Patent Application
20070063266
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application P2005-276786 filed on Sep. 22, 2005; the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having a high dielectric constant insulating film and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
To assist in providing a high-density large-scale integrated circuit (LSI), a gate insulating film and a capacitor insulating film have become thinner in recent years. In order to avoid an increase in a leak current due to thinning of the gate insulating film and the capacitor insulating film, measures have been taken to change a structure of a semiconductor device to a three-dimensional structure and the like. Moreover, there is a proposal to increase a physical film thickness by use of a high dielectric constant insulating film to suppress the increase of the leak current (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Official Gazette No. 2005-109231).
Particularly, in a non-volatile semiconductor storage device, such as an electrically erasable and programmable read only memory (EEPROM), there has been an attempt to increase a dielectric constant of an inter-polysilicon dielectric (IPD) film, which is formed between a charge storage layer and a control electrode, by using a silicon oxide/silicon nitride/silicon oxide stack (ONO) film, for example. Concurrently, there is also an attempt to use a three-dimensional structure in order to increase the area of the IPD film. However, as the distance between adjacent memory cells in the semiconductor storage device is shortened, inter-cell interference, which is interference between the adjacent cells, is significantly increased. Accordingly, device characteristics are deteriorated. Thus, it is difficult to increase the area of the IPD film by using the three-dimensional structure.
For this reason, in order to achieve a next-generation non-volatile semiconductor storage device, it is necessary to use an insulating film having a higher dielectric constant as an IPD film. By using the high dielectric constant insulating film, capacitance of the IPD film can be increased without increasing the area of the IPD film. Thus, it is no longer necessary to use the three-dimensional structure, and manufacturing processes can be simplified. As a result, performance of the memory cells is improved, and a manufacturing method for a semiconductor storage device is simplified. Hence, it is possible to increase the manufacturing yield of a semiconductor storage device.
As a high dielectric constant insulating film, a composite oxide film, such as hafnium aluminate (HfAlO), is deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), such as atomic layer deposition (ALD). CVD may provide a uniform film thickness, mass productivity, low damage rates and the like, for the composite oxide film. However, when the high dielectric constant insulating film is used in an EEPROM, as an IPD film, there is a problem that a leak current cannot be sufficiently suppressed due to a high electric field applied to the IPD film.
A first aspect of the present invention inheres in a semiconductor device including a semiconductor region; a first high dielectric constant insulating film provided on the semiconductor region, the first high dielectric constant insulating film being a film other than alumina; a second high dielectric constant insulating film provided on the first high dielectric constant insulating film, the second high dielectric constant insulating film being an alumina film; and a conductive layer provided on the second high dielectric constant insulating film.
A second aspect of the present invention inheres in a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including depositing a first high dielectric constant insulating film on a semiconductor region, the first high dielectric constant insulating film being a film other than alumina; depositing a second high dielectric constant insulating film on the first high dielectric constant insulating film, the second high dielectric constant insulating film being an alumina film; anneal the second high dielectric constant insulating film; and depositing a conductive layer on the second high dielectric constant insulating film in a reducing atmosphere.
FIGS. 5 to 10 are cross sectional views taken on line V-V of the semiconductor device shown in
Various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be noted that the same or similar reference numerals are applied to the same or similar parts and elements throughout the drawings, and the description of the same or similar parts and elements will be omitted or simplified.
(First Embodiment)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a semiconductor device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is a non-volatile semiconductor storage device 1, such as a NAND-type electrically rewritable non-volatile memory (EEPROM). The non-volatile semiconductor storage device 1 includes a conductive film (a semiconductor region) 19, a first high dielectric constant insulating film 20, a second high dielectric constant insulating film (an alumina (Al2O3) film) 21, and a conductive layer (a control gate electrode) 22. In the first embodiment, the first and second high dielectric constant insulating films 20, 21 are used for an inter-electrode insulating film (an IPD film) 2 between a floating gate electrode 4 and the control gate electrode 22. The floating gate 4 serves as a charge storage layer.
