The present disclosure relates to semiconductors and, more particularly, to structures and methods for forming field-isolated bulk fin field effect transistor (FinFET).
Lateral diffusion metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) transistors provide high value for high-voltage/high-power switches and RF output stages. Doping is challenging to control, however, in the lightly doped drift region of a narrow fin for the LDMOS design.
The asymmetric shaped drift region, because of its shape, drops most of the voltage away from the gate. The field, closer to the gate, becomes more graded. By grading the field, hot electron effect is reduced. The asymmetric drift region also concentrates more of the self-heating from voltage drop ‘away’ from the gate, near to the drain, where it can be more effectively cooled. In other words, specific fin geometry shaping may be used to lower the peak electric fields in the drift region at the drain of FinFET LDMOS devices.
Systems herein include a lateral diffusion metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) FinFET, which has a substrate having a top surface with a fin attached to the top surface. This fin includes multiple regions such as: a source region having doping of a first polarity, an undoped gate-control region adjacent to the source region, a drift region adjacent to the undoped gate-control region, and a drain region. The undoped gate-control region is between the source region and the drift region and the drift region is between the undoped gate-control region and the drain region. The drift region has doping of the first polarity. The amount of doping of the source region is greater than the amount of doping of the drift region. The drain region is next to the drift region and the drain region has doping of the first polarity. The drift region comprises a fin, tapered in geometry, being wider closest to the undoped gate-control region and thinner closest to the drain region. The systems also include a gate stack attached to the top surface of the substrate and located on at least two sides of the undoped gate-control region.
The devices and methods also include a device, comprising a semiconductor substrate. This semiconductor substrate has a trench isolation structure in the top surface of the substrate and a fin structure. This fin structure is perpendicular to the semiconductor substrate and bound by the trench isolation structure. The fin structure comprises, a source region having a first type of doping, an undoped gate-control region adjacent to the source region, a drift region adjacent to the undoped gate-control region, and a drain region adjacent to the drift region. The undoped gate-control region is between the source region and the drift region and the drift region is between the undoped gate-control region and the drain region. The drift region has the first type of doping, with the source region being more heavily doped relative to the drift region. The drift region is wider closer to the undoped gate-control region and thinner closer to the drain region. The drain region also has the first type of doping. The devices and methods include a gate conductor over the substrate, relative to the top surface. This gate conductor is adjacent to the undoped gate-control region.
According to exemplary methods herein, a substrate of semiconductor material is provided, with the substrate having a top surface. A fin is formed on the substrate. This fin has a height above the top surface of the substrate. According to the method, a first portion of the fin is doped with a first type of doping. The first portion of the fin comprises a source region. A gate conductor is formed on the substrate. The gate conductor is formed around an undoped gate-control portion of the fin adjacent to the source region. A drift region is formed in the fin adjacent to the undoped gate-control portion of the fin. The undoped gate-control portion of the fin is between the source region and the drift region. The drift region has the first type of doping, the source region being more heavily doped relative to the drift region. A second portion of the fin adjacent to the drift region is doped with the first type of doping. The second portion of the fin comprises a drain region. The drift region is between the undoped gate-control portion of the fin and the drain region. The source and drain regions and the gate conductor define a fin field effect transistor (FinFET). The drift region is tapered, such that the drift region is wider closest to the undoped gate-control portion of the fin and thinner closest to the drain region of the fin.
According to another example, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium readable by a computerized device is disclosed. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium stores instructions executable by the computerized device to perform an isolation technique for bulk fin field effect transistors (FinFETs). According to the method, a bulk silicon wafer having a top surface and a bottom surface is provided. A conductive layer is formed on the top surface of the silicon wafer. A portion of the conductive layer is doped. An oxide layer is formed on the conductive layer. The conductive layer is between the silicon wafer and the oxide layer. The conductive layer comprises a well region. A fin structure extends through the oxide layer. The fin structure comprises an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion of the fin structure is undoped. A gate structure surrounds the upper portion of the fin structure. Source and drain regions are formed adjacent to the fin structure. The source and drain regions and the gate structure define a fin field effect transistor (FinFET). The lower portion of the fin structure comprises a sub-fin extending below the region surrounded by the gate structure. The sub-fin comprises an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion of the sub-fin is undoped. The lower portion of the sub-fin is doped. A portion of the well region of the conductive layer comprises part of the lower portion of the sub-fin.
