U.S. patent application number 16/385436 was filed with the patent office on 2020-10-22 for spacer structures on transistor devices.
The applicant listed for this patent is GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.. Invention is credited to Yanping Shen, Jiehui Shu, Hui Zang.
Application Number | 20200335600 16/385436 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000004054442 |
Filed Date | 2020-10-22 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200335600 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Shen; Yanping ; et
al. |
October 22, 2020 |
SPACER STRUCTURES ON TRANSISTOR DEVICES
Abstract
Disclosed is a transistor that includes a sidewall spacer
positioned adjacent a sidewall of a gate structure, wherein the
sidewall spacer comprises a notch proximate the lower end and
wherein the notch is defined by a substantially vertically oriented
side surface and a substantially horizontally oriented upper
surface. An epi cavity in the substrate includes a substantially
vertically oriented cavity sidewall that is substantially
vertically aligned with the substantially vertically oriented side
surface of the notch and an epi semiconductor material positioned
in the epi cavity and in the notch, wherein the epi semiconductor
material contacts and engages the substantially vertically oriented
side surface of the notch and the substantially horizontally
oriented upper surface of the notch.
Inventors: |
Shen; Yanping; (Saratoga
Springs, NY) ; Shu; Jiehui; (Clifton Park, NY)
; Zang; Hui; (Guilderland, NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. |
Grand Cayman |
|
KY |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000004054442 |
Appl. No.: |
16/385436 |
Filed: |
April 16, 2019 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 29/66795 20130101;
H01L 27/0886 20130101; H01L 27/10879 20130101; H01L 29/6656
20130101; H01L 21/823431 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H01L 29/66 20060101
H01L029/66; H01L 21/8234 20060101 H01L021/8234; H01L 27/088
20060101 H01L027/088; H01L 27/108 20060101 H01L027/108 |
Claims
1. A transistor, comprising; a gate structure positioned above a
semiconductor substrate; a sidewall spacer positioned adjacent a
sidewall of the gate structure, the sidewall spacer comprising a
first end and a second end, the first end being positioned adjacent
the semiconductor substrate; a notch in the sidewall spacer
proximate the first end, wherein the notch in the sidewall spacer
is defined by a substantially vertically oriented side surface and
a substantially horizontally oriented upper surface; an epi cavity
in the semiconductor substrate, wherein the epi cavity comprises a
substantially vertically oriented cavity sidewall that is
substantially vertically aligned with the substantially vertically
oriented side surface of the notch; and an epi semiconductor
material positioned in the epi cavity and in the notch in the
sidewall spacer, wherein the epi semiconductor material contacts
and engages the substantially vertically oriented side surface of
the notch and the substantially horizontally oriented upper surface
of the notch.
2. The transistor of claim 1, wherein the sidewall spacer is
positioned on and in contact with a sidewall of the gate structure
and wherein a bottom surface of the sidewall spacer is positioned
above an upper surface of the semiconductor substrate.
3.-4. (canceled)
5. The transistor of claim 1, wherein a lateral thickness of the
sidewall spacer at the notch is less than a lateral thickness of
the sidewall spacer at a location immediately above the notch.
6.-21. (canceled)
22. A transistor, comprising; a gate structure positioned above a
semiconductor substrate; a sidewall spacer positioned adjacent a
sidewall of the gate structure, the sidewall spacer comprising a
first end and a second end, the first end being positioned above
the semiconductor substrate, wherein a bottom surface of the
sidewall spacer is positioned above an upper surface of the
semiconductor substrate; a notch in the sidewall spacer proximate
the first end, wherein the notch in the sidewall spacer is defined
by a substantially vertically oriented side surface and a
substantially horizontally oriented upper surface and wherein a
lateral thickness of the sidewall spacer at the notch is less than
a lateral thickness of the sidewall spacer at a location
immediately above the notch; an epi cavity in the semiconductor
substrate, wherein the epi cavity comprises a substantially
vertically oriented cavity sidewall that is substantially
vertically aligned with the substantially vertically oriented side
surface of the notch; and an epi semiconductor material positioned
in the epi cavity and in the notch in the sidewall spacer, wherein
the epi semiconductor material contacts and engages the
substantially vertically oriented side surface and the
substantially horizontally oriented upper surface of the notch.
23. The transistor of claim 22, wherein the sidewall spacer is
positioned on and in contact with a sidewall of the gate
structure.
