U.S. patent application number 17/086536 was filed with the patent office on 2022-05-05 for single crystalline silicon stack formation and bonding to a cmos wafer.
The applicant listed for this patent is Micron Technology, Inc.. Invention is credited to Byung Yoon Kim, Si-Woo Lee.
Application Number | 20220139767 17/086536 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | |
Filed Date | 2022-05-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220139767 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lee; Si-Woo ; et
al. |
May 5, 2022 |
SINGLE CRYSTALLINE SILICON STACK FORMATION AND BONDING TO A CMOS
WAFER
Abstract
Systems, methods, and apparatus are provided for single
crystalline silicon stack formation and bonding to a complimentary
metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) wafer for formation of vertical
three dimensional (3D) memory. An example method for forming arrays
of vertically stacked layers for formation of memory cells includes
providing a silicon substrate, forming a layer of single crystal
silicon germanium onto a surface of the substrate, epitaxially
growing the silicon germanium to form a thicker silicon germanium
layer, forming a layer of single crystal silicon onto a surface of
the silicon germanium, epitaxially growing the silicon germanium to
form a thicker silicon layer, and forming, in repeating iterations,
layers of silicon germanium and silicon to form a vertical stack of
alternating silicon and silicon germanium layers.
Inventors: |
Lee; Si-Woo; (Boise, ID)
; Kim; Byung Yoon; (Boise, ID) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Micron Technology, Inc. |
Boise |
ID |
US |
|
|
Appl. No.: |
17/086536 |
Filed: |
November 2, 2020 |
International
Class: |
H01L 21/762 20060101
H01L021/762; H01L 21/02 20060101 H01L021/02; H01L 25/18 20060101
H01L025/18; H01L 25/00 20060101 H01L025/00 |
Claims
1. A method for forming arrays of vertically stacked layers for
formation of memory cells, comprising: providing a silicon
substrate; forming a layer of single crystal silicon germanium onto
a surface of the substrate; epitaxially growing the silicon
germanium to form a thicker silicon germanium layer; forming a
layer of single crystal silicon onto a surface of the silicon
germanium; epitaxially growing the silicon germanium to form a
thicker silicon layer; and forming, in repeating iterations, layers
of silicon germanium and silicon to form a vertical stack of
alternating silicon and silicon germanium layers.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: removing the silicon
substrate vertical stack of alternating silicon and silicon
germanium layers.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: wherein the vertical
stack of alternating silicon and silicon germanium layers has two
silicon germanium layers that have exposed surfaces; and applying a
hard mask material to one of the exposed surfaces of the vertical
stack of alternating silicon and silicon germanium layers.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: applying a bonding
material to the other exposed surface of the vertical stack of
alternating silicon and silicon germanium layers.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: bonding the bonding
material to a surface of a CMOS wafer.
6. The method of claim 4, further comprising: bonding the bonding
material to a surface of a bonding material layer of a
complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) wafer.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming the vertical
stack on a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)
wafer.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming the vertical
stack separate from a complementary metal oxide semiconductor
(CMOS) and separately bonding the vertical stack to the CMOS.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: wherein the vertical
stack of alternating silicon and silicon germanium layers has at
least one silicon germanium layer that has an exposed surface; and
applying a hard mask material to one exposed surface of the
vertical stack of alternating silicon and silicon germanium
layers.
10. A device, comprising: a CMOS wafer; a first layer of single
crystal silicon germanium attached to a surface of the CMOS wafer;
a first layer of single crystal silicon positioned on a surface of
the silicon germanium; and in repeating iterations, layers of
silicon germanium and silicon to form a vertical stack of
alternating silicon and silicon germanium layers.
11. The device of claim 10, further comprising: a layer of bonding
material providing the attachment between the surface of the CMOS
wafer and the layer of single crystal silicon germanium.
12. The device of claim 10, wherein the layer of bonding material
is a dielectric material.
13. The device of claim 10, further comprising: at least one layer
of the vertical stack having a word line defined in the layer.
14. The device of claim 10, further comprising: at least one layer
of the vertical stack having a digit line defined in the layer.
15. The device of claim 10, wherein the vertical stack is
electrically coupled in an open digit line architecture.
16. The device of claim 10, wherein the vertical stack is
electrically coupled in a folded digit line architecture.
17. A method for forming arrays of memory cells from of vertically
stacked layers, comprising: providing a silicon substrate; forming
a layer of single crystal silicon germanium onto a surface of the
substrate; forming a layer of single crystal silicon onto a surface
of the silicon germanium; forming, in repeating iterations, layers
of silicon germanium and silicon to form a vertical stack of
alternating silicon and silicon germanium layers; and bonding a
surface of the vertical stack to a CMOS wafer.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: wherein the bonding
of the surface of the vertical stack to the CMOS wafer is
accomplished in a temperature range that is lower than a
temperature range used for the formation of at least one of the
layers.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the temperature range used for
the formation of the layers is 600 degree Celsius (.degree. C.) to
1100.degree. C.
20. The method of claim 17, further comprising: wherein a
patterning process of one or more layers of the vertical stack is
accomplished to create a memory cell within the vertical stack.
21. The method of claim 17, further comprising: wherein a
patterning process of one or more layers of the vertical stack is
accomplished in a temperature range that is lower than a
temperature range used for the formation of at least one of the
layers.
22. The method of claim 17, further comprising: patterning at least
one layer of the vertical stack to define a word line in the
layer.
23. The method of claim 17, further comprising: patterning at least
one layer of the vertical stack to define a digit line in the
layer.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to memory devices,
and more particularly, to single crystalline silicon stack
formation and bonding to a complementary metal oxide semiconductor
(CMOS) wafer for formation of a vertical three dimensional (3D)
memory.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Memory is often implemented in electronic systems, such as
computers, cell phones, hand-held devices, etc. There are many
different types of memory, including volatile and non-volatile
memory. Volatile memory may require power to maintain its data and
may include random-access memory (RAM), dynamic random-access
memory (DRAM), static random-access memory (SRAM), and synchronous
dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM). Non-volatile memory may
provide persistent data by retaining stored data when not powered
and may include NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, nitride read
only memory (NROM), phase-change memory (e.g., phase-change random
access memory), resistive memory (e.g., resistive random-access
memory), cross-point memory, ferroelectric random-access memory
(FeRAM), or the like.
[0003] As design rules shrink, less semiconductor space is
available to fabricate memory, including DRAM arrays. A respective
memory cell for DRAM may include an access device, e.g.,
transistor, having a first and a second source/drain regions
separated by a channel region. A gate may oppose the channel region
and be separated therefrom by a gate dielectric. An access line,
such as a word line, is electrically connected to the gate of the
DRAM cell. A DRAM cell can include a storage node, such as a
capacitor cell, coupled by the access device to a digit line. The
access device can be activated (e.g., to select the cell) by an
access line coupled to the access transistor. The capacitor can
store a charge corresponding to a data value of a respective cell
(e.g., a logic "1" or "0").
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] FIG. 1A is a schematic illustration of a vertical three
dimensional (3D) memory in accordance a number of embodiments of
the present disclosure.
[0005] FIG. 1B is a perspective view illustrating a portion of a
digit line and body contact for semiconductor devices in accordance
with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0006] FIG. 2A is a schematic illustration of a vertical three
dimensional (3D) memory in accordance a number of embodiments of
the present disclosure.
[0007] FIG. 2B is a perspective view illustrating a portion of a
three-node access device in a vertical three dimensional (3D)
memory array in accordance with a number of embodiments of the
present disclosure.
[0008] FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a portion of a
three-node access device in a vertical three dimensional (3D)
memory cell in accordance with a number of embodiments of the
present disclosure.
[0009] FIG. 4 illustrates an example process for creating a single
crystalline silicon stack for vertical three dimensional (3D)
memory, in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present
disclosure.
[0010] FIG. 5 illustrates an example process for bonding a single
crystalline silicon stack to a CMOS wafer, in accordance with a
number of embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0011] FIG. 6 illustrates another example process for bonding a
single crystalline silicon stack to a CMOS wafer, in accordance
with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0012] FIG. 7 illustrates an example patterned vertical memory
array formed from a single crystalline silicon stack bonded to a
CMOS wafer, in accordance with a number of embodiments of the
present disclosure.
[0013] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an apparatus in the form of a
computing system including a memory device in accordance with a
number of embodiments of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] Embodiments of the present disclosure describe systems,
apparatus, and methods for formation of a single crystalline
silicon stack and bonding to a CMOS wafer.
