U.S. patent application number 16/128674 was filed with the patent office on 2020-03-12 for integration of air spacer with self-aligned contact in transistor.
The applicant listed for this patent is International Business Machines Corporation. Invention is credited to Kangguo Cheng, Julien Frougier, Chanro Park, Ruilong Xie.
Application Number | 20200083101 16/128674 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 69645505 |
Filed Date | 2020-03-12 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200083101 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Park; Chanro ; et
al. |
March 12, 2020 |
INTEGRATION OF AIR SPACER WITH SELF-ALIGNED CONTACT IN
TRANSISTOR
Abstract
A system and method of fabricating a semiconductor device
include forming a series of gates, and forming a gate spacer on
each side of each gate of the series of gates. The method includes
forming a source region on a side of each of the gates and forming
a drain region on an opposite side of each of the gates. The source
region or the drain region between two adjacent ones of the gates
is shared and only the source region or the drain region on one
side of a first gate and the source region or the drain region on
one side of a last gate in the series of gates are unshared source
or drain regions. A self-aligned contact (SAC) is formed on the
unshared source or drain regions. An air spacer is formed between
the SACs and the first gate and the last gate.
Inventors: |
Park; Chanro; (Saratoga,
NY) ; Xie; Ruilong; (Schenectady, NY) ;
Frougier; Julien; (Albany, NY) ; Cheng; Kangguo;
(Schenectady, NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
International Business Machines Corporation |
Armonk |
NY |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
69645505 |
Appl. No.: |
16/128674 |
Filed: |
September 12, 2018 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 29/66439 20130101;
H01L 21/76897 20130101; H01L 21/76834 20130101; H01L 21/76883
20130101; H01L 29/42392 20130101; H01L 29/78696 20130101; H01L
27/1211 20130101; H01L 21/7682 20130101; H01L 21/845 20130101; H01L
23/5226 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H01L 21/768 20060101
H01L021/768; H01L 21/84 20060101 H01L021/84; H01L 27/12 20060101
H01L027/12; H01L 23/522 20060101 H01L023/522 |
Claims
1. A method of fabricating a semiconductor device, the method
comprising: forming a series of two or more gates; forming a gate
spacer on each side of each gate of the series of two or more
gates; forming a source region on a side of each of the two or more
gates and forming a drain region on an opposite side of each of the
two or more gates, wherein the source region or the drain region
between two adjacent ones of the two or more gates is shared by the
two adjacent ones of the two or more gates and only the source
region or the drain region on one side of a first gate in the
series of two or more gates and the source region or the drain
region on one side of a last gate in the series of two or more
gates are unshared source or drain regions; depositing an
interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer above each of the source regions
and each of the drain regions; removing the ILD layer above the
unshared source or drain regions; removing the gate spacer on the
one side of the first gate in the series of two or more gates and
removing the gate spacer on the one side of the last gate in the
series of two or more gates; forming a self-aligned contact (SAC)
on the unshared source or drain regions while retaining the ILD
layer above all other ones of the source regions and the drain
regions; and forming an air spacer between the SAC on the one side
of the first gate and the first gate and between the SAC on the one
side of the last gate and the last gate.
2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising conformally
depositing a liner and a sacrificial material, wherein the liner
and the sacrificial material are deposited in locations where the
gate spacer on the one side of the first gate and the gate spacer
on the one side of the last gate were removed;
3. The method according to claim 2 further comprising removing the
sacrificial material between the SAC and the one side of the first
gate and the sacrificial material between the SAC and the one side
of the last gate while leaving the liner and an air gap; and
4. The method according to claim 3 further comprising pinching off
the air gap with a dielectric material, wherein the air gap and the
dielectric material on the one side of the first gate and on the
one side of the last gate define the air spacers.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor
device includes nanosheet field effect transistors (FETs) and the
forming the series of two or more gates includes forming each gate
of the series of two or more gates in a gate-all-around
configuration such that the gate surrounds a set of nanosheets.
6. The method according to claim 5 further comprising separating
nanosheets of each of the set of nanosheets with inner spacers.
7. The method according to claim 5 further comprising forming the
set of nanosheets associated with each gate of the series of two or
more gates above a dielectric layer that is formed on a
substrate.
8. The method according to claim 1 further comprising forming a cap
above each gate of the series of two or more gates.
9. The method according to claim 8 further comprising replacing the
cap above the first gate and the last gate in the series of two or
more gates with a gate contact.
10. The method according to claim 1 further comprising forming a
via above the SACs.
11. A semiconductor device, comprising: a series of two or more
gates; a source region on a side of each of the two or more gates
and a drain region on an opposite side of each of the two or more
gates, wherein the source region or the drain region between two
adjacent ones of the two or more gates is shared by the two
adjacent ones of the two or more gates and only the source region
or the drain region on one side of a first gate in the series of
two or more gates and the source region or the drain region on one
side of a last gate in the series of two or more gates are unshared
source or drain regions; a gate spacer on each side of each gate of
the series of two or more gates except the one side of the first
gate and the one side of the last gate in the series of two or more
gates; a self-aligned contact (SAC) on each of the unshared source
or drain regions; an interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer on each of
the source regions and the drain regions that are shared by two
gates of the series of two or more gates; and an air spacer between
the SAC on the one side of the first gate and the first gate and
between the SAC on the one side of the last gate and the last
gate.
