Transistors are highly utilized in modern integrated circuits (ICs) for amplifying or switching electronic signals. A modern semiconductor IC contains millions or even billions of transistors on a single IC. To ensure proper yield the transistors are manufactured with accurate and precise placement of their various components and constituents. One such constituent is dopant impurities that are introduced into the channel region of a transistor. The dopant impurities directly influence the functionality and performance of the transistor. The characteristics and location of the dopant impurities, or the “dopant profile,” must be carefully controlled. Variations within a semiconductor manufacturing process can cause variation in the transistor device, performance degradation, and possible yield loss.
The description herein is made with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are generally utilized to refer to like elements throughout, and wherein the various structures are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to facilitate understanding. It may be evident, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art, that one or more aspects described herein may be practiced with a lesser degree of these specific details. In other instances, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to facilitate understanding.
Short-channel length transistors formed semiconductor substrates are subject to drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) over comparatively long-channel transistors due to low channel doping or source/drain junctions which are too deep. DIBL results in leakage between the source and drain of a transistor, which can result in a loss gate control. To combat this effect, a localized halo implant is utilized to increase channel dopant concentrations near the source/drain regions of the channel. The higher doping in these regions reduces interaction between the source and drain without influencing the threshold voltage (Vth) of the device. However, while the halo implant can improve the performance and decrease leakage in short-channel transistors, it can degrade the source-to-drain transconductance (Gds) of long-channel transistors.
Accordingly, some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an implant that improves long-channel transistor performance with little to no impact on short-channel transistor performance. To mitigate DIBL, both long-channel and short-channel transistors on a substrate are subjected to a halo implant. While the halo implant improves short-channel transistor performance, it degrades long-channel transistor performance. Therefore, a counter-halo implant is performed on the long-channel transistors only to restore their performance. To achieve this, the counter-halo implant is performed at an angle that introduces dopant impurities near the source/drain regions of the long-channel transistors to counteract the effects of the halo implant, while the counter-halo implant is simultaneously shadowed from reaching the channel of the short-channel transistors. The embodiments disclosed herein can improve long-channel transistor DIBL, Gds, and gain with little to no impact on short channel transistor performance, and without additional mask cost.
Both the short-channel transistors 100A and long-channel transistors 100B have been subjected to halo implantation to alleviate DIBL within the short-channel transistors 100A. In order to counteract the effects of Gds degradation within the long-channel transistors 100B, a counter-halo implant is performed on the pair long-channel transistors 100B only to restore their performance. To achieve this, an implant angle is chosen such that implanted dopant impurities reach the first and second channel regions 112A, 112B of the long-channel transistors 100B, but are blocked from reaching the first and second channel regions 112A, 112B of the short-channel transistors 100A.
For the short-channel transistors 100A, a first angle (θ1) greater than arctangent(s1/h) will not allow the counter-halo implant to reach the first and second channel regions 112A, 112B of the short-channel transistors 100A due to shadowing of the implant by an adjacent gate structure. Conversely, for the long-channel transistors 100B, a second angle (θ2) of less than arctangent(s2/h) will allow the counter-halo implant to reach the first and second channel regions 112A, 112B of the long-channel transistors 100B. Therefore, a counter-halo implant angle of θ2>θ>θ1 will allow the counter-halo implant to reach only the first and second channel regions 112A, 112B of the long-channel transistors 100B, while not impacting the short-channel transistors 100A. This avoids additional the cost and manufacturing overhead required to produce a dedicated mask to perform the counter-halo implant on the long-channel transistors 100B only.
At 202 a plurality of first gate structures are formed on a substrate. The first gate structures have a vertical dimension (h) and are separated by a first horizontal space (s1).
At 204 a plurality of second gate structures are formed on the substrate. The second gate structures have the vertical dimension (h) and are separated by a second horizontal space (s2), which is greater than the first horizontal space (s1).
At 206 a counter-halo implant is performed at an angle with vertical to introduce dopant impurities into the substrate. The angle is greater than a first threshold of arctangent(s1/h) such that the implant is blocked from reaching the substrate by the first gate structures. Also, the angle is less than a second threshold of arctangent(s2/h) such that the implant is not blocked from reaching the substrate by the second gate structures.