[0015] In vertically stacked memory array structures, such as
transistor structures, polycrystalline silicon (also referred to as
polysilicon) can be leaky, allowing current to leak through the
polycrystalline structure, making the transistor less effective.
Single crystal silicon is not very leaky, however, single crystal
silicon cannot grow on amorphous dielectric materials, such as
oxides or nitrides, which are the common materials upon which
transistors are formed. Additionally, the temperatures required for
growth of single crystal silicon are too high for CMOS components,
upon which vertically stacked memory array structures can be
formed, thereby prohibiting use of single crystal silicon in such
implementations.
[0016] However, as disclosed in the embodiments of the present
disclosure, it is possible to use a silicon wafer for a transistor
that can be utilized as a substrate during the high temperature
processes required for single crystal silicon formation. In such
embodiments, a layer of silicon germanium can be grown on the
silicon substrate. Single crystal silicon can, then, be grown on
the silicon germanium.
[0017] This may be accomplished, for example, by providing a thin
single crystal silicon germanium layer, as a seed layer, and then
heating the layer to grow the single crystal silicon germanium
layer thickness through epitaxial growth. Once the desired layer
thickness is formed, a silicon layer can be formed into the surface
of the silicon germanium layer. As with the silicon germanium
layer, this may be accomplished, for example, by providing a thin
single crystal silicon layer, as a seed layer, and then heating the
layer to grow the thin single crystal silicon layer thickness into
a thicker single crystal silicon layer through epitaxial
growth.
[0018] Depending on the silicon germanium concentration, if silicon
is x quantity and germanium is y quantity and, if y is smaller than
x, then silicon/silicon germanium has a small lattice mismatch with
respect to the lattice of single crystal silicon. This allows
silicon to be grown on top of silicon germanium with a single
crystal structure. If a thin layer of single crystal silicon is
applied to the surface of the silicon germanium, then the whole
silicon layer acts as a seed for the growth of the single crystal
silicon layer. Such layering can be done in alternating iterations
(e.g., SiGe/Si/SiGe/Si, etc.) to create a superlattice structure in
the form of a vertical stack such as shown in FIG. 4.
[0019] For example, a seed layer of silicon germanium can be formed
that is 100 Angstroms in thickness (height) and can be grown to,
for example 1000 Angstroms. A thin silicon seed layer can be formed
on the surface of the silicon germanium layer that is, for example,
50 Angstroms and can be grown to a thickness of, for example, 300
Angstroms. These thicknesses are merely provided as examples and
should not be regarded as limiting unless recited explicitly in a
particular claim.
[0020] This unpatterned (no patterning within the layers) vertical
stack can, then, be attached to a CMOS wafer. Since there is no
pattern within any of the vertical stack layers yet, alignment
between the CMOS wafer and the vertical stack can be less precise,
as for example, interconnections between the vertical stack and the
CMOS wafer are not yet defined in the vertical stack. The
transistor devices of the present disclosure will have better
performance with regard to I-on, better I-off, drivability, and/or
leakage current because there is no grain boundary and therefore
current cannot leak through the grain boundary which is where
leakage often occurs in polysilicon. In some embodiments, devices
can have, for example, three orders of magnitude lower I-off
(leakage).
[0021] Advantages to the structure and process described herein can
include a lower off-current (Ioff) for the access devices, as
compared to silicon based (Si-based) access devices (e.g.,
transistors), and/or reduced gate/drain induced leakage (GIDL) for
the access devices.
[0022] The figures herein follow a numbering convention in which
the first digit or digits correspond to the figure number of the
drawing and the remaining digits identify an element or component
in the drawing. Similar elements or components between different
figures may be identified by the use of similar digits. For
example, reference numeral 104 may reference element "04" in FIG.
2A, and a similar element may be referenced as 204 in FIG. 2B.
Multiple analogous elements within one figure may be referenced
with a reference numeral followed by a hyphen and another numeral
or a letter. For example, 302-1 may reference element 302-1 in
FIGS. 3 and 302-2 may reference element 302-2, which may be
analogous to element 302-1. Such analogous elements may be
generally referenced without the hyphen and extra numeral or
letter. For example, elements 302-1 and 302-2 or other analogous
elements may be generally referenced as 302.
[0023] FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an apparatus in accordance
with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 1A
illustrates a circuit diagram showing a cell array of a three
dimensional (3D) semiconductor memory device according to
embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 1A illustrates that a
cell array may have a plurality of sub cell arrays 101-1, 101-2, .
. . , 101-N. The sub cell arrays 101-1, 101-2, . . . , 101-N may be
arranged along a second direction (D2) 105. Each of the sub cell
arrays, e.g., sub cell array 101-2, may include a plurality of
access lines 107-1, 107-2, . . . , 107-Q (which also may be
referred to a word lines). Also, each of the sub cell arrays, e.g.,
sub cell array 101-2, may include a plurality of digit lines 103-1,
103-2, . . . , 103-Q (which also may be referred to as bit lines,
data lines, or sense lines). In FIG. 1A, the access lines 107-1,
107-2, . . . , 107-Q are illustrated extending in a first direction
(D1) 109 and the digit lines 103-1, 103-2, . . . , 103-Q are
illustrated extending in a third direction (D3) 111. According to
embodiments, the first direction (D1) 109 and the second direction
(D2) 105 may be considered in a horizontal ("X-Y") plane. The third
direction (D3) 111 may be considered in a vertical ("Z") plane.
Hence, according to embodiments described herein, the digit lines
103-1, 103-2, . . . , 103-Q are extending in a vertical direction,
e.g., third direction (D3) 111.
[0024] A memory cell, e.g., 110, may include an access device,
e.g., access transistor, and a storage node located at an
intersection of each access line 107-1, 107-2, . . . , 107-Q and
each digit line 103-1, 103-2, . . . , 103-Q. Memory cells may be
written to, or read from, using the access lines 107-1, 107-2, . .
. , 107-Q and digit lines 103-1, 103-2, . . . , 103-Q. The access
lines 107-1, 107-2, . . . , 107-Q may conductively interconnect
memory cells along horizontal rows of each sub cell array 101-,
101-2, . . . , 101-N, and the digit lines 103-1, 103-2, . . . ,
103-Q may conductively interconnect memory cells along vertical
columns of each sub cell array 101-, 101-2, . . . , 101-N. One
memory cell, e.g. 110, may be located between one access line,
e.g., 107-2, and one digit line, e.g., 103-2. Each memory cell may
be uniquely addressed through a combination of an access line
107-1, 107-2, . . . , 107-Q and a digit line 103-1, 103-2, . . . ,
103-Q.
[0025] The access lines 107-1, 107-2, . . . , 107-P may be or
include conducting patterns (e.g., metal lines) disposed on and
spaced apart from a substrate. The access lines 107-1, 107-2, . . .
, 107-Q may extend in a first direction (D1) 109. The access lines
107-1, 107-2, . . . , 107-Q in one sub cell array, e.g., 101-2, may
be spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction, e.g., in a
third direction (D3) 111.
[0026] The digit lines 103-1, 103-2, . . . , 103-Q may be or
include conductive patterns (e.g., metal lines) extending in a
vertical direction with respect to the substrate, e.g., in a third
direction (D3) 111. The digit lines in one sub cell array, e.g.,
101-2, may be spaced apart from each other in the first direction
(D1) 109.
[0027] A gate of a memory cell, e.g., memory cell 110, may be
connected to an access line, e.g., 107-2, and a first conductive
node, e.g., first source/drain region, of an access device, e.g.,
transistor, of the memory cell 110 may be connected to a digit
line, e.g., 103-2. Each of the memory cells, e.g., memory cell 110,
may be connected to a storage node, e.g., capacitor. A second
conductive node, e.g., second source/drain region, of the access
device, e.g., transistor, of the memory cell 110 may be connected
to the storage node, e.g., capacitor. While first and second
source/drain region references are used herein to denote two
separate and distinct source/drain regions, it is not intended that
the source/drain region referred to as the "first" and/or "second"
source/drain regions have some unique meaning. It is intended only
that one of the source/drain regions is connected to a digit line,
e.g., 103-2, and the other may be connected to a storage node.
[0028] FIG. 1B illustrates a perspective view showing a three
dimensional (3D) semiconductor memory device, e.g., a portion of a
sub cell array 101-2 shown in FIG. 1A as a vertically oriented
stack of memory cells in an array, according to some embodiments of
the present disclosure.