24. The transistor of claim 23, wherein the bottom surface of the
sidewall spacer is positioned on and in contact with the upper
surface of the semiconductor substrate.
25. (canceled)
26. A transistor, comprising; a gate structure positioned above a
semiconductor substrate; a sidewall spacer positioned adjacent a
sidewall of the gate structure, the sidewall spacer comprising a
first end and a second end, the first end being positioned above
the semiconductor substrate, wherein the sidewall spacer is
positioned on and in contact with a sidewall of the gate structure
and wherein a bottom surface of the sidewall spacer is positioned
above an upper surface of the semiconductor substrate; a notch in
the sidewall spacer proximate the first end, wherein a lateral
thickness of the sidewall spacer at the notch is less than a
lateral thickness of the sidewall spacer at a location immediately
above the notch, wherein the notch in the sidewall spacer is
defined by a substantially vertically oriented side surface and a
substantially horizontally oriented upper surface; an epi cavity in
the semiconductor substrate, wherein the epi cavity comprises a
substantially vertically oriented cavity sidewall that is
substantially vertically aligned with the substantially vertically
oriented side surface of the notch; and an epi semiconductor
material positioned in the epi cavity and in the notch in the
sidewall spacer.
27.-29. (canceled)
30. The transistor of claim 26, wherein the epi semiconductor
material contacts and engages the substantially vertically oriented
side surface and the substantially horizontally oriented upper
surface of the notch.
Description
BACKGROUND
Field of the Disclosure
[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to the fabrication
of semiconductor devices, and, more particularly, to various novel
methods of forming spacers on a transistor device and to the
formation of spacers having a novel configuration.
Description of the Related Art
[0002] In modern integrated circuit products, such as
microprocessors, storage devices, ASICs and the like, a very large
number of circuit elements, especially transistors, are provided on
a restricted chip area. The transistors come in a variety of shapes
and forms, e.g., planar transistors, FinFET transistors, nanowire
devices, fully-depleted devices (FDSOI), etc. The transistors are
typically either NFET or PFET type devices wherein the "N" and "P"
designation is based upon the type of dopants used to create the
source/drain regions of the devices. A transistor typically
includes a conductive gate structure, a source region and a drain
region.
[0003] Device designers are under constant pressure to increase the
operating speed and electrical performance of transistors and
integrated circuit products that employ such transistors. Given
that the gate length (the distance between the source and drain
regions) on modern transistor devices may be approximately 20-50
nm, and that further scaling is anticipated in the future, device
designers have employed a variety of techniques in an effort to
improve device performance, e.g., the use of high-k dielectrics,
the use of channel stress engineering techniques on transistors
(create a tensile stress in the channel region for NFET transistors
and create a compressive stress in the channel region for PFET
transistors), etc.
[0004] In many modern transistor devices, it is very common to form
epitaxial (epi) semiconductor material in the source/drain regions
of the transistor devices, i.e., to form raised source/drain
regions. The formation of such epi semiconductor material can have
several beneficial effects on the performance characteristics of
the transistor devices, e.g., it can reduce the resistance of the
source/drain regions and it may be useful in imparting a desired
stress condition, e.g., compressive or tensile, on the channel
region of the transistor. Unfortunately, as device dimensions
continue to shrink, e.g., as the gate pitch continues to decrease,
the size or volume of the epi semiconductor material in the
source/drain regions also tends to decrease. Such reduction in the
volume of epi semiconductor material in the source/drain regions
may lead to undesirable increases in the resistance of the
source/drain regions and/or limit the effectiveness of the epi
semiconductor material as it relates to imparting desired stress
conditions on the channel region of the transistor device.
[0005] The present disclosure is directed to various novel methods
of forming spacers on a transistor device and to the formation of
spacers having a novel configuration that may avoid, or at least
reduce, the effects of one or more of the problems identified
above.
SUMMARY
[0006] The following presents a simplified summary of the invention
in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the
invention. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of the
invention. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements
of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its
sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a
prelude to the more detailed description that is discussed
later.
[0007] Generally, the present disclosure is directed to various
novel methods of forming spacers on a transistor device and to the
formation of spacers having a novel configuration. One illustrative
method disclosed herein includes forming a sidewall spacer adjacent
a gate structure, the sidewall spacer having a first end and a
second end, the first end being positioned adjacent the
semiconductor substrate, forming a notch in the sidewall spacer
proximate the first end, after forming the notch, forming an epi
cavity in the semiconductor substrate, and forming an epi
semiconductor material in the epi cavity and in the notch in the
sidewall spacer.
