U.S. patent number RE45,180 [Application Number 12/792,373] was granted by the patent office on 2014-10-07 for structure for a multiple-gate fet device and a method for its fabrication.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.. The grantee listed for this patent is Chang-Yun Chang, Hung-Wei Chen, Sheng-Da Liu, Chao-Hsiung Wang, Ping-Kun Wu, Fu-Liang Yang, Tang-Xuan Zhong. Invention is credited to Chang-Yun Chang, Hung-Wei Chen, Sheng-Da Liu, Chao-Hsiung Wang, Ping-Kun Wu, Fu-Liang Yang, Tang-Xuan Zhong.
United States Patent |
RE45,180 |
Chen , et al. |
October 7, 2014 |
Structure for a multiple-gate FET device and a method for its
fabrication
Abstract
A method for forming a semiconductor device and a device made
using the method are provided. In one example, the method includes
forming a hard mask layer on a semiconductor substrate and
patterning the hard mask layer to form multiple openings. The
substrate is etched through the openings to form forming a
plurality of trenches separating multiple semiconductor mesas. The
trenches are partially filled with a dielectric material. The hard
mask layer is removed and multiple-gate features are formed, with
each multiple-gate feature being in contact with a top surface and
sidewalls of at least one of the semiconductor mesas.
Inventors: |
Chen; Hung-Wei (Hsin-Chu,
TW), Zhong; Tang-Xuan (Kaohsiung, TW), Liu;
Sheng-Da (Hsin-Chu, TW), Chang; Chang-Yun
(Taipei, TW), Wu; Ping-Kun (Hsin-Chu, TW),
Wang; Chao-Hsiung (Hsin-Chu, TW), Yang; Fu-Liang
(Hsin-Chu, TW) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Chen; Hung-Wei
Zhong; Tang-Xuan
Liu; Sheng-Da
Chang; Chang-Yun
Wu; Ping-Kun
Wang; Chao-Hsiung
Yang; Fu-Liang |
Hsin-Chu
Kaohsiung
Hsin-Chu
Taipei
Hsin-Chu
Hsin-Chu
Hsin-Chu |
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A |
TW
TW
TW
TW
TW
TW
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Company, Ltd. (Hsin-Chu, TW)
|
Family
ID: |
37694914 |
Appl.
No.: |
12/792,373 |
Filed: |
June 2, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
11192494 |
Jul 29, 2005 |
7381649 |
Jun 3, 2008 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
438/700; 438/701;
257/623; 257/255; 438/221; 257/E29.264; 257/622; 438/283; 438/157;
257/627; 257/628 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L
21/823437 (20130101); H01L 29/7851 (20130101); H01L
21/823431 (20130101); H01L 21/823456 (20130101); H01L
29/66795 (20130101); H01L 21/823412 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01L
21/311 (20060101); H01L 21/00 (20060101); H01L
21/84 (20060101); H01L 21/8238 (20060101); H01L
21/336 (20060101); H01L 29/04 (20060101); H01L
27/085 (20060101); H01L 29/06 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
Park, T., et al., "Fabrication of Body-Tied FinFETs (Omega MOSFETs)
Using Bulk Si Wafers", VLSI Technology, 2003 Symposium, Jun. 10-12,
2003, pp. 135-136. cited by applicant .
Park, T., et al., "Static Noise Margin of the Full DG-CMOS SRAM
Cell Using Bulk FinFETs (Omega MOSFETs)", Electron Devices Meeting,
IEEE International, Dec. 8-10, 2003, pp. 2.2.1-2.2.4. cited by
applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Jung; Michael
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Slater and Matsil, L.L.P.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for forming a semiconductor device, comprising: forming
a hard mask layer on a semiconductor substrate; patterning the hard
mask layer to form a plurality of openings; etching the substrate
through the plurality of openings of the hard mask layer to form a
plurality of trenches separating a plurality of semiconductor
mesas, wherein each of the plurality of semiconductor mesas is
formed to have a top portion having sidewalls of a first slope and
a bottom portion having sidewalls of a second slope, and wherein
each of the plurality of trenches is formed to have a top trench
portion having a sidewall of the first slope and a bottom trench
portion having a sidewall of the second slope, and wherein the
first slope is different from the second slope; partially filling
the plurality of trenches with a dielectric material; removing the
hard mask layer; .Iadd.performing a thermal oxidizing process on
the plurality of semiconductor mesas to form a semiconductor oxide
layer; and removing the semiconductor oxide layer to narrow the
plurality of semiconductor mesas before forming the plurality of
multiple-gate features on the substrate; .Iaddend.and forming a
plurality of multiple-gate features, each multiple-gate feature
being in contact with a top surface and sidewalls of at least one
of the plurality of semiconductor mesas.
.[.2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: performing a
thermal oxidizing process on the plurality of semiconductor mesas
to form a semiconductor oxide layer; and removing the semiconductor
oxide layer to narrow the plurality of semiconductor mesas before
forming the plurality of multiple-gate features on the
substrate..].
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first slope ranges from about
90 degrees to about 85 degrees.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the second slope ranges from about
60 degrees to about 85 degrees.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the partially filling the
plurality of trenches comprises substantially filling the plurality
of bottom trench portions.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the partially filling the
plurality of trenches comprises: substantially filling the
plurality of both top and bottom trench portions to form a first
group of shallow trench isolation (STI) features and a second group
of STI features; forming a photoresist layer patterned to cover the
first group of STI features; and recessing the second group of STI
features such that the second group of STI features are
substantially within the bottom trench portions.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein the recessing comprises a reactive
ion etching (RIE) process.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the partially filling the
plurality of trenches comprises utilizing a high density plasma
chemical vapor deposition (HDP-CVD) process.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the dielectric material comprises
a material selected from the group consisting of silicon oxide,
silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, fluorinated silicate glass
(FSG), low dielectric constant (K) materials, and combinations
thereof.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the etching the substrate through
the plurality of openings of the hard mask layer comprises using
multiple processes.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the multiple processes comprise
a method selected from the group consisting of dry etching, wet
etching, and RIE.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the forming a hard mask layer
comprises forming a silicon oxynitride layer.