[0029] As shown in FIG. 1B, a substrate 100 may have formed thereon
one of the plurality of sub cell arrays, e.g., 101-2, described in
connection with FIG. 1A. For example, the substrate 100 may be or
include a silicon substrate, a germanium substrate, or a
silicon-germanium substrate, etc. Embodiments, however, are not
limited to these examples.
[0030] As shown in the example embodiment of FIG. 1B, the substrate
100 may have fabricated thereon a vertically oriented stack of
memory cells, e.g., memory cell 110 in FIG. 1A, extending in a
vertical direction, e.g., third direction (D3) 111. According to
some embodiments the vertically oriented stack of memory cells may
be fabricated such that each memory cell, e.g., memory cell 110 in
FIG. 1A, is formed on plurality of vertical levels, e.g., a first
level (L1), a second level (L2), and a third level (L3). The
repeating, vertical levels, L1, L2, and L3, may be arranged, e.g.,
"stacked", a vertical direction, e.g., third direction (D3) 111
shown in FIG. 1A, and may be separated from the substrate 100 by an
insulator material 120. Each of the repeating, vertical levels, L1,
L2, and L3 may include a plurality of discrete components, e.g.,
regions, to the horizontally oriented access devices 130, e.g.,
transistors, and storage nodes, e.g., capacitors, including access
line 107-1, 107-2, . . . , 107-Q connections and digit line 103-1,
103-2, . . . , 103-Q connections. The plurality of discrete
components to the horizontally oriented access devices 130, e.g.,
transistors, may be formed in a plurality of iterations of
vertically, repeating layers within each level, as described in
more detail below in connection with FIGS. 4A-4K, and may extend
horizontally in the second direction (D2) 105, analogous to second
direction (D2) 105 shown in FIG. 1A.
[0031] The plurality of discrete components to the laterally
oriented access devices 130, e.g., transistors, may include a first
source/drain region 121 and a second source/drain region 123
separated by a channel region 125, extending laterally in the
second direction (D2) 105, and formed in a body of the access
devices. In some embodiments, the channel region 125 may include
silicon, germanium, silicon-germanium, and/or indium gallium zinc
oxide (IGZO). In some embodiments, the first and the second
source/drain regions, 121 and 123, can include an n-type dopant
region formed in a p-type doped body to the access device to form
an n-type conductivity transistor. In some embodiments, the first
and the second source/drain regions, 121 and 123, may include a
p-type dopant formed within an n-type doped body to the access
device to form a p-type conductivity transistor. By way of example,
and not by way of limitation, the n-type dopant may include
phosphorous (P) atoms and the p-type dopant may include atoms of
boron (B) formed in an oppositely doped body region of polysilicon
semiconductor material. Embodiments, however, are not limited to
these examples.
[0032] The storage node 127, e.g., capacitor, may be connected to
one respective end of the access device. As shown in FIG. 1B, the
storage node 127, e.g., capacitor, may be connected to the second
source/drain region 123 of the access device. The storage node may
be or include memory elements capable of storing data. Each of the
storage nodes may be a memory element using one of a capacitor, a
magnetic tunnel junction pattern, and/or a variable resistance body
which includes a phase change material, etc. Embodiments, however,
are not limited to these examples. In some embodiments, the storage
node associated with each access device of a unit cell, e.g.,
memory cell 110 in FIG. 1A, may similarly extend in the second
direction (D2) 105, analogous to second direction (D2) 105 shown in
FIG. 1A.
[0033] As shown in FIG. 1B a plurality of horizontally oriented
access lines 107-1, 107-2, . . . , 107-Q extend in the first
direction (D1) 109, analogous to the first direction (D1) 109 in
FIG. 1A. The plurality of horizontally oriented access lines 107-1,
107-2, . . . , 107-Q may be analogous to the access lines 107-1,
107-2, . . . , 107-Q shown in FIG. 1A. The plurality of
horizontally oriented access lines 107-1, 107-2, . . . , 107-Q may
be arranged, e.g., "stacked", along the third direction (D3) 111.
The plurality of horizontally oriented access lines 107-1, 107-2, .
. . , 107-Q may include a conductive material. For example, the
conductive material may include one or more of a doped
semiconductor, e.g., doped silicon, doped germanium, etc., a
conductive metal nitride, e.g., titanium nitride, tantalum nitride,
etc., a metal, e.g., tungsten (W), titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta),
ruthenium (Ru), cobalt (Co), molybdenum (Mo), etc., and/or a
metal-semiconductor compound, e.g., tungsten silicide, cobalt
silicide, titanium silicide, etc. Embodiments, however, are not
limited to these examples.
[0034] Among each of the vertical levels, (L1) 113-1, (L2) 113-2,
and (L3) 113-P, the horizontally oriented memory cells, e.g.,
memory cell 110 in FIG. 1A, may be spaced apart from one another
horizontally in the first direction (D1) 109. However, the
plurality of discrete components to the horizontally oriented
access devices 130, e.g., first source/drain region 121 and second
source/drain region 123 separated by a channel region 125,
extending laterally in the second direction (D2) 105, and the
plurality of horizontally oriented access lines 107-1, 107-2, . . .
, 107-Q extending laterally in the first direction (D1) 109, may be
formed within different vertical layers within each level. For
example, the plurality of horizontally oriented access lines 107-1,
107-2, . . . , 107-Q, extending in the first direction (D1) 109,
may be formed on a top surface opposing and electrically coupled to
the channel regions 125, separated therefrom by a gate dielectric,
and orthogonal to horizontally oriented access devices 130, e.g.,
transistors, extending in laterally in the second direction (D2)
105. In some embodiments, the plurality of horizontally oriented
access lines 107-1, 107-2, . . . , 107-Q, extending in the first
direction (D1) 109 are formed in a higher vertical layer, farther
from the substrate 100, within a level, e.g., within level (L1),
than a layer in which the discrete components, e.g., first
source/drain region 121 and second source/drain region 123
separated by a channel region 125, of the horizontally oriented
access device are formed.
[0035] As shown in the example embodiment of FIG. 1B, the digit
lines, 103-1, 103-2, . . . , 103-Q, extend in a vertical direction
with respect to the substrate 100, e.g., in a third direction (D3)
111. Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, the digit lines, 103-1, 103-2, .
. . , 103-Q, in one sub cell array, e.g., sub cell array 101-2 in
FIG. 1A, may be spaced apart from each other in the first direction
(D1) 109. The digit lines, 103-1, 103-2, . . . , 103-Q, may be
provided, extending vertically relative to the substrate 100 in the
third direction (D3) 111 in vertical alignment with source/drain
regions to serve as first source/drain regions 121 or, as shown, be
vertically adjacent first source/drain regions 121 for each of the
horizontally oriented access devices 130, e.g., transistors,
extending laterally in the second direction (D2) 105, but adjacent
to each other on a level, e.g., first level (L1), in the first
direction (D1) 109. Each of the digit lines, 103-1, 103-2, . . . ,
103-Q, may vertically extend, in the third direction (D3), on
sidewalls, adjacent first source/drain regions 121, of respective
ones of the plurality of horizontally oriented access devices 130,
e.g., transistors, that are vertically stacked. In some
embodiments, the plurality of vertically oriented digit lines
103-1, 103-2, . . . , 103-Q, extending in the third direction (D3)
111, may be connected to side surfaces of the first source/drain
regions 121 directly and/or through additional contacts including
metal silicides.
[0036] For example, a first one of the vertically extending digit
lines, e.g., 103-1, may be adjacent a sidewall of a first
source/drain region 121 to a first one of the horizontally oriented
access devices 130, e.g., transistors, in the first level (L1)
113-1, a sidewall of a first source/drain region 121 of a first one
of the horizontally oriented access devices 130, e.g., transistors,
in the second level (L2) 113-2, and a sidewall of a first
source/drain region 121 a first one of the horizontally oriented
access devices 130, e.g., transistors, in the third level (L3)
113-P, etc. Similarly, a second one of the vertically extending
digit lines, e.g., 103-2, may be adjacent a sidewall to a first
source/drain region 121 of a second one of the horizontally
oriented access devices 130, e.g., transistors, in the first level
(L1) 113-1, spaced apart from the first one of horizontally
oriented access devices 130, e.g., transistors, in the first level
(L1) 113-1 in the first direction (D1) 109. And the second one of
the vertically extending digit lines, e.g., 103-2, may be adjacent
a sidewall of a first source/drain region 121 of a second one of
the laterally oriented access devices 130, e.g., transistors, in
the second level (L2) 113-2, and a sidewall of a first source/drain
region 121 of a second one of the horizontally oriented access
devices 130, e.g., transistors, in the third level (L3) 113-P, etc.