12. The device according to claim 11 further comprising a liner
between the air spacer and the one side of the first gate and
between the air spacer and the one side of the last gate.
13. The device according to claim 11, wherein the air spacer is
comprised of an air gap and a dielectric material.
14. The device according to claim 13, wherein the dielectric is
also formed above each of the SACs.
15. The device according to claim 11, wherein the device includes
nanosheet field effect transistors (FETs) and each gate of the
series of two or more gates is in a gate-all-around configuration
such that the gate surrounds a set of nanosheets.
16. The device according to claim 15 further comprising inner
spacers that separate adjacent nanosheets of each set of
nanosheets.
17. The device according to claim 15, wherein the set of nanosheets
associated with each gate of the series of two or more gates is
formed above a dielectric layer that is formed on a substrate.
18. The device according to claim 11 further comprising a gate
contact on the first gate and the last gate in the series of two or
more gates.
19. The device according to claim 11 further comprising a cap layer
on every gate except the first gate and the last gate in the series
of two or more gates.
20. The device according to claim 11 further comprising a via on
each of the SACs.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and
more specifically, to integration of an air spacer with a
self-aligned contact in a transistor.
[0002] In the continuing effort to decrease the size of
transistors, gate pitch is decreasing along with gate size. That
is, the distance between the gate and a contact above a source or
drain region is smaller. This has led to the formation of a
self-aligned contact (SAC). By recessing the gate metal and forming
an etch stop or SAC cap above the gate, an etch of the trench that
defines the contact can be allowed to self-align without a danger
that the contact will connect to the gate metal. In certain
devices, not every source and drain region requires a contact. For
example, in a not-and (NAND) circuit, n-type field effect
transistors (NFETs) are electrically connected in series by shared
source and drain regions. In this type of device, forming a contact
on internally connected sources and drains is not necessary. The
same is true for a not-or (NOR) circuit.
SUMMARY
[0003] Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a
method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes forming a
series of two or more gates, and forming a gate spacer on each side
of each gate of the series of two or more gates. The method also
includes forming a source region on a side of each of the two or
more gates and forming a drain region on an opposite side of each
of the two or more gates. The source region or the drain region
between two adjacent ones of the two or more gates is shared by the
two adjacent ones of the two or more gates and only the source
region or the drain region on one side of a first gate in the
series of two or more gates and the source region or the drain
region on one side of a last gate in the series of two or more
gates are unshared source or drain regions. An interlayer
dielectric (ILD) layer is deposited above each of the source
regions and each of the drain regions, and the ILD layer is removed
above the unshared source or drain regions. The method also
includes removing the gate spacer on the one side of the first gate
in the series of two or more gates and removing the gate spacer on
the one side of the last gate in the series of two or more gates,
and forming a self-aligned contact (SAC) on the unshared source or
drain regions while retaining the ILD layer above all other ones of
the source regions and the drain regions. An air spacer is formed
between the SAC on the one side of the first gate and the first
gate and between the SAC on the one side of the last gate and the
last gate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] The examples described throughout the present document will
be better understood with reference to the following drawings and
description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to
scale. Moreover, in the figures, like-referenced numerals designate
corresponding parts throughout the different views.
[0005] FIGS. 1-3 show devices that are fabricated with integration
of an air spacer with a self-aligned contact according to one or
more embodiments of the invention, in which:
[0006] FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a two-input not-and (NAND)
device;
[0007] FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a two-input not-or (NOR)
device; and
[0008] FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a three-input NAND
device;
[0009] FIGS. 4-12 show aspects of a process flow of fabricating a
semiconductor device that include integration of an air spacer with
self-aligned contacts (SACs) according to one or more embodiments
of the invention, in which:
[0010] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a structure that results
after formation of a SAC cap over a recessed gate 445 in three
nanosheet field effect transistors (FETs);
[0011] FIG. 5 shows the structure that results from formation of
trenches above unshared source or drain regions;
[0012] FIG. 6 shows a structure that results from removal of the
low-k spacers exposed in the structure shown in FIG. 5;
[0013] FIG. 7 shows the structure that results from the deposition
of liners;
[0014] FIG. 8 shows the structure that results from removal of the
sacrificial spacer material on horizontal surfaces of the structure
shown in FIG. 7;
[0015] FIG. 9 shows the result of forming SACs;
[0016] FIG. 10 shows the structure that results from recessing the
SACs;
[0017] FIG. 11 shows the structure that results from removing the
sacrificial spacer material; and
[0018] FIG. 12 shows the air spacers between each SAC and adjacent
gate;
[0019] FIG. 13 shows a cross-sectional view detailing the air
spacer between an SAC and gate according to one or more embodiments
of the invention;
[0020] FIG. 14 is an overhead view of aspects of a semiconductor
device with air spacers according to one or more embodiments of the
invention;
[0021] FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view through vias of the device
shown in FIG. 14; and
[0022] FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view through a gate contact of
the device shown in FIG. 14.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] It is understood in advance that although this invention
includes a detailed description of exemplary gate-all-around (GAA)
nanosheet FET architectures having silicon (Si) channel nanosheets
and SiGe sacrificial nanosheets, embodiments of the invention are
not limited to the particular FET architectures or materials
described in this specification. Rather, embodiments of the present
invention are capable of being implemented in conjunction with any
other type of nanosheet/nanowire FET architecture or materials now
known or later developed. In this detailed description and in the
claims, the terms nanosheet and nanowire are treated as being
synonymous.