[0008] One illustrative transistor device disclosed herein includes
a gate structure positioned above a semiconductor substrate, a
sidewall spacer positioned adjacent a sidewall of the gate
structure, the sidewall spacer having a first end and a second end,
the first end being positioned adjacent the semiconductor
substrate, a notch in the sidewall spacer proximate the first end,
an epi cavity in the semiconductor substrate, and an epi
semiconductor material positioned in the epi cavity and in the
notch in the sidewall spacer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The disclosure may be understood by reference to the
following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, in which like reference numerals identify like elements,
and in which:
[0010] FIGS. 1-25 are drawings that depict various novel methods of
forming spacers on a transistor device and to the formation of
spacers having a novel configuration.
[0011] While the subject matter disclosed herein is susceptible to
various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments
thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are
herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that
the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to
limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the
contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents,
and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the
invention as defined by the appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] Various illustrative embodiments of the invention are
described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an
actual implementation are described in this specification. It will
of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual
embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made
to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with
system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary
from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be
appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and
time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for
those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this
disclosure.
[0013] The present subject matter will now be described with
reference to the attached figures. Various structures, systems and
devices are schematically depicted in the drawings for purposes of
explanation only and so as to not obscure the present disclosure
with details that are well known to those skilled in the art.
Nevertheless, the attached drawings are included to describe and
explain illustrative examples of the present disclosure. The words
and phrases used herein should be understood and interpreted to
have a meaning consistent with the understanding of those words and
phrases by those skilled in the relevant art. No special definition
of a term or phrase, i.e., a definition that is different from the
ordinary and customary meaning as understood by those skilled in
the art, is intended to be implied by consistent usage of the term
or phrase herein. To the extent that a term or phrase is intended
to have a special meaning, i.e., a meaning other than that
understood by skilled artisans, such a special definition will be
expressly set forth in the specification in a definitional manner
that directly and unequivocally provides the special definition for
the term or phrase.
[0014] The present disclosure generally relates to various novel
methods of forming spacers on a transistor device 101, various
methods of forming spacers having a novel configuration and
corresponding integrated circuit products. The methods and devices
disclosed herein may be employed in manufacturing IC products using
a variety of technologies, e.g., NMOS, PMOS, CMOS, etc., and they
may be employed in manufacturing a variety of different products,
e.g., memory products, logic products, ASICs, fully depleted
devices (FDSOI), etc. As will be appreciated by those skilled in
the art after a complete reading of the present application, the
methods and devices disclosed herein may be employed in forming
integrated circuit products using transistor devices in a variety
of different configurations, e.g., planar devices, FinFET devices,
etc. The gate structures of the transistor devices may be formed
using either "gate first" or "replacement gate" manufacturing
techniques. Thus, the presently disclosed subject matter should not
be considered to be limited to any particular form of transistors
or the manner in which the gate structures of the transistor
devices are formed. In the examples depicted in the drawings, the
transistor devices 101 will be planar transistor devices wherein
the gate structure 104 of the devices 101 was formed using known
gate first manufacturing techniques. Of course, the inventions
disclosed herein should not be considered to be limited to the
illustrative examples depicted and described herein. With reference
to the attached figures, various illustrative embodiments of the
methods and devices disclosed herein will now be described in more
detail.
[0015] FIGS. 1-25 are drawings that depict various novel methods of
forming spacers on a transistor device and corresponding integrated
circuit products 100 having a novel structural configuration.
Various cross-sectional views of the product 100 (views "X-X" and
"Y-Y") that are depicted in the attached drawings are taken where
indicated in FIG. 1. The cross-sectional views in the attached
drawings are taken in the gate length direction ("GL") of the
transistor devices 101. The gate width direction ("GW") of the
transistor devices 101 is also depicted in FIG. 1. It should be
noted that the drawings depicted herein are not to scale.