Embodiments are not limited to a particular number of levels.
[0037] The vertically extending digit lines, 103-1, 103-2, . . . ,
103-Q, may include a conductive material, such as, for example, one
of a doped semiconductor material, a conductive metal nitride,
metal, and/or a metal-semiconductor compound. The digit lines,
103-1, 103-2, . . . , 103-Q, may correspond to digit lines (DL)
described in connection with FIG. 1A.
[0038] As shown in the example embodiment of FIG. 1B, a conductive
body contact may be formed extending in the first direction (D1)
109 along an end surface of the horizontally oriented access
devices 130, e.g., transistors, in each level (L1) 113-1, (L2)
113-2, and (L3) 113-P above the substrate 100. The body contact may
be connected to a body (as shown by 336 in FIG. 3) e.g., body
region, of the horizontally oriented access devices 130, e.g.,
transistors, in each memory cell, e.g., memory cell 110 in FIG. 1A.
The body contact may include a conductive material such as, for
example, one of a doped semiconductor material, a conductive metal
nitride, metal, and/or a metal-semiconductor compound.
[0039] Although not shown in FIG. 1B, an insulating material may
fill other spaces in the vertically stacked array of memory cells.
For example, the insulating material may include one or more of a
silicon oxide material, a silicon nitride material, and/or a
silicon oxynitride material, etc. Embodiments, however, are not
limited to these examples. FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an
apparatus in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present
disclosure. FIG. 2A illustrates a circuit diagram showing a cell
array of a three dimensional (3D) semiconductor memory device
according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 2A
illustrates that a cell array may have a plurality of sub cell
arrays 201-1, 201-2, . . . , 201-N. The sub cell arrays 201-1,
201-2, . . . , 201-N may be arranged along a second direction (D2)
205. Each of the sub cell arrays (e.g., sub cell array 201-2) may
include a plurality of access lines 203-1, 203-2, . . . , 203-Q
(which also may be referred to as word lines). Also, each of the
sub cell arrays (e.g., sub cell array 201-2) may include a
plurality of digit lines 207-1, 207-2, . . . , 207-Q (which also
may be referred to as bit lines, data lines, or sense lines). In
FIG. 2A, the digit lines 207-1, 207-2, . . . , 207-Q are
illustrated extending in a first direction (D1) 209 and the access
lines 203-1, 203-2, . . . , 203-Q are illustrated extending in a
third direction (D3) 211.
[0040] The first direction (D1) 209 and the second direction (D2)
205 may be considered in a horizontal ("X-Y") plane. The third
direction (D3) 211 may be considered in a vertical ("Z") direction
(e.g., transverse to the X-Y plane). Hence, according to
embodiments described herein, the access lines 203-1, 203-2, . . .
, 203-Q are extending in a vertical direction (e.g., third
direction (D3) 211).
[0041] A memory cell (e.g., 210) may include an access device
(e.g., access transistor) and a storage node located at an
intersection of each access line 203-1, 203-2, . . . , 203-Q and
each digit line 207-1, 207-2, . . . , 207-Q. Memory cells may be
written to, or read from, using the access lines 203-1, 203-2, . .
. , 203-Q and digit lines 207-1, 207-2, . . . , 207-Q. The digit
lines 207-1, 207-2, . . . , 207-Q may conductively interconnect
memory cells along horizontal columns of each sub cell array 201-,
201-2, . . . , 201-N, and the access lines 203-1, 203-2, . . . ,
203-Q may conductively interconnect memory cells along vertical
rows of each sub cell array 201-1, 201-2, . . . , 201-N. One memory
cell, e.g., 210, may be located between one access line (e.g.,
203-2) and one digit line (e.g., 207-2). Each memory cell may be
uniquely addressed through a combination of an access line 203-1,
203-2, . . . , 203-Q and a digit line 207-1, 207-2, . . . ,
207-Q.
[0042] The digit lines 207-1, 207-2, . . . , 207-Q may be or
include conducting patterns (e.g., metal lines) disposed on and
spaced apart from a substrate. The digit lines 207-1, 207-2, . . .
, 207-Q may extend in a first direction (D1) 209. The digit lines
207-1, 207-2, . . . , 207-Q in one sub cell array (e.g., 201-2) may
be spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction (e.g., in a
third direction (D3) 211).
[0043] The access lines 203-1, 203-2, . . . , 203-Q may be or
include conductive patterns (e.g., metal lines) extending in a
vertical direction with respect to the substrate (e.g., in a third
direction (D3) 211). The access lines in one sub cell array (e.g.,
201-2) may be spaced apart from each other in the first direction
(D1) 209.
[0044] A gate of a memory cell (e.g., memory cell 210) may be
connected to an access line (e.g., 203-2) and a first conductive
node (e.g., first source/drain region) of an access device (e.g.,
transistor) of the memory cell 210 may be connected to a digit line
(e.g., 207-2). Each of the memory cells (e.g., memory cell 210) may
be connected to a storage node (e.g., capacitor). A second
conductive node (e.g., second source/drain region) of the access
device (e.g., transistor) of the memory cell 210 may be connected
to the storage node (e.g., capacitor). Storage nodes, such as
capacitors, can be formed from ferroelectric and/or dielectric
materials such as zirconium oxide (ZrO2), hafnium oxide (HfO2)
oxide, lanthanum oxide (La2O3), lead zirconate titanate (PZT,
Pb[Zr(x)Ti(1-x)]O3), barium titanate (BaTiO3), aluminum oxide
(e.g., Al.sub.2O.sub.3), a combination of these with or without
dopants, or other suitable materials.
[0045] While first and second source/drain region reference are
used herein to denote two separate and distinct source/drain
regions, it is not intended that the source/drain region referred
to as the "first" and/or "second" source/drain regions have some
unique meaning. It is intended only that one of the source/drain
regions is connected to a digit line (e.g., 207-2) and the other
may be connected to a storage node.
[0046] FIG. 2B illustrates a perspective view showing a three
dimensional (3D) semiconductor memory device (e.g., a portion of a
sub cell array 201-2 shown in FIG. 2A as a vertically oriented
stack of memory cells in an array) according to some embodiments of
the present disclosure. FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view
showing unit cell (e.g., memory cell 210 shown in FIG. 2A) of the
3D semiconductor memory device shown in FIG. 2B.
[0047] As shown in FIG. 2B, a substrate 200 may have formed thereon
one of the plurality of sub cell arrays (e.g., 201-2) described in
connection with FIG. 2A. For example, the substrate 200 may be or
include a silicon substrate, a germanium substrate, or a
silicon-germanium substrate, etc. Embodiments, however, are not
limited to these examples.
[0048] As shown in the example embodiment of FIG. 2B, the substrate
200 may have fabricated thereon a vertically oriented stack of
memory cells (e.g., memory cell 210 in FIG. 2A) extending in a
vertical direction (e.g., third direction (D3) 211). According to
some embodiments the vertically oriented stack of memory cells may
be fabricated such that each memory cell (e.g., memory cell 210 in
FIG. 2A) is formed on plurality of vertical levels (e.g., a first
level (L1), a second level (L2), and a third level (L3)). The
repeating, vertical levels, L1, L2, and L3, may be arranged (e.g.,
"stacked") a vertical direction (e.g., third direction (D3) 211
shown in FIG. 2A) and may be separated from the substrate 200 by an
insulator material 220. Each of the repeating, vertical levels, L1,
L2, and L3 may include a plurality of discrete components (e.g.,
regions) to the laterally oriented access devices 230 (e.g.,
transistors) and storage nodes (e.g., capacitors) including access
line 203-1, 203-2, . . . , 203-Q connections and digit line 207-1,
207-2, . . . , 207-Q connections. The plurality of discrete
components to the laterally oriented access devices 230 (e.g.,
transistors) may be formed in a plurality of iterations of
vertically, repeating layers within each level, as described in
more detail below in connection with FIGS. 4A-4K, and may extend
horizontally in the second direction (D2) 205, analogous to second
direction (D2) 205 shown in FIG. 2A.