In various embodiments, the halo implant 316 is performed at a first tilt angle (θ1) of 20 degrees or less with respect to the vertical. The halo implant 316 introduces dopant impurities of the first impurity type (i.e., same as the well and Vth implants 304) into highly-doped regions 320 on opposite edges the channel region formed below the gate structure to mitigate DIBL effects. In one exemplary embodiment, the halo implant 316 is used to introduce a mixture of indium and carbon. In another exemplary embodiment, the halo implant 316 is used to introduce indium, boron, or BF2 into the highly-doped regions 320.
In some embodiments, the epitaxial channel formed by the layer of substrate material 308 and the layer of carbon-containing material 306 is subjected to an additional “heavy dose” Vth implant. The additional Vth implant enhances source-to-drain current control within the epitaxial channel of the short-channel devices. However, the additional Vth implant can also increase the Vth of the long-channel transistors by about 30 mV to about 100 mV. Accordingly, the shadowing method used to expose only the long-channel transistors to the counter-halo implant 322 can also be used to counter-act the effects of the heavy dose Vth implant. The epitaxial channels of the long-channel transistors can be isolated for a “long-channel Vth-reduction” implant by the shadowing method. The long-channel Vth-reduction implant is performed at the second tilt angle (θ2) such that comparatively long-channel transistors again receive the implant, while comparatively short-channel transistors again do not receive the implant due to shadowing. The conditions (e.g., dose, energy, etc.) of the long-channel Vth-reduction implant can be tuned to reduce the threshold voltage of the long-channel devices by the same amount that they were increased due to the heavy dose Vth implant (e.g., by about 30 mV to about 100 mV). As a result, the Vth of the long-channel transistors comprising epitaxial channels of the layer of substrate material 308 and the layer of carbon-containing material 306 can be made to be approximately equal to the Vth of a long-channel transistor with a channel formed directly within a substrate 302 (i.e., without the epitaxial channel).
Note that although the above exemplary embodiment has been described for an n-type MOSET, the disclosed embodiments may apply to a p-type MOSFET as well by reversing the dopant types from those described herein.
At 602 dopant impurities of a first impurity type are introduced into first and second transistor regions of a substrate, where the first and second transistor region includes first and second channel regions and first and second source/drain regions, respectively. In some embodiments, an anneal is performed after introducing the dopant impurities of a first impurity type into the first and second transistor regions of the substrate.
At 604 the substrate is recessed over the first and second transistor regions.
At 606 first and second layers of carbon-containing material (e.g., silicon carbide) are formed over the first and second transistor regions.
At 608 first and second layers of substrate material (e.g., silicon) are formed over the first and second layers of carbon-containing material.
At 610 first and second gate dielectrics (e.g., HfO) are formed over the first and second layers of substrate material.
At 612 first and second gate structures are formed over the first and second gate dielectrics in the first and second channel regions. The first gate structure is separated by a first horizontal space (s1) from a third gate structure. And, the second gate structure is separated by a second horizontal space (s2) from a fourth gate structure, where s2>s1. The first through fourth gate structures all have vertical dimension (h).
At 614 a first implant (i.e., a halo implant) is performed at a first angle to introduce further dopant impurities of the first impurity type into the substrate at edges of the first and second channel regions.
At 616 a second implant (i.e., a counter-halo implant) is performed at a second angle with vertical to introduce dopant impurities of the second type, which is opposite the first impurity type, into the first and second channel regions. The second angle is greater than a first threshold of arctangent(s1/h) such that the second implant is blocked from reaching the first channel regions by the third gate structure. The second angle is also less than a second threshold of arctangent(s2/h) such that the implant is not blocked from reaching the second channel regions by the fourth gate structure.