13. The method of claim 1 further comprising forming a pad layer on
the substrate before forming the hard mask layer.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein the pad layer comprises silicon
oxide formed by a thermal oxidation process.
15. A method for forming a semiconductor device, comprising:
forming a hard mask layer on a semiconductor substrate; patterning
the hard mask layer to form a plurality of openings; etching the
substrate through the plurality of openings to form a plurality of
trenches separating a plurality of semiconductor mesas, wherein the
plurality of semiconductor trenches are each defined by a top
trench portion having a sidewall of a first slope and a bottom
trench portion having a sidewall of a second slope, and each of the
plurality of semiconductor mesas have a top portion having
sidewalls of a first slope and a bottom portion having sidewalls of
a second slope, and wherein the first slope is different from the
second slope; substantially filling the plurality of trenches to
form first shallow trench isolation (STI) features in a first
region and second STI features in a second region; forming a
photoresist layer patterned to cover the first STI features in the
first region and leave a second STI features in the second region
uncovered; recessing the second STI features such that the second
STI features are substantially within the bottom trench portions;
removing the patterned hard mask layer; and forming a plurality of
multiple-gate features on the substrate.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein the recessing utilizes a
reactive ion etching process.
17. The method of claim 15 further comprising: performing a thermal
oxidizing process on the plurality of top semiconductor mesas in
the second region to form a semiconductor oxide layer; and removing
the semiconductor oxide layer.
18. A method for forming a semiconductor device, comprising:
patterning a substrate to form a plurality of trenches.Iadd., the
patterning resulting in a plurality of semiconductor mesas
interposed by at least one of the plurality of trenches, wherein
each of the plurality of semiconductor mesas is formed to have a
top portion having sidewalls of a first slope and a bottom portion
having sidewalls of a second slope, wherein each of the plurality
of trenches has a top portion sidewall of a first slope and a
bottom portion sidewall of a second slope, and wherein the first
slope is different from the second slope.Iaddend.; .Iadd.after the
plurality of trenches have been formed to have the top portion
having sidewalls of the first slope and the bottom portion having
sidewalls of the second slope, .Iaddend.partially filling the
plurality of trenches with a .[.dielectric material, resulting in a
plurality of semiconductor mesas interposed by at least one of the
plurality of trenches, wherein each of the plurality of
semiconductor mesas is formed to have a top portion having
sidewalls of a first slope and a bottom portion having sidewalls of
a second slope, wherein each of the plurality of trenches has a top
portion sidewall of a first slope and a bottom portion sidewall of
a second slope, and wherein the first slope is different from the
second slope; and.]. .Iadd.dielectric; forming a dielectric layer
over adjacent ones of the plurality of semiconductor mesas and an
upper surface of the dielectric in a trench interposed between the
adjacent ones of the plurality of semiconductor mesas; and.Iaddend.
forming a plurality of gate electrodes on the substrate, each being
in contact with .Iadd.the dielectric layer over .Iaddend.a top
surface and sidewalls of at least one of the plurality of
semiconductor mesas.
19. The method of claim 18 wherein the patterning a substrate
comprises: forming a hard mask layer on the substrate; patterning
the hard mask layer to form a plurality of openings; and etching
the substrate through the plurality of openings of the hard mask
layer to form the plurality of trenches.
Description
.Iadd.Notice: More than one reissue application has been filed for
the reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 7,381,649. The reissue applications
are application Ser. Nos. 12/792,373 (the present application) and
13/372,622, which is a divisional reissue of U.S. Pat. No.
7,381,649. .Iaddend.
BACKGROUND
As the semiconductor industry has progressed into nanometer
technology nodes in pursuit of higher device density, higher
performance, and lower cost, challenges from both fabrication and
design issues have resulted in the development of new three
dimensional designs, such as the Fin-like field effect transistor
(FinFET). However, the fabrication and design of such devices,
including FinFET devices, raises issues such as compatibility with
planar transistor fabrication, degradation of carrier mobility, and
reliability.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the
following detailed description when read with the accompanying
figures. It is emphasized that, in accordance with the standard
practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale.
In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily
increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.
FIG. 1 is a simplified flowchart of one embodiment of a method for
forming a multi-gate device.
FIGS. 2-10 are sectional views of embodiments of a multi-gate
device during fabrication using the method of FIG. 1.
FIGS. 11-13 are perspective views of one embodiment of a multi-gate
device during fabrication.
FIG. 14 is a sectional view of one embodiment of an integrated
circuit having a plurality of multi-gate devices.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present disclosure relates generally to a microelectronic
device and, more specifically, to a microelectronic device having a
multiple-gate structure and a method for its fabrication.
It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides many
different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different
features of the invention. Specific examples of components and
arrangements are described below to simplify the present
disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not
intended to be limiting. In addition, the present disclosure may
repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples.
This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and
does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various
embodiments and/or configurations discussed. Moreover, the
formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the
description that follows may include embodiments in which the first
and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also
include embodiments in which additional features may be formed
interposing the first and second features, such that the first and
second features may not be in direct contact.
Referring to FIG. 1, in one embodiment, a method 100 may be used to
form a multiple-gate device, such as a FinFET. FIGS. 2-10 provide
sectional views of one embodiment of a device fabricated using the
method 100 and FIGS. 11-13 provide perspective views of the same
device. Accordingly, embodiments of both a method for fabricating a
device and the device itself are described below.
