This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-040202, filed on Mar. 9, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The embodiments of the present invention relate to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof.
A hybrid bonding technology of bonding two wafers each having a semiconductor element formed thereon has been recently introduced into CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensors and nonvolatile semiconductor memories. For example, in order to adjust a bonding position between two wafers, marks are formed on bonding surfaces.
However, in some cases it may be difficult to improve the alignment accuracy because it is difficult to accurately detect the marks in an inspection step during bonding.
Embodiments will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments. In the embodiments, “an upper direction” or “a lower direction” refers to a relative direction when a direction perpendicular to a surface of a semiconductor substrate on which semiconductor elements are provided is assumed as “an upper direction”. Therefore, the term “upper direction” or “lower direction” occasionally differs from an upper direction or a lower direction based on a gravitational acceleration direction. In the present specification and the drawings, elements identical to those described in the foregoing drawings are denoted by like reference characters and detailed explanations thereof are omitted as appropriate.
A semiconductor device according to the present embodiment incudes a first chip and a second chip. The second chip has a second surface which is opposed to the first surface of the first chip and on which the second chip is bonded to the first chip. The first chip includes a first substrate, a first wire, a first pad, and a first mark. The first wire is disposed on the first substrate. The first pad is disposed so as to be exposed from a first region on the first surface, and is electrically connected to the first wire. The first mark is provided by a first pattern and is disposed so as to be exposed from a second region different from the first region. The second chip includes a second substrate, a second wire, a second pad, and a second mark. The second wire is disposed on the second substrate. The second pad is disposed so as to be exposed from a third region on the second surface, and is electrically connected to the second wire and the first pad. The second mark is provided by a second pattern corresponding to the first pattern, is disposed so as to be exposed from a fourth region different from the third region, and has a thinner thickness than the second pad.
The semiconductor device includes a chip CHa and a chip CHb.
The chip CHa includes a semiconductor substrate, a wire 1a, a contact via 2a, a connection pad 3a, and a mark 7a. In the following explanation, a surface, of the semiconductor substrate, on which an inner circuit including wires is disposed is regarded as an upper surface.
The semiconductor substrate, which is not illustrated in
The wire 1a is disposed on the semiconductor substrate. For example, a conductive material such as copper or tungsten is used for the wire 1a. The barrier film 14 is disposed above the wire 1a. A diffusion suppressing film (barrier metal 5) is disposed in the surrounding area of the wire 1a excluding a portion above the wire 1a. For example, the barrier metal 5 is a titanium (Ti) or tantalum nitride film (TaN).
The contact via 2a connects the wire 1a and the connection pad 3a to each other. That is, the wire 1a and the connection pad 3a are electrically connected via the contact via 2a. For example, a conductive material such as tungsten is used for the contact via 2a.
The connection pad 3a is disposed so as to be exposed from a connection pad region A1 on a surface Fa of the chip CHa. The connection pad 3a is electrically connected to the wire 1a. The barrier metal 5 is disposed in the surrounding area of the connection pad 3a excluding a portion above the connection pad 3a. A wiring metal 6 is embedded in the connection pad 3a. For example, a conductive material such as a copper (Cu) film is used for the wiring metal 6. The contact via 2a is disposed to cause a current flow between the layers in the chip. In contrast, the connection pad 3a is disposed to cause a current flow between the chips CHa and CHb.
The mark 7a is provided by a pattern Pa and is disposed so as to be exposed from a mark region A2 different from the connection pad region A1. The mark 7a serves as an alignment mark for aligning wafers, for example. The mark 7a is disposed in a space (mark region A2) among wires, elements, circuits, or the like. The mark 7a may be disposed on a wafer cutting schedule line (scribe line), for example. Further, the barrier metal 5 is disposed in the surrounding area of the mark 7a excluding a portion above the mark 7a. The wiring metal 6 is embedded in the mark 7a. In addition, the same material for the connection pad 3a may be used for the mark 7a. The details of the pattern Pa will be explained later with reference to
The chip CHb is bonded, at a surface Fb which is opposed to the surface Fa of the chip CHa, to the chip CHa. Further, the chip CHb includes a semiconductor substrate, a wire 1b, a contact via 2b, a connection pad 3b, and a mark 7b.
