U.S. patent application number 14/499493 was filed with the patent office on 2016-03-31 for uniform junction formation in finfets.
The applicant listed for this patent is International Business Machines Corporation. Invention is credited to Eric C. T. Harley, Judson R. Holt, Yue Ke, Timothy J. McArdle, Shogo Mochizuki, Alexander Reznicek.
Application Number | 20160093740 14/499493 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55585354 |
Filed Date | 2016-03-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160093740 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Harley; Eric C. T. ; et
al. |
March 31, 2016 |
UNIFORM JUNCTION FORMATION IN FINFETS
Abstract
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor devices
and more particularly, to a structure and method of forming an
abrupt junction in the channel regions of high density
technologies, such as tight pitch FinFET devices, using recessed
source-drain (S-D) regions and annealing techniques. In an
embodiment, a faceted buffer layer, deposited before the S-D region
is formed, may be used to control the profile and dopant
concentration of the junction under the channel. In another
embodiment, the profile and dopant concentration of the junction
may be controlled via a dopant concentration gradient in the S-D
region.
Inventors: |
Harley; Eric C. T.;
(Lagrangeville, NY) ; Holt; Judson R.; (Wappingers
Falls, NY) ; Ke; Yue; (Fishkill, NY) ;
McArdle; Timothy J.; (Hopewell Junction, NY) ;
Mochizuki; Shogo; (Clifton Park, NY) ; Reznicek;
Alexander; (Troy, NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
International Business Machines Corporation |
Armonk |
NY |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
55585354 |
Appl. No.: |
14/499493 |
Filed: |
September 29, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
257/347 ;
438/157 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 29/7848 20130101;
H01L 29/785 20130101; H01L 29/0649 20130101; H01L 29/7851 20130101;
H01L 29/0847 20130101; H01L 29/66795 20130101; H01L 27/1211
20130101; H01L 21/3065 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H01L 29/78 20060101
H01L029/78; H01L 29/06 20060101 H01L029/06; H01L 29/08 20060101
H01L029/08; H01L 29/66 20060101 H01L029/66; H01L 21/3065 20060101
H01L021/3065 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: forming a fin on a semiconductor substrate;
forming a first gate structure on the fin, the first gate structure
comprising a first gate in contact with a side surface and a top
surface of the fin and a first spacer surrounding the first gate;
forming a second gate structure on the fin, the second gate
structure comprising a second gate in contact with the side surface
and the top surface of the fin and a second spacer surrounding the
gate; removing part of the fin between the first gate and the
second gate to form a fin recess, the fin recess having a first
sidewall that is substantially flush with a sidewall of the first
gate and second sidewall that is substantially flush with a
sidewall of the second gate, wherein a portion of the fin remains
below the fin recess; forming a buffer layer on the first sidewall,
the second sidewall, and a bottom surface of the fin recess, the
buffer layer having a first facet below the first spacer and a
second facet below the second spacer; forming a doped epitaxial S-D
region on the buffer layer in the fin recess; and annealing the
doped epitaxial S-D region to diffuse dopant atoms into a region of
the fin below the first gate and the second gate to form an abrupt
junction.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a cap layer on
the doped epitaxial S-D region.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming the fin on the
semiconductor substrate comprises: etching a fin into a
semiconductor on insulator (SOI) layer of a SOI substrate.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the removing part of the fin
between the first gate and the second gate to form the fin recess
comprises: performing a reactive ion etching (RIE) process; and
performing a time controlled wet etch to form an undercut below the
first spacer and the second spacer.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first facet and the second
facet cause a thickness of the buffer layer to decrease as the
buffer layer approaches a bottom surface of the first spacer and a
bottom surface of the second spacer.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming the doped epitaxial
S-D region on the buffer layer in the fin recess comprises: growing
an epitaxial material on the buffer layer in one or more layers;
doping the epitaxial material with dopant atoms such that the
epitaxial material is highest doped at the bottom with decreasing
dopant concentration toward a top of the doped epitaxial S-D
region.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the abrupt junction profile
comprises a first facet and a second facet directly below the
gate.
8. A method comprising: forming a fin on a semiconductor substrate;
forming a first gate structure on the fin, the first gate structure
comprising a first gate in contact with a side surface and a top
surface of the fin and a first spacer surrounding the first gate;
forming a second gate structure on the fin, the second gate
structure comprising a second gate in contact with the side surface
and the top surface of the fin and a second spacer surrounding the
gate; removing part of the fin between the first gate and the
structure to form a fin recess, the fin recess having a first
sidewall that is substantially flush with a sidewall of the first
spacer and second sidewall that is substantially flush with a
sidewall of the second spacer, wherein the fin recess has a rounded
bottom and a portion of the fin remains below the fin recess;
forming a doped epitaxial S-D region in the fin recess; and
annealing the doped epitaxial S-D region to diffuse dopant atoms
into a region of the fin below the first gate and the second gate
to form an abrupt uniform junction.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising forming a cap layer on
the doped epitaxial S-D region.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the forming the fin on the
semiconductor substrate comprises etching fins into a semiconductor
on insulator (SOI) layer of a SOI substrate.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein the removing part of the fin
between the first gate and the second gate to form the fin recess
comprises: performing a reactive ion etching (RIE) process.
