provided. In accordance with one embodiment, an integrated circuit
includes a semiconductor substrate including a first area and a
second area. The integrated circuit includes a first source/drain
region in and/or overlying the first area of the semiconductor
substrate and a second source/drain region in and/or overlying the
second area of the semiconductor substrate. The integrated circuit
further includes a first contact over the first source/drain region
and comprising a first metal silicide. The integrated circuit also
includes a second contact over the second source/drain region and
comprising a second metal silicide different from the first metal
silicide.
[0008] In another embodiment, an integrated circuit includes a
semiconductor substrate including a PFET area and an NFET area. A
PFET gate structure is interposed between source/drain regions in
the PFET area. An NFET gate structure interposed between
source/drain regions in the NFET area. The integrated circuit
includes first contacts on the source/drain regions in the PFET
area, wherein the first contacts are a first metal silicide. The
integrated circuit includes second contacts on the source/drain
regions in the NFET area, wherein the second contacts are a second
metal silicide different from the first metal silicide. The
integrated circuit further includes a second metal layer, wherein
first portions of the second metal layer are overlying the first
contacts and second portions of the second metal layer are
overlying the second contacts, and wherein the second metal
silicide is formed from the second portions of the second metal
layer.
[0009] In accordance with another embodiment, an integrated circuit
is provided and includes a semiconductor substrate having PFET
areas and NFET areas. First contacts are over the semiconductor
substrate in the PFET areas, wherein the first contacts are a first
metal silicide. Second contacts are over the semiconductor
substrate in the NFET areas, wherein the second contacts are a
second metal silicide different from the first metal silicide.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] Embodiments of integrated circuits with dual silicide
contacts and methods for fabricating integrated circuits with dual
silicide contacts will hereinafter be described in conjunction with
the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like
elements, and wherein FIGS. 1-14 illustrate, in cross section, a
portion of an integrated circuit and method steps for fabricating
an integrated circuit in accordance with various embodiments
herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] The following detailed description is merely exemplary in
nature and is not intended to limit the integrated circuits or the
methods for fabricating integrated circuits as claimed herein.
Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or
implied theory presented in the preceding technical field,
background or brief summary, or in the following detailed
description.
[0012] In accordance with the various embodiments herein,
integrated circuits with dual silicide contacts and methods for
fabricating integrated circuits with dual silicide contacts are
provided. Specifically, integrated circuits described herein are
provided with two different types of silicide contacts, each of
which is optimized for contacting source/drain regions in either
PFET devices or NFET devices. In an exemplary embodiment, a method
for fabricating an integrated circuit includes selectively forming
a first metal over a PFET area of a semiconductor substrate and
annealing the first metal to form first silicide contacts. Further,
the exemplary method includes forming a second metal over an NFET
area of the semiconductor substrate and annealing the second metal
to form second silicide contacts. By optimizing the silicide
contacts provided on PFET devices and NFET devices on the
integrated circuit, contact resistance is lowered and device
performance is improved.
[0013] FIGS. 1-14 illustrate a method for fabricating integrated
circuits with dual silicide contacts in accordance with various
embodiments herein. FIGS. 1-5 illustrate an embodiment for forming
first silicide contacts on PFET devices, and FIGS. 6-10 illustrate
an alternate embodiment for forming first silicide contacts on PFET
devices. FIGS. 11-14 illustrate an embodiment for forming second
silicide contacts on NFET devices. Various steps in the design and
composition of integrated circuits are well known and so, in the
interest of brevity, many conventional steps will only be mentioned
briefly herein or will be omitted entirely without providing the
well known process details. Further, it is noted that integrated
circuits include a varying number of components and that single
components shown in the illustrations may be representative of
multiple components.
[0014] Turning now to FIG. 1, in an exemplary embodiment, the
process of fabricating an integrated circuit 10 begins by providing
a semiconductor substrate 12 on which gate structures, source/drain
regions, and other features may be formed. The semiconductor
substrate 12 is typically a silicon wafer and includes various
doping configurations as is known in the art to define P-channel
field effect transistor (PFET) areas 14 and an N-channel FET (NFET)
areas 16. The semiconductor substrate 12 may also include other
elementary semiconductor materials such as germanium.
Alternatively, the semiconductor substrate 12 may include a
compound semiconductor such as, silicon carbide, gallium arsenide,
indium arsenide, or indium phosphide. Further, the semiconductor
substrate 12 may optionally include an epitaxial layer (epi layer),
may be strained for performance enhancement, and/or may include a
silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure. Further, the semiconductor
substrate 12 may be formed into fin structures for use in FinFETs.