The first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 is provided directly on the conductive film 19, and contains a metal element other than aluminum (Al). The Al2O3 film 21 is provided on the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20. The conductive layer 22 is provided on the Al2O3 film 21. Consequently, it is possible to reduce a leak current flowing between the semiconductor region 19 and the conductive layer 22 through the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20.
The non-volatile semiconductor storage device 1 includes a semiconductor substrate 11. Isolation trenches 17 are formed in the semiconductor substrate 11. Isolation insulating films 18 are buried in the isolation trenches 17. A plurality of element regions are defined, and isolated from each other, by the isolation insulating films 18.
In each of the element regions, an insulating layer 12, which is a first gate insulating film, is provided on the semiconductor substrate 11. The floating gate electrode 4 has a laminated structure which includes the conductive films 13 and 19 and is provided on the insulating layer 12. Each of the conductive films 13 and 19 is a heavily-doped semiconductor film.
The IPD film 2, which is a second gate insulating film, is provided on the conductive film 19. The IPD film 2 has a laminated structure that includes the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 as a lower film and the Al2O3 film 21 as an upper film. For the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20, a composite oxide containing Al may be used. Specifically, hafnium aluminate (HfAlO), zirconium aluminate (ZrAlO), lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO) or the like is used as the composite oxide containing aluminum.
The conductive layer 22, which is a control gate electrode, is provided on the Al2O3 film 21. An insulating layer 29, which serves as a passivation film, is provided on the conductive layer 22. The insulating layer 29 is also disposed on source/drain regions 25. The source/drain regions 25 are provided in the semiconductor substrate 11 from a surface of the semiconductor substrate 11.
Next, a description will be given with respect to a method for manufacturing the non-volatile semiconductor storage device 1 according to the first embodiment.
As shown in
On the first conductive film 13, a silicon nitride (Si3N4) film 14 is deposited with a thickness in a range of about 50 nm to about 200 nm by CVD and the like. Furthermore, on the Si3N4 film 14, a silicon oxide (SiO2) film 15 is deposited with a thickness in a range of about 50 nm to about 400 nm by CVD and the like. A resist film is formed by coating a photoresist onto the SiO2 film 15. The resist film is patterned by photolithography and the like, to form a resist mask 16.
As shown in
The Si3N4 film 14 is etched by RIE and the like, using the SiO2 film 15 as a mask. Subsequently, the first conductive film 13, the first insulating layer 12 and the substrate 11 are selectively removed by RIE and the like, to form isolation trenches 17. After etching, a high-temperature oxidation process is performed for eliminating damages caused by RIE and the like, on side faces of the first conductive film 13, the first insulating layer 12 and the silicon substrate 11.
An insulating film, such as SiO2, is deposited with a thickness in a range of about 200 nm to about 1500 nm by CVD and the like, to fill in the isolation trenches 17. The deposited insulating film is annealed at a high temperature in a nitrogen atmosphere or an oxygen atmosphere so as to densify the insulating film. The annealed insulating film is planarized by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) and the like, using the Si3N4 film 14 as a stopper, to form isolation insulating films 18. Thus, the annealed insulating film on the Si3N4 film 14 is removed. Subsequently, the Si3N4 film 14 is removed by hot phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and the like, which provides a significant etching selectivity of Si3N4 to SiO2. Thus, a cross sectional structure shown in
In the first embodiment, the laminated film, which includes the Si3N4 film 14 and the SiO2 film 15, is used as a mask to form the isolation trench 17. However, by providing an appropriate thickness of the Si3N4 film 14 or the SiO2 film 15, and a RIE condition, a single layer Si3N4 film or a single layer SiO2 film may be used as a mask. Moreover, a single layer film or a multilayer film other than Si3N4 and SiO2, can be used as a mask, as long as the film is made of a material which can be selectively etched over SiO2.