The foregoing and other exemplary purposes, aspects, and advantages will be better understood from the following detailed description of exemplary devices and methods herein with reference to the drawings, in which:
Referring now to the drawings, there are shown exemplary illustrations of the structures of an asymmetric lateral diffusion metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) fin field effect transistors (FinFET) in a semiconductor wafer and method of forming such structure.
For purposes herein, a “semiconductor” is a material or structure that may include an implanted impurity that allows the material to sometimes be a conductor and sometimes be an insulator, based on electron and hole carrier concentration. As used herein, “implantation processes” can take any appropriate form (whether now known or developed in the future) and can comprise, for example, ion implantation, etc.
Within a transistor, the semiconductor (or channel region) is positioned between a conductive “source” region and a similarly conductive “drain” region and when the semiconductor is in a conductive state, the semiconductor allows electrical current to flow between the source and drain. A “gate” is a conductive element that is electrically separated from the semiconductor by a “gate oxide” (which is an insulator). The current/voltage within the gate changes the conductivity of the channel region of the transistor.
A positive-type transistor “P-type transistor” uses impurities such as boron, aluminum or gallium, etc., within an intrinsic semiconductor substrate (to create deficiencies of valence electrons) as a semiconductor region. Similarly, an “N-type transistor” is a negative-type transistor that uses impurities such as antimony, arsenic or phosphorous, etc., within an intrinsic semiconductor substrate (to create excessive valence electrons) as a semiconductor region.
Generally, transistor structures are formed by depositing or implanting impurities into a substrate to form at least one semiconductor channel region, bordered by shallow trench isolation regions below the top (upper) surface of the substrate. A “substrate” herein can comprise any material appropriate for the given purpose (whether now known or developed in the future) and can comprise, for example, Si, SiC, SiGe, SiGeC, other III-V or II-VI compound semiconductors, or organic semiconductor structures, etc. The “shallow trench isolation” (STI) structures are well-known to those ordinarily skilled in the art and are generally formed by patterning openings/trenches within the substrate and growing or filling the openings with a highly insulating material (this allows different active areas of the substrate to be electrically isolated from one another).
According to devices and methods herein, a novel combination of elements can be used to enable an LDMOS FinFET. The structure described below provides a specific fin geometry shaping to lower the peak electric fields in the drift region at the drain of LDMOS FinFET devices.
Referring to the drawings,
According to structures and methods herein, the doping may be accomplished with a p-type impurity species, such as boron, to render it p-type in which holes are the majority carriers and dominate the electrical conductivity of the constituent semiconductor material. Alternatively, the doping may be accomplished with an n-type impurity species, such as arsenic to render it n-type in which electrons are the majority carriers and dominate the electrical conductivity of the semiconductor material.
In
In
When patterning any material herein, the material to be patterned can be grown or deposited in any known manner and a patterning layer (such as an organic photoresist) can be formed over the material. The patterning layer (resist) can be exposed to some pattern of light radiation (e.g., patterned exposure, laser exposure, etc.) provided in a light exposure pattern, and then the resist is developed using a chemical agent. This process changes the physical characteristics of the portion of the resist that was exposed to the light. Then one portion of the resist can be rinsed off, leaving the other portion of the resist to protect the material to be patterned. A material removal process is then performed (e.g., plasma etching, etc.) to remove the unprotected portions of the material to be patterned. The resist is subsequently removed to leave the underlying material patterned according to the light exposure pattern.
In
As shown in
In
In
Referring to
In
In
In
As shown in
The conductors mentioned herein can be formed of any conductive material, such as polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon), amorphous silicon, a combination of amorphous silicon and polysilicon, and polysilicon-germanium, rendered conductive by the presence of a suitable dopant. Alternatively, the conductors herein may be one or more metals, such as tungsten, hafnium, tantalum, molybdenum, titanium, or nickel, or a metal silicide, any alloys of such metals, and may be deposited using physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, or any other technique known in the art.