The semiconductor substrate may further encompass areas of Shallow
Trench Isolation (STI) processed before the gate and which separate
PFET active areas from NFET active areas. The detailed fabrication
of STI well known and does not directly affect the subject matter
herein.
[0015] As shown, gate structures 18 are formed overlying the
semiconductor substrate 12 in both the PFET areas 14 and the NFET
areas 16. Each gate structure 18 can be realized as a composite
structure or stack that is formed from a plurality of different
layers and materials. In this regard, the gate structures 18 can be
formed by conformally depositing layers of material, using
photolithographic techniques to pattern the deposited layers of
material, and selectively etching the patterned layers to form the
desired size and shape for the gate structures 18. For example, a
relatively thin layer of dielectric material (commonly referred to
as the gate insulator) can be initially deposited over the
semiconductor substrate 12 using, for example, a sputtering,
chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD)
technique. Alternatively, this gate insulator layer could be formed
by growing a dielectric material, such as silicon dioxide, on
exposed silicon surfaces of the semiconductor substrate 12. In
certain embodiments, a gate electrode material, such as a
polycrystalline silicon material or a metal material (e.g.,
titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, tungsten nitride, or another
metal nitride) is formed overlying the gate insulator layer. For
advanced CMOS technology, gate processing is typically processed by
first patterning a dummy polysilicon or amorphous silicon layer in
the shape of the gate, acting as a placeholder until being further
removed and replaced with a metal in a damascene way. This is
referred to as the Removal Metal Gate or RMG technique
[0016] Another insulating material may then be formed overlying the
gate electrode material for use as a hard mask. This insulating
material (such as silicon nitride) can be deposited using, for
example, a sputtering or CVD technique. This insulating material
can then be photolithographically patterned as desired to form a
gate etch mask for etching of the gate structures 18. The
underlying gate material is anisotropically etched into the desired
topology that is defined by the gate etch mask. After patterning,
the insulating material remains on the gate structures 18 as gate
caps 22. It should be appreciated that the particular composition
of the gate structures 18 and the manner in which they are formed
may vary from one embodiment to another, and that the brief
description of the gate stack formation is not intended to be
limiting or restrictive of the recited subject matter.
[0017] In the exemplary embodiment, spacers 26 are formed around
the sides of gate structures 18 and gate caps 22. The spacers 26
can be fabricated using conventional process steps such as material
deposition, photolithography, and etching. In this regard,
formation of the spacers 26 may begin by conformally depositing a
spacer material overlying the gate caps 22, gate structures 18 and
semiconductor substrate 12. The spacer material is an appropriate
insulator, such as silicon nitride, and the spacer material can be
deposited in a known manner by, for example, atomic layer
deposition (ALD), CVD, LPCVD, semi-atmospheric chemical vapor
deposition (SACVD), or PECVD. The spacer material is deposited to a
thickness so that, after anisotropic etching, the spacers 26 have a
thickness that is appropriate for the subsequent etching steps
described below. Thereafter, the spacer material is anisotropically
and selectively etched to define the spacers 26. In practice, the
spacer material can be etched by, for example, reactive ion etching
(RIE) using a suitable etching chemistry.
[0018] After the spacers 26 have been created, other processing may
be performed to form source/drain regions 30 in PFET areas 14 and
the NFET areas 16 of the semiconductor substrate 12. For example,
various ion implantations may be performed on the semiconductor
substrate 12 using the gate structures 18 as ion implantation masks
to form desired doped source/drain regions 30 for the PFET areas 14
and NFET areas 16. Ion implantations may be sequentially performed
on PFET areas 14 and NFET areas 16 by selectively masking one type
of area while implanting conductivity-determining ions in the
other. For example, a hard mask is deposited over the semiconductor
substrate 12 and is patterned to expose the areas of the desired
typed, e.g., PFET areas 14. An implantation or implantations are
performed to introduce selected conductivity-determining ions into
the semiconductor substrate 12 to form appropriately doped
source/drain regions 30. The hard mask is removed and the process
is then repeated for the areas of the other type, e.g., NFET areas
16. Annealing processes may also be performed to drive the
conductivity-determining ions further into the semiconductor
substrate 12. Additionally or alternatively, exposed portions of
semiconductor substrate 12 in the source/drain regions 30 may be
removed to form recesses and semiconductor stressors may be
re-grown in the resulting recesses. In an exemplary embodiment, the
semiconductor stressors in PFET areas 14 may comprise silicon
germanium (SiGe) and the semiconductor stressors in NFET areas 16
may comprise silicon.