[0024] For the sake of brevity, conventional techniques related to
semiconductor device and integrated circuit (IC) fabrication may or
may not be described in detail herein. Moreover, the various tasks
and process steps described herein can be incorporated into a more
comprehensive procedure or process having additional steps or
functionality not described in detail herein. In particular,
various steps in the manufacture of semiconductor devices and
semiconductor-based ICs 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.
[0025] Turning now to a description of technologies that are more
specifically relevant to the present invention, transistors are
semiconductor devices commonly found in a wide variety of ICs. A
transistor is essentially a switch. When a voltage is applied to a
gate of the transistor that is greater than a threshold voltage,
the switch is turned on, and current flows through the transistor.
When the voltage at the gate is less than the threshold voltage,
the switch is off, and current does not flow through the
transistor.
[0026] Typical semiconductor devices are formed using active
regions of a wafer. The active regions are defined by isolation
regions used to separate and electrically isolate adjacent
semiconductor devices. For example, in an IC having a plurality of
metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), each
MOSFET has a source and a drain that are formed in an active region
of a semiconductor layer by incorporating n-type or p-type
impurities in the layer of semiconductor material. Disposed between
the source and the drain is a channel (or body) region. Disposed
above the body region is a gate electrode. The gate electrode and
the body are spaced apart by a gate dielectric layer.
[0027] MOSFET-based ICs are fabricated using so-called
complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication
technologies. In general, CMOS is a technology that uses
complementary and symmetrical pairs of p-type and n-type MOSFETs to
implement logic functions. The channel region connects the source
and the drain, and electrical current flows through the channel
region from the source to the drain. The electrical current flow is
induced in the channel region by a voltage applied at the gate
electrode.
[0028] The wafer footprint of an FET is related to the electrical
conductivity of the channel material. If the channel material has a
relatively high conductivity, the FET can be made with a
correspondingly smaller wafer footprint. A known method of
increasing channel conductivity and decreasing FET size is to form
the channel as a nanostructure. For example, a so-called
gate-all-around (GAA) nanosheet FET is a known architecture for
providing a relatively small FET footprint by forming the channel
region as a series of nanosheets. In a known GAA configuration, a
nanosheet-based FET includes a source region, a drain region and
stacked nanosheet channels between the source and drain regions. A
gate surrounds the stacked nanosheet channels and regulates
electron flow through the nanosheet channels between the source and
drain regions. GAA nanosheet FETs are fabricated by forming
alternating layers of channel nanosheets and sacrificial
nanosheets. The sacrificial nanosheets are released from the
channel nanosheets before the FET device is finalized. For n-type
FETs, the channel nanosheets are typically silicon (Si) and the
sacrificial nanosheets are typically silicon germanium (SiGe). For
p-type FETs, the channel nanosheets can be SiGe and the sacrificial
nanosheets can be Si. In some implementations, the channel
nanosheet of a p-type FET can be SiGe or Si, and the sacrificial
nanosheets can be Si or SiGe. Forming the GAA nanosheets from
alternating layers of channel nanosheets formed from a first type
of semiconductor material (e.g., Si for n-type FETs, and SiGe for
p-type FETs) and sacrificial nanosheets formed from a second type
of semiconductor material (e.g., SiGe for n-type FETs, and Si for
p-type FETs) provides superior channel electrostatics control,
which is necessary for continuously scaling CMOS technology down to
seven (7) nanometer node and below. The use of multiple layered
SiGe/Si sacrificial/channel nanosheets (or Si/SiGe
sacrificial/channel nanosheets) to form the channel regions in GAA
FET semiconductor devices provides desirable device
characteristics, including the introduction of strain at the
interface between SiGe and Si.
[0029] Although nanosheet channel FET architectures provide
increased device density over planar FET architectures, there are
still challenges when attempting to fabricate nanosheet channel
FETs that provide the performance characteristics required for a
particular application. Some of these challenges apply, as well, to
other types of FETs (e.g., fin FETs, nanowire FETs). For example,
as previously noted, some devices have transistors that are
electrically connected in series by shared sources and drains.
Placing contacts on the internally connected sources and drains
increases parasitic capacitance between the gate and contact
without any benefit. This is because self-aligned contacts address
the reduction in gate pitch but increase parasitic capacitance
between the source or drain contact and the metal gate. While the
parasitic capacitance issue can be addressed by replacing the
typical low-k dielectric spacer between the contact and the gate
with an air spacer, removing the low-k spacer selective to
surrounding materials such as the SAC cap is challenging.
