1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods for fabricating semiconductor devices and, more particularly, to methods for reducing the cell pitch in semiconductor devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Modern integrated circuit devices contain numerous structures that comprise conductive material, semi-conductive material (i.e., rendered conductive in defined areas with dopants), and/or non-conductive material. For example, transistor devices are commonly fabricated by forming a semi-conductive material, such as polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon), over a relatively thin gate dielectric arranged upon a semiconductor substrate. The polysilicon material is patterned to define gate conductors spaced laterally apart above the substrate. Along with the gate conductors, exposed regions of the substrate are implanted with impurity dopants to form source/drain junctions in the substrate between the gate conductors. If the dopant species employed for forming the source/drain regions is n-type, then an NMOSFET (n-channel) transistor device is formed. Conversely, if the source/drain dopant species employed for forming the source/drain regions is p-type, then a PMOSFET (p-channel) transistor device is formed. Integrated circuit devices utilize either n-channel devices exclusively, p-channel devices exclusively, or a combination of both on a single monolithic substrate.
Transistor gate conductors are defined using a photolithography process. In the photolithography process, a photosensitive film, i.e., photoresist, is spin-deposited across the polysilicon material. An optical image is transferred to the photoresist by projecting a form of radiation, typically ultraviolet light, through the transparent portions of a mask plate. A photochemical reaction alters the solubility of the regions of the photoresist exposed to the radiation. The photoresist is washed with a solvent known as developer to preferentially remove the regions of higher solubility, followed by curing the remaining regions of the photoresist. The remaining regions of the photoresist are highly resistant to attack by an etching agent that is capable of removing the polysilicon material. The portions of the polysilicon material left exposed by the photoresist are etched away to define gate conductors of ensuing transistor devices.
Unfortunately, the minimum lateral dimension that can be achieved for a patterned photoresist feature is limited by, among other things, the exposure of the radiation to the polysilicon material. For example, diffraction effects may undesirably occur as the radiation passes through slit-like transparent regions of the mask plate, scattering the radiation and therefore adversely affecting the resolution of the optical image. In addition, if the radiation exposure dosage is too great or not enough, the photoresist will be over-exposed or underexposed, respectively, thereby rendering inaccurate optical images. As such, the photoresist regions exposed to the radiation may fail to correspond to the mask plate pattern, resulting in the photoresist features being skewed. Consequently, the photolithography process limits the minimum achievable widths of the features of a conventional integrated circuit. It is therefore difficult to reduce the widths of and distances between, for example, transistor gate conductors, which are defined by the photolithography process.
Because of this limitation of the photolithography process, the pitch of, for example, transistor devices formed with conventional methods cannot be easily reduced. The “pitch” is herein defined as the distance between the same points of two adjacent structures of the same type, e.g., two adjacent gate conductors. Since the pitch of the integrated circuit devices cannot be easily reduced, the device integration cannot be increased to meet the high demand for smaller and faster integrated circuit devices. A need thus exists in the prior art to reduce the pitch of integrated circuit devices. A further need exists to develop a method for fabricating an integrated circuit in which the width of and distances between two adjacent structures of the same type are not limited by the photolithography process.
The present invention addresses these needs by providing a method for reducing cell pitch, wherein the pitch of the formed devices can be reduced using current lithography processes to, for example, half that of conventional devices. Since the pitch of the devices can be reduced, the device integration can be increased, resulting in smaller and faster integrated circuits.
In a preferred embodiment, a pad oxide layer is formed on a substrate, and a silicon nitride layer is formed on the pad oxide layer. A trimmed photoresist layer is formed on the silicon nitride layer, and the silicon nitride layer is etched using the trimmed photoresist layer as an etch mask. The trimmed photoresist layer is removed until the silicon nitride layer is completely exposed, and an exposed portion of the pad oxide layer is removed until a portion of the substrate is exposed. A gate oxide layer is formed on the exposed portion of the substrate. A poly layer is deposited over the silicon nitride layer and the gate oxide layer, and the poly layer is etched back to expose the silicon nitride layer and to form a plurality of poly gates. Then, the silicon nitride layer is removed.
In another embodiment, a method for forming a semiconductor device having a reduced pitch comprises providing a substrate having a first insulating layer formed thereon and forming a second insulating layer on the first insulating layer. A photoresist layer is then formed on the second insulating layer. The second insulating layer is etched using the trimmed photoresist layer as an etch mask, and the photoresist layer is thereafter removed. An exposed portion of the first insulating layer is removed, and a third insulating layer is formed on an exposed portion of the substrate. A conductive layer is deposited on the second insulating layer and the third insulating layer, and the conductive layer is etched back to expose the second insulative layer and to form a plurality of gates. Thereafter, the second insulating layer is removed.
