The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor devices, and more specifically, to the formation of improved isolation structures with nitrogen-containing liners.
Shallow trench isolation (STI) is a common isolation technology for insulating active areas in integrated circuits, particularly integrated circuits with sub-quarter micron dimensions. An example of one common shallow trench isolation structure is shown in
During fabrication, oxidation of the sidewalls of the isolation trenches may occur during subsequent processing steps. As a result of the oxidation and the volume expansion that occurs during the oxidation, however, compressive stress may be induced in the adjacent active regions 116. The compressive stress results because of volume expansion in a confined space.
To solve this problem, several approaches have been proposed for the formation of trench isolation structures with nitride liners. Generally, these approaches use a nitride liner to prohibit or reduce further trench sidewall oxidation in order to reduce the stress introduced by the trench filling material. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,884 issued to Fahey et al. describes a shallow isolation trench with a thin nitride liner; U.S. Pat. No. 6,461,937 issued to Kim et al. describes methods of forming trench isolation structures containing a silicon nitride layer stress relief layer; U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,746 issued to Hong et al., describes methods of forming trench isolation regions with stress-reducing nitride layers; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,461,937 and 6,251,746 describe nitride layers overlying a silicon oxide layer that is typically thermally grown at an elevated temperature.
While the nitride liners prohibit further oxidation of the trench sidewalls and, thus, reduce the compressive stress that results, nitride liners are usually formed with an intrinsic stress in the film. In addition, due to the intrinsic stress in the nitride liner, defects or even cracks may be formed at weak regions in the active regions, such as at sharp corners.
Furthermore, approaches have been proposed to use an oxide liner beneath the nitride liner, thus reducing the influence of the nitride liner on the active region. The use of an oxide liner, however, typically involves a high thermal budget.
Therefore, there is a need for a method of forming isolation trenches to prohibit or reduce the effect of oxidation of the isolation trench sidewalls.
These and other problems are generally solved or circumvented, and technical advantages are generally achieved, by preferred embodiments of the present invention which provides an isolation structure with nitrogen-containing liner and methods of manufacture.
In one embodiment of the present invention, an isolation trench within a substrate is provided. The isolation trench is lined with a nitrogen-containing material and filled with a dielectric material. The nitrogen-containing material contacts or is in close proximity with the active area adjacent to the isolation trench.
In another embodiment of the present invention the corners of the isolation trench are rounded. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, an active device, such as a transistor, is formed near the isolation trench. The active device may be covered with an inter-layer dielectric and metal lines.
The present invention also provides several methods of fabricating the isolation trenches. For example, in one embodiment of the present invention a trench is formed in a substrate. A nitrogen-containing liner is deposited upon the substrate, and a filler material is deposited on the nitrogen-containing liner. The portions of the nitrogen-containing liner not contained in or near the trench is removed. Portions of the filler material that are not contained in the isolation trench are also removed. Thereafter, an active device, such as a transistor, may be formed adjacent to the isolation trench.
In another method, a mask layer is applied to the substrate to form the trench in the substrate. The mask is removed after the trench is formed. A nitrogen-containing liner is applied, and a filler material is deposited on the nitrogen-containing liner.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
a-2m are cross-section views of a wafer illustrating a process of forming isolation trenches in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
a-3g are cross-section views of a wafer illustrating a process of forming isolation trenches in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
a-4d are cross-section views of a wafer illustrating a process of forming isolation trenches in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
The making and using of the presently preferred embodiments are discussed in detail below. It should be appreciated, however, that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention, and do not limit the scope of the invention.
a-2m illustrate cross-section views of a wafer during various steps of a first method embodiment of the present invention. The process begins in
The hard mask 212 preferably comprises an oxide layer 214 and a nitride layer 216. Preferably the oxide layer 214 comprises a silicon dioxide layer formed by thermal oxidation or by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques using is tetra-ethyl-ortho-silicate (TEOS) and oxygen as precursor. The nitride layer 216 is preferably a silicon nitride (Si3N4) layer formed on top of the oxide layer 214. The Si3N4 layer may be formed using CVD techniques using silane and ammonia as precursor gases, and deposition temperatures ranging from about 550° to about 900° Celsius (C).