[0030] Turning now to an overview of aspects of the invention,
embodiments of the invention address the above-described
shortcomings of the prior art by integrating of an air spacer with
a self-aligned contact. Air spacers are formed only in the region
where contacts are present. As detailed, low-k spacers damaged
during an etch of the contacts are replaced with a sacrificial
material (e.g., amorphous SiGe or Ge) that can easily be removed
selective to contact metal and dielectric. In regions where no
contact is needed, the low-k spacers remain to improve mechanical
stability of the structure. While nanosheet FETs, specifically,
three nanosheet transistors in a NAND circuit configuration, are
used to illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention, the
processes detailed are equally applicable to other types of
transistors (e.g., finFETs, nanowire FETs) and devices.
[0031] FIGS. 1-3 show devices that are fabricated with integration
of an air spacer with a self-aligned contact according to one or
more embodiments of the invention. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a
two-input NAND device 100 with two p-type FETs (pFETs), pFET1 and
pFET2, and two nFETs, nFET1 and nFET2. The nFETs, nFET1 and nFET2,
share a source or drain region, as indicated. This region does not
require a contact. Thus, the formation of a contact and the air
spacer integrated with each contact can be limited to only one side
of each of the nFETs. FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a two-input
NOR device 200 with two nFETs, nFET1 and nFET2, and two pFETs,
pFET1 and pFET2. The pFETs, pFET1 and pFET2. share a source or
drain region, as indicated. Thus, the formation of a contact and
the air spacer integrated with each contact can be limited to only
one side of each of the pFETs.
[0032] FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a three-input NAND circuit
300 with three p-type FETs (pFETs), pFET1, pFET2, and pFET3, and
three nFETs, nFET1, nFET2, and nFET3. The nFETs, nFET1, nFET2, and
nFET3, share two source and drain regions, as indicated. That is,
both the source and drain regions of nFET2 are shared. These shared
regions do not require a contact. Thus, the formation of a contact
and the air spacer integrated with each contact can be limited to
only one side of each of the nFETs, nFET1 and nFET3. The formation
of source and drain contacts with integrated air spacers, according
to exemplary one or more embodiments, is detailed for the
three-input NAND circuit 300 with reference to FIGS. 4-12. While
aspects of the fabrication of the nFETs of the three-input NAND
circuit 300 are specifically detailed for explanatory purposes, the
processes are not limited to any particular device or type of
device. In addition, while nanosheet FETs are shown for explanatory
purposes, other types of transistors can benefit from integration
of an air spacer with a self-aligned contact according to one or
more embodiments of the invention.
[0033] FIGS. 4-12 show aspects of a process flow of fabricating
nanosheet FETs that include integration of an air spacer 1210 (FIG.
12) with self-aligned contacts 910 (FIG. 9) according to one or
more embodiments of the invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view
of a structure 400 that results after formation of a SAC cap 450
over a recessed metal gate 445 in three nanosheet FETs. A
dielectric layer 415 is formed on a substrate 410. The dielectric
layer 415 is a spacer material that isolates the source and drain
regions 420 from the substrate 410. The substrate 410 can include a
bulk semiconductor, such as silicon, germanium, silicon germanium,
silicon carbide, and those consisting essentially of III-V compound
semiconductors having a composition defined by the formula
Al.sub.X1Ga.sub.X2In.sub.X3As.sub.Y1P.sub.Y2N.sub.Y3Sb.sub.Y4,
where X1, X2, X3, Y1, Y2, Y3, and Y4 represent relative
proportions, each greater than or equal to zero and
X1+X2+X3+Y1+Y2+Y3+Y4=1 (1 being the total relative mole quantity).
Other suitable substrates 410 include II-VI compound semiconductors
having a composition Zn.sub.A1Cd.sub.A2Se.sub.B1Te.sub.B2, where
A1, A2, B1, and B2 are relative proportions each greater than or
equal to zero and A1+A2+B1+B2=1 (1 being a total mole quantity).
The semiconductor substrate 410 can also comprise an organic
semiconductor or a layered semiconductor such as, for example,
Si/SiGe, a silicon-on-insulator or a SiGe-on-insulator. A portion
or entire semiconductor substrate 410 can be amorphous,
polycrystalline, or monocrystalline. In addition to the
aforementioned types of semiconductor substrates 410, the substrate
410 can also comprise a hybrid oriented (HOT) semiconductor
substrate in which the HOT substrate has surface regions of
different crystallographic orientation. The substrate 410 can be
doped, undoped, or contain doped regions and undoped regions
therein. The substrate 410 can contain regions with strain and
regions without strain therein, or contain regions of tensile
strain and compressive strain. In one or more embodiments, the
substrate 410 can be a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate.
The substrate 410 can further include other structures (not shown)
such as shallow trench isolation (STI), fins, nanowires,
nanosheets, resistors, capacitors, etc.