[0049] The plurality of discrete components to the laterally
oriented access devices 230 (e.g., transistors) may include a first
source/drain region 221 and a second source/drain region 223
separated by a channel region 225, extending laterally in the
second direction (D2) 205, and formed in a body of the access
devices. In some embodiments, the channel region 225 may include
silicon, germanium, silicon-germanium, and/or indium gallium zinc
oxide (IGZO). In some embodiments, the first and the second
source/drain regions, 221 and 223, can include an n-type dopant
region formed in a p-type doped body to the access device to form
an n-type conductivity transistor. In some embodiments, the first
and the second source/drain regions, 221 and 223, may include a
p-type dopant formed within an n-type doped body to the access
device to form a p-type conductivity transistor. By way of example,
and not by way of limitation, the n-type dopant may include
phosphorous (P) atoms and the p-type dopant may include atoms of
boron (B) formed in an oppositely doped body region of polysilicon
semiconductor material. Embodiments, however, are not limited to
these examples.
[0050] The storage node 227 (e.g., capacitor) may be connected to
one respective end of the access device. As shown in FIG. 2B, the
storage node 227 (e.g., capacitor) may be connected to the second
source/drain region 223 of the access device. The storage node may
be or include memory elements capable of storing data. Each of the
storage nodes may be a memory element using one of a capacitor, a
magnetic tunnel junction pattern, and/or a variable resistance body
which includes a phase change material, etc. Embodiments, however,
are not limited to these examples. In some embodiments, the storage
node associated with each access device of a unit cell (e.g.,
memory cell 210 in FIG. 2A) may similarly extend in the second
direction (D2) 205, analogous to second direction (D2) 205 shown in
FIG. 2A.
[0051] As shown in FIG. 2B a plurality of horizontally oriented
digit lines 207-1, 207-2, . . . , 207-Q extend in the first
direction (D1) 209, analogous to the first direction (D1) 209 in
FIG. 2A. The plurality of horizontally oriented digit lines 207-1,
207-2, . . . , 207-Q may be analogous to the digit lines 207-1,
207-2, . . . , 207-Q shown in FIG. 2A. The plurality of
horizontally oriented digit lines 207-1, 207-2, . . . , 207-Q may
be arranged (e.g., "stacked") along the third direction (D3) 211.
The plurality of horizontally oriented digit lines 207-1, 207-2, .
. . , 207-Q may include a conductive material. For example, the
conductive material may include one or more of a doped
semiconductor (e.g., doped silicon, doped germanium, etc.) a
conductive metal nitride (e.g., titanium nitride, tantalum nitride,
etc.) a metal (e.g., tungsten (W), titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta),
ruthenium (Ru), cobalt (Co), molybdenum (Mo), etc.) and/or a
metal-semiconductor compound (e.g., tungsten silicide, cobalt
silicide, titanium silicide, etc.) Embodiments, however, are not
limited to these examples.
[0052] Among each of the vertical levels, (L1) 213-1, (L2) 213-2,
and (L3) 213-P, the horizontally oriented memory cells (e.g.,
memory cell 210 in FIG. 2A) may be spaced apart from one another
horizontally in the first direction (D1) 209. However, as described
in more detail below in connection with FIG. 4A, et seq., the
plurality of discrete components to the laterally oriented access
devices 230 (e.g., first source/drain region 221 and second
source/drain region 223 separated by a channel region 225),
extending laterally in the second direction (D2) 205, and the
plurality of horizontally oriented digit lines 207-1, 207-2, . . .
, 207-Q, extending laterally in the first direction (D1) 209, may
be formed within different vertical layers within each level. For
example, the plurality of horizontally oriented digit lines 207-1,
207-2, . . . , 207-Q, extending in the first direction (D1) 209,
may be disposed on, and in electrical contact with, top surfaces of
first source/drain regions 221 and orthogonal to laterally oriented
access devices 230 (e.g., transistors) extending laterally in the
second direction (D2) 205. In some embodiments, the plurality of
horizontally oriented digit lines 207-1, 207-2, . . . , 207-Q,
extending in the first direction (D1) 209 are formed in a higher
vertical layer, farther from the substrate 200, within a level
(e.g., within level (L1)) than a layer in which the discrete
components (e.g., first source/drain region 221 and second
source/drain region 223 separated by a channel region 225) of the
laterally oriented access device are formed. In some embodiments,
the plurality of horizontally oriented digit lines 207-1, 207-2, .
. . , 207-Q, extending in the first direction (D1) 209, may be
connected to the top surfaces of the first source/drain regions 221
directly and/or through additional contacts including metal
silicides.
[0053] As shown in the example embodiment of FIG. 2B, the access
lines, 203-1, 203-2, . . . , 203-Q, extend in a vertical direction
with respect to the substrate 200 (e.g., in a third direction (D3)
211). Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the access lines, 203-1, 203-2,
. . . , 203-Q, in one sub cell array (e.g., sub cell array 201-2 in
FIG. 2A) may be spaced apart from each other in the first direction
(D1) 209. The access lines, 203-1, 203-2, . . . , 203-Q, may be
provided, extending vertically relative to the substrate 200 in the
third direction (D3) 211 between a pair of the laterally oriented
access devices 230 (e.g., transistors) extending laterally in the
second direction (D2) 205, but adjacent to each other on a level
(e.g., first level (L1)) in the first direction (D1) 209. Each of
the access lines, 203-1, 203-2, . . . , 203-Q, may vertically
extend, in the third direction (D3), on sidewalls of respective
ones of the plurality of laterally oriented access devices 230
(e.g., transistors) that are vertically stacked.
[0054] For example, and as shown in more detail in FIG. 3, a first
one of the vertically extending access lines (e.g., 203-1) may be
adjacent a sidewall of a channel region 225 to a first one of the
laterally oriented access devices 230 (e.g., transistors) in the
first level (L1) 213-1, a sidewall of a channel region 225 of a
first one of the laterally oriented access devices 230 (e.g.,
transistors) in the second level (L2) 213-2, and a sidewall of a
channel region 225 a first one of the laterally oriented access
devices 230 (e.g., transistors) in the third level (L3) 213-P, etc.
Similarly, a second one of the vertically extending access lines
(e.g., 203-2) may be adjacent a sidewall to a channel region 225 of
a second one of the laterally oriented access devices 230 (e.g.,
transistors) in the first level (L1) 213-1, spaced apart from the
first one of laterally oriented access devices 230 (e.g.,
transistors) in the first level (L1) 213-1 in the first direction
(D1) 209. And the second one of the vertically extending access
lines (e.g., 203-2) may be adjacent a sidewall of a channel region
225 of a second one of the laterally oriented access devices 230
(e.g., transistors) in the second level (L2) 213-2, and a sidewall
of a channel region 225 of a second one of the laterally oriented
access devices 230 (e.g., transistors) in the third level (L3)
213-P, etc. Embodiments are not limited to a particular number of
levels.
[0055] The vertically extending access lines, 203-1, 203-2, . . . ,
203-Q, may include a conductive material, such as, for example, one
of a doped semiconductor material, a conductive metal nitride,
metal, and/or a metal-semiconductor compound. The access lines,
203-1, 203-2, . . . , 203-Q, may correspond to word lines (WL)
described in connection with FIG. 2A.
[0056] As shown in the example embodiment of FIG. 2B, a conductive
body contact 295 may be formed extending in the first direction
(D1) 209 along an end surface of the laterally oriented access
devices 230 (e.g., transistors) in each level (L1) 213-1, (L2)
213-2, and (L3) 213-P above the substrate 200. The body contact 295
may be connected to a body, as shown by 336 in FIG. 3, (e.g., body
region) of the laterally oriented access devices 230 (e.g.,
transistors) in each memory cell (e.g., memory cell 210 in FIG.
2A). The body contact 295 may include a conductive material such
as, for example, one of a doped semiconductor material, a
conductive metal nitride, metal, and/or a metal-semiconductor
compound.
[0057] Although not shown in FIG. 2B, an insulating material may
fill other spaces in the vertically stacked array of memory cells.
For example, the insulating material may include one or more of a
silicon oxide material, a silicon nitride material, and/or a
silicon oxynitride material, etc. Embodiments, however, are not
limited to these examples.