As shown in
As shown in
Deposition of the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 onto the conductive film 19 is achieved by the sequential and repeated execution of deposition sequences. Each sequence includes: sequentially and repeatedly executing a plurality of cycles, each cycle includes introducing a hafnium (Hf) compound gas so as to adsorb first reactive species on a surface of the conductive film 19, purging the unreacted Hf compound gas, introducing an oxidant gas to the surface of the conductive film 19 so as to react the oxidant gas with the adsorbed first reactive species, and purging the unreacted oxidant gas; and sequentially and repeatedly executing a cycle which includes introducing an Al compound so as to adsorb second reactive species on the processing surface of the conductive film 19, purging the unreacted Al compound gas, introducing the oxidant gas to the processing surface of the conductive film 19 so as to react the oxidant gas with the adsorbed second reactive species, and purging the unreacted oxidant gas. The first reactive species are molecules of the Hf compound or decomposed molecules of the Hf compound, and the second reactive species are molecules of the Al compound or decomposed molecules of the Al compound.
Specifically, the processed Si substrate 11 is transported into a vacuum chamber of an ALD apparatus that is maintained at a pressure of about 40 Pa. The Si substrate 11 is heated to a temperature of about 290° C. A source gas including an Al compound, such as trimethylaluminum (TMA), and an oxidant gas, such as ozone (O3), are alternately fed to a surface of the Si substrate 11 so as to deposit an aluminum oxide (AlO) film, in which an Al atomic layer and an oxygen (O) atomic layer are respectively formed. Moreover, a source gas including a Hf compound, such as tetrakis ethylmethylamino hafnium (TEMAH), and the oxidant gas, such as O3, are alternately fed to the surface of the Si substrate 11 so as to deposit a hafnium oxide (HfO) film, in which a Hf atomic layer and an O atomic layer are respectively formed. The AlO film and the HfO film are stacked in layers, and deposition of the AlO film and the HfO film is repeated to provide a desired number of layers, respectively. Thus, a HfAlO film, which has a required composition ratio of Al to Hf and a required thickness, is deposited.
The flow rate of a carrier gas of TMA is about 200 sccm, and a carrier gas of TEMAH is about 500 sccm, respectively. The flow rate of O3 is about five slm, and the concentration of O3 is about 250 g/m3. Moreover, the time for feeding each source gas to the surface of the Si substrate 11 is about one second for TMA, about two seconds for TEMAH, and about three seconds for O3. Furthermore, a nitrogen (N2) gas for purging the atmosphere inside the vacuum chamber is introduced with a flow rate of about 5 slm for about two to about three seconds between alternate feeding of TMA and O3, and between alternate feeding of TEMAH and O3.
For a specific number of alternate feeding cycles, a sequence, in which one alternate feeding cycle of TMA and O3 is performed every thirteen alternate feeding cycles of TEMAH and O3, is repeated fifteen times. Accordingly, a HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 with a thickness of about twenty nm is deposited. Here, by increasing or decreasing the number of alternate feeding cycles of TEMAH and O3, the composition ratio of Al to Hf can be changed. Moreover, by increasing or decreasing the number of repeating sequences, the thickness of the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 can be adjusted.
Thereafter, first post deposition anneal (PDA) is performed at a temperature of about 500° C. to about 1200° C., for example, for about ten minutes to about two hours by furnace annealing, or for about one second to about thirty minutes by lamp annealing. The HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 is densified by the first PDA to improve film quality of the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20. Note that the first PDA for the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 can be omitted, if a second PDA is performed for an Al2O3 film, which will be described later. However, since the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 is densified by the first PDA, diffusion of the Al2O3 film into the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 may be prevented during the second PDA. Accordingly, it is possible to cover the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 by Al atoms, even with a thinner Al2O3 film, so as not to reveal a Hf atom, when depositing a conductive layer 22.
If the first PDA is omitted, an Al2O3 film is deposited for the second high dielectric constant insulating film 21 on the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 immediately after depositing the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20. A method of depositing the Al2O3 film by ALD will be described in detail below.
The Al2O3 film deposition onto the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 is achieved by the sequential and repeated execution of processing cycles. Each cycle includes introducing an Al compound gas so as to adsorb reactive species on a surface of the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20, purging the unreacted Al compound gas, introducing an oxidant gas to the surface of the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 so as to react the oxidant gas with the adsorbed reactive species, and purging the unreacted oxidant gas. The reactive species are molecules of the aluminum compound or decomposed molecules of the aluminum compound.