Referring to FIG. 1 and with additional reference to FIG. 2, the
method 100 begins in step 110 by providing a substrate 210 with a
hard mask layer 230. The substrate 210 may comprise an elementary
semiconductor such as silicon, germanium, and diamond, or a
compound semiconductor such as silicon carbide, gallium arsenic,
indium arsenide, and indium phosphide. The substrate 210 may
comprise an alloy semiconductor such as silicon germanium, silicon
germanium carbide, gallium arsenic phosphide, and gallium indium
phosphide. The semiconductor substrate 210 may have a
single-crystal structure and the substrate surface may have a
proper orientation. For example, silicon substrate may have a top
surface oriented in (100), (110), or (111). The substrate 210 may
include an epitaxial layer. For example, the substrate may have an
epitaxial layer overlying a bulk semiconductor. Further, the
substrate may be strained for performance enhancement. For example,
the epitaxial layer may comprise a semiconductor material different
from those of the bulk semiconductor such as a layer of silicon
germanium overlying a bulk silicon, or a layer of silicon overlying
a bulk silicon germanium formed by a process including selective
epitaxial growth (SEG). Furthermore, the substrate 210 may comprise
a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) structure. For examples, the
substrate may include a buried oxide (BOX) layer formed by a
process such as separation by implanted oxygen (SIMOX). The
substrate 210 may comprise a p-type doped region and/or an n-type
doped region. All doping may be implemented by a process such as
ion implantation.
The substrate 210 may comprise an isolation feature to separate
different devices formed on the substrate. The isolation feature
may comprise different structure and can be formed using different
processing technologies. For example, the isolation feature may
comprise a dielectric isolation such as local oxidation of silicon
(LOCOS), shallow trench isolation (STI), junction isolation, field
isolation, and/or other suitable isolation structures.
The hard mask layer 230 may include silicon nitride, silicon
oxynitride, silicon carbide, and/or other suitable dielectric
materials and may be formed using a method such as chemical vapor
deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), or atomic layer
deposition (ALD). The semiconductor device 200 may further include
a pad layer 220 positioned between the hard mask layer 230 and the
substrate 210, as shown in FIG. 2. The pad layer 220 may comprise
silicon oxide and/or other suitable materials, and may be formed by
a method such as thermal oxidation.
In step 120 and with additional reference to FIG. 3, the hard mask
layer 230 and the pad layer 220 are patterned to form a plurality
of pad islands 222 and hard mask islands 232. The patterning may be
accomplished using a suitable process such as photolithography and
etching. The etching processing is implemented to transfer the
pattern defined by a photomask to the pad layer 220 and hard mask
layer 230. The photolithography processing may include photoresist
coating, photoresist patterning, and photoresist stripping. The
photoresist patterning may further include processing steps of soft
baking, mask aligning, exposing, post-exposure baking, developing
photoresist, and hard baking. The photolithography processing may
be implemented or replaced by other proper methods such as maskless
photolithography, electron-beam writing, ion-beam writing, optical
writing, and molecular imprint. The etching processing may include
wet etch, dry etch, ion-reactive-etch (RIE), and other suitable
processing. For example, the hard mask layer 230 of silicon nitride
may be removed by phosphoric acid while the pad layer 220 of
silicon oxide may be removed by hydrofluoric (HF) acid or buffered
hydrofluoric (BHF) acid. A cleaning process may be followed after
the patterning of the hard mask layer 220 and the pad layer
230.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the method 100 proceeds to step 130 in
which the substrate 210 is etched to form a plurality of shallow
trenches 240 and a plurality of semiconductor mesas. Each of the
plurality of semiconductor mesas may comprise a top semiconductor
mesa 212 and a bottom semiconductor mesa 214. The top semiconductor
mesa 212 has a sidewall 242 of a first slope. The bottom
semiconductor mesa 214 has a sidewall 244 of a second slope. For
example, the sidewall 242 may be substantially vertical and the
first slop may be about 90 degrees. In another example, the first
slope may range from about 85 degrees to about 90 degrees. The
second slope may range from about 60 degrees to about 85 degrees.
The bottom semiconductor mesa 214 may have a thickness ranging from
about 200 nm to about 1000 nm. The top semiconductor mesa 212 may
have a thickness ranging from about 10 nm to about 100 nm. The two
trenches 240 define a first outline in the surface of the mesa 212
from one sidewall 242 to another sidewall 242. The first outline of
the top semiconductor mesa 212 has a width ranging from about 5 nm
to about 100 nm. In one embodiment, an exemplary top semiconductor
mesa 212 may have a thickness of about 70 nm and a width of about
20 nm. A second outline of the top semiconductor mesa 212 may be
defined from the source to drain and be substantially perpendicular
to the first outline. The second outline of the top semiconductor
mesa 212 may be substantially parallel to the channel direction of
the semiconductor device 200. The sidewalls 242 are associated with
the second outline of the top semiconductor mesa 212.
As mentioned before, the substrate 210 may have a single-crystal
structure and the substrate surface may have a crystal orientation
such as (100), (110), or (111). The substrate 210 may be positioned
such that the sidewalls of the top semiconductor mesa 212 may have
one pre-selected crystal orientation or at least two pre-selected
crystal orientations. In one example, the substrate surface, along
with the surface of the top semiconductor mesa 212, may have a
crystal orientation (100). Furthermore, the sidewalls 242 of the
top semiconductor mesa 212 and the sidewalls associated with the
first outline may each have a crystal orientation (100). In another
embodiment, the substrate surface, along with the surface of the
top semiconductor mesa 212, may have a first crystal orientation.
The sidewalls 242 of the top semiconductor mesa 212 may have a
second crystal orientation. The sidewalls of the top semiconductor
mesa 212 associated with the first outline may have a third crystal
orientation.