The semiconductor substrate, which is not illustrated in
The wire 1b is disposed on the semiconductor substrate. The same material for the wire la may be used for the wire 1b.
The contact via 2b connects the wire 1b and the connection pad 3b to each other. That is, the wire 1b and the connection pad 3b are electrically connected via the contact via 2b. The same material for the contact via 2a may be used for the contact via 2b.
The connection pad 3b is disposed so as to be exposed from a connection pad region A3 on the surface Fb of the chip CHb. Further, the connection pad 3b is electrically connected to the wire 1b and the connection pad 3a. In addition, when the chip CHa and the chip CHb are bonded together, the connection pad 3b is connected to the connection pad 3a. The same material for the connection pad 3a may be used for the connection pad 3b.
The mark 7b is provided by a pattern Pb corresponding to the pattern Pa and is disposed so as to be exposed from a mark region A4 different from the connection pad region A3. The mark 7b serves as an alignment mark for aligning wafers, for example. The mark 7b is disposed in a space (mark region A4) among wires, elements, circuits, or the like. The mark 7b may be disposed on a wafer cutting schedule line (scribe line), for example. Further, the barrier metal 5 is disposed in the surrounding area of the mark 7b excluding a portion above the mark 7b. The wiring metal 6 is embedded in the mark 7b. The same material for the connection pad 3b may be used for the mark 7b. The mark 7b and the mark 7a are used for alignment of two bonded wafers, as explained later.
The pattern Pa has a substantially square shape the sides of which are four substantially rectangular marks 7a. The pattern Pb has a substantially square shape the sides of which are four substantially rectangular marks 7b. The pattern Pb is disposed inside the pattern Pa. Determination as to whether or not the pattern Pa and the pattern Pb are located at respective regular positions is made, for example, whereby alignment is performed. The patterns of the marks 7a, 7b are not limited to the patterns Pa and Pb, and any patterns may be adopted as long as alignment of wafers can be performed.
As illustrated in
When two wafers are bonded, an overlay inspection using infrared rays, for example, is performed to detect the marks 7a, 7b, as explained later. In the overlay inspection, an overlay error in wafers or the chips CHa, CHb is measured or determined. For example, whether the relative position of the pattern Pa on an upper layer to the pattern Pb on a lower layer matches a reference position is confirmed. As a result, the relative positions of two wafers can be adjusted. However, in a case where the height difference 8 is large, focusing is difficult in some cases. For example, when an upper-layer mark (e.g. mark 7a) is focused, focusing on a lower-layer mark (e.g. mark 7b) is cancelled so that defocusing occurs. In this case, the mark 7b in
Therefore, the thicknesses of the marks 7a, 7b are reduced so that the height difference 8 can be reduced.
Accordingly, the marks 7a, 7b are inhibited from becoming defocused during the overlay inspection so that the detection accuracy of the marks 7a, 7b can be improved. As a result of this, the alignment accuracy of the chips CHa, CHb can be improved. In addition, the thicknesses of the marks 7a, 7b are reduced so that the tapering width 9 can be reduced. Accordingly, the edges of the marks 7a, 7b are inhibited from blurring during the overlay inspection so that the detection accuracy of the marks 7a, 7b can be improved. As a result of this, the alignment accuracy of the chips CHa, CHb can be improved.
From the viewpoint of the detection accuracy, the thinner thickness of the mark 7b is preferable. However, when the mark 7b is excessively thin, detection of the mark 7b may be difficult during the overlay inspection. In a case where the mark 7b is detected with infrared rays, the thickness of the mark 7b is preferably equal to or larger than approximately 40 nm, for example.
Next, a manufacturing method of the semiconductor device will be explained.
Each of
First, as illustrated in
Next, a resist 12 is formed on the interlayer insulating film 11, as illustrated in
Next, the resist 12 in the mark region A4 is removed by a lithography process, as illustrated in
Next, the interlayer insulating film 11 is removed by a dry etching process until the stopper film 10 is exposed, as illustrated in
Next, a resist 13 is formed, as illustrated in
Next, the resist 13 in the connection pad region A3 is removed by a lithography process, as illustrated in
Next, the interlayer insulating film 11 and the stopper film 10 are removed by a dry etching process until the upper surface of the contact via 2b is exposed, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Next, a detection unit is set on the lower wafer (e.g. wafer Wb) side, the position of the mark 7a and the position of the mark 7b are detected with infrared rays, whereby an overlay inspection is performed on the wafers Wa, Wb.