[0016] With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the product 100 generally
comprises a plurality of gates 106 (numbered 1-3 for ease of
reference) that are formed in and above an illustrative bulk
semiconductor substrate 102. In the illustrative example depicted
herein, the product 100 comprises one active transistor 101 (with
gate 2) formed above an active region 102X. Those skilled in the
art will appreciate the two outermost gates (gates 1 and 3) are
sometimes referred to as "tucked" gate structures. The tucked gates
1 and 3 are "dummy gates" as it relates to the operation of the
single active transistor 101 (gate 2). Each of the gates 106
includes a schematically depicted final gate structure 108
(numbered 108-1 to 108-3) for reference purposes). The substrate
102 may also have a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) configuration
that includes a bulk semiconductor layer, a buried insulation layer
and an active semiconductor layer positioned on the buried
insulation layer, wherein semiconductor devices are formed in and
above the active layer. The substrate 102 may be made of silicon or
it may be made of materials other than silicon. Thus, the terms
"substrate" or "semiconductor substrate" should be understood to
cover all semiconducting materials and all forms of such materials.
Additionally, various doped regions, e.g., halo implant regions,
well regions and the like, are not depicted in the attached
drawings.
[0017] In the illustrative example depicted herein, the transistor
devices 101 are FinFET devices. However, after a complete reading
of the present application, those skilled in the art will recognize
and appreciate that the inventions disclosed herein should not be
considered to be limited to only IC products that include FinFET
transistor devices, as the methods and structures disclosed herein
may be used to form a variety of different types or forms of
transistor devices, e.g., planar devices, FDSOI devices, etc. At
the point of processing shown in FIGS. 1-3, a plurality of fins
103A-B (collectively referenced using the numeral 103) have been
formed in the substrate 102 using traditional manufacturing
techniques. Also depicted are illustrative conductive source/drain
structures 120 (e.g., trench silicide structures) that will be
formed on the product 100 so as to permit the source/drain regions
of the transistor devices 101 to be conductively contacted.
[0018] FIG. 1 also depicts the illustrative active region (dashed
line region 102X) for the transistor device 101. Also depicted in
FIG. 1 is the location where an illustrative CB gate contact
structure 130 will be formed to contact the schematically depicted
final gate structure 108-2 of the active transistor 101. In this
particular example, the CB gate contact structure 130 may be formed
entirely above isolation material that surrounds the active region
102X. In other applications (not shown), the CB gate contact
structure 130 may be formed partially or entirely above the active
region 102X. Lastly, FIG. 1 also depicts the location where a
plurality of illustrative CA contact structures 132 will be formed
to contact the conductive source/drain structures 120 of the
various transistor devices 101.
[0019] In this particular example, the schematically depicted final
gate structure 108 will be formed by performing known replacement
gate manufacturing techniques. However, after a complete reading of
the present application, those skilled in the art will recognize
and appreciate that the final gate structures 108 could also be
formed using known gate-first manufacturing techniques.
[0020] In view of the foregoing, FIGS. 2 and 3 depict the product
100 after several process operations were performed. First, the
above-mentioned fins 103 were formed by performing one or more
etching processes, e.g., anisotropic etching processes, through a
patterned fin-formation etch mask (not shown) to form a plurality
of fin-formation trenches in the substrate 102 and thereby define
the plurality of fins 103. The width and height of the fins 103 may
vary depending upon the particular application. Additionally, the
overall size, shape and configuration of the fin-formation trenches
and fins 103 may vary depending on the particular application.
Next, a recessed layer of insulating material 107 (e.g., silicon
dioxide), with a recessed upper surface 107R, was formed between
the fins 103 by performing traditional manufacturing
techniques.
[0021] Still referencing FIGS. 2 and 3, after the layer of
insulating material 107 was recessed, the gates 106 were formed
above the fins 103. Each of the gates 106 includes a schematically
depicted sacrificial gate structure 104, a gate cap 105 and a
simplistically-depicted sidewall spacer 109. The sacrificial gate
structures 104 may include a sacrificial gate insulation layer (not
separately shown) comprised of silicon dioxide and a sacrificial
gate electrode structure (not separately shown) comprised of
amorphous silicon or polysilicon. A gate cap 105 (e.g., silicon
nitride) is positioned above each of the sacrificial gate
structures 104. In one illustrative process flow, the sacrificial
gate structures 104 (with the gate cap 105 thereabove) are
initially formed as continuous line-type structures that extend
across substantially the entire substrate 102. The long continuous
line-type sacrificial gate structure 104/gate cap 105 structures
may be formed by depositing the materials for the sacrificial gate
structures 104 as well as a layer of material for the gate caps 105
across the entire substrate 102, forming a patterned gate etch mask
(not shown) above the deposited layer of the material for the gate
caps 105, and performing one or more etching processes through the
patterned gate etch mask to remove the exposed portions of gate cap
material and, thereafter, the exposed portions of the materials of
the gate structure.