The structure described herein enables a unique asymmetric lateral diffusion metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) FinFET. As described above, the doped region of the FinFET 101 may be either p-doped or n-doped. Both the source region 113 and drain region 122 have very high doping and the drift region 119 has light doping. Furthermore, the source region 113, drain region 122, and drift region 119 all have the same type of doping. The gate-control region 116 has very low or no doping. Accordingly, the technique described herein can be constructed in n-type and p-type versions of the FinFET 101, each with appropriate doping and electrical potentials in order to support desired performance.
It is anticipated that the asymmetric drain region can drop about 5V/50 nm length, concentrated at the drain edge. Therefore, for a 5V tolerant device:
According to exemplary lateral diffusion metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) FinFET devices described herein, a FinFET 101 includes a substrate 104 having a top surface 107 with a fin 110 attached to the top surface 107. The fin 110 is substantially vertical and includes multiple regions such as: a source region 113 having doping of a first polarity, an undoped gate-control region 116 adjacent to the source region 113, a drift region 119 adjacent to the undoped gate-control region 116 and opposing the source region 113, and a drain region 122. The drift region 119 has doping of the first polarity. The amount of doping of the source region 113 is greater than the amount of doping of the drift region 119. The drain region 122 is next to the drift region 119 and the drain region 122 has doping of the first polarity. The drift region 119 comprises a fin 110, tapered in geometry, being wider closest to the undoped gate-control region 116 and thinner closest to the drain region 122. The FinFET 101 also includes a gate conductor 128 attached to the top surface 107 of the substrate 104 and located on at least two sides of the undoped gate-control region 116.
With its unique and novel features, the devices and methods herein teach a semiconductor device including a substrate 104, which may comprise a semiconductor substrate. This substrate 104 has isolation trenches 1515, 1518 in the top surface 107 of the substrate 104, and a fin 110. The structure of the fin 110 is perpendicular to the substrate 104 and bounded by the structure of the isolation trenches 1515, 1518. The fin 110 comprises, a source region 113 having a first type of doping, an undoped gate-control region 116 adjacent to the source region 113, a drift region 119 adjacent to the undoped gate-control region 116 and opposing the source region 113, and a drain region 122 adjacent to the drift region 119. The drift region 119 has the first type of doping, with the source region 113 being more heavily doped relative to the drift region 119. The drift region 119 is wider closer to the undoped gate-control region 116 and thinner closer to the drain region 122. The drain region 122 also has the first type of doping. The devices and methods include a gate conductor 128 over the substrate 104, relative to the top surface 107. This gate conductor 128 is adjacent to the undoped gate-control region 116.
While only one or a limited number of transistors are illustrated in the drawings, those ordinarily skilled in the art would understand that many different types transistor could be simultaneously formed with the embodiment herein and the drawings are intended to show simultaneous formation of multiple different types of transistors; however, the drawings have been simplified to only show a limited number of transistors for clarity and to allow the reader to more easily recognize the different features illustrated. This is not intended to limit this disclosure because, as would be understood by those ordinarily skilled in the art, this disclosure is applicable to structures that include many of each type of transistor shown in the drawings.
The methods as described above may be used in the fabrication of integrated circuit chips. The resulting integrated circuit chips can be distributed by the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as a single wafer that has multiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die, or in a packaged form. In the latter case, the chip is mounted in a single chip package (such as a plastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or other higher-level carrier) or in a multichip package (such as a ceramic carrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buried interconnections). In any case, the chip is then integrated with other chips, discrete circuit elements, and/or other signal processing devices as part of either (a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or (b) an end product. The end product can be any product that includes integrated circuit chips, ranging from toys and other low-end applications to advanced computer products having a display, a keyboard or other input device, and a central processor.
Design flow 1700 may vary depending on the type of representation being designed. For example, a design flow 1700 for building an application specific IC (ASIC) may differ from a design flow 1700 for designing a standard component or from a design flow 1700 for instantiating the design into a programmable array, for example a programmable gate array (PGA) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA) offered by Altera® Inc. or Xilinx® Inc.