[0019] The manufacturing process may proceed by forming a
dielectric material 34 overlying the gate structures 18, gate caps
22 and spacers 26, and source/drain regions 30. The dielectric
material 34 may be formed by CVD, spin-on, sputtering, or other
suitable methods. The dielectric material 34 may include silicon
oxide, silicon oxynitride, or a suitable low-k material. In the
exemplary embodiment, the dielectric material 34 is planarized to
the height of the gate caps 22, such as by chemical mechanical
planarization (CMP). At this point in the fabrication process,
previously unoccupied space around the spacers 26 has been
completely filled with the dielectric material 34. For an RMG
process, the sacrificial or dummy gate material is removed, high
permitivity gate oxide processed, and metal gate deposited.
[0020] After the dielectric material 34 has been deposited, the
process may continue in FIG. 2 by selectively removing dielectric
material 34 overlying the PFET areas 14 and NFET areas 16 (the
dielectric material 34 may remain covering other features or
regions on the semiconductor substrate 12 unrelated to the current
process). In an exemplary embodiment, the dielectric material 34 is
removed by patterning a photoresist film over the dielectric
material and performing a reactive ion etch (RIE) to remove the
exposed dielectric material 34.
[0021] A first metal layer 40 is then deposited overlying the gate
structures 18, gate caps 22 and spacers 26, and source drain
regions 30 in both the PFET areas 14 and NFET areas 16. The first
metal layer 40 is a metal that will be used to form silicide
contacts in the PFET areas 14. Further, the silicide contacts in
the PFET areas 14 must be able to withstand the NFET silicide
contacts anneal later in the process. An exemplary first metal
layer 40 is platinum. Alternatively, the first metal layer 40 may
include nickel, other metals suitable for P-type contacts, or
alloys of platinum, nickel, and/or the other suitable metals for
P-type contacts. The first metal layer 40 may be conformally
deposited by blanket physical vapor deposition (PVD) or another
suitable method. An exemplary first metal layer 40 is deposited to
a thickness of about 3 nanometers (nm) to about 15 nm.
[0022] FIG. 3 illustrates further processing of the partially
fabricated integrated circuit 10. As noted above, the first metal
layer 40 is selected to form contacts in the PFET areas 14 and is
formed from metal optimized for PFET contacts. In order to prevent
the formation of silicide contacts in the NFET areas 16 from the
first metal layer 40, the first metal layer 40 is selectively
removed from the NFET areas 16. For this reason, a mask layer 44 is
deposited over the first metal layer 40. An exemplary mask layer 44
is formed from spin on carbon (SOC), an organic planarizing layer
(OPL), or a deep ultra violet light absorbing oxide (DUO) material;
however, any suitable material that may be patterned, selectively
etched relative to the first metal layer 40, and easily removed
from the partially fabricated integrated circuit 10 may be used. A
photoresist film 46 may be formed over the mask layer 44 and
patterned to expose the portions of the mask layer 44 overlying the
NFET areas 16. Thereafter, the portions of the mask layer 44
overlying the NFET areas 16 are etched, such as by a RIE process,
to expose the first metal layer 40 in the NFET areas 16.
[0023] The exposed first metal layer 40 in the NFET areas 16 is
removed in FIG. 4. Specifically, an etch such as an aqua regia
(nitro-hydrochloric acid) wet etch may selectively remove the first
metal layer 40. Other suitable etching process may be used provided
they do not etch, or only slightly etch, gate caps 22, spacers 26,
and source/drain regions 30. In FIG. 4, the remaining photoresist
film 46 and mask layer 44 are removed, such as by a reactive ion
etch, for example an O.sub.2 plasma etch.
[0024] In FIG. 5, the process may continue by forming first
silicide contacts 50 on the source/drain regions 30 in the PFET
areas 14. Specifically, a low temperature anneal at a temperature
of about 100.degree. C. to about 450.degree. C. is performed. Under
this heat treatment, the first metal layer 40 reacts preferentially
with the semiconductor material of the source/drain regions 30 in
the PFET areas 14 to form first silicide contacts 50. The first
metal layer 40 does not react with the dielectric material of the
gate caps 22 and spacers 26. The unreacted first metal layer 40 is
then selectively etched with an acidic solution from the gate caps
22 and spacers 26 such that only the first silicide contacts 50
remain. The structure of the partially fabricated integrated
circuit 10 of FIG. 5 is then ready for formation of second contacts
in the NFET areas 16. The process for forming second contacts in
the NFET areas 16 is illustrated in FIGS. 11-14.
