The present invention generally relates to semiconductor devices, and more particularly relates to methods for fabricating semiconductor devices and conductive contacts to semiconductor devices.
Flash electrically erasable and programmable read-only memories (EEPROM's) are a class of nonvolatile memory devices that are programmed by hot electron injection and erased by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling.
During IC fabrication, a conductive contact 50 is made to the control gate 34, source region 16, and/or the drain region 14 to access the memory device and allow interconnections between the memory device and other devices of the IC, as illustrated in
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved method for forming a contact to a memory device that reduces complex overlay and masking steps. In addition, it is desirable to provide a method for forming a contact to a memory device that facilitates increased device density. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided for fabricating a semiconductor structure. The method comprises the steps of providing a substrate and forming a gate stack on the substrate. The gate stack is oriented along a first axis. An impurity doped region is formed within the substrate adjacent to the gate stack and a dielectric layer is deposited overlying the impurity doped region. A via is etched through the dielectric layer to the impurity doped region. The via has a major axis and a minor axis that is perpendicular to and shorter than the major axis. The via is etched such that the major axis is disposed at an angle greater than zero and no greater than 90 degrees from the first axis. A conductive contact is formed within the via.
In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided for fabricating a contact to a semiconductor structure. The method comprises the steps of providing a semiconductor substrate and forming two parallel shallow trench isolation (STI) lines within the substrate. The two parallel STI lines are oriented parallel to a first axis. Two parallel gate stacks are formed overlying the substrate and are oriented substantially parallel to a second axis perpendicular to the first axis. The substrate is doped in an area bounded by the two parallel STI lines and the two parallel gates stacks to form an impurity doped region. A dielectric layer is deposited overlying the impurity doped region and a via is etched through the dielectric layer to the impurity doped region. The via has a major axis and a minor axis that is perpendicular to and shorter than the major axis. The major axis of the via is disposed at an angle greater than zero and no greater than 90 degrees from the first axis of the two parallel STI lines. A conductive material is deposited within the via.
In a further exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor structure is provided. The semiconductor structure comprises a substrate and two parallel gate stacks on the substrate. The two parallel gate stacks are oriented parallel to a first axis. An impurity doped region is disposed between the two parallel gate stacks and a dielectric layer overlies the impurity doped region. A conductive contact extends through the dielectric layer and is electrically coupled to the impurity doped region. The conductive contact has a major axis and a minor axis that is perpendicular to and shorter than the major axis. The major axis is disposed at an angle greater than zero and less than 90 degrees from the first axis.
The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and wherein:
The following detailed description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background of the invention or the following detailed description of the invention. This description uses terms such as x axis, y axis, and the like. These terms indicating orientation are used only for purposes of clarity of description. The invention is not to be limited by such orientation terms.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,
As illustrated in
Parallel shallow trench isolation (STI) lines 104 or other forms of electrical isolation are formed to electrically isolated subsequently formed individual devices. In general, an STI line includes a shallow trench that is etched into the surface of the semiconductor substrate and that is subsequently filled with an insulating material. After the trench is filled with the insulating material, the surface is usually planarized, for example by chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). Those of skill in the art will recognize that many known processes and many known materials can be used to form STI lines or other forms of electrical isolation between devices making up an integrated circuit, and, accordingly, those known processes and materials need not be discussed herein. STI lines 104 are formed along a first axis 106, such as the y-axis of a coordinate system 140 illustrated in
Referring to
As illustrated in
A via 120 is etched through dielectric layer 118 to metal silicide contact 116 of drain region 112. One or more conductive materials then may be deposited within via 120 to form a conductive contact 122 that is electrically coupled to drain region 114, as illustrated in
Referring to
Accordingly, a method for fabricating a semiconductor structure that provides a conductive contact to a semiconductor device is provided. The method minimizes misalignment problems associated with lithography of small conductive contacts. The dimensions and rotation of the contacts may be manipulated to optimize the area utilized to form the contacts. In addition, the dimension and rotation of the conductive contacts can be optimized to minimize the risk that the conductive contacts will contact adjacent gate stacks or adjacent conductive contacts.
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description of the invention, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment of the invention, it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
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