[0058] FIG. 3 illustrates in more detail a unit cell (e.g., memory
cell 210 in FIG. 2A) of the vertically stacked array of memory
cells (e.g., within a sub cell array 201-2 in FIG. 2A) according to
some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the
first and the second source/drain regions, 321 and 323, may be
impurity doped regions to the laterally oriented access devices 330
(e.g., transistors). The first and the second source/drain regions,
321 and 323, may be analogous to the first and the second
source/drain regions 221 and 223 shown in FIG. 2B. The first and
the second source/drain regions may be separated by a channel 325
formed in a body of semiconductor material (e.g., body region 326)
of the laterally oriented access devices 330 (e.g., transistors).
The first and the second source/drain regions, 321 and 323, may be
formed from an n-type or p-type dopant doped in the body region
326. Embodiments are not so limited.
[0059] For example, for an n-type conductivity transistor
construction, the body region 326 of the laterally oriented access
devices 330 (e.g., transistors) may be formed of a low doped (p-)
p-type semiconductor material. In some embodiments, the body region
326 and the channel 325 separating the first and the second
source/drain regions, 321 and 323, may include a low doped, p-type
(e.g., low dopant concentration (p-)) polysilicon material
consisting of boron (B) atoms as an impurity dopant to the
polycrystalline silicon. The first and the second source/drain
regions, 321 and 323, may also comprise a metal, and/or metal
composite materials containing ruthenium (Ru), molybdenum (Mo),
nickel (Ni), titanium (Ti), copper (Cu), a highly doped degenerate
semiconductor material, and/or at least one of indium oxide
(In.sub.2O.sub.3), or indium tin oxide (In.sub.2-xSn.sub.xO.sub.3),
formed using an atomic layer deposition process, etc. Embodiments,
however, are not limited to these examples.
[0060] As used herein, a degenerate semiconductor material is
intended to mean a semiconductor material, such as polysilicon,
containing a high level of doping with significant interaction
between dopants (e.g., phosphorous (P), boron (B), etc.).
Non-degenerate semiconductors, by contrast, contain moderate levels
of doping, where the dopant atoms are well separated from each
other in the semiconductor host lattice with negligible
interaction.
[0061] In this example, the first and the second source/drain
regions, 321 and 321, may include a high dopant concentration,
n-type conductivity impurity (e.g., high dopant (n+)) doped in the
first and the second source/drain regions, 321 and 323. In some
embodiments, the high dopant, n-type conductivity first and second
drain regions 321 and 323 may include a high concentration of
phosphorus (P) atoms deposited therein. Embodiments, however, are
not limited to this example. In other embodiments, the laterally
oriented access devices 330 (e.g., transistors) may be of a p-type
conductivity construction in which case the impurity (e.g., dopant)
conductivity types would be reversed.
[0062] As shown in the example embodiment of FIG. 3, the first
source/drain region 321 may occupy an upper portion in the body 326
of the laterally oriented access devices 330 (e.g., transistors).
For example, the first source/drain region 321 may have a bottom
surface 324 within the body 326 of the laterally oriented access
device 330 which is located higher, vertically in the third
direction (D3) 311, than a bottom surface of the body 326 of the
laterally, horizontally oriented access device 330. As such, the
laterally, horizontally oriented transistor 330 may have a body
portion 326 which is below the first source/drain region 321 and is
in electrical contact with the body contact (e.g., 295 shown in
FIG. 2B). Further, as shown in the example embodiment of FIG. 3, a
digit line (e.g., 307-1) analogous to the digit lines 207-1, 207-2,
. . . , 207-Q in FIG. 2B and 207-1, 207-2, . . . , 207-Q shown in
FIG. 2A, may disposed on a top surface 322 of the first
source/drain region 321 and electrically coupled thereto.
[0063] As shown in the example embodiment of FIG. 3, an access line
(e.g., 303-1 analogous to the access lines 203-1, 203-2, . . . ,
203-Q in FIG. 2B and 203-1, 203-2, . . . , 203-Q in FIG. 2A) may be
vertically extending in the third direction (D3) 311 adjacent
sidewall of the channel region 325 portion of the body 326 to the
laterally oriented access devices 330 (e.g., transistors)
horizontally conducting between the first and the second
source/drain regions 321 and 323 along the second direction (D2)
305. A gate dielectric material 304 may be interposed between the
access line 303-1 (a portion thereof forming a gate to the
laterally oriented access devices 330 (e.g., transistors) and the
channel region 325.
[0064] The gate dielectric material 304 may include, for example, a
high-k dielectric material, a silicon oxide material, a silicon
nitride material, a silicon oxynitride material, etc., or a
combination thereof. Embodiments are not so limited. For example,
in high-k dielectric material examples the gate dielectric material
304 may include one or more of hafnium oxide, hafnium silicon
oxide, lanthanum oxide, zirconium oxide, zirconium silicon oxide,
tantalum oxide, titanium oxide, barium strontium titanium oxide,
barium titanium oxide, strontium titanium oxide, lithium oxide,
aluminum oxide, lead scandium tantalum oxide, lead zinc niobite,
etc.
[0065] FIG. 4 illustrates an example process for creating a single
crystalline silicon stack for vertical three dimensional (3D)
memory, such as illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, and in accordance with a
number of embodiments of the present disclosure. The vertical stack
includes multiple layers of single crystal silicon germanium 430
and single crystal silicon 432 formed on a substrate 437.
[0066] As discussed above, this may be accomplished, for example,
by providing a thin single crystal silicon germanium layer, as a
seed layer, and then heating the layer to grow the single crystal
silicon germanium layer thickness through epitaxial growth. Once
the desired layer thickness is formed, a silicon layer can be
formed into the surface of silicon germanium layer. As with the
silicon germanium layer, this may be accomplished, for example, by
providing a thin single crystal silicon layer, as a seed layer, and
then heating the layer to grow the single crystal silicon layer
thickness through epitaxial growth.
[0067] For example, the single crystal silicon germanium 430 may be
epitaxially grown by flowing silicon base gases over the thin seed
layer of single crystal silicon germanium formed, for the first
layer, on the surface of the substrate 437 and for subsequent
single crystal silicon germanium layers, over a thin seed layer of
single crystal silicon germanium formed on the surface of the
exposed single crystal silicon layer of the vertical stack. For
instance, a disilane (Si.sub.2H.sub.6) gas may be utilized to cause
single crystal silicon germanium to be epitaxially grown from the
exposed surface of the thin layer of single crystal silicon
germanium that has been deposited as a seed for the epitaxial
growth of the single crystal silicon germanium. However,
embodiments are not so limited. For instance, dichlorosilane
(SiH.sub.2Cl.sub.2) gas may flow over the seed layer to cause
single crystal silicon germanium 430 to epitaxially grow onto the
exposed surface of the seed layer.
[0068] In some embodiments, flowing the silicon based gas over the
seed layer at a temperature selected, for example, from between 300
degrees Celsius (.degree. C.) to 1100.degree. C. may cause the
single crystal silicon germanium 430 to epitaxially grow at a
predictable rate. Based on this predictable growth rate, the single
crystal silicon germanium layer can be grown to a desired height
over a predetermined time period. The temperature range can, for
example, be below 900.degree. C. for single crystal silicon and/or
single crystal silicon germanium epitaxial growth, as at higher
temperatures, germanium can start to diffuse and the single crystal
silicon and single crystal silicon germanium can begin to mix, in
some implementations. All individual values and subranges from
300.degree. C. to 1100.degree. C. are included; for example, the
silicon gas may be flowed at temperatures having a lower limit of
300.degree. C., 400.degree. C., 450.degree. C., 500.degree. C.,
350.degree. C., 600.degree. C., 650.degree. C., 700.degree. C.,
750.degree. C., 800.degree. C., 850.degree. C., or 900.degree. C.
to an upper limit of 900.degree. C., 950.degree. C., 1000.degree.
C., 1050.degree. C., or 1100.degree. C. Embodiments, however, are
not limited to these examples. For instance, the silicon based gas
may be flowed at a temperature of 300.degree. C. to 1100.degree. C.
to cause the single crystal silicon germanium to epitaxially grow.
All individual values and subranges from 300.degree. C. to
1100.degree. C. are included.
[0069] In addition, the silicon based gas may be flown for 1 minute
to 15 minutes to cause the single crystal silicon germanium to
epitaxially grow. All individual values and subranges from 1 minute
to 15 minutes are included; for example, the silicon gas may be
flowed for a timeframe having a lower limit of 1 minute, 2 minutes,
3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes, 7 minutes, 8 minutes, 9
minutes, or 10 minutes to an upper limit of 8 minutes, 9 minutes,
10 minutes, 11 minutes, 12 minutes, 13 minutes, 14 minutes, or 15
minutes. For example, the silicon based gas may be flowed at a
temperature of 800 degree .degree. C. to 900.degree. C. for 7 to 10
minutes to epitaxially grow the single crystal silicon
germanium.
