This disclosure relates to the field of microelectronic devices. More particularly, but not exclusively, this disclosure relates to source side field plates in MOSFETs.
Field plates have been formed in microelectronic devices such as metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors. Some methods of forming field plates do not protect transistors against shifts in transistor characteristics such as threshold voltage shifts (VT shift). Improvements in field plates into microelectronic devices are needed.
The present disclosure introduces a microelectronic device including a source side field plate in a transistor. The microelectronic device may be configured as a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor, a laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) transistor, a drain extended metal oxide semiconductor (DEMOS) transistor, a junction field effect transistor, a CMOS transistor, or a gated bipolar transistor. The source side field plate extends from the gate electrode more than a quarter of the distance over the source region. Transistors may suffer from Vt shifts during gate electrode stress over time. The source side field plate reduces the electric field of the transistor near the gate electrode corner on the source side of the transistor. The gate injection current on the source side and electron trapping in the gate oxide is thereby reduced which reduces Vt shifts over time.
The present disclosure is described with reference to the attached figures. The figures are not drawn to scale and they are provided merely to illustrate the disclosure. Several aspects of the disclosure are described below with reference to example applications for illustration. It should be understood that numerous specific details, relationships, and methods are set forth to provide an understanding of the disclosure. The present disclosure is not limited by the illustrated ordering of acts or events, as some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts or events. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts or events are required to implement a methodology in accordance with the present disclosure.
In addition, although some of the embodiments illustrated herein are shown in two dimensional views with various regions having depth and width, it should be clearly understood that these regions are illustrations of only a portion of a device that is actually a three dimensional structure. Accordingly, these regions will have three dimensions, including length, width, and depth, when fabricated on an actual device. Moreover, while the present invention is illustrated by embodiments directed to active devices, it is not intended that these illustrations be a limitation on the scope or applicability of the present invention. It is not intended that the active devices of the present invention be limited to the physical structures illustrated. These structures are included to demonstrate the utility and application of the present invention to presently preferred embodiments.
It is noted that terms such as top, bottom, front, back, over, above, under, and below may be used in this disclosure. These terms should not be construed as limiting the position or orientation of a structure or element, but should be used to provide spatial relationship between structures or elements. Similarly, words such as “inward” and “outward” would refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of a device or area and designated parts thereof.
For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “lateral” refers to a direction parallel to a plane of the instant top surface of the microelectronic device. The term “vertical” is understood to refer to a direction perpendicular to the plane of the instant top surface of the microelectronic device. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “conductive” is understood to mean “electrically conductive”.
A microelectronic device is formed in and on a substrate having a semiconductor material. The microelectronic device includes a field plate extending from the gate electrode at least a quarter of the way over the source region. The field plate is a conducting material, usually aluminum or copper but can be made from polysilicon. The field plate reduces electric fields near the corner of the gate electrode nearest the source region. Reducing the electric field near the corner of the gate electrode nearest the source region reduces gate injection current on the source side of the microelectronic device, reducing electrons trapped in the gate oxide. By reducing the electrons trapped in the gate oxide, shifts in threshold voltage (Vt) over time may be reduced. Vt shifts may be a reliability concern in microelectronic devices as they affect microelectronic device performance over time. This can be an especially important for microelectronic devices used in applications which have long use lifetimes in harsh conditions such as in the automotive industry and in factory automation applications. Source side field plates minimize such Vt shifts compared to microelectronic devices without field plates. Microelectronic devices with field plates may provide improved long term microelectronic device reliability.
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A field oxide layer 136 is formed. In one example, the field oxide layer 136 is a STI and formed using a field oxide mask (not specifically shown) that is formed over the CMP stop layer 132, and exposed to expose the CMP stop layer 132 in areas for a field oxide trench 134, in this example shown as a shallow trench known as shallow trench isolation (STI). The field oxide mask may include photoresist and may be formed by a photolithographic process. Subsequently, a field oxide trench 134 is formed in areas exposed by the field oxide mask to an STI etch (not specifically shown). The field oxide trench 134 may extend to a depth of 250 nanometers to 1 micron in the silicon 107, by way of example. After the field oxide trench 134 is formed, any remaining portion of the field oxide mask may be completely removed. Photoresist and other organic material in the field oxide mask may be removed by an oxygen plasma process, followed by a series of wet etch processes, including an aqueous mixture of sulfuring acid and hydrogen peroxide, an aqueous mixture of ammonium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide, and an aqueous mixture of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide.