[0022] Also depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3 is the above-mentioned
sidewall spacer 109 that was formed adjacent the sidewalls of the
sacrificial gate structures 104 and the gate caps 105. In one
illustrative example, the sidewall spacer 109 may be formed by
depositing a conformal layer of first spacer material across the
substrate 102 and on the sidewall of the sacrificial gate
structures 104 and thereafter performing an anisotropic etching
process on the layer of first spacer material to remove
substantially all of the horizontally-oriented portions of the
layer of first spacer material. In one particular example, the
sidewall spacer 109 may be formed on and in contact with the
sidewalls of the sacrificial gate structure 104 (or the final gate
structure in the case of a gate-first manufacturing process).
Additionally, in one illustrative embodiment, a bottom surface of
the sidewall spacer 109 may be formed positioned on and in contact
with the upper surface 102S of the semiconductor substrate 102. In
other embodiments, there may be another material(s) positioned
between the bottom surface of the sidewall spacer 109 and the upper
surface 102S.
[0023] The sidewall spacer 109 may be comprised of a variety of
different materials, e.g., a low-k material (k value of about 5.5
or less), SiOCN, SiBCN, etc., and it may be formed to any desired
thickness 109T, e.g., 5-10 nm based upon current-day technology. It
should be noted that the thickness 109T of the sidewall spacer 109
may be substantially uniform for at least a distance 109X (e.g.,
5-10 nm) above an upper surface 102S of the substrate 102 (above
the upper surface of the fin in the case where the transistor
device 101 is a FinFET device). Also note that the sidewall spacer
109 has a substantially vertically oriented outer surface 109S for
at least the distance 109X above the upper surface 102S of the
substrate (or fin 103 in the case of a FinFET device). In the
examples depicted herein, the simplistically depicted sidewall
spacer 109 has a substantially rectangular shaped cross-sectional
configuration when viewed in a cross-section taken through the
sidewall spacer 109 in the gate length direction of the transistor
devices 101. However, in a real-world IC product 100, the thickness
109T of the sidewall spacer 109 may not be uniform throughout its
entire vertical height, e.g., the thickness of the sidewall spacer
109 may decrease (to at least some degree) at locations proximate
the upper portion of the sacrificial gate structure 104 and/or the
gate cap 105 relative to its thickness closer to the upper surface
102S.
[0024] FIGS. 4 and 5 depict the IC product 100 after an initial
sacrificial layer of material 115, e.g., OPL, SOH, etc., with an
initial thickness was formed across the substrate 102. As depicted,
an as-formed upper surface 115S of the initial layer of sacrificial
material 115 is positioned at a level that is above a level of an
upper surface of the gate caps 105. The as-formed upper surface
115S may or may not be substantially planar as depicted in the
drawings. If desired, a planarization process (e.g., a chemical
mechanical planarization (CMP) process) may be performed on the
sacrificial layer of material 115 after it is initially formed.
[0025] FIGS. 6 and 7 depict the IC product 100 after a recess
etching process was performed to reduce the initial thickness of
the initial sacrificial layer of material 115 to a desired final
thickness. This process operation results in the formation of a
recessed sacrificial layer of material 115A that has a recessed
upper surface 115R. The amount of recessing of the initial
sacrificial layer of material 115 may vary depending upon the
particular application. In one illustrative example, the recessed
sacrificial layer of material 115A may have a thickness of about
20-50 nm.
[0026] FIGS. 8 and 9 depict the product 100 after a conformal
deposition process was performed to form a conformal layer of
sacrificial spacer material 111 across the substrate 102, on the
sidewall spacers 109 and above the recessed sacrificial layer of
material 115A. The conformal layer of sacrificial spacer material
111 may be comprised of a variety of different materials, e.g.,
silicon dioxide, etc., and it may be formed to any desired
thickness 111T, e.g., 2-3 nm based upon current-day technology.
[0027] FIGS. 10 and 11 depict the IC product 100 after an
anisotropic etching process was performed to remove horizontally
oriented portions of the conformal layer of sacrificial spacer
material 111. This process operation results in the formation of a
sacrificial sidewall spacer 111S that is positioned proximate the
sidewall spacer 109. In one illustrative embodiment, the
sacrificial sidewall spacer 111S may be formed on and in contact
with the outer surface 109S of the sidewall spacer 109.