The plurality of shallow trenches 240, the top semiconductor mesas
212, and the bottom semiconductor mesas 214 may be formed by a
suitable process such as etching the substrate under the patterned
hard mask layer. The etching process may be selective etching such
that only the substrate may be removed while the patterned hard
mask layer remains. For example, if the substrate 210 comprises
silicon while the hard mask layer 230 comprises silicon nitride
(and the pad layer 220 comprises silicon oxide), the etchant may
have a higher etching rate to silicon oxide and relatively lower
etching rate to the hard mask layer (and the pad layer). The
openings of the hard mask layer are transferred to the
semiconductor substrate to form the plurality of shallow trenches
240. A suitable etching process may include wet etching, dry
etching, RIE, and/or combinations thereof. A suitable etching
process may comprise various sub-steps to form two-slope shallow
trenches 240 and the semiconductor mesas. For example, a dry
etching process may be applied and followed by a wet etching
process used to form a two-slope trench structure. As an example of
a silicon substrate etch, the dry etching may include HBr,
Cl.sub.2, SF.sub.6, O.sub.2, Ar, and/or He; the wet etching may
include HF--HNO.sub.3--H.sub.2O, and/or KOH.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5a, the method 100 proceeds to step 140,
where the plurality of shallow trenches 240 are partially filled
with a dielectric material. The dielectric material may be formed
in the shallow trenches to form shallow trench isolation (STI)
features 250 and over the semiconductor islands to form dielectric
islands 252. The dielectric islands 252 may be formed in direct
contact with the hard mask islands 232. In another example, the
hard mask islands 232 and/or pad islands 222 may be removed and the
dielectric islands 252 may be formed on the semiconductor mesas
212. The STI features 250 may substantially fill the bottom
portions of the shallow trenches (as defined by sidewalls 244). The
dielectric material may comprise silicon oxide, silicon nitride,
silicon oxynitride, fluorinated silicate glass (FSG), low
dielectric constant (K) materials, combinations thereof, and/or
other suitable dielectric material. The STI features 250 may be
formed by a process such as thermal oxidation, spin-on glass (SOG),
CVD, and PVD. An exemplary method may use a high density plasma CVD
(HDP-CVD) process to form silicon oxide. The STI features 250 may
have a multiple-layer structure and may be formed in multiple
steps.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 6a, the method 100 proceeds to step 150
during which the plurality of the dielectric islands 252 are
removed by a suitable process such as a chemical mechanical
planarization (chemical mechanical polishing or CMP) process. The
dielectric islands 252 are removed during this process while the
dielectric material forming the STI features 250 remains
substantially intact.
In another embodiment, a different STI structure may be fulfilled
using a method described below in place of steps 140 and 150, with
reference to FIGS. 5b and 6b. The plurality of shallow trenches
240a and 240b in FIG. 5b are substantially filled with a dielectric
material to form a plurality of STI features. Then the device 200
may be covered by a photoresist layer using a method such as a
photolithography process similar to the photolithography process
described in step 120. The photoresist layer is patterned to cover
a first group of the plurality of STI features in a first region,
including 240a, and leave the second group thereof in a second
region uncovered, including 240a. An etching method may be employed
to etch the second group of STI features formed in the second
region such that the second group of STI features (such as 240b) in
the second regions are recessed to partially expose sidewalls of
the shallow trenches in the second region. For example, the top
semiconductor mesas in the second region have sidewalls
substantially exposed, similar to the top semiconductor mesas 212
in FIG. 5a. And the STI features formed in the first region (such
as 240b) are not etched and remain substantially filled. The
etching process to recess the second group of STI features may
comprises a proper etching process including a reactive ion etching
(RIE) process as an example. Other proper etching process may be
alternatively used to utilize the above structure.
Referring to FIG. 6b, the patterned photoresist layer may be
removed by a suitable method such as wet stripping and plasma
ashing. The plurality of the dielectric islands 252 may be removed
by a suitable process such as a CMP process. The dielectric
material forming the STI features 250 remains substantially intact
while the dielectric islands 252 are removed. The hard mask layer
and oxide pad layer may be removed as well during the process to
remove the dielectric islands 252 or in separate processes. The
semiconductor mesas in the second region have sidewalls partially
exposed and may be used to form three dimensional structures such
as FinFET transistors while the semiconductor mesas in the first
regions may be used to form planar structures such as planar
transistors. In one example, core devices may be formed with FinFET
structures in the second region and peripheral devices may be
formed with planar structures in the first region. The dielectric
material may be similar to those described in step 140 such as
silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, fluorinated
silicate glass (FSG), low dielectric constant (K) materials,
combinations thereof, and/or other suitable dielectric material as
well. The STI features 250 may be formed by a process such as
thermal oxidation, spin-on glass (SOG), CVD, and PVD. An exemplary
method may use a high density plasma CVD (HDP-CVD) process to form
silicon oxide. The STI features may have a multiple-layer structure
and may be formed in multiple steps
With reference to FIG. 7, the plurality of the hard mask islands
232 may be removed by a suitable process including etching and/or
CMP. The pad islands 222 may also be removed during this step. For
example, CMP processing may be used remove both the hard mask
islands 232 and the pad islands 222 and may planarize the surface
of the semiconductor device 200. In another example, the hard mask
islands 232 may be removed by a CMP processing and the pad islands
222 may be then removed by etching such as wet etching. In another
example, both the pad islands 222 and the hard mask islands 232 may
be removed by a sequential etching process such as phosphoric acid
to remove the hard mask islands 232 and HF to remove the pad
islands 222. In still another example, the hard mask islands 232
may be removed by a process such as CMP and the pad islands 222 may
remain substantially intact. In another example, as mentioned
before, the hard mask islands 232 may be removed in an earlier step
(e.g., between steps 130 and 140).