Specifically, leaving the Si substrate 11 in the vacuum chamber, the pressure in the vacuum chamber is maintained at about 40 Pa, and the temperature of the Si substrate 11 is maintained at about 290° C. By alternate feeding of TMA and O3 to the surface of the Si substrate 11, an AlO film, in which an Al atomic layer and an O atomic layer are respectively formed, can be deposited. The AlO film is stacked in layers, and deposition of the AlO film is repeated to provide a desired number of layers. Thus, an Al2O3 film, which has a required thickness, is deposited directly on the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20.
In addition, if the first PDA for the HfAlO film 20 is omitted, the Al2O3 film 21 is deposited immediately after deposition of the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20. After the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20, which contains Hf and Al, is deposited on the first conductive layer 19 by ALD, the source gases, such as TMA and O3, are alternately fed subsequently by ALD while maintaining the pressure in the vacuum chamber and the temperature of the Si substrate 11. The Al source gas of TMA and the oxidant source gas of O3 are commonly used for both ALD for the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 and the Al2O3 film 21. Thus, an increase in manufacturing costs can be minimized, and damage, such as incorporation of unexpected impurities into the HfAlO film 20 and the Al2O3 film 21, may be suppressed.
The flow rate of a carrier gas of TMA is about 200 sccm, the flow rate of O3 is about 5 slm, and the concentration of O3 is about 250 g/m3. Moreover, the time for feeding the source gas to the substrate 11 is about one second for TMA and about three seconds for O3. Furthermore, a N2 gas for purging the atmosphere inside of the vacuum chamber is introduced with a flow late of about five slm for about two to about three seconds between alternate feeding of TMA and O3.
As shown in
As a second PDA for the Al2O3 film 21, the Al2O3 film 21 is annealed at a temperature of about 500° C. to about 1200° C., for example, for about ten minutes to about two hours by furnace annealing, or for about one second to about thirty minutes by lamp annealing. The Al2O3 film 21 is densified by the second PDA to improve film quality of the Al2O3 film 21. Moreover, when the first PDA for the HfAlO film 20 is omitted, the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 is also annealed by the second PDA for the Al2O3 film 21. Thus, the HfAlO film 20 is also densified to improve film quality of the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20. Since an exposed surface of the Si substrate 11 is covered with the Al2O3 film 21, Hf atoms of the HfAlO film 20 are not exposed on the exposed surface of the Si substrate 11 at deposition of the conductive layer 22.
Accordingly, an IPD film 2, which serves as a second gate insulating film, is formed. The IPD film 2 has a laminated structure including the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 as a lower film and the Al2O3 film 21 as an upper film.
As shown in
When the poly-Si film is deposited by CVD, a silane (SiH4) gas may be used as a source gas. As a result, the interior atmosphere of a vacuum chamber of a CVD apparatus becomes a SiH4 reducing atmosphere. If there are O atoms bonded to Hf atoms on an exposed surface of a film above the substrate 11, hydrogen radicals in the SiH4 reducing atmosphere may extract the O atoms.
When the surface of the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 is exposed in the SiH4 reducing atmosphere, the O atoms bonded to the Hf atoms in the exposed surface of the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 are extracted. Therefore, it is understood that a leak current through the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 may occur due to oxygen deficiency in the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20.
On the contrary, the hydrogen radicals in the SiH4 reducing atmosphere cannot extract the exposed O atoms bonded to Al atoms. Therefore, the hydrogen radicals cannot extract the O atoms from the exposed Al2O3 film 21. Since the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 is located deeper than the exposed surface of the Al2O3 film 21, the hydrogen radicals cannot extract the O atoms in the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20. Thus, it is possible to reduce a leak current due to oxygen deficiency in the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20.
The oxygen deficiency in the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 may occur due to the reducing atmosphere during CVD of the poly-Si film as the conductive film 22. Thus, it is also effective to cover the surface of the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 by the Al2O3 film 21 for reducing a leak current due to oxygen deficiency, when depositing the conductive film 22 using another source gas that provide a reducing atmosphere. For example, when titanium nitride (TiN) film is used as the conductive film 22 by CVD, source gases that provide a reducing atmosphere, such as titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) and ammonia (NH3), may be used, and oxygen deficiency in the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 may be suppressed by using the Al2O3 film 21 to cover the surface of the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20.