[0025] Before describing the process for forming second contacts in
the NFET areas 16, an alternate embodiment for forming first
silicide contacts in the PFET areas 14 is described in FIGS. 6-10.
With cross-reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 6 illustrates the selective
removal of dielectric material 34 overlying the PFET areas 14. The
dielectric material 34 remains covering the NFET areas 16. In an
exemplary embodiment, the dielectric material 34 is removed by
patterning a photoresist film 54 over the dielectric material 34
and performing a reactive ion etch (RIE) to remove the exposed
dielectric material 34 overlying the source/drain regions 30 in the
PFET areas 14.
[0026] In FIG. 7, the photoresist film 54 is removed and a first
metal layer 40 is formed over the partially fabricated integrated
circuit 10. As shown, the exemplary first metal layer 40 is
conformally deposited over the gate caps 22, spacers 26, and
source/drain regions 30 in the PFET areas 14. Further, the
exemplary first metal layer 40 is deposited over the gate caps 22
and dielectric material 34 in the NFET areas 16. As indicated
above, the first metal layer 40 is a metal that will be used to
form silicide contacts in the PFET areas 14. Further, the silicide
contacts in the PFET areas 14 must be able to withstand the NFET
silicide contacts anneal later in the process. An exemplary first
metal layer 40 is platinum. Alternatively, the first metal layer 40
may include nickel, other metals suitable for P-type contacts, or
alloys of platinum, nickel, and/or the other suitable metals for
P-type contacts. The first metal layer 40 may be conformally
deposited by blanket physical vapor deposition (PVD) or another
suitable method. An exemplary first metal layer 40 is deposited to
a thickness of about 3 nm to about 15 nm.
[0027] The process continues in FIG. 8 by forming first silicide
contacts 50 on the source/drain regions 30 in the PFET areas 14.
Specifically, a low temperature anneal at a temperature of about
100.degree. C. to about 450.degree. C. is performed. Under this
heat treatment, the first metal layer 40 reacts preferentially with
the semiconductor material of the source/drain regions 30 in the
PFET areas 14 to form first silicide contacts 50. The first metal
layer 40 does not react with the gate caps 22, spacers 26, and
dielectric material 34. The unreacted first metal layer 40 is then
selectively etched with an acidic solution from the gate caps 22,
spacers 26, and dielectric material 34 such that only the first
silicide contacts 50 remain.
[0028] In FIG. 9, mask layer 58 is formed over the PFET areas 14.
Specifically, the mask layer 58 is deposited over the partially
fabricated integrated circuit 10 and is patterned to expose the
NFET areas 16. The mask layer 58 may be any material that can
withstand selective etching of the dielectric material 34 in the
NFET areas 16 and can be easily removed from the gate caps 22,
spacers 26 and first silicide contacts 50 in the PFET areas 14. For
example, the mask layer 58 can be a photoresist. After forming the
mask layer 58 over the PFET areas 14, the dielectric material 34 is
etched from the NFET areas 16, such as by performing an RIE
process. The etch exposes the source/drain regions 30 in the NFET
areas 16 as shown in FIG. 9. Alternatively, the dielectric material
34 can be etched without protecting the PFET area with mask layer
58 if the etch chemistry is selective to remove the dielectric
relative to the first silicide contacts 50. For example, dilute HF
may not require masking of the PFET area.
[0029] The mask layer 58 is then removed from the PFET areas 14 as
shown in FIG. 10. Thus, the partially fabricated integrated circuit
10 is provided with the same structure as the partially fabricated
integrated circuit of FIG. 5. Specifically, first silicide contacts
50 are formed on the source/drain regions 30 in the PFET areas 14,
and the partially fabricated integrated circuit 10 is ready for
further processing to form second silicide contacts in NFET areas
16.
[0030] The process for forming second silicide contacts on the
source/drain regions 30 in the NFET areas 16 begins in FIG. 11. As
shown, a second metal layer 60 is formed over the PFET areas 14 and
NFET areas 16. Specifically, the exemplary second metal layer 60 is
conformally deposited over the gate caps 22 and spacers 26, over
the first silicide contacts 50 in the PFET areas 14, and over the
source/drain regions 30 in the NFET areas 16. The second metal
layer 60 includes a metal that will be used to form silicide
contacts in the NFET areas 16 and will remain overlying the first
silicide contacts 50 in the PFET areas 14. An exemplary second
metal layer 60 includes titanium. Alternatively, the second metal
layer 60 may include cobalt or other metals or alloys suitable for
N-type contacts. The second metal layer 60 further includes a
capping material for capping the silicide contacts in the PFET
areas 14 and NFET areas 16. For example, the second metal layer 60
may include a titanium nitride capping material. The second metal
layer 60 may be conformally deposited by blanket physical vapor
deposition (PVD) or another suitable method. An exemplary second
metal layer 60 is deposited to a thickness of about 5 nm to about
20 nm, for example an exemplary second metal layer 60 may include
about 3 nm to about 15 nm titanium and about 2 nm to about 5 nm
titanium nitride.