[0034] As shown, three sets of nanosheets 425 are formed above the
dielectric layer 415. Adjacent nanosheets 425 of each set are
separated by inner spacers 430. A gate 445 is shown in the
gate-all-around configuration in which the gate 445 surrounds each
nanosheet 425. Each gate 445 can include a gate dielectric and a
gate conductor. The gate dielectric can include any suitable
dielectric material such as, for example, silicon oxide, silicon
nitride, silicon oxynitride, high-k materials, or any combination
of these materials. Examplary high-k materials include metal oxides
such as hafnium oxide, hafnium silicon oxide, hafnium silicon
oxynitride, lanthanum oxide, lanthanum aluminum oxide, zirconium
oxide, zirconium silicon oxide, zirconium silicon oxynitride,
tantalum oxide, titanium oxide, barium strontium titanium oxide,
barium titanium oxide, strontium titanium oxide, yttrium oxide,
aluminum oxide, lead scandium tantalum oxide, and lead zinc
niobate. The high-k material can also include dopants such as
lanthanum, aluminum, magnesium. The gate dielectric material can be
formed by any suitable process or any suitable combination of
multiple processes like thermal oxidation, chemical oxidation,
thermal nitridation, plasma oxidation, plasma nitridation, atomic
layer deposition (ALD), and chemical vapor deposition (CVD. The
gate dielectric can have a thickness ranging from 1 nanometer (nm)
to 5 nm, although less thickness and greater thickness are also
conceived. The gate conductor can include any suitable conducting
material like doped polycrystalline or amorphous silicon,
germanium, silicon germanium, a metal (e.g., tungsten (W), titanium
(Ti), tantalum (Ta), ruthenium (Ru), hafnium (Hf), zirconium (Zr),
cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), platinum
(Pt), tin (Sn), silver (Ag), gold (Au), a conducting metallic
compound material (e.g., tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium nitride
(TiN), tantalum carbide (TaC), titanium carbide (TiC), titanium
aluminum carbide (TiAlC), tungsten silicide (WSi), tungsten nitride
(WN), ruthenium oxide (RuO2), cobalt silicide (CoSi), nickel
silicide (NiSi)), transition metal aluminides (e.g. Ti3Al, ZrAl),
TaC, TaMgC, carbon nanotube, conductive carbon, graphene, or any
suitable combination of these materials. The conductive material
can also include dopants that are incorporated during or after
deposition. The gate can also include a workfunction setting layer
between the gate dielectric and gate conductor. The workfunction
setting layer can be a workfunction metal (WFM). The WFM can be any
suitable material like a nitride (e.g., titanium nitride (TiN),
titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN), hafnium nitride (HfN), hafnium
silicon nitride (HfSiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), tantalum silicon
nitride (TaSiN), tungsten nitride (WN), molybdenum nitride (MoN),
niobium nitride (NbN); a carbide, including but not limited to
titanium carbide (TiC) titanium aluminum carbide (TiAlC), tantalum
carbide (TaC), hafnium carbide (HfC), and combinations thereof). A
conductive material or a combination of multiple conductive
materials can serve as both the gate conductor and WFM. The gate
conductor and WFM can be formed by any suitable process or any
suitable combination of multiple processes such as ALD, CVD,
physical vapor deposition (PVD), sputtering, plating, evaporation,
ion beam deposition, electron beam deposition, laser assisted
deposition, and chemical solution deposition.
[0035] Low-k spacers 440 are formed on either side of each gate 445
above the set of nano sheets 425. Some examples of the low-k spacer
material include silicon carbide (SiC), silicon oxynitride (SiON),
carbon-doped silicon oxide (SiOC), silicon-carbon-nitride (SiCN),
boron nitride (BN), silicon boron nitride (SiBN), silicoboron
carbonitride (SiBCN), silicon oxycabonitride (SiOCN), silicon
oxide, and combinations thereof. The low-k spacer material can have
a dielectric constant less than about 7, less than about 5. The
low-k spacers 440 can be formed by any suitable techniques such as
deposition followed by directional etch. Deposition can include ALD
and CVD. Directional etch can include reactive ion etch (ME). As
FIG. 4 shows, two of the source and drain regions 420 are shared.
Specifically, the source or drain region 420 on either side of the
center set, among the three sets, of nanosheets 425 are shared.
Thus, no contact is needed above these source or drain regions 420.
An interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer 435 is above each source or
drain region 420. As noted, only the ILD layers 435 above the
source or drain regions 420 on each end of the structure 400 need
to be replaced with SACs 910 (FIG. 9). As such, only the low-k
spacers 440 adjacent to these ILD layers 435 on either end need to
be replaced with air spacers 1210 (FIG. 12). An SAC cap 450 is
formed above each gate 445.
[0036] FIG. 5 shows the structure 500 that results from formation
of trenches 510 above the unshared source or drain regions 420. The
ILD layers 435 above those source or drain regions 420, as shown in
the structure 400 of FIG. 4, are removed to form the trenches 510.
A RIE process is followed by a chemical oxide removal (COR) process
to remove any remaining ILD material on the sidewalls of the
adjacent low-k spacers 440. A mask 520 is formed over the SAC caps
450 and low-k spacers 440 to protect those materials during the ME
and COR processes. However, because the low-k spacers 440 directly
adjacent to the ILD layers 435 that are removed will ultimately be
replaced, damage to those low-k spacers 440 does not present
issues. Thus, unlike prior process flows, the RIE process need not
be carefully tuned to avoid damage to those low-k spacers 440.