12. The method of claim 8, wherein the forming the doped epitaxial
S-D region on the buffer layer in the fin recess comprises: growing
an epitaxial material in the fin recess in one or more layers;
doping the epitaxial material with dopant atoms such that the
epitaxial material is highest doped at the bottom with a decreasing
dopant concentration toward a top of the doped epitaxial S-D
region.
13. The method of claim 8, wherein the uniform junction profile
comprises a straight line below the gate, extending perpendicular
to the top surface of the fin for substantially the height of the
doped epitaxial S-D region.
14. A structure comprising: a fin on a semiconductor substrate; a
first gate structure on the fin, the first gate structure
comprising a first gate in contact with a side surface and a top
surface of the fin and a first spacer surrounding the first gate; a
second gate structure on the fin, the second gate structure
comprising a second gate in contact with the side surface and the
top surface of the fin and a second spacer surrounding the gate; a
doped epitaxial S-D region between the first gate structure and the
second gate structure, the doped epitaxial S-D region formed within
the fin; a portion of the fin between a bottom of the S-D region
and an isolation layer; and an abrupt junction of dopant atoms
diffused into a portion of the fin below the first gate and the
second gate.
15. The structure of claim 14, further comprising a cap layer on
the doped epitaxial S-D region.
16. The structure of claim 14, wherein the doped epitaxial S-D
region has a first sidewall that is substantially flush with the
first spacer and a second sidewall that is substantially flush with
the second spacer.
17. The structure of claim 14, further comprising a buffer layer
located between the doped epitaxial S-D region and a sidewall of
the first gate, a sidewall of the second gate, and the portion of
the fin, the buffer layer having a first facet directly below the
first spacer and a second facet directly below the second
spacer.
18. The structure of claim 14, wherein the doped epitaxial S-D
region has a bottom that is substantially parallel with an upper
surface of the isolation layer.
19. The structure of claim 14, wherein the doped epitaxial S-D
region has a rounded bottom.
20. The structure of claim 14, wherein the doped epitaxial S-D
region has a dopant concentration that is higher at the bottom with
a decreasing dopant concentration toward an upper surface of the
doped epitaxial S-D region.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present invention relates generally to semiconductor
devices and more particularly, to a structure and method of forming
a uniform channel and abrupt junction in fin field effect
transistors (FinFETs).
[0002] The gain of a field effect transistor (FET), usually defined
by the transconductance (g.sub.m), is proportional to the mobility
(.mu.) of the majority carrier in the transistor channel. The
current carrying capability, and hence the performance of a FET, is
proportional to the mobility of the majority carrier in the
channel. The mobility of holes, which are the majority carriers in
a P-channel field effect (PFET) transistor, and the mobility of
electrons, which are the majority carriers in an N-channel field
effect (NFET) transistor, may be enhanced by applying an
appropriate stress to the channel using dopant junctions.
SUMMARY
[0003] According to an embodiment, a method is disclosed. The
method may include: forming a fin on a semiconductor substrate;
forming a first gate structure on the fin, the first gate structure
including a first gate in contact with a side surface and a top
surface of the fin and a first spacer surrounding the first gate;
forming a second gate structure on the fin, the second gate
structure including a second gate in contact with the side surface
and the top surface of the fin and a second spacer surrounding the
gate; removing part of the fin between the first gate and the
second gate to form a fin recess, the fin recess having a first
sidewall that is substantially flush with a sidewall of the first
gate and second sidewall that is substantially flush with a
sidewall of the second gate, wherein a portion of the fin remains
below the fin recess; forming a buffer layer on the first sidewall,
the second sidewall, and a bottom surface of the fin recess, the
buffer layer having a first facet below the first spacer and a
second fact below the second spacer; forming a doped epitaxial S-D
region on the buffer layer in the fin recess; and annealing the
doped epitaxial S-D region to diffuse dopant atoms into a region of
the fin below the first gate and the second gate to form an abrupt
junction.