Referring to FIGS. 1, 8, and 9, the method 100 proceeds to step 160
in which the top semiconductor mesa 212 may be narrowed by a
thermal oxidation process. The top semiconductor mesa 212, used to
form active regions, may be narrowed after being formed by etching
through the patterned hard mask at step 130. The semiconductor mesa
212 may undergo a thermal oxidation process using a high
temperature in an oxygen environment to form an oxide layer 260, as
shown in FIG. 8. The thermal oxidation process may comprise a dry
oxidation process using an oxygen environment and/or a wet
oxidation process. The temperature used in thermal oxidation of a
silicon mesa may range from about 900.degree. C. to about
1200.degree. C. The oxide layer 260 is then removed by an etching
process, as shown in FIG. 9. For example, an HF or BHF etching
solution may be used to remove the silicon mesa, providing a
smaller width of the top semiconductor mesa 212 than may be
obtained using photolithography patterning techniques. Furthermore,
the surface of the top semiconductor mesa 212 may be cleaned during
the above thermal oxidizing and removal processing.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 10-12, the method 100 proceeds to step 170
in which a multiple-gate stack may be formed around the top
semiconductor mesa 212. A gate dielectric layer 262 may be formed
around the top semiconductor mesa 212. As shown in FIG. 10, the
gate dielectric layer 262 may be disposed on the top surface and
sidewalls 242 of the top semiconductor mesa 212, and over the
dielectric material 250. The gate dielectric layer 262 may comprise
silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, high dielectric-constant (K)
material, or combinations thereof. The high-k material may include
TaN, TiN, Ta.sub.2O.sub.5, HfO.sub.2, ZrO.sub.2, HfSiON,
HfSi.sub.x, HfSi.sub.xN.sub.y, HfAlO.sub.2, NiSi.sub.x, and/or
other suitable materials. The gate dielectric layer 262 may have a
thickness ranging between about 20 Angstroms and about 200
Angstroms. The gate dielectric layer may have a multilayer
structure such as one layer of silicon oxide and one layer of
high-k material. The dielectric layer may be formed using thermal
oxidation, ALD, CVD, PVD, and/or other suitable methods.
A gate electrode layer 270 may be formed over the gate dielectric
layer 262 to substantially fill the trenches 240 and may extend
above the top semiconductor mesa 212, as shown in FIG. 10, such
that the thickness thereof over the top surface of the top
semiconductor mesa 212 may be more than a designed thickness of the
gate electrode plus a processing margin. The gate electrode layer
270 may comprise polycrystalline silicon (poly-silicon), metal such
as Al. Cu, W, Ti, Ta, TiN, TaN, NiSi, CoSi, and/or other proper
conductive materials. The gate electrode layer 270 may be formed by
CVD, PVD, plating, ALD, and other suitable processes. The gate
electrode layer 270 may have a multilayer structure and may be
formed in a multiple-step process.
The gate dielectric layer 262 and the gate electrode layer 270 are
then patterned to form a plurality of gate stacks using a process
similar to the patterning and etching processing described in steps
120 and 130. One exemplary method for patterning the gate
dielectric and electrode layers is described below. Referring to
FIG. 11, a hard mask layer 280 may be formed on the gate electrode
layer 270. The hard mask layer 280 may be substantially similar to
the hard mask layer 230 in formation and composition, but may use
other suitable materials and processing methods if desired. For
example, the hard mask layer 280 may comprise silicon oxynitride
and may be formed by a CVD process. A layer of photoresist may be
formed over the hard mask layer 280 by a suitable process such as
spin-on coating and then patterned to form a patterned photoresist
feature 285 by a proper patterning method similar to those used in
step 120. Then the pattern of the photoresist 285 may then be
transferred to the hard mask layer 280 and to the underlying gate
electrode layer 270 and the gate dielectric layer 262 to form gate
electrodes 272 and gate dielectric features 264, as shown in FIG.
12, in a plurality of processing steps and various sequences. The
photoresist 285 may be stripped and the patterned hard mask may
then be removed. In one embodiment, the hard mask layer 280 is
etched through the patterned photoresist 285 by an etching process
such as dry etching and then the photoresist 285 is stripped. The
gate dielectric layer 262 and the gate electrode layer 270 are then
etched through the patterned hard mask layer to form the gate
dielectric features 264 and gate electrodes 272. The patterned hard
mask layer 280 is removed afterward using a process such as wet
etching. The gate dielectric feature 264 and the gate electrodes
272 may have multiple sides in direct contact with the top
semiconductor mesa 212, including direct contact with the top
surface and sidewalls to enhance the performance of the
semiconductor device 200.
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 13, the method 100 may proceed to
step 180 to form source and drain (S/D) regions and step 190 to
form silicide features and spacers. Forming S/D regions and the
silicide and spacers may be combined into a set of processes. The
source and drain regions may be formed in the top semiconductor
mesa and may have another width wider than the width defined by the
first outline of the top semiconductor mesa 212. The source and
drain may have a raised structure formed over the top semiconductor
mesa 212, proximate to the gate dielectric 264 and the gate
electrode 272. The source and drain regions may be disposed in
and/or on the top semiconductor mesa 212 and laterally interposed
by the gate stack.
In one example, the S/D regions may comprise a source drain
extension (SDE, light doped drain, or LDD) structure and a heavy
doped source and drain features. The S/D regions may comprise
various doping profiles and may be formed by a plurality of ion
implant processes. The first ion implantation process may have a
lower doping concentration ranging from about 10.sup.13 to about
5.times.10.sup.14 ion/cm.sup.2. The dimension of the first ion
implantation may be extended to and aligned with the sidewall of
the gate electrode and gate dielectric. The second ion implantation
process may have a higher doping concentration ranging from about
10.sup.15 to about 5.times.10.sup.15 ion/cm.sup.2. The dimension of
the second ion implantation may be offset from the sidewall of the
gate electrode by a gate spacer. The S/D regions may comprise a
double diffused drain (DDD) structure that provides a high
breakdown voltage where the heavy doped regions encompass the SDE
regions. An additional doping profile may be implemented to form a
halo structure proximate to the SDE ends having the same type
dopant of the substrate and formed using a process such as an
angled ion implantation process.
Silicide features 274 may be formed on the gate electrode 272 and
may also be formed on the S/D regions (not shown). The silicide
features may comprise nickel silicide, cobalt silicide, tungsten
silicide, tantalum silicide, titanium silicide, platinum silicide,
erbium silicide, palladium silicide, and/or combinations thereof.
