The present invention relates generally to methods for changing threshold voltages of transistors and more particularly to methods for changing threshold voltages of transistors by ion implantation.
In a conventional process for changing threshold voltage of a transistor on a chip, the semiconductor body of the transistor can be doped with dopants by ion implantation. Control of the value of the threshold voltage is critical to good performance and low power consumption of the circuits employing the transistors. In Multi-Gate FETs (MuGFETs), such as FinFETs, Tri-Gate, and other related structures, doping the MuGFET body is best performed with angled implants at some point following fin (body) formation, as this allows total dose delivery to the body to be minimally affected by incidental variations in fin dimensions. When multiple threshold-voltages are required for the same polarity (e.g. n-type) FET, it is desirable that the spacing between two FETs with differing threshold voltages can be as close, physically, as two such FETs having the same threshold voltage; this provides for high circuit density and low manufacturing cost. Unfortunately, this spacing is such that the blocking resist used to allow such threshold-adjusting implants into one FET and not an adjacent one, prohibits the use of tilted, or angled, implants that are needed to dope the fins in a uniform manner. Therefore, there is always a need for a method of changing the threshold voltage of a transistor that is better than that of the prior art.
The present invention provides a semiconductor structure fabrication method, comprising providing a semiconductor structure which includes a semiconductor substrate, wherein the semiconductor substrate includes a top substrate surface which defines a reference direction perpendicular to the top substrate surface and pointing from outside to inside of the semiconductor substrate, and wherein the semiconductor substrate further includes a semiconductor body region; then implanting an adjustment dose of dopants of a first doping polarity into the semiconductor body region by an adjustment implantation process, wherein ion bombardment of the adjustment implantation process is in the reference direction; then patterning the semiconductor substrate resulting in side walls of the semiconductor body region being exposed to a surrounding ambient; and then implanting a base dose of dopants of a second doping polarity into the semiconductor body region by a base implantation process, wherein ion bombardment of the base implantation process is in a direction which makes a non-zero angle with the reference direction.
The present invention provides a method of changing the threshold voltage of a transistor that is better than that of the prior art.
Consider the case where FETs (field effect transistors) are to be formed on the semiconductor structure 100 of
ΔVt1=Vt1−Vt01 (1)
ΔVt2=Vt2−Vt02 (2)
ΔVt3=Vt3−Vt03 (3)
It is well known that implantation of p-type dopants in the body region of an FET results in an increase in the threshold voltage of the FET. In contrast, implantation of n-type dopants in the body region of an FET results in a decrease in the threshold voltage of the FET. Assume that ΔVt1>0, ΔVt2>0, and ΔVt3>0. Therefore, ΔVt1, ΔVt2, and ΔVt3 can be achieved by implanting p-type dopants in the body regions 131, 132, and 133, respectively.
Let Dp1, Dp2, and Dp3 be the three doses of p-type dopants that need to be implanted into the body regions 131, 132, and 133 to achieve ΔVt1, ΔVt2, and ΔVt3, respectively. It should be noted that a dose of dopants in a body region is the number of dopant atoms that are implanted into the body region. Also, let Db be a first base dose of p-type dopants, wherein Db>0, Db<Dp1, Db<Dp2, and Db<Dp3.
As a result, in one embodiment, Dp1 can be implanted into the body region 131 by (i) implanting a first adjustment dose of p-type dopants Da1 and then (ii) implanting the first base dose Db into the body region 131, wherein Da1+Db=Dp1. Similarly, Dp2 can be implanted into the body region 132 by (i) implanting a second adjustment dose of p-type dopants Da2 and then (ii) implanting the first base dose Db into the body region 132, wherein Da2+Db=Dp2. Similarly, Dp3 can be implanted into the body region 133 by (i) implanting a third adjustment dose of p-type dopants Da3 and then (ii) implanting the first base dose Db into the body region 133, wherein Da3+Db=Dp3. Note that in practice, one can choose the first base dose, Db to directly achieve one of the desired values of Vt, in which case no adjustment implant (i.e. an adjustment dose of value zero) is employed. In one embodiment, Da1, Da2, and Da3 are implanted into the body regions 131, 132, and 133 by individual first, second, and third adjustment Vt implantation processes, respectively, whereas Db is implanted into each of the body regions 131, 132, and 133 by a same first base Vt implantation process.