In the overlay inspection that is performed after bonding, transmission light may be used or reflection light may be used, for example. In a case where transmission light is used, a light source thereof and the detection unit are disposed on the wafer Wa side and the wafer Wb side, respectively. In a case where reflection light is used, a light source thereof and the detection unit are disposed on the wafer Wb side. In either case, the detection unit is disposed on the wafer Wb side having the mark 7b which is thinner than the connection pad 3b. In the embodiment illustrated in
As explained so far, according to the first embodiment, the connection pad 3b is disposed so as to be exposed from the connection pad region A3 on the surface Fb, and is electrically connected to the wire 1b and the connection pad 3a. The mark 7b is provided by the pattern Pb corresponding to the pattern Pa, is disposed so as to be exposed from the mark region A4 different from the connection pad region A3, and has a thinner thickness from the surface Fb than the connection pad 3b. Accordingly, the height difference 8 and the tapering width 9 can be suppressed, defocusing and edge blurring during the overlay inspection can be suppressed, and the measurement accuracy of the positions of the marks 7a, 7b can be improved. As a result of this, the alignment accuracy of the wafers Wa, Wb can be improved.
The contact vias 2a, 2b illustrated in
Further, the contact vias 2a, 2b does not need to be provided. In this case, the connection pads 3a, 3b are directly connected to the wires 1a, 1b, respectively.
Processes the same as those in
After
Thereafter, as illustrated in
Either of the wafer Wa and the wafer Wb may be manufactured first, or both the wafers may be parallelly manufactured.
Since the detection unit is disposed on the wafer Wb side, the thickness of the mark 7a does not affect the overlay inspection. Therefore, in the first modification, the number of processes can be made less than that in the first embodiment. Further, in at least one of the chips CHa, CHb in the first modification, it is sufficient that the mark 7a, 7b is thinner than the connection pad 3a, 3b. That is, in a case where the position of the detection unit during the overlay inspection is decided, the thickness of the mark 7a/7b nearer to the detection unit is set to be thinner than the thickness of the connection pad 3a/3b.
In
With the semiconductor device according to the first modification, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be provided.
Each of
First, the wire 1b and the contact via 2b that is connected to the wire 1b are formed on the semiconductor substrate which is the wafer Wb, as illustrated in
Next, the resist 12 is formed on the interlayer insulating film 11, as illustrated in
Next, by a lithography process using a gray scale lithography technology, the resist 12 in the connection pad region A3 is removed, and, at the same time, the resist 12 in the mark region A4 is partially removed, as illustrated in
Next, the hole H2 is formed by removing the interlayer insulating film 11 and the barrier film 14 by a dry etching process until the upper surface of the contact via 2b is exposed in the connection pad region A3, and, at the same time, the trench T2 that is shallower than the hole H2 is formed by partially removing the interlayer insulating film 11 in the mark region A4, as illustrated in
The following processes are identical to those in the first embodiment. The connection pad 3b and the mark 7b are formed such that the final thickness of the connection pad 3b is approximately 500 nm, for example, and the final thickness of the mark 7b is approximately 300 nm, for example.
In the second embodiment, the connection pad 3b and the mark 7b are formed by the same lithography process. Accordingly, a positional deviation between the connection pad 3b and the mark 7b can be prevented. Further, the accuracy of the overlay inspection can be higher than that in the first embodiment. Moreover, the connection pad 3b and the mark 7b can be formed by the single lithography process and the single dry etching process, whereby the number of processes can be less than that in the first embodiment.
With the semiconductor device according to the second embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be provided.
A semiconductor device according to a second modification is different from that of the second embodiment in that the second modification uses a nano-imprinting technology during a lithography process.
In
With the semiconductor device according to the second modification, the same effect as that of the second embodiment can be provided.