[0004] According to another embodiment, a method is disclosed. The
method may include: forming a fin on a semiconductor substrate;
forming a first gate structure on the fin, the first gate structure
including a first gate in contact with a side surface and a top
surface of the fin and a first spacer surrounding the first gate;
forming a second gate structure on the fin, the second gate
structure including a second gate in contact with the side surface
and the top surface of the fin and a second spacer surrounding the
gate; removing part of the fin between the first gate and the
structure to form a fin recess, the fin recess having a first
sidewall that is substantially flush with a sidewall of the first
spacer and second sidewall that is substantially flush with a
sidewall of the second spacer, wherein the fin recess has a rounded
bottom and a portion of the fin remains below the fin recess;
forming a doped epitaxial S-D region in the fin recess; and
annealing the doped epitaxial S-D region to diffuse dopant atoms
into a region of the fin below the first gate and the second gate
to form an abrupt uniform junction.
[0005] According to another embodiment, a structure is disclosed.
The structure may include: a fin on a semiconductor substrate; a
first gate structure on the fin, the first gate structure including
a first gate in contact with a side surface and a top surface of
the fin and a first spacer surrounding the first gate; a second
gate structure on the fin, the second gate structure including a
second gate in contact with the side surface and the top surface of
the fin and a second spacer surrounding the gate; a doped epitaxial
S-D region between the first gate structure and the second gate
structure, the doped epitaxial S-D region formed within the fin; a
portion of the fin between a bottom of the S-D region and an
isolation layer; and an abrupt junction of dopant atoms diffused
into a portion of the fin below the first gate and the second
gate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The following detailed description, given by way of example
and not intended to limit the invention solely thereto, will best
be appreciated in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in
which not all structures may be shown.
[0007] FIGS. 1A-1B are a top view and a cross section view
illustrating a structure, according an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0008] FIGS. 2A-2B are a top view and a cross section view
illustrating removing a portion of a fin to form a fin recess,
according an embodiment of the present invention.
[0009] FIGS. 3A-3B are a top view and a cross section view
illustrating forming a buffer layer in the fin recess, according an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0010] FIGS. 4A-4B are a top view and a cross section view
illustrating forming a S-D region on the buffer layer in the fin
recess, according an embodiment of the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 5A is a cross section view illustrating a uniform and
abrupt junction profile along section line A-A', according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 5B is a cross section view illustrating a uniform and
abrupt junction profile along section line B-B', according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0013] FIGS. 6A-6B are a top view and a cross section view
illustrating a structure, according an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0014] FIGS. 7A-7B are a top view and a cross section view
illustrating removing a portion of a fin to form a fin recess,
according an embodiment of the present invention.
[0015] FIGS. 8A-8B are a top view and a cross section view
illustrating forming a S-D region in the fin recess, according an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 9A is a cross section view illustrating a uniform and
abrupt junction profile along section line C-C', according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 9B is a cross section view illustrating a uniform and
abrupt junction profile along section line D-D', according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] The drawings are not necessarily to scale. The drawings are
merely schematic representations, not intended to portray specific
parameters of the invention. The drawings are intended to depict
only typical embodiments of the invention. In the drawings, like
numbering represents like elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] Detailed embodiments of the claimed structures and methods
are disclosed herein; however, it can be understood that the
disclosed embodiments are merely illustrative of the claimed
structures and methods that may be embodied in various forms. This
invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and
should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set
forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments are provided so
that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully
convey the scope of this invention to those skilled in the art.
[0020] For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms
"upper", "lower", "right", "left", "vertical", "horizontal", "top",
"bottom", and derivatives thereof shall relate to the disclosed
structures and methods, as oriented in the drawing figures. It will
be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or
substrate is referred to as being "on", "over", "beneath", "below",
or "under" another element, it may be present on or below the other
element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast,
when an element is referred to as being "directly on", "directly
over", "directly beneath", "directly below", or "directly
contacting" another element, there may be no intervening elements
present. Furthermore, the terminology used herein is for the
purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not
intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the
singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the
plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise.
[0021] In the interest of not obscuring the presentation of
embodiments of the present invention, in the following detailed
description, some processing steps or operations that are known in
the art may have been combined together for presentation and for
illustration purposes and in some instances may have not been
described in detail. In other instances, some processing steps or
operations that are known in the art may not be described at all.
It should be understood that the following description is rather
focused on the distinctive features or elements of various
embodiments of the present invention.
[0022] The present invention relates generally to semiconductor
devices and more particularly, to a structure and method of forming
a uniform channel and junction high density technologies, such as
tight pitch FinFET devices, using recessed source-drain (S-D)
regions and annealing techniques.
[0023] The continuous scaling of transistor devices has produced a
series of difficult challenges to the processes used to form the
active layers in deep sub-micron transistors. Two major
requirements in the downsizing of FETs are the suppression of "off"
state leakage currents, and low resistance for a high current drive
in the "on" state. In small gate lengths, even when the device is
in the "off" state, a leakage current from the drain to the source
may be observed due to the decreased threshold voltage (VT) of the
small gate. The space charge region near the drain may also touch
the source somewhere deeper in the substrate where the gate bias
cannot control the potential and punch through may occur at smaller
drain biases. The off current is a key design parameter and can be
minimized by keeping the S-D junctions shallow.