A HfAlO film, instead a hafnia (HfO) film, is used for the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20, even though the dielectric constant of HfAlO is less than that of HfO. This is because a HfAlO film has a good surface morphology compared with a HfO film. In the HfO film, when a thickness of the HfO film is decreased, the surface morphology of the HfO film is deteriorated. Thus, even if the Al2O3 film 21 is deposited on the HfO film, pin holes and the like are generated in the Al2O3 film 21. Consequently, it is difficult to obtain an Al2O3 film having a uniform thickness as a diffusion barrier film against the hydrogen radicals and the O atoms. On the contrary, it is possible to provide a high dielectric constant insulating film having a uniform thickness using the HfAlO film, in which about 5% or more of AlO is added to HfO. Therefore, the Al2O3 film 21 deposited on the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20, may also have a uniform thickness, and can be an effective diffusion barrier film against the hydrogen radicals and the O atoms.
The Al2O3 film 21 is suitable as the diffusion barrier film against the hydrogen radicals and the O atoms. This is because the Al2O3 film 21 can also be deposited in the oxidizing atmosphere just like the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20. For a diffusion barrier film, a Si3N4 film and the like can be used. However, since the Si3N4 film is deposited in the reducing atmosphere, the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 may be damaged when depositing the Si3N4 film. Since the Al2O3 film 21 can be deposited in the oxidizing atmosphere, damage to the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 can be suppressed. Moreover, the Al and O atoms in the Al2O3 film 21 are constituent elements of the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20. Thus, there is also an advantage that the diffusion barrier film may be deposited immediately after the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 has been deposited.
Furthermore, in the NAND-type EEPROM, there may be a case where the sidewalls of a floating gate electrode are oxidized. By using the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 together with the Al2O3 film 21, which serves as a diffusion barrier, for the IPD film 2, it is possible to prevent reduction of capacitance of the IPD film 2 by oxidation of Si atoms of the conductive layer 22 at an interface between the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 and the conductive layer 22 during a sidewall oxidation process for the floating gate electrode 4. O atoms easily diffuse in the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20. Therefore, if the conductive layer 22 is provided on the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 without the Al2O3 film 21, the conductive layer 22 may be oxidized to form a SiO2film inthe interface between the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 and the conductive layer 22. However, when the Al2O3 film 21 is provided between the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 and the conductive layer 22, the Al2O3 film 21 prevents diffusion of the O atoms into the conductive layer 22. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent formation of a SiO2 film, and the IPD film 2 having a high dielectric constant can be finally obtained.
As shown in
For example, the conductive layer 22 is selectively removed using the Al2O3 film 21 as a stopper. The Al2O3 film 21 and the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 are selectively removed using the second conductive film 19 as a stopper. The second conductive film 19 and the first conductive film 13 are selectively removed using the first insulating layer 12 as a stopper. The first insulating layer 12 is selectively removed using the substrate 11 as a stopper. A laminated structure including the conductive layer 22, the Al2O3 film 21, the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20, the second conductive film 19, the first conductive film 13, and the first insulating layer 12 is referred to a gate structure.
Using the gate structures as a self-align mask, n-type impurities are introduced by ion implantation from the surface of the Si substrate 11 exposed between the gate structures. Thereafter, the resist pattern 24 is removed. Subsequently, the implanted impurities are activated by activation annealing to form source/drain regions 25 in the Si substrate 11. Accordingly, a plurality of memory cells, each including the gate structures and the source/drain regions 25, disposed on both sides of the gate structures, can be formed.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an insulating layer 29, which serves as a passivation film, is deposited on the conductive layer 22 and the source/drain regions 25 by CVD and the like. For the insulating layer 29, a laminated film including a SiO2 film and a Si3N4 film may be used.
Hence, the method of manufacturing the non-volatile semiconductor storage device 1 according to the first embodiment is complete.
A leak current of the non-volatile semiconductor storage device 1, manufactured by the foregoing manufacturing method, has been measured. For example, a voltage is applied between the floating gate electrode 4 and the control gate electrode (conductive layer) 22 so that electric field strength in the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 is about 300 MV/m. Thus, a leak current density flowing in the thickness direction through the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 can be measured.