Design process 1710 preferably employs and incorporates hardware and/or software modules for synthesizing, translating, or otherwise processing a design/simulation functional equivalent of the components, circuits, devices, or logic structures shown in
Design process 1710 may include hardware and software modules for processing a variety of input data structure types including Netlist 1780. Such data structure types may reside, for example, within library elements 1730 and include a set of commonly used elements, circuits, and devices, including models, layouts, and symbolic representations, for a given manufacturing technology (e.g., different technology nodes, 32 nm, 45 nm, 90 nm, etc.). The data structure types may further include design specifications 1740, characterization data 1750, verification data 1760, design rules 1770, and test data files 1785 which may include input test patterns, output test results, and other testing information. Design process 1710 may further include, for example, standard mechanical design processes such as stress analysis, thermal analysis, mechanical event simulation, process simulation for operations such as casting, molding, and die press forming, etc. One of ordinary skill in the art of mechanical design can appreciate the extent of possible mechanical design tools and applications used in design process 1710 without deviating from the scope and spirit of the invention. Design process 1710 may also include modules for performing standard circuit design processes such as timing analysis, verification, design rule checking, place and route operations, etc.
Design process 1710 employs and incorporates logic and physical design tools such as HDL compilers and simulation model build tools to process design structure 1720 together with some or all of the depicted supporting data structures along with any additional mechanical design or data (if applicable), to generate a second design structure 1790. Design structure 1790 resides on a storage medium or programmable gate array in a data format used for the exchange of data of mechanical devices and structures (e.g. information stored in a IGES, DXF, Parasolid XT, JT, DRG, or any other suitable format for storing or rendering such mechanical design structures). Similar to design structure 1720, design structure 1790 preferably comprises one or more files, data structures, or other computer-encoded data or instructions that reside on transmission or data storage media and that when processed by an ECAD system generate a logically or otherwise functionally equivalent form of one or more of the embodiments of the invention shown in
Design structure 1790 may also employ a data format used for the exchange of layout data of integrated circuits and/or symbolic data format (e.g. information stored in a GDSII (GDS2), GL1, OASIS, map files, or any other suitable format for storing such design data structures). Design structure 1790 may comprise information such as, for example, symbolic data, map files, test data files, design content files, manufacturing data, layout parameters, wires, levels of metal, vias, shapes, data for routing through the manufacturing line, and any other data required by a manufacturer or other designer/developer to produce a device or structure as described above and shown in
Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to devices and methods herein. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or two-dimensional block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
A representative hardware environment for implementing the devices and methods herein is depicted in
In
The system further includes a user interface adapter 19 that connects a keyboard 15, mouse 17, speaker 24, microphone 22, and/or other user interface devices such as a touch screen device (not shown) to the bus 12 to gather user input. Additionally, a communication adapter 20 including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, or the like connects the bus 12 to a data processing network 25. The communication adapter 20 performs communication processing via a network such as the Internet. A display adapter 21 connects the bus 12 to a display device 23, which may be embodied as an output device such as a monitor (such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), or the like), printer, or transmitter, for example.
The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various examples disclosed herein. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block might occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
It should be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular examples of the disclosed structures and methods and is not intended to be limiting of this disclosure. For example, as used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Additionally, as used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” and/or “including,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Furthermore, as used herein, terms such as “right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “upper”, “lower”, “under”, “below”, “underlying”, “over”, “overlying”, “parallel”, “perpendicular”, etc., are understood to be relative locations as they are oriented and illustrated in the drawings (unless otherwise indicated). Terms such as “touching”, “on”, “in direct contact”, “abutting”, “directly adjacent to”, etc., are intended to indicate that at least one element physically contacts another element (without other elements separating the described elements).
The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The descriptions of the various examples of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the devices and methods disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described examples. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the disclosed devices and methods, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the devices and methods disclosed herein.
While various examples are described herein, it will be appreciated from the specification that various combinations of elements, variations, or improvements therein may be made by those skilled in the art, and are within the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosed concepts without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the concepts not be limited to the particular examples disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out the devices and methods herein, but that the devices and methods will include all features falling within the scope of the appended claims.