Assume that a fourth FET (not shown), a fifth FET (not shown), and a sixth FET (not shown) having threshold voltages Vt4, Vt5, and Vt6 are to be formed on body regions 134, 135, and 136 of the active silicon layer 130, respectively. Assume further that Vt4, Vt5, and Vt6 are achieved by, among other things, individually doping the body regions 134, 135, and 136, respectively. Assume further that if the body regions 134, 135, and 136 are not individually doped, then the threshold voltages of the fourth, fifth, and sixth FETs would be Vt04, Vt05, and Vt06, respectively. Therefore, the individual doping of the body regions 134, 135, and 136 results in the changes ΔVt4, ΔVt5, and ΔVt6 in the threshold voltages of the fourth, fifth, and sixth FETs, respectively, wherein:
ΔVt4=Vt4−Vt04 (4)
ΔVt5=Vt5−Vt05 (5)
ΔVt6=Vt6−Vt06 (6)
Assume that ΔVt4>0, ΔVt5>0, and ΔVt6>0. Therefore, ΔVt4, ΔVt5, and ΔVt6 can be achieved by implanting p-type dopants in the body regions 134, 135, and 136, respectively.
Let Dp4, Dp5, and Dp6 be the three doses of p-type dopants that need to be implanted into the body regions 134, 135, and 136 to achieve ΔVt4, ΔVt5, and ΔVt6, respectively. Also, let Db′ be a second base dose of p-type dopants, wherein Db′>0, Db′<Dp4, Db′<Dp5, and Db′<Dp6. As a result, in one embodiment, Dp4 can be implanted into the body region 134 by (i) implanting a fourth adjustment dose of p-type dopants Da4 and then (ii) implanting the second base dose Db′ into the body region 134, wherein Da4+Db′=Dp4. Similarly, Dp5 can be implanted into the body region 135 by (i) implanting a fifth adjustment dose of p-type dopants Da5 and then (ii) implanting the second base dose Db′into the body region 135, wherein Da5+Db′=Dp5. Similarly, Dp6 can be implanted into the body region 136 by (i) implanting a sixth adjustment dose of p-type dopants Da6 and then (ii) implanting the second base dose Db′ into the body region 136, wherein Da6+Db′=Dp6. In one embodiment, Da4, Da5, and Da6 are implanted into the body regions 134, 135, and 136 by individual fourth, fifth, and sixth adjustment Vt implantation processes, respectively, whereas Db′ is implanted into each of the body regions 134, 135, and 136 by a same second base Vt implantation process.
In one embodiment, the implantation processes described above can be carried out in detail as follows.
With reference to
Next, with reference to
Next, in one embodiment, the photoresist layer 150a is patterned resulting in a photoresist trench 151 in the photoresist layer 150a such that the entire body region 131 overlaps the photoresist trench 151 in a direction defined by an arrow 151′ (also called a direction 151′) which is perpendicular to the top surface 137 of the active silicon layer 130. Moreover, the other body regions 132, 133, 134, 135, and 136 (
Next, in one embodiment, the body region 131 is doped with p-type dopants by the first adjustment Vt implantation process such that Da1 is implanted into the body region 131. More specifically, the body region 131 is doped by implanting p-type dopants into the body region 131 with the patterned photoresist layer 150a as a blocking mask. In one embodiment, the bombarding direction of the first adjustment Vt implantation process is in the direction 151′. The first adjustment Vt implantation process hereafter is referred to as the first adjustment Vt implantation process 151′. Hereafter, an ion implantation process and the arrow representing the direction of the ion bombardment of the ion implantation process have the same reference numeral for simplicity. After the first adjustment Vt implantation process 151′ is performed, the photoresist layer 150a is removed by wet etching.
In summary, the body region 131 is doped with Da1 by performing the first adjustment Vt implantation process 151′ through the photoresist trench 151 using the patterned photoresist layer 150a as a blocking mask.
Next, with reference to
Next, with reference to
Next, with reference to
Next, with reference to
Next, with reference to
Next, in one embodiment, after the removal of the patterned photoresist layer 150f (
Next, with reference to
Next, in one embodiment, the fin regions 131, 132, and 133 are doped with p-type dopants by the first base Vt implantation process such that Db is implanted into each of the fin regions 131, 132, and 133. More specifically, the fin regions 131, 132, and 133 are doped by implanting p-type dopants into the fin regions 131, 132, and 133 with the photoresist region 160 as a blocking mask. In one embodiment, the ion bombardment of the first base Vt implantation process is performed in two bombarding directions defined by arrows 170a and 170b (also called directions 170a and 170b). The directions 170a and 170b are not perpendicular to the top surface 137 of the active silicon layer 130 (
As a result, the combination of Da1 and Db in the fin region 131 results in Dp1 in the fin region 131. Similarly, the combination of Da2 and Db in the fin region 132 results in Dp2 in the fin region 132. Similarly, the combination of Da3 and Db in the fin region 133 results in Dp3 in the fin region 133. Because the fin regions 134, 135, and 136 are covered by the photoresist region 160, the fin regions 134, 135, and 136 are not affected by the first base Vt implantation process. After the first base Vt implantation process is performed, the photoresist region 160 is removed by wet etching. In one embodiment, the spacing (i.e., horizontal distance) of the fins 131, 132, 133 and the spacing of the fins 134, 135, 136 each are smaller than the spacing of the fins 133 and 134.