[0024] Typically, ion implantation that is self-aligned to the gate
electrode, or alternatively, aligned to sidewall spacers that are
adjacent to the gate electrode may be used to form ultra-shallow
junctions (e.g., less than about 300 Angstroms), but the amount of
implantation may be increasingly difficult to control. For example,
higher dopant implant concentrations are required to avoid an
increase in parasitic resistances at shallower junction depths.
While reducing the ion implantation energy may result in shallower
junctions, the higher required dopant concentration required may
result in significant damage to the semiconductor substrate and
adjacent structures, including forming amorphous or disordered
lattice regions.
[0025] Alternatively, solid source diffusion may be an approach to
forming S-D junction regions. Here, a solid phase diffusion source
layer may be formed on a substrate, followed by an annealing step
(e.g., rapid thermal anneal, laser anneal, spike anneal) to diffuse
the dopant impurities into the channel region. The solid phase
diffusion source layer may be embedded S-D region epitaxially grown
adjacent to a FET channel. However, conventional techniques of
solid source doping may lead to poor diffusion of dopants into the
channel region, resulting in a nonuniform channel and/or a graded
junction.
[0026] A way to form an S-D junction in a FinFET device having an
abrupt and uniform profile, without causing damage to the fins, may
be to recess the fin laterally during the formation of the source
drain region, fill the recess with an epitaxial material, and then
perform an annealing process to cause the dopants to diffuse into
the channel region. Embodiments by which to form the uniform and
abrupt junction are described below in detail with reference to
FIGS. 1-9.
[0027] Referring now to FIGS. 1A-1B, multiple views of a structure
100 are shown. FIG. 1A is a top view of the structure 100. FIG. 1B
is a cross section view of the structure 100 along section line
A-A'. The structure 100 may be a FinFET device formed using any
conventional technique known in the art.
[0028] In an embodiment, the structure 100 may be formed on a
semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate 112. The SOI substrate
112 may include a fin 106, formed out of an SOI layer, separated
from a base substrate 102 by an isolation layer 104. The base
substrate 102 may be composed of an undoped or doped crystalline
semiconductor material, an undoped or doped polycrystalline
semiconductor material, an undoped amorphous semiconductor
material, or an undoped amorphous semiconductor material that is
subsequently doped and annealed to convert it to a doped
polycrystalline semiconductor material.
[0029] The doped semiconductor material may be formed with in-situ
doping or implantation. The doped semiconductor material may be
selected from doped crystalline silicon, polysilicon, doped
polycrystalline germanium, a doped silicon-germanium
polycrystalline alloy, a doped silicon carbon polycrystalline
alloy, a doped silicon-germanium-carbon polycrystalline alloy,
doped polycrystalline gallium arsenide, doped polycrystalline
indium arsenide, doped polycrystalline indium phosphide, doped
polycrystalline III-V compound semiconductor materials, doped
polycrystalline II-VI compound semiconductor materials, doped
polycrystalline organic semiconductor materials, and other doped
polycrystalline compound semiconductor materials. The thickness of
the base substrate 102 may range from approximately 50 microns to
approximately 1000 microns, although lesser and greater thicknesses
can also be employed. In an embodiment, the base substrate 102 may
be doped with n-type dopants or p-type dopants. The dopant
concentration of the base substrate 102 may range from
approximately 1.0E15 atm/cm.sup.3 to approximately 1.0E17
atm/cm.sup.3, although lesser and greater dopant concentrations can
also be employed.
[0030] The isolation layer 104 may composed of dielectric material,
such as, for example, silicon dioxide. In an embodiment, the fin
106 may be composed of single-crystal silicon. If the structure 100
is a PFET, the fin 106 may be undoped or lightly doped with n-type
dopants, such as for example, phosphorus and arsenic, at a
concentration ranging from approximately 1E16 atm/cm.sup.3 to
approximately 1E19 atm/cm.sup.3. If the structure 100 is a NFET,
the fin 106 may be an undoped or lightly doped with p-type dopants,
such as for example, boron, at a concentration ranging from
approximately 1E16 atm/cm.sup.3 to approximately 1E19 atm/cm.sup.3.
In an embodiment, the fin 106 may be intrinsic (i.e., completely
undoped).
[0031] The structure 100 may also include a gate structure 114
formed on the fin 106. The gate structure 114 may include a gate
108 and a spacer 110. The gate 108 may include a gate dielectric
and a gate conductor that can be formed via any known process in
the art, including a gate-first process and a gate-last process.