[0070] Embodiments, however, are not limited to these examples. For
instance, the length of time the silicon based gas is flowed over
the single crystal silicon germanium seed layer may vary depending
on the temperature of the silicon based gas. For example, the
silicon based gas may be flowed for 1 minute to 500 minutes to
cause the single crystal silicon to epitaxially grow, based on the
temperature. All individual values and subranges from 1 minute to
500 minutes are included.
[0071] In order to form a single crystal silicon layer on the
previously formed single crystal silicon germanium layer, depending
on the silicon germanium concentration, if silicon is x quantity
and germanium is y quantity and, if y is smaller than x, then
silicon/silicon germanium has a small lattice mismatch with respect
to the lattice of single crystal silicon, as discussed above. This
allows single crystal silicon to be grown on top of single crystal
silicon germanium with a single crystal structure. If a thin layer
of single crystal silicon is applied to the surface of the single
crystal silicon germanium, then the whole single crystal silicon
layer acts as a seed for the growth of the single crystal silicon
layer.
[0072] The process and parameters for the formation of a single
crystal silicon layer are similar to those described above with
respect to single crystal silicon germanium layers. For example,
the single crystal silicon 432 may be epitaxially grown by flowing
silicon base gases over the thin seed layer of single crystal
silicon formed over a thin seed layer of single crystal silicon
formed on the surface of the exposed single crystal silicon
germanium layer of the vertical stack that has been formed
previously. For instance, a disilane (Si.sub.2H.sub.6) gas may be
utilized to cause single crystal silicon to be epitaxially grown
from the exposed surface of the thin layer of single crystal
silicon that has been deposited as a seed for the epitaxial growth
of the single crystal silicon layer.
[0073] However, embodiments are not so limited. For instance,
dichlorosilane (SiH.sub.2Cl.sub.2) gas may flow over the seed layer
to cause single crystal silicon 432 to epitaxially grow onto the
exposed surface of the single crystal silicon seed layer.
[0074] In some embodiments, similar to the formation of the single
crystal silicon germanium layers, the flowing of the silicon based
gas over the single crystal silicon seed layer at a temperature
selected, for example, from between 300.degree. C. to 1100.degree.
C. may cause the single crystal silicon 432 to epitaxially grow at
a predictable rate. Based on this predictable growth rate, the
single crystal silicon layer can be grown to a desired height over
a predetermined time period. All individual values and subranges
from 300.degree. C. to 1100.degree. C. are included; for example,
the silicon gas may be flowed at temperatures having a lower limit
of 300.degree. C., 400.degree. C., 450.degree. C., 500.degree. C.,
350.degree. C., 600.degree. C., 650.degree. C., 700.degree. C.,
750.degree. C., 800.degree. C., 850.degree. C., or 900.degree. C.
to an upper limit of 900.degree. C., 950.degree. C., 1000.degree.
C., 1050.degree. C., or 1100.degree. C. Embodiments, however, are
not limited to these examples. For instance, the silicon based gas
may be flowed at a temperature of 300.degree. C. to 4000.degree. C.
to cause the single crystal silicon to epitaxially grow. All
individual values and subranges from 300.degree. C. to 4000.degree.
C. are included.
[0075] In addition, the silicon based gas may be flown for 1 minute
to 15 minutes to cause the single crystal silicon to epitaxially
grow. All individual values and subranges from 1 minute to 15
minutes are included; for example, the silicon gas may be flowed
for a timeframe having a lower limit of 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3
minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes, 7 minutes, 8 minutes, 9
minutes, or 10 minutes to an upper limit of 8 minutes, 9 minutes,
10 minutes, 11 minutes, 12 minutes, 13 minutes, 14 minutes, or 15
minutes. For example, the silicon based gas may be flowed at a
temperature of 800.degree. C. to 900.degree. C. for 7 to 10 minutes
to epitaxially grow the single crystal silicon.
[0076] Such layering can be done in alternating iterations (e.g.,
SiGe/Si/SiGe/Si, etc.) to create a superlattice structure in the
form of a vertical stack. This unpatterned (no patterning within
the layers) vertical stack can, then, be attached to a CMOS wafer,
as described with respect to FIG. 5. One benefit of this process is
that because the vertical stack has not been patterned yet, it does
not need to be carefully aligned with the CMOS wafer.
[0077] FIG. 5 illustrates an example process for bonding a single
crystalline silicon stack to a CMOS wafer 545, in accordance with a
number of embodiments of the present disclosure. In some
embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the vertical stack 501 may
be bonded to a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) wafer
545 after the single crystal silicon germanium 530 and single
crystal silicon 532 layers have been epitaxially grown onto the
substrate 537 and each other to form a vertical stack of layers as
illustrated in FIG. 4.
[0078] In some embodiments, the CMOS wafer 545 may include a
silicon based substrate material and a transistor applicable to
peripheral circuitry. That is, the CMOS components may be formed on
a silicon based substrate material. In some embodiments, an
unprocessed silicon layer may be bonded to the vertical stack 501
through an oxide intermediate and the unprocessed silicon layer,
once bonded to the vertical stack 501, can be processed to form the
CMOS components. In some implementations, this can be because the
processes used to form the CMOS components can be accomplished at a
lower temperature (e.g., 250.degree. C.) than the temperatures used
for the formation of the silicon and silicon germanium layers of
the vertical stack.
[0079] As shown in the example process shown in FIG. 5, the
vertical stack 501 can be rotated 180 degrees (e.g., flipped), such
that the top silicon germanium layer (having an exposed surface) in
FIG. 4 becomes a bonding surface onto which a bonding material 540
(e.g., "glue" layer) can be placed and utilized for bonding to the
vertical stack 501 to the CMOS wafer 545. In FIG. 5, both the
vertical stack and the CMOS wafer have bonding material thereon
(540 and 542, respectively) and these materials are bonded together
to bond the vertical stack and CMOS wafer, but in some
implementations, the bonding material may be positioned on either
the vertical stack or the CMOS wafer prior to the bonding of the
vertical stack and CMOS wafer. Any suitable bonding material can be
utilized for bonding the vertical stack and CMOS wafer.
[0080] FIG. 6 illustrates another example process for bonding a
single crystalline silicon stack to a CMOS wafer, in accordance
with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure. As
illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 5, the bonding materials when
bonded together can form a dielectric layer 644 between the
vertical stack 601 and the CMOS wafer 645.
[0081] In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the original
substrate (e.g., substrate 537 in FIG. 5) may be removed after the
vertical stack 601 is bonded to the CMOS wafer 645. In the
embodiment of FIG. 6, the original substrate has been removed and a
hard mask material 646 has been formed in its place. This can be
used during the patterning of the layers of the vertical stack.
[0082] An example of a memory cell array that can be created from
patterning the layers of the vertical stack is shown in FIG. 7.
However, the vertical stack structure formed from single crystal
silicon and silicon germanium is very versatile and as such can be
used to make many different types of vertical memory cell
arrays.
[0083] FIG. 7 illustrates an example patterned vertical memory
array formed from a single crystalline silicon stack bonded to a
CMOS wafer, in accordance with a number of embodiments of the
present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the memory array
includes the CMOS wafer 745 bonded via bonding material 744 to the
vertical stack 701 that has now been patterned to form multiple
stacked memory cells. Each memory cell can, for example, be a
horizontally oriented storage node (e.g., capacitor cells) having
been formed via a semiconductor fabrication process, wherein first
electrodes 761 (e.g., bottom electrodes to be coupled to
source/drain regions of horizontal access devices) and second
electrodes 756 (e.g., top electrodes to be coupled to a common
electrode plane such as a ground plane) are separated by cell
dielectric 763 and can have a conductive line 777. However,
embodiments are not limited to the components shown in this
example.
[0084] A conductive line 777 (e.g., a digit line or word line) may
be formed from a conductive material provided within an interlayer
dielectric (ILD) layer 778. In the illustrated structure, the top
layer having a conductive line 777 and ILD 778 can be formed on top
of the top single crystal silicon layer 730 when it is exposed
after the removal of the mask (e.g., 646 of FIG. 6), for example,
via a liner process. The single crystal silicon layers 730 can form
channel regions of the memory cell. The silicon germanium layers or
portions thereof can be selectively removed to form structures such
as conductive line 777, a first ILD layer 778, and a second ILD
layer 779. The memory cell array illustrated in FIG. 7 also shows a
body contact region 795 as discussed previously with respect to
FIG. 2B (e.g., conductive body contact 295) and a mask layer 748
that may be utilized as part of the memory array formation
process.