A field oxide layer 136 (non-conductive) is formed in the field oxide trench 134 and over the CMP stop layer 132. The field oxide layer 136 may include primarily silicon dioxide, or silicon dioxide-based dielectric material, formed by one or more CVD processes alternated with etch-back processes to provide complete filling of the field oxide trench 134. The field oxide layer 136 is planarized so that the field oxide layer 136 does not extend over the top surface 110 of the silicon 107 and the DENMOS transistor 102. The field oxide layer 136 may be planarized by a CMP process 138, as indicated in
In another example, the field oxide layer 136 is formed using a local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) process. Whether an STI process or a LOCOS process is used, the field oxide layer 136 forms field oxide isolation between the DENMOS transistor 102 and other components on the microelectronic device 100 where the field oxide layer 136 contacts the p-iso region 116. The field oxide layer 136 forms also a field oxide stress relief region for the DENMOS transistor 102 where the field oxide layer 136 contacts a gate dielectric layer 140 (shown in
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After the formation of the gate dielectric layer 140, the gate electrode 142 is formed on the gate dielectric layer 140. Polysilicon in the gate electrode 142 may be formed by a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process using silane or disilane, followed by a reactive ion etch (RIE) process using an etch mask. A FUSI version of the gate electrode 142 may be formed by forming polysilicon on the gate dielectric layer 140, patterning the polysilicon, and forming a layer of metal such as titanium on the polysilicon. The layer of metal and the polysilicon are heated to form a metal silicide that extends to the gate dielectric layer 140. A metal version of the gate electrode 142 may be formed by a metal replacement gate process, in which patterned polysilicon is surrounded by dielectric material and removed by etching to form a gate cavity, exposing the gate dielectric layer 140. The one or more metals are formed on the gate dielectric layer 140 in the gate cavity. A plasma etch process (not specifically shown) is used to define the gate electrode 142.
After the formation of the gate dielectric layer 140 and the gate electrode 142, sidewall spacer 144 are formed on the gate electrode 142. The sidewall spacer 144 may be formed by forming one or more conformal layers of dielectric material over the gate electrode 142. The dielectric material is subsequently removed from horizontal surfaces, that is, surfaces generally parallel to the top surface 110 of the silicon 107, by an anisotropic etch process such as an RIE process, leaving the dielectric material on the vertical surfaces of the gate electrode 142.
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A pre metal dielectric (PMD) layer 154 is shown. The PMD layer 154 may include a PMD liner (not specifically shown) over the microelectronic device 100 which may be formed from one of silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride and silicon dioxide. The main dielectric sublayer of the PMD layer 154 is formed over the PMD liner if present. The main dielectric sublayer of the PMD layer 154 may be formed by one or more dielectric deposition processes, including a PECVD process using TEOS, a high-density plasma (HDP) process, or a high aspect ratio process (HARP) using TEOS and ozone, by way of example. The PMD layer 154 may be planarized by an oxide CMP process (not specifically shown). Other methods of forming the PMD layer 154 are within the scope of this disclosure.
Contacts 156 through the PMD layer 154 may be formed. The contacts 156 may be formed by patterning and etching holes through the PMD layer 154 and the PMD liner if present to expose the metal silicide 152. Contacts 156 may be filled by sputtering titanium to form a titanium adhesion layer, followed by forming a titanium nitride diffusion barrier using reactive sputtering or an ALD process. A tungsten core may then be formed by an MOCVD process using tungsten hexafluoride (WF6) reduced by silane initially and hydrogen after a layer of tungsten is formed on the titanium nitride diffusion barrier. The tungsten, titanium nitride, and titanium are subsequently removed from a top surface of the PMD layer 154 by an etch process, a tungsten CMP process, or a combination of both (not specifically shown), leaving the contacts 156 extending to the top surface of the PMD layer 154. The contacts 156 may be formed by a selective tungsten deposition process which fills the contacts 156 with tungsten from the bottom up, forming the contacts 156 with a uniform composition of tungsten. Other methods of forming the contacts 156 are within the scope of this disclosure.
Interconnects 158 may be formed on the contacts 156. A key inventive aspect is the use of one of the interconnects 158 as a source side field plate 160. The source side field plate 160 is electrically connected to the gate electrode 142 through at least one of the contacts 156. The source side field plate 160 extends over the source region 146 by a distance which is more than a quarter of the width 164 of the source region 146.
In versions of this example in which the interconnects 158 have an etched aluminum structure, the interconnects 158 may be formed by depositing an adhesion layer, an aluminum layer, and an anti-reflection layer, and forming an etch mask (not explicitly shown) followed by an RIE process to etch the anti-reflection layer, the aluminum layer, and the adhesion layer where exposed by the etch mask, and subsequently removing the etch mask.
In versions of this example in which the interconnects 158 have a damascene structure, the interconnects 158 may be formed by forming an inter-metal dielectric (IMD) layer 162 on the PMD layer 154, and etching the interconnect trenches through the IMD layer 162 to expose the contacts 156. A barrier liner (not specifically shown) may be formed by sputtering tantalum onto the IMD layer 162 and the PMD layer 154 which is exposed and contacts 156, and forming tantalum nitride on the sputtered tantalum by an ALD process. The copper fill metal may be formed by sputtering a seed layer (not explicitly shown) of copper on the barrier liner, and electroplating copper on the seed layer to fill the interconnect trenches. The copper and barrier liner metal are subsequently removed from a top surface of the IMD layer 162 by a copper CMP process (not specifically shown).
In versions of this example in which the interconnects 158 have a plated structure, the interconnects 158 may be formed by sputtering the adhesion layer, containing titanium, on the PMD layer 154 and contacts 156, followed by sputtering a seed layer of copper on the adhesion layer. A plating mask is formed on the seed layer that exposes areas for the interconnects 158. The interconnects 158 are formed by electroplating copper on the seed layer where exposed by the plating mask. The plating mask is removed, and the seed layer and the adhesion layer are removed by wet etching between the interconnects 158. Other methods of forming the interconnects 158 are within the scope of this disclosure.
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While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only and not limitation. Numerous changes to the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the disclosure should be defined in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.