The gate structure 114 may have a height of approximately 40 nm to
approximately 200 nm, preferably approximately 50 nm to
approximately 150 nm.
[0032] In a gate-first process, the gate 108 may include a gate
dielectric, a gate electrode and a hard cap to protect the gate
electrode and the gate dielectric (not shown). The gate dielectric
may include an insulating material including, but not limited to:
oxide, nitride, oxynitride or silicate including metal silicates
and nitrided metal silicates. In one embodiment, the gate
dielectric may include an oxide such as, for example, SiO.sub.2,
HfO.sub.2, ZrO.sub.2, Al.sub.2O.sub.3, TiO.sub.2, La.sub.2O.sub.3,
SrTiO.sub.3, LaAlO.sub.3, and mixtures thereof. The physical
thickness of the gate dielectric may vary, but typically may have a
thickness ranging from approximately 0.5 nm to approximately 10
nm.
[0033] The gate electrode may be formed on top of the gate
dielectric. The gate electrode may be deposited by any suitable
technique known in the art, for example by atomic layer deposition
(ALD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition
(PVD), molecular beam deposition (MBD), pulsed laser deposition
(PLD), or liquid source misted chemical deposition (LSMCD). The
gate electrode may include, for example, Zr, W, Ta, Hf, Ti, Al, Ru,
Pa, metal oxides, metal carbides, metal nitrides, transition metal
aluminides (e.g. Ti.sub.3Al, ZrAl), TaC, TiC, TaMgC, or any
combination of those materials. The gate electrode may also include
a silicon layer located on top of a metal material, whereby the top
of the silicon layer may be silicided. The gate electrode may have
a thickness approximately of approximately 20 nm to approximately
100 nm and a width of approximately 10 nm to approximately 250 nm,
although lesser and greater thicknesses and lengths may also be
contemplated. The hard cap may be made of an insulating material,
such as, for example, silicon nitride, capable of protecting the
gate electrode and gate dielectric during subsequent processing
steps.
[0034] In a gate-last process, the gate 108 may include a
sacrificial gate (not shown) that may be later removed and replaced
by a gate dielectric and a gate electrode such as those of the
gate-first process described above. The sacrificial gate may be
made of a polysilicon material with a sacrificial dielectric
material (e.g., silicon oxide) formed using known deposition
techniques known in the art. The gate structure 114 may also
include a hard cap (not shown) made of an insulating material, such
as, for example, silicon nitride, capable of protecting the gate
electrode and gate dielectric during subsequent processing
steps.
[0035] Following formation of the gate 108, a spacer 110 may be
formed on an upper surface and sidewalls of the gate 108. The
spacer 110 may be made of, for example, silicon nitride, silicon
oxide, silicon oxynitrides, or a combination thereof. The spacer
110 may be formed by any method known in the art, including
depositing a conformal silicon nitride layer over the gate 108 and
etching to remove unwanted material from the conformal silicon
nitride layer. The spacer 110 may have a thickness of approximately
1 nm to approximately 10 nm.
[0036] Referring now to FIGS. 2A-2B, multiple views of the
structure 100 are shown. FIG. 2A is a top view of the structure
100. FIG. 2B is a cross section view of the structure 100 along
section line A-A'. FIGS. 2A-2B illustrate removing a portion of the
fin 106 to form a fin recess 202. The fin recess 202 may be formed
between two adjacent spacers 110 so that a portion of the fin 106
remains below the gate 108 to form a channel 204. In an embodiment,
the fin recess 202 may be formed so that is undercut (i.e., the
channel 204 has a sidewall that is substantially flush with a
sidewall of the gate). In an embodiment, a remaining portion 206 of
the fin 106 may be present below a flat bottom of the fin recess
202. The fin recess 202 may be formed by etching the fin 106 using
conventional etching techniques that may be selective to the spacer
110. In an embodiment, a combination of reactive ion etching (RIE)
followed time controlled wet etch may be used to form the
undercut.
[0037] Referring now to FIGS. 3A-3B, multiple views of the
structure 100 are shown. FIG. 3A is a top view of the structure
100. FIG. 3B is a cross section view of the structure 100 along
section line A-A'. FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate forming a buffer layer
302 in the fin recess 202. The buffer layer 302 may be formed on a
bottom and sidewalls of the fin recess 202. The buffer layer 302
may be deposited by a conventional deposition process, such as, for
example, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma enhanced CVD
(PECVD), metal organic CVD (MOCVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD),
evaporation, reactive sputtering, chemical solution deposition, and
other like processes. In an embodiment, the buffer layer 302 may be
formed using epitaxial growth. In an embodiment, the buffer layer
302 may be conformal to the bottom and the sidewalls of the fin
recess 202. The buffer layer 302 may have a facet 304 directly
below the spacer 110 as a result of the deposition process. The
facet 304 may result in the buffer layer 302 having a thickness
that decreases as it approaches a bottom surface of the spacer 110.