[0028] FIGS. 12 and 13 depict the IC product 100 after the recessed
sacrificial layer of material 115A was removed selectively relative
to the surrounding materials. Note that this process operation
exposes a bottom surface 111B of the sacrificial sidewall spacer
111S and at least a portion of the substantially vertically
oriented outer surface 109S of the sidewall spacer 109.
[0029] FIGS. 14 and 15 depict the IC product 100 after a spacer
trimming etching process was performed to reduce the lateral
thickness of the exposed portion of the sidewall spacer 109. In one
illustrative embodiment, the spacer trimming etching process may be
substantially isotropic in nature. This process operation results
in the formation of a notched sidewall spacer 109N with a notch
109P formed therein. In one illustrative embodiment, the notch 109P
of the notched sidewall spacer 109N is partially defined by a
substantially vertically oriented trimmed outer surface 109R. The
lateral thickness 109X of the notched sidewall spacer 109N at the
notch 109P may vary depending upon the particular application,
e.g., 10-30 nm. In terms of percentages, in some applications, the
thickness 109X of the notched sidewall spacer 109N at the notch
109P may be about 30-70% of the initial thickness 109T of the
sidewall spacer 109 at a location immediately above the notch 109P.
The notch 109P is also partially defined by a substantially
horizontally oriented upper surface 109U. The vertical height of
the notch 109P at a location above the fin 103 (or substrate in the
case of a planar device) will correspond approximately to the
distance between the upper surface 102S and the bottom surface 111B
of the sacrificial spacer 111S. Of course, since the transistor
device 101 is a FinFET device in this illustrative example, the
vertical height of the notch 109P will be greater at locations
where the notched sidewall spacer 109N is positioned above the
recessed isolation material 107 (see FIG. 14).
[0030] FIGS. 16 and 17 depict the product 100 after a substantially
anisotropic cavity etching process (e.g., an RIE process) was
performed to form a plurality of epi cavities 121 in the fins 103.
Note that in the depicted process flow, the cavity etching process
was performed with the sacrificial sidewall spacers 111S in
position adjacent the notched sidewall spacers 109N. However, in
other applications, depending upon the material used for the
sidewall spacer 109, the sacrificial sidewall spacer 111S may be
omitted prior to performing the cavity etching process. The depth
of the epi cavities 121 may vary depending upon the particular
application. Note that, in one illustrative example, the cavity
sidewall 121X of each of the epi cavities 121 are substantially
vertically aligned with the trimmed outer surface 109R of the notch
109P of the notched sidewall spacer 109N.
[0031] FIGS. 18 and 19 depict the product 100 after an etching
process was performed to remove the sacrificial spacers 111S
relative to the surrounding materials.
[0032] FIGS. 20 and 21 depict the product 100 after an epitaxial
growth process was performed to form epi semiconductor material 119
in the epi cavities 121 formed in the source/drain regions of the
transistors 101. In this particular example, the epi semiconductor
material is depicted as being a faceted epi semiconductor material.
The epi semiconductor material 119 may be any of a variety of
different semiconductor materials, e.g., silicon-germanium,
silicon, etc., for PFET transistor devices 101, or silicon-carbon,
silicon, etc., for NFET transistor devices 101. Note that a portion
119A of the epi material 119 is positioned within the notch 109P in
the notched sidewall spacer 109N. More specifically, a
substantially vertically oriented surface 119A of the epi
semiconductor material 119 abuts and engages the trimmed outer
surface 109R of the notched sidewall spacer 109N, and a
substantially horizontally oriented surface 119B of the epi
semiconductor material 119 abuts and engages the substantially
horizontally oriented upper surface 119U of the notched sidewall
spacer 109N. After the formation of the epi semiconductor material
119, in one illustrative process flow, traditional manufacturing
techniques may performed to form a metal silicide material (not
shown), e.g., cobalt-silicide, nickel-silicide, etc., on the
exposed portions of the epi semiconductor material 119.
[0033] At the point of processing depicted in FIGS. 20-21,
traditional manufacturing operations may be performed to complete
the IC product 100. Accordingly, FIGS. 22-23 depict the IC product
100 after several processing operations were performed in
accordance with one illustrative process flow. First, at least one
layer of insulating material 133 was blanket-deposited across the
product 100. Thereafter, at least one CMP process operation was
performed to planarize the upper surface of the insulating material
133 and remove the gate caps 105 so as to expose the upper surface
of the conductive gate electrode portion of the sacrificial gate
structures 104.