Next, with reference to
Next, in one embodiment, the fin regions 134, 135, and 136 are doped with p-type dopants by the second base Vt implantation process such that Db′ is implanted into each of the fin regions 134, 135, and 136. More specifically, the fin regions 134, 135, and 136 are doped by implanting p-type dopants into the fin regions 134, 135, and 136 with the photoresist region 180 as a blocking mask. In one embodiment, the ion bombardment of the second base Vt implantation process is performed in two bombarding directions defined by arrows 190a and 190b (also called directions 190a and 190b). The directions 190a and 190b are not perpendicular to the top surface 137 of the active silicon layer 130 (
As a result, the combination of Da4 and Db′ in the fin region 134 results in Dp4 in the fin region 134. Similarly, the combination of Da5 and Db′ in the fin region 135 results in Dp5 in the fin region 135. Similarly, the combination of Da6 and Db′ in the fin region 136 results in Dp6 in the fin region 136. Because the fin regions 131, 132, and 133 are covered by the photoresist region 180, the fin regions 131, 132, and 133 are not affected by the second base Vt implantation process. After the second base Vt implantation process is performed, the photoresist region 180 is removed by wet etching resulting in the structure 100 of
Next, in one embodiment, the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth FETs (not shown) are formed on the fin regions 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, and 136 of the structure 100 of
In summary, the threshold voltages Vt1, Vt2, and Vt3 of the first, second, and third FETs are achieved by, among other things, the individual adjustment Vt implantation processes 151′, 152′, and 153′, respectively, followed by the first base Vt implantation process. The threshold voltages Vt4, Vt5, and Vt6 of the fourth, fifth, and sixth FETs are achieved by, among other things, the individual adjustment Vt implantation processes 154′, 155′, and 156′, respectively, followed by the second base Vt implantation process.
With reference to
With reference to
In the embodiments described above, Dp1 in the fin region 131 is achieved by the combination of the adjustment Vt implantation process 151′ and the first base Vt implantation process. Therefore, this combination (i) takes the advantage and (ii) reduces the disadvantage of both the adjustment Vt implantation process 151′ and the first base Vt implantation process. Therefore, this combination of the present invention is better than the prior art in which Dp1 in the fin region 131 is achieved by either (a) ion implantation in vertical direction or (b) ion implantation in slant direction. Similarly, the other implantation processes to implant Dp2, Dp3, Dp4, Dp5, and Dp6 into the fin regions 132, 133, 134, 135, and 136, respectively, are also better than the prior art.
In the description above, it is assumed that ΔVt1>0, ΔVt2>0, and ΔVt3>0. Assume alternatively that ΔVt1<0, whereas ΔVt2>0 and ΔVt3>0. Therefore, in one embodiment, ΔVt1 can be achieved by (i) implanting the first adjustment dose of n-type dopants Dan1 and then (ii) implanting the first base dose of p-type dopants Db into the body region 131, wherein the combination of Dan1 and Db in the fin region 131 results in ΔVt1.
In the description above, it is assumed that Db<Dp1, Db<Dp2, and Db<Dp3 (wherein Db is the first base dose of p-type dopants). Assume alternatively that Db is selected such that Db>Dp1, whereas Db<Dp2 and Db<Dp3. As a result, ΔVt1 can be achieved by (i) implanting the first adjustment dose of n-type dopants Dan2 and then (ii) implanting the first base dose of p-type dopants Db into the body region 131, wherein the combination of Dan2 and Db in the fin region 131 results in ΔVt1.
In the description above, it is assumed that Db is the first base dose of p-type dopants. Assume alternatively that Db is selected such that Db is the first base dose of n-type dopants. As a result, ΔVt1 can be achieved by (i) implanting the first adjustment dose of p-type dopants Da1′ and then (ii) implanting the first base dose of n-type dopants Db into the body region 131, wherein the combination of Da1′ and Db in the fin region 131 results in ΔVt1. Similarly, ΔVt2 can be achieved by (i) implanting the second adjustment dose of p-type dopants Da2′ and then (ii) implanting the first base dose of n-type dopants Db into the body region 132, wherein the combination of Da2′ and Db in the fin region 132 results in ΔVt2. Similarly, ΔVt3 can be achieved by (i) implanting the third adjustment dose of p-type dopants Da3′ and then (ii) implanting the first base dose of n-type dopants Db into the body region 133, wherein the combination of Da3′ and Db in the fin region 133 results in ΔVt3.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, many modifications and changes will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to encompass all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.
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