Although the buffer layer is shown having a facet 304 below the
spacer 110 in FIG. 3B, embodiments are contemplated in which the
buffer layer 302 has a uniform thickness on each of the bottom and
the sidewalls.
[0038] The buffer layer 302 may be composed of an undoped or
lightly doped semiconductor material, such as, for example, Si,
carbon doped silicon having a concentration of carbon up to 4%,
SiGe, or Ge. In an embodiment in which the structure 100 is a NFET,
the buffer layer 302 may be doped with n-type dopants, such as, for
example phosphorus or arsenic doping. In an embodiment in which the
structure 100 is a PFET, the buffer layer 302 may be doped with
p-type dopants, such as, for example, boron. It should be noted
that the dopant concentration in the buffer layer 302 may be less
than a dopant concentration in a subsequent S-D region formed on
the buffer layer 302 as described below in detail with reference to
FIGS. 4A-4B. In an embodiment, the concentration of dopants in the
buffer layer 302 may range from approximately 1E18 atm/cm.sup.3 to
approximately 8E19 atm/cm.sup.3.
[0039] Referring now to FIGS. 4A-4B, multiple views of the
structure 100 are shown. FIG. 4A is a top view of the structure
100. FIG. 4B is a cross section view of the structure 100 along
section line A-A'. FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate forming a S-D region 402
on the buffer layer 302 in the fin recess 202 (FIG. 3B). The S-D
region 402 may be formed by growing a doped semiconductor material
in the fin recess 202 (FIG. 3B) using any conventional epitaxial
growth and doping process. In an embodiment, the doped epitaxial
material may be formed using in-situ doping. In an embodiment, the
doped epitaxial material may be formed such that an upper surface
of the S-D region 402 is substantially flush with a bottom surface
of the spacer 110. In another embodiment, the upper surface of the
S-D region 402 may be above the bottom surface of the spacer
110.
[0040] The doped epitaxial material may be formed in layers, such
that different layers may have different dopant concentrations.
Although a first layer 404 and a second layer 406 are shown in FIG.
4B, embodiments are contemplated in which the S-D region 402 is
composed of more than two layers. In an embodiment, the dopant
concentration between the first layer 404 and the second layer 406
may be graded such that, for example, the second layer 406 is
lightly doped while the first layer 404 is more highly doped, or
vice versa. In an embodiment, the first layer 404 may have an
average dopant concentration ranging from approximately 1E20
atm/cm.sup.3 to approximately 4E20 atm/cm.sup.3 and the second
layer 406 may have an average dopant concentration ranging from
approximately 3E20 atm/cm.sup.3 to approximately 8E20 atm/cm.sup.3,
although greater compositions are contemplated.
[0041] This concentration gradient, along with the buffer layer 302
adjacent to the channel 204 may provide a uniform and abrupt
junction of dopant concentration along a vertical length of the
channel 204 during a subsequent annealing process. In an embodiment
in which the structure 100 is an NFET, the doped epitaxial material
may be composed of, for example, carbon doped silicon having a
concentration of carbon up to 4%, and may be doped with n-type
dopants, such as, for example phosphorus or arsenic doping. In an
embodiment in which the structure 100 is a PFET, the epitaxial
material could be silicon germanium (SiGe) doped with p-type
dopants, such as, for example, boron.
[0042] In an embodiment, a cap layer 408 may be formed on the S-D
region 402. The cap layer may be formed using conventional
deposition techniques, such as, for example, CVD, PECVD, MOCVD,
ALD, evaporation, reactive sputtering, chemical solution
deposition, and other like processes. In an embodiment, the cap
layer 408 may be formed using epitaxial growth. In an embodiment in
which the structure 100 is a pFET, the cap layer 408 may be
composed of SiGe. In an embodiment in which the structure 100 is a
nFET, the cap layer 408 may be composed of carbon doped silicon
having a concentration of carbon up to 4%. The cap layer 408 may be
undoped, or may be doped with p-type or n-type dopants. In an
embodiment in which the cap layer 408 is doped with p-type or
n-type dopants, the concentration of dopants may range from
approximately 1E18 atm/cm.sup.3 to approximately 8E20
atm/cm.sup.3.