[0037] FIG. 6 shows a structure 600 that results from removal of
the low-k spacers 440 exposed in the structure 500 shown in FIG. 5.
An isotropic etch is performed to remove the low-k spacers 440
indicated by the dashed lines 610. FIG. 7 shows the structure 700
that results from the deposition of liners on the structure 600
shown in FIG. 6. The mask 520 is stripped from the structure 600
shown in FIG. 6. A thin liner 710 is conformally deposited. This
liner 710 can be silicon nitride (SiN), for example, and can have a
thickness on the order of 2 nm. A sacrificial spacer material 720
is deposited conformally deposited over the liner 710. The
sacrificial spacer material 720 can be amorphous germanium (aGe),
for example, and can have a thickness on the order of 5 nm.
[0038] FIG. 8 shows the structure 800 that results from removal of
the sacrificial spacer material 720 on horizontal surfaces of the
structure 700 shown in FIG. 7. An ME process is used to remove the
exposed sacrificial spacer material 720. FIG. 9 shows the structure
900 that results from formation of the SAC 910, which can also be
referred to as a source or drain contact. The liner 710 on the
horizontal surfaces is removed and the SACs 910 are formed adjacent
to the exposed sacrificial spacer material 720. The SAC 910 is a
metal (e.g., tungsten (W), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co),
nickel (Ni), titanium (Ti), ruthenium (Ru), or any other suitable
conductive material). The SAC 910 can further include a barrier
layer. The barrier layer can be titanium nitride (TiN), tantalum
nitride (TaN), hafnium nitride (HfN), niobium nitride (NbN),
tungsten nitride (WN), tungsten carbon nitride (WCN), or
combinations thereof. The barrier layer can prevent diffusion
and/or alloying of the metal contact fill material with the top
source drain material, and/or anode/cathode material. A chemical
mechanical planarization (CMP) process can be performed following
deposition of the metal of the SACs 910.
[0039] FIG. 10 shows the structure 1000 that results from recessing
the SACs 910. FIG. 11 shows the structure 1100 that results from
removal of the sacrificial spacer material 720. A wet etch process
with a hydrogen peroxide (H.sub.2O.sub.2) solution can be used, for
example, to remove an amorphous germanium sacrificial spacer
material 720. This process is highly selective to dielectric and
metal. The metal of the gate 445 is protected by the liner 710 that
is retained. The prior approach does not involve replacing the
low-k spacers 440 with sacrificial spacer material 720 in areas
where air spacers 1210 (FIG. 12) are to be formed. As a result, the
prior approach requires an aggressive top-down RIE process to
remove the low-k spacers 440, and the ME process risks damage to
the metal of the gate 445. According to one or more embodiments of
the invention, SACs 910 are only formed over source and drain
regions 420 that are not shared and air spacers 1220 (FIG. 12) are
only formed adjacent to the SACs 910. Thus, the process flow
detailed herein, which does not impact the metal of the gate 445,
can be used to form the air spacers 1220.
[0040] FIG. 12 shows the structure 1200 that results from forming
the air spacers 1210 between each SAC 910 and adjacent gate 445.
Simultaneously, a dielectric cap 1220 is formed on top of SAC 910.
The different materials of the dielectric cap 1220 on top of SAC
910 and SAC cap 450 on top of gate 445 enable the formation of the
gate contact 1610 (FIG. 14) and vias 1510 (FIG. 14) to the SACs 910
on the active device region. The non-conformal deposition of the
dielectric cap 1220 pinches off an air gap 1225 and form the air
spacer 1210. The dielectric cap 1220 can be silicon oxide nitride
(SiON), for example. The size of the air gap 1225 can be controlled
by tuning the conformality of the deposition process of the
dielectric cap 1220. A lower conformality results in a larger air
gap 1225 than a higher conformality. After removing the sacrificial
spacer material 720 a laser anneal can be performed to reduce the
contact resistance between the SAC 910 and the source or drain
region 420 directly below.
[0041] FIG. 13 shows a cross-sectional view of aspects of the
structure 1200 shown in FIG. 12. An overhead cross-sectional view
is shown of the right-most portion of the structure 1200. As
indicated, the gate 445 (e.g., a high-k metal) is adjacent to the
liner 710 (e.g., SiN). An air spacer 1210 comprised of an air gap
1225 surrounded by material of the dielectric cap 1220 (e.g., SiON)
separates the liner 710 from the SAC 910. The total capacitance
(C.sub.total) between the gate 445 and the SAC 910 includes the
capacitance of the liner 710 (C.sub.liner), the capacitance of the
air gap 1225 (C.sub.air), and the capacitance of the material of
the dielectric cap 1220, which is another liner, (C.sub.liner) in
series. Thus:
1 C total = 1 C air + 2 C liner [ EQ . 1 ] ##EQU00001##
As EQ. 1 indicates, the total capacitance is dominated by the
capacitance of the air spacer. As such, even a narrow air gap 1225
can result in a significant reduction in parasitic capacitance
relative to a spacer without an air gap 1225. For example, if the
total spacer width for the liner 710 and air spacer 1210 is 6 nm,
even a 1.5 nm wide air gap 1225 results in a 50 percent reduction
in the capacitance between the gate 445 and SAC 910 as compared
with not having the air gap 1225.