The width of the mark 7b is narrower than the width of the connection pad 3b. That is, the mark 7b has a thinner thickness and a narrower width than the connection pad 3b. The width of the mark 7b is equal to or smaller than a half of the width of the connection pad 3b, for example. Further, the width of the mark 7b represents a shorter diameter of the mark 7b illustrated in
The rest of the configuration of the semiconductor device according to the third embodiment is identical to those of the semiconductor device according to the first embodiment. Therefore, a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.
Next, a manufacturing method of the semiconductor device will be explained.
Each of
First, the wire 1b and the contact via 2b that is connected to the wire 1b are formed on a semiconductor substrate which is the wafer Wb, as illustrated in
Next, the resist 12 is formed on the interlayer insulating film 11, as illustrated in
Next, the resist 12 in the connection pad region A3 and the mark region A4 is removed by a lithography process, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
The following steps are identical to those in the first embodiment. The connection pad 3b and the mark 7b are formed such that the final thickness of the connection pad 3b is approximately 500 nm, for example, and the thickness of the mark 7b is approximately 300 nm, for example.
In the third embodiment, the horizontal size of the mark 7b is set to be smaller than the horizontal size of the connection pad 3b, and a loading effect is used in the dry etching process. Accordingly, the mark 7b having a thinner thickness than the connection pad 3b can be formed by the single lithography process and the single dry etching process, the accuracy of the overlay inspection can be improved, and further, the number of processes can be reduced. In addition, in a case where a loading effect is used, the mark 7b can be more easily formed, compared to the gray scale lithography or the nanoimprint lithography, which have been explained in the second embodiment and the second modification, respectively.
With the semiconductor device according to the third embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be provided.
The connection pad 3b includes a pad portion 31b and a pad portion 32b.
The pad portion 31b is disposed so as to be exposed from the connection pad region A3. The thickness, of the pad portion 31b, from the surface Fb is equal to the thickness, of the mark 7b, from the surface Fb.
The pad portion 32b is disposed below the pad portion 31b, and has a width different from that of the pad portion 31b. More specifically, the width (width W1) of the pad portion 32b is narrower than the width (width W2) of the pad portion 31b. Widths of the pad portion 31b and the pad portion 32b include both a shorter diameter and a longer diameter. For example, the pad portion 32b having a substantially square shape and having a smaller area than the pad portion 31b is disposed below the pad portion 31b having a substantially square shape. The pad portion 32b is formed by the same embedding process for the pad portion 31b. Therefore, the material characteristics, etc. of the pad portion 32b are identical to those of the pad portion 31b.
The rest of the configuration of the semiconductor device according to the fourth embodiment is identical to those of the semiconductor device according to the first embodiment. Therefore, a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.
Next, a manufacturing method of the semiconductor device will be explained.
Each of
First, the wire 1b and the contact via 2b that is connected to the wire 1b are formed on a semiconductor substrate which is the wafer Wb, as illustrated in
Next, the resist 12 is formed on the interlayer insulating film 11, as illustrated in
Next, the resist 12 is removed from an inner region A31 that is narrower than the connection pad region A3, by a lithography process, as illustrated in
Next, the interlayer insulating film 11 is removed by a dry etching process until the stopper film 10 is exposed, as illustrated in
Next, the resist 13 is formed, as illustrated in
Next, the resist 13 is removed from the connection pad region A3 and the mark region A4 by a lithography process, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
The following steps are identical to those in the first embodiment. The connection pad 3b and the mark 7b are formed such that the final thickness of the connection pad 3b is approximately 500 nm, for example, and the thickness of the mark 7b is approximately 300 nm, for example.
In the fourth embodiment, the connection pad 3b is formed by two stages, and further, the upper portion (pad portion 31b) of the connection pad 3b and the mark 7b are formed by the same lithography process. Accordingly, the mark 7b having a thinner thickness than the connection pad 3b can be formed. Moreover, the same lithography process is performed to decide the position of the pad portion 31b and the position of the mark 7b which constitute an exposed surface for bonding. Therefore, the accuracy of the overlay inspection can be higher than that in the first embodiment.
The semiconductor device according to the fourth embodiment can provide the same effect as the first embodiment.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2020-040202 | Mar 2020 | JP | national |