As a result of the measurement, as shown in
As described above, by providing the Al2O3 film 21, the leak current density J can be reduced compared with the comparative example. Specifically, the leak current density J can be reduced to about 1/40 or less compared with the comparative example, by providing the number of alternate feeding of TMA and O3 in ALD for the Al2O3 film 21 within a range of 3 to 20 cycles, or by providing the thickness of the Al2O3 film 21 within a range of about 0.2 nm to about 1.6 nm.
Furthermore, the leak current density J can be reduced to about 1/100 or less compared with the comparative example by providing the number of alternate feeding of TMA and O3 in ALD for the Al2O3 film 21 within a range of 5 to 15 cycles, or by providing the thickness of the Al2O3 film 21 within a range of about 0.4 nm to about 1.2 nm.
Particularly, the leak current density can be reduced to about 1/200 or less compared with the comparative example by providing the number of alternate feeding of TMA and O3 in ALD for the Al2O3 film 21 of 10 cycles, or by providing the thickness of the Al2O3 film 21 of about 0.8 nm.
Moreover, in the first embodiment, descriptions have been given for the case where the poly-Si film is used for the conductive layer 22. However, it has been confirmed that the effect of reducing the leak current density is achieved also when a metal film, such as titanium (Ti), or a metal nitride film, such as titanium nitride (TiN), is used for the conductive layer 22.
In the first embodiment, when the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 is used in the IPD film 2, the leak current can be reduced by introducing the Al2O3 film 21 only between the poly-Si film of the conductive layer 22 above the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 and the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20. Details thereof will be described below.
A HfAlO film used for the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 has a dielectric constant of about 10 to about 25. The more the concentration of Hf in the film is increased, the more the dielectric constant is increased. Therefore, for a condition of the same capacitance of the IPD film 2, a thickness of the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 can be increased by increasing the concentration of Hf in the high dielectric constant insulating film. As a result, it is possible to reduce the leak current through the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20.
However, the free energy of HfO2, which is about −253 Kcal/mol, is smaller than the free energy of Al2O3, which is about −378 Kcal/mol. Thus, a bonding strength between a Hf atom and an O atom in HfO2 is smaller than a bonding strength between an Al atom and an O atom in Al2O3. In the reducing atmosphere, the O atoms bonded to the Hf atoms may be more easily extracted into the reducing atmosphere than the O atoms bonded to the Al atoms. When the HfAlO film is exposed in the reducing atmosphere, the higher the concentration of hafnium in the film, the more likely oxygen deficiency occurs. The oxygen deficiency causes an increase of the leak current through the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20.
As described above, in the HfAlO film, the increase of the dielectric constant and the reduction of the leak current are in a trade-off relationship. When the poly-Si conductive layer 22 is deposited without the Al2O3 film 21 after deposition of the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20, a leak current due to oxygen deficiency, which occurs in the SiH4 reducing atmosphere during poly-Si CVD, may be increased together with an increase of the Hf concentration in the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20.
This is because the concentration of the O atoms bonded to the Hf atoms in the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 is increased together with the increase in the Hf concentration in the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20. Thus, after the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 has been deposited, the Al2O3 film 21 is deposited on the HfAlO high dielectric constant insulating film 20 before deposition of the poly-Si conductive layer 22.
The surface of the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 is covered with the Al atoms and the O atoms bonded to the Al atoms. Since the Hf atoms and the O atoms bonded to the Hf atoms are not exposed in the reducing atmosphere, the O atoms may not be extracted from the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20. In the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 covered with the Al2O3 film 21, the oxygen deficiency does not occur in the SiH4 reducing atmosphere. Thus, an increase in the leak current can be suppressed.
Note that, as shown in
As described above, although the Al2O3 film 21 is necessary for reducing the leak current, it is understood that, when the Al2O3 film is too thick, the leak current is increased. Therefore, there is an optimum thickness for effectively reducing the leak current.