A patterned mask 218, such as a photoresist mask, is then formed on the hard mask 212. The patterned mask 218 may be a photoresist material. The patterned mask 218 defines the areas of the hard mask 212 that are to be removed, preferably via an etching process. The etching process may be a wet or dry, anisotropic or isotropic, etch process, but preferably is an anisotropic dry etch process.
b is a cross view of the wafer 200 illustrated in
c is a cross view of the wafer 200 illustrated in
d is a cross view of the wafer 200 illustrated in
Alternatively, the pull-back process may be a dry plasma etch process using fluorine chemistry to etch the silicon nitride, followed by a wet etch in dilute hydrofluoric acid at a temperature in the range of 10° to 40° Celsius using an etch time of between 2 seconds to 200 seconds to etch the SiO2, i.e., the oxide layer 214.
A corner rounding process is then performed as illustrated in
f and 2g are cross-section views of the wafer 200 illustrated in
The thickness TN (
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the influence of the intrinsic stress in the nitrogen-containing liner 222 on the silicon lattice in the active region can be maximized by having a nitrogen-containing liner that directly contacts the trench sidewalls. The nitrogen-containing liner 222 additionally prevents further oxidation of the trench sidewall during subsequent process steps. Because the nitrogen-containing liner 222 exerts a significant stress on the silicon lattice in the active region, it is important that the silicon lattice contains no weak regions that potentially crack or generate dislocations or defects. Sharp corners are an example of such weak regions where stress may be concentrated and where defects may be generated. It is therefore preferred that rounded corners in the upper and bottom portions of the trench are formed prior to the formation of the nitrogen-containing liner 222.
h is a cross-sectional view of the wafer 200 illustrated in
A planarization step is performed to planarize the surface of the trench-filling material, stopping on the nitrogen-containing liner 222 or on the silicon nitride layer 216. The planarization step may be accomplished, for example, using a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process known and used in the art.
i is a cross-sectional view of the wafer 200 from
j and 2k are cross-section views of the wafer 200 illustrated in
For example,
Contact plugs, not shown, are typically provided between at least one of the source region 230, the drain region 232 and the gate electrode 226 and the metal line 236. For example, a tungsten plug can be formed by depositing tungsten and etching back or planarizing by a CMP process.
a-3g illustrate cross-section views of a wafer during various steps of a second method embodiment of the present invention. The process begins in
b is a cross-section view of wafer 300 illustrated in
c is a cross-section view of wafer 300 illustrated in
d is a cross-section view of wafer 300 illustrated in
e is a cross-section view of wafer 300 illustrated in
f is a cross-section view of wafer 300 illustrated in
g is a cross-section view of wafer 300 illustrated in
a-4d illustrate cross-section views of a wafer during various steps of a third method embodiment of the present invention. The process begins in
Referring now to
b is a cross-section view of wafer 400 illustrated in
c is a cross-section view of wafer 400 illustrated in
d is a cross-section view of wafer 400 illustrated in
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it is understood that the invention is not limited correspondingly in scope, but includes all changes, modifications, and equivalents coming within the spirit and terms of the claims appended hereto. For example, while a shallow trench isolation is illustrated, it is understood that this invention may be extended to other isolation structures which are improvements of the shallow trench isolation structure. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/495,316 filed on Aug. 15, 2003, entitled Isolation Structure with Nitrogen-Containing Liner and Methods of Manufacture, which application is hereby incorporated herein by reference. This application relates to the following patents and co-pending, commonly-assigned patent applications. Each of these documents is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Pat. No.or Ser. No.Filing DateIssue Date10/423,513Apr. 25, 2003—6,020,621Jan. 28, 1998Feb. 1, 2000
Number | Date | Country | |
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60495316 | Aug 2003 | US |