[0042] FIG. 14 is an overhead view of aspects of a semiconductor
device 1400 with air spacers 1220 according to one or more
embodiments of the invention. The exemplary semiconductor device
1400 results from additional processing of the structure 1200 shown
in FIG. 12. One gate 445 is shown with a gate contact 1610, which
is detailed in FIG. 16, and two SACs 910 are shown with vias 1510,
which are another set of self-aligned contacts, as shown in FIG.
15. FIGS. 15 and 16 show two different cross-sectional views of the
semiconductor device 1400.
[0043] FIG. 15 shows a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor
device 1400 along A-A, as indicated in FIG. 14. As FIG. 15
indicates, vias 1510 are formed above the SACs 910. An ILD 1520,
which can be the same material as the ILD layers 435, is deposited
and patterned to form trenches that are then filled with a
conductor to form vias 1510. A CMP process can be performed after
filling the trenches with the conductor. As a result of the
patterning and CMP process, the ILD 1520 remains only above the SAC
caps 450 and ILD layers 435, as shown. Because the materials of the
dielectric cap 1220 on top of SAC 910 and the SAC cap 450 on top of
gate 445 are different, vias 1510 can be formed by etching through
the ILD 1520 and the dielectric cap 1220, selective to the SAC cap
450 on top of gate 445. Self-aligned vias 1510 to the SAC 910 can
be formed without electrically shorting the via to the gate 445,
even when the via lands on top of the SAC cap 450.
[0044] FIG. 16 shows a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor
device 1400 along B-B, as indicated in FIG. 14. As FIG. 16
indicates, gate contacts 1610 are formed above only the gates 445
that are adjacent to SACs 910. The gate 445 (i.e., the center gate
in the exemplary structure shown in FIG. 16) adjacent to shared
source and drain regions 420 does not have a gate contact 1610
formed above it. The gate contacts 1610 are formed by depositing
the ILD 1520 and patterning the ILD 1520 and SAC caps 450 above the
two end gates 445 to form trenches that are filled with a
conductor. Because the materials of the dielectric cap 1220 on top
of SAC 910 and the SAC cap 450 on top of the gate 445 are
different, the gate contact 1610 can be formed by etching through
the ILD 1520 and the SAC cap 450, selective to the dielectric cap
1220 on top of the SAC 910. The self-aligned gate contact 1610 can
be formed on top of the active transistor without electrically
shorting the gate contact 1610 to the SAC 910, even if the gate
contact trench lands on top of the dielectric cap 1220.
[0045] The methods and resulting structures described herein can be
used in the fabrication of IC chips. The resulting IC chips can be
distributed by the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as a
single wafer that has multiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die, or
in a packaged form. In the latter case the chip is mounted in a
single chip package (such as a plastic carrier, with leads that are
affixed to a motherboard or other higher level carrier) or in a
multichip package (such as a ceramic carrier that has either or
both surface interconnections or buried interconnections). In any
case the chip is then integrated with other chips, discrete circuit
elements, and/or other signal processing devices as part of either
(a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or (b) an end
product. The end product can be any product that includes IC chips,
ranging from toys and other low-end applications to advanced
computer products having a display, a keyboard or other input
device, and a central processor.
[0046] Various embodiments of the present invention are described
herein with reference to the related drawings. Alternative
embodiments can be devised without departing from the scope of this
invention. Although various connections and positional
relationships (e.g., over, below, adjacent, etc.) are set forth
between elements in the detailed description and in the drawings,
persons skilled in the art will recognize that many of the
positional relationships described herein are
orientation-independent when the described functionality is
maintained even though the orientation is changed. These
connections and/or positional relationships, unless specified
otherwise, can be direct or indirect, and the present invention is
not intended to be limiting in this respect. Similarly, the term
"coupled" and variations thereof describes having a communications
path between two elements and does not imply a direct connection
between the elements with no intervening elements/connections
between them. All of these variations are considered a part of the
specification. Accordingly, a coupling of entities can refer to
either a direct or an indirect coupling, and a positional
relationship between entities can be a direct or indirect
positional relationship. As an example of an indirect positional
relationship, references in the present description to forming
layer "A" over layer "B" include situations in which one or more
intermediate layers (e.g., layer "C") is between layer "A" and
layer "B" as long as the relevant characteristics and
functionalities of layer "A" and layer "B" are not substantially
changed by the intermediate layer(s).
[0047] The following definitions and abbreviations are to be used
for the interpretation of the claims and the specification. As used
herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes,"
"including," "has," "having," "contains" or "containing," or any
other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive
inclusion. For example, a composition, a mixture, process, method,
article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not
necessarily limited to only those elements but can include other
elements not expressly listed or inherent to such composition,
mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus.
[0048] Additionally, the term "exemplary" is used herein to mean
"serving as an example, instance or illustration." Any embodiment
or design described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be
construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or
designs. The terms "at least one" and "one or more" are understood
to include any integer number greater than or equal to one, i.e.
one, two, three, four, etc. The terms "a plurality" are understood
to include any integer number greater than or equal to two, i.e.
two, three, four, five, etc. The term "connection" can include an
indirect "connection" and a direct "connection."