[0043] After the doped epitaxial is deposited, the structure 100
may be annealed to diffuse the dopants into the channel 204. In an
embodiment, the annealing process may be a millisecond anneal such
as a laser spike anneal or a flash lamp anneal. The millisecond
annealing process may include subjecting the structure 100 to an
elevated temperature, ranging from approximately 800.degree. C. to
approximately 1250.degree. C., for approximately 1 ms to
approximately 500 ms. In another embodiment, the annealing process
may be a rapid thermal anneal (RTA). The RTA process may include
may include subjecting the structure 100 to an elevated
temperature, ranging from approximately 800.degree. C. to
approximately 1080.degree. C., for approximately 1 sec to
approximately 10 sec. During annealing, the individual layers of
the doped epitaxial material may become comingled as one layer with
a graded dopant concentration (i.e., dose activation) as discussed
above.
[0044] In addition, the annealing process may force dopant atoms to
migrate into the channel 204 to form an abrupt S-D junction 410.
Because of the undercut profile of the fin recess 202 (FIG. 3), the
presence of the buffer layer 302, and the graded dopant composition
in the S-D region 402, the dopants from the S-D region 402 may
migrate into the channel 204 at a uniform depth and may form an
abrupt concentration line having a facet directly below the gate
108.
[0045] Referring now to FIG. 5A, a cross section view of the
structure 100 along section line A-A' (FIG. 4A) is shown. FIG. 5A
is an enlarged view of the channel 204 and illustrates the uniform
and abrupt junction 410 profile. To better illustrate the uniform
and abrupt junction 410, FIG. 5B is shown. FIG. 5B is a cross
section view of the structure 100 along section line B-B'. The
facet 304 in the buffer layer 302 may control the formation of the
uniform and abrupt S-D junction 410 formation during the annealing
process. In an embodiment, the facet 304 may allow for the doped
material of the S-D region 402 to be closer to the channel 204
directly below the gate 108 as compared to lower portions of the
channel. Therefore, the dopant atoms present in the S-D region 402
may have a preferred path to diffuse into to the upper portion of
the channel 204 during the annealing process. The dopant atoms may
act as a S-D extension and junction to the channel.
[0046] Another embodiment by which to form a uniform and abrupt S-D
junction is described in detail below by referring to the
accompanying drawings FIGS. 6-9. In the present embodiment, a fin
recess having a rounded bottom may be formed between adjacent gates
that is not undercut below the spacer.
[0047] Referring now to FIGS. 6A-6B, multiple views of a structure
200 are shown. FIG. 6A is a top view of the structure 200. FIG. 2B
is a cross section view of the structure 200 along section line
C-C'. The structure 200 may be a FinFET device formed using any
conventional technique known in the art. The structure 200 may be
substantially similar to the structure 100 and may formed using
substantially similar techniques as those described above with
reference to FIGS. 1A-1B.
[0048] Referring now to FIGS. 7A-7B, multiple views of the
structure 200 are shown. FIG. 7A is a top view of the structure
100. FIG. 7B is a cross section view of the structure 200 along
section line C-C'. FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate removing a portion of the
fin 106 to form a fin recess 702. The fin recess 702 may be formed
between two adjacent spacers 110 so that a portion of the fin 106
remains below the gate 108 to form a channel 704. In an embodiment,
the fin recess 702 may be formed so that a sidewall of the fin
recess 702 is substantially flush with a sidewall of the spacer 110
(i.e., the channel 704 may extend between the exterior sidewalls of
the spacer 110). In an embodiment, a remaining portion 706 of the
fin 106 may be present below a rounded bottom of the fin recess
702. The fin recess 702 may be formed by etching the fin 106 using
a conventional etching technique that is selective to the spacer
110, such as, for example, RIE.
[0049] Referring now to FIGS. 8A-8B, multiple views of the
structure 200 are shown. FIG. 8A is a top view of the structure
200. FIG. 8B is a cross section view of the structure 200 along
section line C-C'. FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate forming a S-D region 802
in the fin recess 702 (FIG. 7B). The S-D region 802 may be formed
by growing a doped semiconductor material in the fin recess 702
(FIG. 7B) using any conventional epitaxial growth and doping
process. In an embodiment, the doped epitaxial material may be
formed using in-situ doping. In an embodiment, the doped epitaxial
material may be formed such that an upper surface of the S-D region
802 is substantially flush with a bottom surface of the spacer 110.
In another embodiment, the upper surface of the S-D region 802 may
be above the bottom surface of the spacer 110.
[0050] The doped epitaxial material may be formed in layers, such
that different layers may have different dopant concentrations.
Although a first layer 804 and a second layer 806 are shown in FIG.
8B, embodiments are contemplated in which the S-D region 802 is
composed of more than two layers. In an embodiment, the dopant
concentration between the first layer 804 and the second layer 806
may be graded such that, for example, the second layer 806 is
lightly doped while the first layer 804 is more highly doped, or
vice versa. In an embodiment, the first layer 804 may have an
average dopant concentration ranging from approximately 6E20
atm/cm.sup.3 to approximately 2E21 atm/cm.sup.3 and the second
layer 806 may have an average dopant concentration ranging from
approximately 1E20 atm/cm.sup.3 to approximately 8E20 atm/cm.sup.3,
although greater compositions are contemplated.