The metal silicide may be formed by CVD, PVD, or ALD. In another
example, metal silicide may be formed by a silicidation processing,
referred to as self-aligned silicide (salicide). The salicide
processing may include metal deposition, annealing, and removal of
un- reacted metal processes. The silicide features may be formed
after forming spacer features.
Spacer features may be formed on the semiconductor device 200. For
example, spacer features 290 may be formed and disposed on the
sidewalls of the gate electrode 272 and extended to the surfaces of
the STI features 250 and the semiconductor mesa 212. The spacer
features 290 may include a dielectric material such as silicon
nitride (SiN), silicon oxynitride (SiON), and/or silicon oxide
(SiO.sub.2). The spacer features 290 may be formed by depositing
the dielectric material using CVD, ALD, PVD, and/or other
processing methods, and then anisotropically etching back using a
method such as dry etching. The spacer features may have a
multiple-layer structure such as one layer of silicon oxide and one
layer silicon nitride. In one example, the SDE regions may be
formed before the formation of the spacer features and the heavily
doped S/D regions may be formed thereafter such that the heavy
doped S/D regions are offset from the SDE region by the spacer
features 290. Other spacer features may be formed, such as spacer
features 292 formed on the sidewalls of the semiconductor mesa 212
and extended to the surfaces of the STI features 250.
The doped channel, source, and drain in the semiconductor device
200 may be formed by various doping processes such as ion
implantation and may comprise P-type dopants and N-type dopants.
The N-type dopants are employed to form a channel doping profile
for a P-type metal-oxide- semiconductor field effect transistor
(PMOSFET or PMOS) or source/drain doping profiles for an N-type
metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (NMOSFET or
NMOS). The N-type dopants may include phosphorus, arsenic, and/or
other materials. P-type dopants are employed to form a channel
doping profile for an NMOS or source/drain doping profiles for a
PMOS. The P-type dopants may include boron, boron fluoride, indium,
and/or other materials. Subsequent diffusion, annealing, and/or
electrical activation processes may be employed after the impurity
is implanted.
Furthermore, the S/D regions may comprise semiconductor materials
different from those of the substrate. For example, the
semiconductor mesa may comprise silicon while the source/drain may
comprise silicon germanium. Alternatively, the semiconductor mesa
may comprise silicon germanium while the source/drain may comprise
silicon. The S/D regions may be in a single crystal structure
formed by a process such as selective epitaxy growth (SEG), and
other suitable methods.
Referring to FIG. 14, illustrated is a sectional view of one
embodiment of an integrated circuit 300 constructed according to
aspects of the present disclosure. The integrated circuit 300 is
one environment in which the semiconductor device 200 of FIG. 13
may be implemented. For example, the integrated circuit 300
includes a plurality of planar MOS devices 310 and a plurality of
FinFET devices 320, wherein one or more of the plurality of devices
320 may be substantially similar to the semiconductor device 200 of
FIG. 13.
The integrated circuit 300 also includes interconnects 330
extending through dielectric layers 340 to ones of the plurality of
planar MOS devices 310 and the plurality of FinFET devices 320. The
dielectric layers 340 may comprise silicon oxide, fluoride-doped
silicate glass (FSG), low dielectric-constant (K) material, and/or
other materials, and may be formed by CVD, PVD, spin-on coating,
and/or other suitable methods. The dielectric layers 340 may each
have a thickness ranging between about 100 nm and about 1000 nm,
although the dielectric layers 340 are not limited by the scope of
the present disclosure to particular thicknesses.
The interconnects 330 may comprise multilayer interconnects having
contact features and via features 332 for vertical interconnections
and metal lines 334 for horizontal interconnections. The
contact/via features 332 and metal lines 334 may be employed to
interconnect ones of the plurality of planar devices 310 and the
plurality of FinFET devices 320, and/or to connect ones of the
plurality of planar devices 310 and FinFET devices 320 to other
devices integral to or discrete from the integrated circuit 300.
The multilayer interconnects may comprise aluminum-based,
tungsten-based, copper-based materials, or combinations thereof.
For example, copper-based multilayer interconnect may comprise
copper, copper alloy, titanium, titanium nitride, tantalum,
tantalum nitride, tungsten, polysilicon, metal silicide, or
combinations. The copper-based multilayer interconnect may be
formed using a dual damascene process.
The integrated circuit 300 may further comprise shallow trench
isolation (STI) features formed in the substrate interposed between
the planar devices 310 and between the FinFET devices 320. The STI
features formed between the planar devices 310 may have the
plurality of trenches substantially filled to a first depth. The
STI features formed between the FinFET devices 320 may each have a
trench partially filled to a second depth, resulting a recess and a
semiconductor mesa. The second depth is less than the first depth.
The semiconductor mesa interposed between shallow trench recesses
provides a fin-like feature to form a FinFET transistor. The
semiconductor mesa may have a thickness ranging from about 10 nm to
about 100 nm and a width ranging from about 5 nm to about 100 nm.
Alternatively, the integrated circuit 300 may comprise shallow
trench isolation features having multiple depths to accommodate
various devices. For example, a peripheral circuit may comprise the
planar devices 310 with the STI feature having the first depth
while a core circuit may comprise the FinFET devices 320 with the
STI feature having a second depth. Alternatively, the sidewall of
the shallow trench may have a round corner. The shallow trench may
have two portions of the sidewall, a top portion of the sidewall
having a first slope and a bottom portion thereof having a second
slope. For example, the top portion of the shallow trenches may be
substantially vertical and the bottom portion may have an angle
ranging from about 60 degrees to about 85 degrees.