[0049] References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an
embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc., indicate that the
embodiment described can include a particular feature, structure,
or characteristic, but every embodiment may or may not include the
particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such
phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment.
Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is
described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it
is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such
feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other
embodiments whether or not explicitly described.
[0050] For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms
"upper," "lower," "right," "left," "vertical," "horizontal," "top,"
"bottom," and derivatives thereof shall relate to the described
structures and methods, as oriented in the drawing figures. The
terms "overlying," "atop," "on top," "positioned on" or "positioned
atop" mean that a first element, such as a first structure, is
present on a second element, such as a second structure, wherein
intervening elements such as an interface structure can be present
between the first element and the second element. The term "direct
contact" means that a first element, such as a first structure, and
a second element, such as a second structure, are connected without
any intermediary conducting, insulating or semiconductor layers at
the interface of the two elements.
[0051] Spatially relative terms, e.g., "beneath," "below," "lower,"
"above," "upper," and the like, can be used herein for ease of
description to describe one element or feature's relationship to
another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It
will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended
to encompass different orientations of the device in use or
operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures.
For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements
described as "below" or "beneath" other elements or features would
then be oriented "above" the other elements or features. Thus, the
term "below" can encompass both an orientation of above and below.
The device can be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at
other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used
herein interpreted accordingly.
[0052] The terms "about," "substantially," "approximately," and
variations thereof, are intended to include the degree of error
associated with measurement of the particular quantity based upon
the equipment available at the time of filing the application. For
example, "about" can include a range of .+-.8% or 5%, or 2% of a
given value.
[0053] The phrase "selective to," such as, for example, "a first
element selective to a second element," means that the first
element can be etched and the second element can act as an etch
stop.
[0054] The term "conformal" (e.g., a conformal layer) means that
the thickness of the layer is substantially the same on all
surfaces, or that the thickness variation is less than 15% of the
nominal thickness of the layer.
[0055] As previously noted herein, for the sake of brevity,
conventional techniques related to semiconductor device and IC
fabrication may or may not be described in detail herein. By way of
background, however, a more general description of the
semiconductor device fabrication processes that can be utilized in
implementing one or more embodiments of the present invention will
now be provided. Although specific fabrication operations used in
implementing one or more embodiments of the present invention can
be individually known, the described combination of operations
and/or resulting structures of the present invention are unique.
Thus, the unique combination of the operations described in
connection with the fabrication of a semiconductor device according
to the present invention utilize a variety of individually known
physical and chemical processes performed on a semiconductor (e.g.,
silicon) substrate, some of which are described in the immediately
following paragraphs.
[0056] In general, the various processes used to form a micro-chip
that will be packaged into an IC fall into four general categories,
namely, film deposition, removal/etching, semiconductor doping and
patterning/lithography. Deposition is any process that grows,
coats, or otherwise transfers a material onto the wafer. Available
technologies include physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical
vapor deposition (CVD), electrochemical deposition (ECD), molecular
beam epitaxy (MBE) and more recently, atomic layer deposition (ALD)
among others. Removal/etching is any process that removes material
from the wafer. Examples include etch processes (either wet or
dry), chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP), and the like.
Reactive ion etching (ME), for example, is a type of dry etching
that uses chemically reactive plasma to remove a material, such as
a masked pattern of semiconductor material, by exposing the
material to a bombardment of ions that dislodge portions of the
material from the exposed surface. The plasma is typically
generated under low pressure (vacuum) by an electromagnetic field.
Semiconductor doping is the modification of electrical properties
by doping, for example, transistor sources and drains, generally by
diffusion and/or by ion implantation. These doping processes are
followed by furnace annealing or by rapid thermal annealing (RTA).
Annealing serves to activate the implanted dopants. Films of both
conductors (e.g., poly-silicon, aluminum, copper, etc.) and
insulators (e.g., various forms of silicon dioxide, silicon
nitride, etc.) are used to connect and isolate transistors and
their components. Selective doping of various regions of the
semiconductor substrate allows the conductivity of the substrate to
be changed with the application of voltage. By creating structures
of these various components, millions of transistors can be built
and wired together to form the complex circuitry of a modern
microelectronic device. Semiconductor lithography is the formation
of three-dimensional relief images or patterns on the semiconductor
substrate for subsequent transfer of the pattern to the substrate.
In semiconductor lithography, the patterns are formed by a light
sensitive polymer called a photo-resist. To build the complex
structures that make up a transistor and the many wires that
connect the millions of transistors of a circuit, lithography and
etch pattern transfer steps are repeated multiple times. Each
pattern being printed on the wafer is aligned to the previously
formed patterns and slowly the conductors, insulators and
selectively doped regions are built up to form the final
device.
[0057] The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate
possible implementations of fabrication and/or operation methods
according to various embodiments of the present invention. Various
functions/operations of the method are represented in the flow
diagram by blocks. In some alternative implementations, the
functions noted in the blocks can occur out of the order noted in
the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession can, in
fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks can
sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the
functionality involved.
[0058] 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
described. 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
embodiments, 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 described
herein.
* * * * *