[0051] This concentration gradient, adjacent to the channel 704,
may provide a uniform and abrupt junction of dopant concentration
along a vertical length of the channel 704 during a subsequent
annealing process. In an embodiment in which the structure 200 is
an NFET, the doped epitaxial material may be composed of, for
example, carbon doped silicon having a concentration of carbon up
to 4%, and may be doped with n-type dopants, such as, for example
phosphorus or arsenic doping. In an embodiment in which the
structure 200 is a PFET, the epitaxial material could be silicon
germanium (SiGe) doped with p-type dopants, such as, for example,
boron.
[0052] In an embodiment, a cap layer 808 may be formed on the S-D
region 802. The cap layer may be formed using conventional
deposition techniques, such as, for example, CVD, PECVD, MOCVD,
ALD, evaporation, reactive sputtering, chemical solution
deposition, and other like processes. In an embodiment, the cap
layer 808 may be formed using epitaxial growth. The composed of
silicon. In an embodiment in which the structure 200 is a pFET, the
cap layer 808 may be composed of SiGe. In an embodiment in which
the structure 200 is a nFET, the cap layer 808 may be composed of
carbon doped silicon having a concentration of carbon up to 4%. The
cap layer 808 may be undoped, or may be doped with p-type or n-type
dopants. In an embodiment in which the cap layer 808 is doped with
p-type or n-type dopants, the concentration of dopants may range
from approximately 1E18 atm/cm.sup.3 to approximately 8E20
atm/cm.sup.3.
[0053] After the doped epitaxial is deposited, the structure 200
may be annealed to activate the dopant atoms in the doped epitaxial
material and to complete the formation of the S-D region 802. In an
embodiment, the annealing process may be a millisecond anneal such
as a laser spike anneal or a flash lamp anneal. The millisecond
annealing process may include subjecting the structure 200 to an
elevated temperature, ranging from approximately 800.degree. C. to
approximately 1250.degree. C., for approximately 1 ms to
approximately 500 ms. In another embodiment, the annealing process
may be a rapid thermal anneal (RTA). The RTA process may include
may include subjecting the structure 200 to an elevated
temperature, ranging from approximately 800.degree. C. to
approximately 1080.degree. C., for approximately 1 sec to
approximately 10 sec. During annealing, the individual layers of
the doped epitaxial material may become comingled as one layer with
a graded dopant concentration (i.e., dose activation) as discussed
above. In addition, the annealing process may force dopant atoms to
migrate into the channel 704 to form a uniform and abrupt S-D
junction 810.
[0054] Referring now to FIGS. 9A-9B, a cross section view of the
structure 100 along section line C-C' (FIG. 8A) is shown. FIG. 9A
is an enlarged view of the channel 704 and illustrates the uniform
and abrupt junction 410 profile. To better illustrate the uniform
and abrupt junction 810, FIG. 9B is shown. FIG. 5B is a cross
section view of the structure 100 along section line D-D'. Because
of the graded dopant concentration in the S-D region 802, as well
as the rounded bottom of the S-D region 802, the dopant atoms from
the S-D region 802 may migrate into the channel 704 at a uniform
depth and may form an abrupt straight concentration line rather
than a rounded profile resembling the shape of the S-D region 802.
The uniform and abrupt junction 810 may extend perpendicular to the
top surface of the fin for substantially the height of the doped
epitaxial S-D region.
[0055] Embodiments of the present invention may allow for the
fabrication of a uniform and abrupt S-D junction butting region in
a FinFET device by epitaxially growing a S-D region in a fin
recess, and then performing an annealing process to force the S-D
dopant atoms into a channel region below a gate. The uniform and
abrupt S-D junction may allow for a FinFET structure having very
short channel length and low source/drain extension resistivity,
yet operable to produce high drive currents without suffering from
the short channel effects that produce significant levels of
off-state current. In an embodiment, the undercut profile of the
S-D region having a graded dopant concentration, along with the
buffer layer adjacent to the channel may allow for the dopant atoms
to diffuse into the channel in a uniform and abrupt fashion,
producing a uniform channel length with higher strain stress than
conventional techniques. In another embodiment, the rounded bottom
and graded dopant concentration of the S-D region may allow for the
dopant atoms to diffuse into the channel in a uniform and abrupt
fashion, producing a uniform channel length with higher strain
stress than conventional techniques.
[0056] The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present
invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are
not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments
disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to
those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope
and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used
herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiment,
the practical application or technical improvement over
technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of
ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed
herein.
* * * * *