The integrated circuit 300 includes a substrate 305. The substrate
305 may be substantially similar to the substrate 210 in
composition and configuration. The substrate 305 may have a
single-crystal structure and the substrate surface may have a
proper crystal orientation including (100), (110), or (111). The
substrate 305 may be further positioned such that the sidewalls of
the semiconductor mesa may have one pre-selected crystal
orientation, or at least two pre-selected crystal orientations. In
one example, the substrate surface, along with the surface of the
top semiconductor mesa 212, may have a crystal orientation (100).
Furthermore, the sidewalls of the semiconductor mesa parallel with
the channel from source to drain and the sidewalls perpendicular to
the channel may each have a crystal orientation (100). In another
embodiment, the substrate surface, along with the surface of the
semiconductor mesa, may have a first crystal orientation. The
sidewalls of the top semiconductor mesa parallel with the channel
may have a second crystal orientation. The sidewalls perpendicular
to the channel may have a third crystal orientation. The integrated
circuit 300 may have an enhanced performance including carrier
mobility through optimized crystal orientation and
configuration.
The substrate 305 may comprise an elementary semiconductor such as
silicon, germanium, and diamond. The substrate may also comprise a
compound semiconductor such as silicon carbide, gallium arsenic,
indium arsenide, and indium phosphide. The substrate may comprise
an alloy semiconductor such as silicon germanium, silicon germanium
carbide, gallium arsenic phosphide, and gallium indium phosphide.
The substrate may include an epitaxial layer. For example, the
substrate may have an epitaxial layer overlying a bulk
semiconductor. Further, the substrate may be strained for
performance enhancement. For example, the epitaxial layer may
comprise a semiconductor material different from those of the bulk
semiconductor such as a layer of silicon germanium overlying a bulk
silicon, or a layer of silicon overlying a bulk silicon germanium
formed by a process including SEG. Furthermore, the substrate may
comprise a SOI structure. For examples, the substrate may include a
buried oxide layer.
The planar devices 310 and the FinFET devices 320 may each comprise
a source and a drain, a gate electrode, a gate dielectric, and
silicide features. The gate dielectric may include silicon oxide,
silicon oxynitride, a high k material, and/or combinations thereof.
The gate dielectric may comprise silicate such as HfSiO.sub.4,
HfSiON, HfSiN, ZrSiO.sub.4, ZrSiON, and ZrSiN. The gate dielectric
may include metal oxide such as Al.sub.2O.sub.3, ZrO.sub.2,
HFO.sub.2, Y.sub.2O.sub.3, La.sub.2O.sub.3, TiO.sub.2, and
Ta.sub.2O.sub.5. HY2fSiON, HFSiN, ZrSiO.sub.4, ZrSiON, and ZrSiN.
The gate dielectric may be formed by thermal oxide, ALD, CVD, PVD,
and/or other suitable processing.
The planar devices 310 may comprise a gate electrode 312 and the
FinFET devices may comprise a gate electrode 322 as illustrated in
FIG. 12. The gate electrode may comprise polycrystalline silicon
(poly-Si), poly-SiGe, metal such as Cu, W, Ti, Ru, Ta, and Hf;
metal nitride such as TaSiN, TaN, TiN, WN, MoN, and HfN; metal
oxide such as RuO.sub.2 and IrO.sub.2, combinations thereof; and/or
other proper conductive material. The gate electrode may be formed
by CVD, PVD, plating, ALD, and other suitable processes. The gate
spacers may be formed and may comprise silicon nitride, silicon
oxide, silicon carbide, silicon oxynitride, or combinations
thereof. The gate spacers may have a multilayer structure and may
be formed by depositing a dielectric material and then
anisotropically etching the material back.
A contact layer such as a silicide may be formed for reduced
contact resistance and improved performance. The contact layer may
comprise a metal silicide such as nickel silicide, cobalt silicide,
tungsten silicide, tantalum silicide, titanium silicide, platinum
silicide, erbium silicide, palladium silicide, or combinations
thereof. In one example, silicide may be formed by a silicidation
processing, referred to as self-aligned silicide (salicide).
The integrated circuit 300 may further comprise a contact etch stop
layer (CESL or ESL) disposed over the planar devices 310 and the
FinFET devices 320. The contact etch stop layers may comprise a
material having a high resistance to contact etching processing,
and so may protect the underlying silicide during the contact etch
processing. The material of the contact etch stop layers may be
selected based on an insulator material to be etched during the
contact etch processing and an etchant to be used. For example, the
contact etch stop layer may comprise silicon nitride, silicon
oxynitride, silicon carbide, silicon oxide, and/or combinations
thereof. In some embodiments, the contact etch stop layer may have
a pre-designed stress such as a stress ranging from about 200 Mpa
to about 2 Gpa. The contact etch stop layer may have a localized
stress pattern. For example, the contact etch stop layer may have a
tensile stress in one region such as an N-type MOS region and a
compressive stress in another region such as a P-type MOS region.
The stress of the contact etch stop layer may be tuned using
parameters including processing temperature, composition, and
impurities.
The integrated circuit 300 may comprise a variety of electric
devices. These electric devices may include, but are not limited
to, passive components such as resistors, capacitors, and
inductors, active components such as metal-oxide-semiconductor
field effect transistors (MOSFETs), bipolar transistors, high
voltage transistors, high frequency transistors, memory cells, or
combinations thereof. These electric devices comprises
multiple-gate MOSFETs such as FinFETs and may further comprise
planar MOSFETs, as illustrated in FIG. 14 and described above.
Thus the present disclosure provides a method for forming a
semiconductor device. The method comprises forming a hard mask
layer on a semiconductor substrate; patterning the hard mask layer
to form a plurality of openings; etching the substrate through the
plurality of openings of the hard mask layer to form a plurality of
trenches separating a plurality of semiconductor mesas; partially
filling the plurality of trenches with a dielectric material;
removing the hard mask layer; and forming a plurality of
multiple-gate features, each multiple-gate feature being in contact
with a top surface and sidewalls of at least one of the plurality
of semiconductor mesas.