In some embodiments, a third implant (e.g., “heavy dose” Vth implant) is performed to introduce first additional dopant impurities into the first and second channel regions. The third implant enhances source-to-drain current control within the first channel region, but increases a threshold voltage within the second channel region by a delta value (e.g., in a range of about 30 mV to about 100 mV). In such embodiments, a fourth implant (e.g., a “long-channel Vth-reduction” implant) may be performed at the second angle with vertical to introduce second additional dopant impurities into the second channel region. The second additional dopant impurities are again blocked from reaching the first channel region by the third gate structure. The fourth implant reduces the threshold voltage within the second channel region by about the delta value. As a result, the Vth of transistors with second channel regions comprising epitaxial channels can be made to be approximately equal to the Vth of transistors with second channel regions formed directly within a substrate 302.
It will also be appreciated that equivalent alterations and/or modifications may occur to one of ordinary skill in the art based upon a reading and/or understanding of the specification and annexed drawings. The disclosure herein includes all such modifications and alterations and is generally not intended to be limited thereby. In addition, while a particular feature or aspect may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature or aspect may be combined with one or more other features and/or aspects of other implementations as may be desired. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, and/or variants thereof are used herein; such terms are intended to be inclusive in meaning—like “comprising.” Also, “exemplary” is merely meant to mean an example, rather than the best. It is also to be appreciated that features, layers and/or elements depicted herein are illustrated with particular dimensions and/or orientations relative to one another for purposes of simplicity and ease of understanding, and that the actual dimensions and/or orientations may differ substantially from that illustrated herein.
Therefore, some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an implant that improves long-channel transistor performance with little to no impact on short-channel transistor performance. To mitigate DIBL, both long-channel and short-channel transistors on a substrate are subjected to a halo implant. While the halo implant improves short-channel transistor performance, it degrades long-channel transistor performance. Therefore, a counter-halo implant is performed on the long-channel transistors only to restore their performance. To achieve this, the counter-halo implant is performed at an angle that introduces dopant impurities near the source/drain regions of the long-channel transistors to counteract the effects of the halo implant, while the counter-halo implant is simultaneously shadowed from reaching the channel of the short-channel transistors. The embodiments disclosed herein can improve long-channel transistor DIBL, Gds, and gain with little to no impact on short channel transistor performance, and without additional mask cost.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a method, comprising forming a plurality of first gate structures on a substrate, where the first gate structures have a vertical dimension (h) and are separated by a first horizontal space (s1). The method further comprises forming a plurality of second gate structures on the substrate, where the second gate structures have the vertical dimension (h) and are separated by a second horizontal space (s2), which is greater than the first horizontal space (s1). The method further comprises performing an implant at an angle with vertical to introduce dopant impurities into the substrate, where the angle is greater than a first threshold such that the implant is blocked from reaching the substrate by the first gate structures.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a method, comprising introducing dopant impurities of a first impurity type into first and second transistor regions of a substrate, where the first and second transistor region comprises first and second channel regions and first and second source/drain regions, respectively. The method further comprises recessing the substrate over the first and second transistor regions, and forming first and second layers of carbon-containing material over the first and second transistor regions. The method further comprises forming first and second layers of substrate material over the first and second layers of carbon-containing material, and forming first and second gate dielectrics over the first and second layers of substrate material. The method further comprises forming first and second gate structures over the first and second gate dielectrics in the first and second channel regions. The first gate structure is separated by a first horizontal space (s1) from a third gate structure, and the second gate structure is separated by a second horizontal space (s2) from a fourth gate structure (s2>s1). The method further comprises performing a first implant at a first angle to introduce further dopant impurities of the first impurity type into the substrate at edges of the first and second channel regions. The method further comprises performing a second implant at a second angle with vertical to introduce dopant impurities of the second type into the first and second channel regions. The dopant impurities of the second type are the opposite of the first impurity type. The second angle is greater than a first threshold such that the second implant is blocked from reaching the first channel by the third gate structure.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to integrated chip formed on a semiconductor substrate, comprising a first transistor comprising a first gate electrode and a first channel region of first channel length L1, and a second transistor comprising a second gate electrode and a second channel region of second channel length L2. The first and second channel regions have been doped with dopant impurities such that the dopant concentration is higher at the edges of both the first and second channel regions than in the middle of the first and second channel regions. And, the dopant concentration is higher at the edges of the first channel region than at the edges of the second channel region.
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