Any feature or combination of features described herein is included within the scope of the present invention provided that the features included in any such combination are not mutually inconsistent as will be apparent from the context, this specification, and the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art. For purposes of summarizing the present invention, certain aspects, advantages and novel features of the present invention have been described herein. Of course, it is to be understood that not necessarily all such aspects, advantages or features will be embodied in any particular embodiment of the present invention. Additional advantages and aspects of the present invention are apparent in the following detailed description and claims.
Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same or similar reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. It should be noted that the drawings are in simplified form and are not to precise scale. In reference to the disclosure herein, for purposes of convenience and clarity only, directional terms, such as, top, bottom, left, right, up, down, over, above, below, beneath, rear, and front, are used with respect to the accompanying drawings. Such directional terms should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention in any manner.
Although the disclosure herein refers to certain illustrated embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example and not by way of limitation. The intent of the following detailed description, although discussing exemplary embodiments, is to be construed to cover all modifications, alternatives, and equivalents of the embodiments as may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It is to be understood and appreciated that the process steps and structures described herein do not cover a complete process flow for the manufacture of poly gates having reduced cell pitches. The present invention may be practiced in conjunction with various photolithography techniques that are conventionally used in the art, and only so much of the commonly practiced process steps are included herein as are necessary to provide an understanding of the present invention. The present invention has applicability in the field of semiconductor devices and processes in general. For illustrative purposes, however, the following description pertains to methods for reducing the cell pitch in semiconductor devices.
Referring more particularly to the drawings,
The silicon nitride layer 14 is preferably an insulating layer and may be formed on the pad oxide 12 by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In one embodiment, the CVD might include the following process: introducing into a reaction chamber a silane (SiH4) silicon source gas, introducing into the reaction chamber an ammonia (NH3) nitrogen source gas, introducing into the reaction chamber a nitrogen (N2) carrier gas, and maintaining within the reaction chamber a temperature of about 700 to 800 degrees centigrade and a pressure of about 0.2 and about 0.8 torr. In the illustrated embodiment, the silicon nitride layer 14 may be formed to a thickness of between about 1,000 and about 3,000 Å. In modified embodiments, other materials, such as oxy-nitride, may be used instead of or in addition to silicon nitride.
The photoresist layer 16 is formed on the silicon nitride layer 14 using a photolithography process. To form the photoresist layer 16, a layer of photoresist is first spun onto the silicon nitride layer 14. The substrate 10 is then placed into a patterning tool known as a stepper where it is aligned to a mask plate and exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The mask plate may only be large enough to cover a small portion of the substrate 10, in which case the stepper steps the substrate 10 through many quadrants, each of them being exposed in turn until the entire or desired portion of the substrate 10 has been exposed to UV radiation. The substrate 10 is then placed in a developer solution that dissolves portions of the photoresist that were exposed to the UV radiation, thereby yielding the patterned photoresist layer 16. In the illustrated embodiment, features of the patterned photoresist layer 16 are about 4 k angstroms (Å) high and about 0.15 um wide. Also, in the illustrated embodiment, the minimum pitch size “d1” of the patterned photoresist layer 16 is as small as the photolithography process will allow. The width, height and/or pitch size “d1” may comprise other dimensions in other embodiments. Furthermore, in modified embodiments, other materials, such as patterned dielectrics (e.g., oxides), may be used instead of or in combination with the photoresist layer 16.
The poly layer 20 is etched for a time sufficient to form the plurality of poly gates 22. and to remove portions of the poly layer 20, at which point the plasma etch is terminated before substantial portions of the gate oxide layer 18 are removed. In accordance with one aspect, the poly layer 20 is etched for a time sufficient to expose the silicon nitride layer 14 and/or the gate oxide layer 18. In one embodiment, the thicknesses of the silicon nitride layer 14 and of the poly layer 20 are chosen so that, when the poly layer 20 is etched down to expose the silicon nitride layer 14 and/or the gate oxide layer 18, poly gates 22 are formed in desired shapes, e.g., thicknesses. The silicon nitride layer 14 is removed using, e.g., a wet etch technique, resulting in the formation of the plurality of poly gates 22 having a reduced pitch, as depicted in
In view of the foregoing, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the methods of the present invention can facilitate formation of semiconductor devices, and in particular semiconductor devices having reduced cell pitches. The above-described embodiments have been provided by way of example, and the present invention is not limited to these examples. Multiple variations and modification to the disclosed embodiments will occur, to the extent not mutually exclusive, to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the foregoing description. Additionally, other combinations, omissions, substitutions and modifications will be apparent to the skilled artisan in view of the disclosure herein. Accordingly, the present invention is not intended to be limited by the disclosed embodiments, but is to be defined by reference to the appended claims.