The method may further comprise performing a thermal oxidizing
process on the plurality of semiconductor mesas to form a
semiconductor oxide layer; and removing the semiconductor oxide
layer to narrow the plurality of semiconductor mesas before forming
the plurality of multiple-gate features on the substrate. Each of
the plurality of semiconductor mesas may be formed to have a top
portion having sidewalls of a first slope and a bottom portion
having sidewalls of a second slope, and wherein each of the
plurality of trenches is formed to have a top trench portion having
a sidewall of the first slope and a bottom trench portion having a
sidewall of the second slope. The first slope may range from about
90 degrees to about 85 degrees. The second slope may range from
about 60 degrees to about 85 degrees. The partially filling the
plurality of trenches may comprise substantially filling the
plurality of bottom trench portions. Alternatively, the partially
filling the plurality of trenches may comprise substantially
filling the plurality of both top and bottom trench portions to
form a first group of shallow trench isolation (STI) features and a
second group of STI features; forming a photoresist layer patterned
to cover the first group of STI features; and recessing the second
group of STI features such that the second group of STI features
are substantially within the bottom trench portions. The recessing
may comprise a reactive ion etching (RIE) process. The partially
filling the plurality of trenches may comprise utilizing a high
density plasma chemical vapor deposition (HDP-CVD) process. The
dielectric material may comprise a material selected from the group
consisting of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride,
fluorinated silicate glass (FSG), low dielectric constant (K)
materials, and combinations thereof. The etching the substrate
through the plurality of openings of the hard mask layer may
comprise using multiple processes. The multiple processes may
comprise a method selected from the group consisting of dry
etching, wet etching, and RIE. The forming a hard mask layer may
comprise forming a silicon oxynitride layer. The method may further
comprise forming a pad layer on the substrate before forming the
hard mask layer. The pad layer may comprise silicon oxide formed by
a thermal oxidation process.
Thus the present disclosure provides a method for forming a
semiconductor device. The method comprises forming a hard mask
layer on a semiconductor substrate; patterning the hard mask layer
to form a plurality of openings; etching the substrate through the
plurality of openings to form a plurality of trenches separating
semiconductor mesas, wherein the semiconductor trenches are each
defined by a top trench portion having a sidewall of a first slope
and a bottom trench portion having a sidewall of a second slope;
substantially filling the plurality of trenches to form shallow
trench isolation (STI) features; forming a photoresist layer
patterned to cover a first group of STI features in a first region
and leave a second group of STI features in a second region
uncovered; recessing the second group of STI features such that the
second group of STI features are substantially within the bottom
trench portions; removing the patterned hard mask layer; and
forming a plurality of multiple-gate features on the substrate. The
recessing may utilize a reactive ion etching process. The method
may further comprise performing a thermal oxidizing process on the
plurality of top semiconductor mesas in the second region to form a
semiconductor oxide layer; and removing the semiconductor oxide
layer.
The present disclosure provides a method for forming a
semiconductor device. The device comprises patterning a substrate
to form a plurality of trenches; partially filling the plurality of
trenches with a dielectric material, resulting in a plurality of
semiconductor mesas interposed by at least one of the plurality of
trenches; and forming a plurality of gate electrodes on the
substrate, each being in contact with a top surface and sidewalls
of at least one of the plurality of semiconductor mesas. The
patterning a substrate may comprise forming a hard mask layer on
the substrate; patterning the hard mask layer to form a plurality
of openings; and etching the substrate through the plurality of
openings of the hard mask layer to form the plurality of trenches,
wherein each trench has a top portion sidewall of a first slope and
a bottom portion sidewall of a second slope.
The present disclosure also provides a semiconductor device. The
semiconductor device comprises a first region in a substrate having
a plurality of FinFET transistors interposed by a plurality of
first shallow trench isolation (STI) features having a first depth;
and a second region in the substrate having a plurality of planar
transistors interposed by a plurality of second STI features having
a second depth, wherein the second depth is greater than the first
depth.
The plurality of FinFET transistors each may comprise a
semiconductor mesa having multiple surfaces in contact with a gate
dielectric. The multiple surfaces may have a pre-selected crystal
orientation. The pre-selected crystal orientation may comprise a
crystal orientation (100). The semiconductor mesa may have at least
two pre-selected crystal orientations. The at least two
pre-selected crystal orientations may be selected from the group
consisting of crystal orientations (100), (110), and (111). The
semiconductor mesa may have a thickness ranging from about 10 nm to
about 100 nm. The semiconductor mesa may have a width ranging from
about 5 nm to about 100 nm. The first STI features each may
comprise a recess. The recess of at least one of the plurality of
first STI features may comprise a sidewall with a rounded corner.
The semiconductor device may further comprise a dielectric layer
disposed over the plurality of FinFET transistors in the first
region and the plurality of planar transistors in the second
region. The dielectric layer may comprise a contact etch stop
layer. The dielectric layer may have a thickness ranging from about
20 nm to about 200 nm. The dielectric layer may have a stress
ranging from about 200 MPa to about 2000 MPa. The dielectric layer
may comprise a plurality of tensile stress areas and a plurality of
compressive stress areas. The plurality of tensile stress areas
each may comprise an N-type FinFET transistor or an N-type planar
transistor, and the plurality of compressive stress areas each may
comprise a P-type FinFET transistor or a P-type planar transistor
MOS transistor. The dielectric layer may be disposed on the
multiple surfaces of the semiconductor mesa. The plurality of
FinFET transistors and the plurality of planar transistors each may
have a source feature and a drain feature formed on the substrate.
The source and drain features may comprise a raised structure. The
plurality of FinFET transistors and the plurality of planar
transistors each may include silicide features disposed on the gate
electrode and the source and drain features.
Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described
in detail, those skilled in the art should understand that they may
make various changes, substitutions and alterations herein without
departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
Accordingly, all such changes, substitutions and alterations are
intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure
as defined in the following claims. In the claims,
means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures
described herein as performing the recited function and not only
structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures.
* * * * *