[0031] As shown in FIG. 12, after formation of the second metal
layer 60 over the PFET areas 14 and NFET areas 16, a fill metal 70
is deposited over the partially fabricated integrated circuit 10.
An exemplary fill metal 70 is tungsten, though copper or any other
suitable conductive metal that is easy to deposit and polish may be
used. The fill metal 70 may be conformally deposited such as by
CVD. As shown, the fill metal 70 forms an overburden portion 74
located above the second metal layer 60 formed on the gate caps
22.
[0032] In FIG. 13, the second metal layer 60 overlying the gate
caps 22 and the overburden portion 74 of the fill metal 70 are
removed, such as by a planarization process. Further, second
silicide contacts 80 are formed on the source/drain regions 30 in
the NFET areas 16. For example, an anneal may be performed, such as
at a temperature of from about 600.degree. C. to about 850.degree.
C. Under this heat treatment, the metal in the second metal layer
60 reacts preferentially with the semiconductor material of the
source/drain regions 30 in the NFET areas 16 to form second
silicide contacts 80. The second metal layer 60 does not react with
the gate caps 22, spacers 26, or first silicide contacts 50.
Further, it is noted that in the silicidation reaction of titanium
with silicon, silicon is the migrating species. Therefore, a
titanium second silicide anneal does not degrade the first silicide
contacts 50 in the PFET areas 14. Further, it is noted that while
the fill metal 70 is deposited and planarized before the second
silicide contacts 80 are formed in the illustrated embodiment, it
is contemplated that the second silicide anneal be performed at any
time after deposition of the second metal layer 60, such as before
the fill metal deposition or before planarization.
[0033] The partially fabricated integrated circuit 10 of FIG. 13 is
thus formed with contact structures 84 in the PFET areas 14 and
NFET areas 16. Structurally, the contact structures 84 in the PFET
areas 14 include first silicide contacts 50, second metal layer 60,
and fill metal 70. The contact structures 84 in the NFET areas 16
include second silicide contacts 80, non-reacted portions of the
second metal layer 60, and fill metal 70.
[0034] FIG. 14 illustrates further processing including the
formation of an interconnect structure to provide electrical
communication to the contact structures 84. As shown, an interlayer
dielectric material 86 is deposited over the partially fabricated
integrated circuit 10. Then, a gate interconnect 88 may be formed
by selectively etching a trench or trenches 90 over a selected gate
structure or gate structures 18. An interconnect metal 92 is then
deposited to form the gate interconnect 88. Likewise, a
source/drain interconnect 94 may be formed by selectively etching a
trench or trenches 96 over a selected source/drain region or
regions 30. Interconnect metal 92 is then deposited to form the
source/drain interconnect 94.
[0035] As described herein, an integrated circuit fabrication
process is implemented to form improved contacts to source/drain
regions. Specifically, dual silicide contacts are formed, with
first silicide contacts formed from a first metal optimized for
PFET contacts and second silicide contacts formed from a second
metal optimized for NFET contacts. Thus, contact resistance in both
PFET and NFET areas are reduced and PFET and NFET device
performance is optimized.
[0036] To briefly summarize, the fabrication methods described
herein result in integrated circuits having source/drain contacts
with improved performance. While at least one exemplary embodiment
has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should
be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. Further, any
refinement pertaining to the fabrication of Shallow Trench
Isolation, or related to the inclusion or not on the semiconductor
substrate of a Contact Etch Stop Layer (CESL) over source/drain
regions, or related to the typical clean steps included prior to
metal deposition in view of forming a good quality silicide has
been omitted for the sake of clarity. It should also be appreciated
that the exemplary embodiment or embodiments described herein are
not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of
the claimed subject matter in any way. Rather, the foregoing
detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a
convenient road map for implementing the described embodiment or
embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be
made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing
from the scope defined by the claims, which includes known
equivalents and foreseeable equivalents at the time of filing this
patent application.
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