[0085] The memory cell array can have source/drain regions formed
therein as well. For example, a layer can be doped to form
source/drain regions of an access transistor.
[0086] In some embodiments, the vertical stack memory array may be
bonded to a CMOS wafer after the memory cells are formed. This may
be beneficial as the two components could be formed separately and
then combined which may allow for more specialized manufacturing
processes that can be focused on either the CMOS wafer formation
process or the memory array formation process.
[0087] As illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 7, the bonding
materials when bonded together can form a dielectric layer 744
between the vertical stack 701 and the CMOS 745.
[0088] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an apparatus in the form of a
computing system including a memory device in accordance with a
number of embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a block
diagram of an apparatus in the form of a computing system 800
including a memory device 803 in accordance with a number of
embodiments of the present disclosure. As used herein, a memory
device 803, a memory array 810, and/or a host 802, for example,
might also be separately considered an "apparatus." According to
embodiments, the memory device 802 may comprise at least one memory
array 810 having a three-node access device for vertical three
dimensional (3D) memory, as has been described herein.
[0089] In this example, system 800 includes a host 802 coupled to
memory device 803 via an interface 804. The computing system 800
can be a personal laptop computer, a desktop computer, a digital
camera, a mobile telephone, a memory card reader, or an
Internet-of-Things (IoT) enabled device, among various other types
of systems. Host 802 can include a number of processing resources
(e.g., one or more processors, microprocessors, or some other type
of controlling circuitry) capable of accessing memory 803. The
system 800 can include separate integrated circuits, or both the
host 802 and the memory device 803 can be on the same integrated
circuit. For example, the host 802 may be a system controller of a
memory system comprising multiple memory devices 803, with the
system controller 805 providing access to the respective memory
devices 803 by another processing resource such as a central
processing unit (CPU).
[0090] In the example shown in FIG. 8, the host 802 is responsible
for executing an operating system (OS) and/or various applications
(e.g., processes) that can be loaded thereto (e.g., from memory
device 803 via controller 805). The OS and/or various applications
can be loaded from the memory device 803 by providing access
commands from the host 802 to the memory device 803 to access the
data comprising the OS and/or the various applications. The host
802 can also access data utilized by the OS and/or various
applications by providing access commands to the memory device 803
to retrieve said data utilized in the execution of the OS and/or
the various applications.
[0091] For clarity, the system 800 has been simplified to focus on
features with particular relevance to the present disclosure. The
memory array 810 can be a DRAM array, SRAM array, STT RAM array,
PCRAM array, TRAM array, RRAM array, NAND flash array, and/or NOR
flash array, comprising at least one three-node access device for
three dimension (3D) memory. For example, the memory array 810 can
be an unshielded DL 4F2 array such as a 3D-DRAM memory array. The
array 810 can comprise memory cells arranged in rows coupled by
word lines (which may be referred to herein as access lines or
select lines) and columns coupled by digit lines (which may be
referred to herein as sense lines or data lines). Although a single
array 810 is shown in FIG. 8, embodiments are not so limited. For
instance, memory device 803 may include a number of arrays 810
(e.g., a number of banks of DRAM cells).
[0092] The memory device 803 includes address circuitry 806 to
latch address signals provided over an interface 804. The interface
can include, for example, a physical interface employing a suitable
protocol (e.g., a data bus, an address bus, and a command bus, or a
combined data/address/command bus). Such protocol may be custom or
proprietary, or the interface 804 may employ a standardized
protocol, such as Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe),
Gen-Z, CCIX, or the like. Address signals are received and decoded
by a row decoder 808 and a column decoder 812 to access the memory
array 810. Data can be read from memory array 810 by sensing
voltage and/or current changes on the sense lines using sensing
circuitry 811. The sensing circuitry 811 can comprise, for example,
sense amplifiers that can read and latch a page (e.g., row) of data
from the memory array 810. The I/O circuitry 807 can be used for
bi-directional data communication with the host 802 over the
interface 804. The read/write circuitry 813 is used to write data
to the memory array 810 or read data from the memory array 810. As
an example, the circuitry 813 can comprise various drivers, latch
circuitry, etc.
[0093] Control circuitry 805 decodes signals provided by the host
802. The signals can be commands provided by the host 802. These
signals can include chip enable signals, write enable signals, and
address latch signals that are used to control operations performed
on the memory array 810, including data read operations, data write
operations, and data erase operations. In various embodiments, the
control circuitry 805 is responsible for executing instructions
from the host 802. The control circuitry 805 can comprise a state
machine, a sequencer, and/or some other type of control circuitry,
which may be implemented in the form of hardware, firmware, or
software, or any combination of the three. In some examples, the
host 802 can be a controller external to the memory device 803. For
example, the host 802 can be a memory controller which is coupled
to a processing resource of a computing device.
[0094] The term semiconductor can refer to, for example, a
material, a wafer, or a substrate, and includes any base
semiconductor structure. "Semiconductor" is to be understood as
including silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) technology,
silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology, thin-film-transistor (TFT)
technology, doped and undoped semiconductors, epitaxial silicon
supported by a base semiconductor structure, as well as other
semiconductor structures. Furthermore, when reference is made to a
semiconductor in the preceding description, previous process steps
may have been utilized to form regions/junctions in the base
semiconductor structure, and the term semiconductor can include the
underlying materials containing such regions/junctions.
[0095] Transistors formed using the processes described herein can
have several benefits. For example, the transistors will have
better performance in terms of I-on and I-off, driveability, and
leakage current. Polysilicon is leaky due to graininess of the
polysilicon material, but, single crystal layers have no graininess
and as such, current does not leak through the single crystal
materials as readily. In some implementations, the embodiments of
the present disclosure can, for example, improve I-off by three
orders of magnitude or better as compared to previous devices.
[0096] The figures herein follow a numbering convention in which
the first digit or digits correspond to the drawing figure number
and the remaining digits identify an element or component in the
drawing. Similar (e.g., the same) elements or components between
different figures may be identified by the use of similar digits.
As will be appreciated, elements shown in the various embodiments
herein can be added, exchanged, and/or eliminated so as to provide
a number of additional embodiments of the present disclosure. In
addition, as will be appreciated, the proportion and the relative
scale of the elements provided in the figures are intended to
illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure and should not
be taken in a limiting sense.
[0097] As used herein, "a number of" or a "quantity of" something
can refer to one or more of such things. For example, a number of
or a quantity of memory cells can refer to one or more memory
cells. A "plurality" of something intends two or more. As used
herein, multiple acts being performed concurrently refers to acts
overlapping, at least in part, over a particular time period. As
used herein, the term "coupled" may include electrically coupled,
directly coupled, and/or directly connected with no intervening
elements (e.g., by direct physical contact), indirectly coupled
and/or connected with intervening elements, or wirelessly coupled.
The term coupled may further include two or more elements that
co-operate or interact with each other (e.g., as in a cause and
effect relationship). An element coupled between two elements can
be between the two elements and coupled to each of the two
elements.
[0098] It should be recognized the term vertical accounts for
variations from "exactly" vertical due to routine manufacturing,
measuring, and/or assembly variations and that one of ordinary
skill in the art would know what is meant by the term
"perpendicular." For example, the vertical can correspond to the
z-direction. As used herein, when a particular element is "adjacent
to" an other element, the particular element can cover the other
element, can be over the other element or lateral to the other
element and/or can be in direct physical contact the other element.
Lateral to may refer to the horizontal direction (e.g., the
y-direction or the x-direction) that may be perpendicular to the
z-direction, for example.
[0099] Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and
described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will
appreciate that an arrangement calculated to achieve the same
results can be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This
disclosure is intended to cover adaptations or variations of
various embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be
understood that the above description has been made in an
illustrative fashion, and not a restrictive one. Combination of the
above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described
herein will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing
the above description. The scope of the various embodiments of the
present disclosure includes other applications in which the above
structures and methods are used. Therefore, the scope of various
embodiments of the present disclosure should be determined with
reference to the appended claims, along with the full range of
equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
* * * * *