[0034] At that point, traditional replacement gate manufacturing
processes were performed to remove the sacrificial gate structures
104 so as to form replacement gate cavities between the spacers
109. The final gate structures 108 will ultimately be formed in the
replacement gate cavities defined by removing the sacrificial gate
structures 104. Typically, the materials for the final gate
structures 108 are sequentially formed in replacement gate
cavities. The final gate structures 108 typically comprise a high-k
gate insulation layer (not separately shown), such as hafnium
oxide, a material having a dielectric constant greater than 10,
etc., and one or more conductive material layers that function as
the gate electrode of the final gate structure 108. For example,
one or more work-function adjusting metal layers and a bulk
conductive material may be deposited in the replacement gate
cavities to form the gate electrode structure. Thereafter, in this
particular embodiment, the materials of the final gate structures
108 were recessed and the final gate caps 135 were formed on the
product 100 by depositing gate cap material and performing a CMP
process operation to planarize the upper surface of the gate caps
135 with the upper surface of the layer of insulating material
133.
[0035] FIGS. 24-25 depict the product 100 after several process
operations were performed in accordance with one illustrative
process flow. First, one or more etching processes were performed
through a patterned etch mask (not shown) to selectively remove the
portions of the layer of insulating material 133 positioned above
the epi material 119 formed in the active region 102X. The
patterned etch mask was then removed. At that point, the conductive
source/drain structures 120, e.g., trench silicide containing
regions, were formed so as to contact the epi source/drain regions
119 (the source/drain regions). The conductive source/drain
structures 120 constitute the conductive source/drain metallization
structures that will eventually be conductively coupled to the
conductive source/drain contact structures (CA) that are to be
subsequently formed on the product 100. The configuration and
structure of the conductive source/drain structures 120 may vary
depending upon the particular application. In one example, the
conductive source/drain structures 120 are line-type structures
that extend into and out of the plane of the drawing page in FIG.
24 for a distance that corresponds to substantially the entire
length of the active region (in the gate width direction of the
device). In some cases, the conductive source/drain structures 120
comprise a trench metal silicide material (not separately shown)
that is formed on and in contact with the epi material 119, and a
metal material, such as tungsten (not separately shown), that is
formed on and in contact with the trench metal silicide material.
After the formation of the materials that make up the conductive
source/drain structures 120, a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP)
process was performed to remove excess materials located above the
upper surface of the gate caps 135 of the final gate structures
108.
[0036] Thereafter, one or more layers of additional insulating
material 141 were deposited on the product 100. At that point,
several process operations were performed to form the CB gate
contact structure 130 and the CA contact structure 132 for the
transistor device 101. The contact structures 130 and 132 may be
comprised of a variety of different materials and they may be
formed by performing various manufacturing techniques. In one
illustrative example, various contact openings were formed in the
layer of insulating material for the contact structures 130 and
132. Thereafter, a portion of the gate cap 135 above the final gate
structure 108 of gate 2 at a location above the recessed isolation
material 107 was removed so as to thereby expose the final gate
structure 108 of gate 2. At that point, one or more conductive
materials (e.g., tungsten, copper, a metal-containing material, a
metal compound, etc.) were then formed on the product 100 so as to
overfill the contact openings in the insulating material 141/gate
cap 135. At that point, a CMP process was performed to remove
excess portions of the conductive materials from above the upper
surface of the layer of insulating material 141. These process
operations result in the formation of a CB gate contact structure
130, and the CA contact structures 132. In this embodiment, the CB
gate contact structure 130 is positioned above the recessed
isolation material 107 and it conductively contacts the final gate
structure 108 of gate 2.
[0037] The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative
only, as the invention may be modified and practiced in different
but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having
the benefit of the teachings herein. For example, the process steps
set forth above may be performed in a different order. Furthermore,
no limitations are intended to the details of construction or
design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below.
It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed
above may be altered or modified and all such variations are
considered within the scope and spirit of the invention. Note that
the use of terms, such as "first," "second," "third" or "fourth" to
describe various processes or structures in this specification and
in the attached claims is only used as a shorthand reference to
such steps/structures and does not necessarily imply that such
steps/structures are performed/formed in that ordered sequence. Of
course, depending upon the exact claim language, an ordered
sequence of such processes may or may not be required. Accordingly,
the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims
below.
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