As shown in
Since the Al2O3 film 21 is deposited by ALD, the number of alternate feeding cycles of the source gases of TMA and O3, is in a one-on-one relation with the thickness of the Al2O3 film 21. Specifically, the optimum thickness can be determined with the optimum number of alternate feeding cycles. Thus, the desirable number of alternate feeding is about three to about twenty cycles, and more desirably, about five to about fifteen cycles.
As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to provide a semiconductor device having a high dielectric constant insulating film capable of effectively suppressing a leak current.
(Second Embodiment)
A semiconductor device according to a second embodiment of the present invention is also a non-volatile semiconductor storage device 1 such as a NAND-type EEPROM, as shown in
The non-volatile semiconductor storage device 1 includes the Si substrate (semiconductor region) 11, a first high dielectric constant insulating film 28 on the substrate 11, a second high dielectric constant insulating film (an Al2O3 film) 27 on the high dielectric constant insulating film 28, a first conductive film 13 on the Al2O3 film 27, and a conductive film 19 on the conductive film 13. Consequently, it is possible to reduce a leak current flowing between the substrate (semiconductor region) 11 and the first and second conductive films (conductive layer) 13, 19 through the high dielectric constant insulating film 28.
The non-volatile semiconductor storage device 1 according to the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the first gate insulating film 12a has a laminated structure including the first high dielectric constant insulating film 28 as a lower film and the Al2O3 film 27 as an upper film. The other configurations are similar to the first embodiment. Thus, duplicated descriptions are omitted.
For the high dielectric constant insulating film 28, a composite oxide containing Al, such as HfAlO, ZrAlO, LaAlO, may be used.
A manufacturing method of the non-volatile semiconductor storage device 1 according to the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in a deposition method of the first gate insulating film 12a. For a deposition method of the first gate insulating film 12a according to the second embodiment, the deposition methods of the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 and the Al2O3 film 21, including PDA, according to first embodiment, are used. Moreover, desired thicknesses of the high dielectric constant insulating film 28 and the Al2O3 film 27 are provided by adjusting the number of alternate feeding cycles of the source gases as needed.
Furthermore, the same effect of reducing the leak current, as shown in
As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to provide a semiconductor device having a high dielectric constant insulating film capable of effectively suppressing a leak current.
(Third Embodiment)
As shown in
The volatile semiconductor storage device 2 includes a semiconductor region (a plate electrode) 31, the first high dielectric constant insulating film 33, the second high dielectric constant insulating film (an Al2O3 film) 34, and a conductive layer (a storage electrode) 36. The first high dielectric constant insulating film 33 is provided on the semiconductor region 31. The Al2O3 film 34 is provided on the first high dielectric constant insulating film 33. The conductive layer 36 is provided on the Al2O3 film 34. Consequently, it is possible to reduce a leak current flowing between the semiconductor region 31 and the conductive layer 36 through the first high dielectric constant insulating film 33.
Furthermore, the volatile semiconductor storage device 2 includes a semiconductor region (a Si substrate) 11, the first high dielectric constant insulating film 28, the second high dielectric constant insulating film (an Al2O3 film) 27, and a conductive layer (a gate electrode) 13. The first high dielectric constant insulating film 28 is provided on the semiconductor region 11. The Al2O3 film 27 is provided on the first high dielectric constant insulating film 28. The conductive layer 13 is provided on the Al2O3 film 27. Consequently, it is possible to reduce a leak current flowing between the semiconductor region 11 and the conductive layer 13 through the first high dielectric constant insulating film 28.
As described above, the volatile semiconductor storage device 2 includes the substrate 11, the plate electrode 31, the first high dielectric constant insulating film 33, the Al2O3 film 34, a collar oxide film 35, the storage electrode 36, source/drain regions 25, the first high dielectric constant insulating film 28, the Al2O3 film 27, and the gate electrode 13. The volatile semiconductor storage device 2 has a capacitor which includes the plate electrode 31, the capacitor insulating film 6, and storage electrode 36.
For the substrate 11, a p-type Si substrate may be used. The capacitor insulating film 6, which includes the first high dielectric constant insulating film 33 and the Al2O3 film 34, is provided in a deep trench 32 formed in the substrate 11.
Moreover, the volatile semiconductor storage device 2 has a select transistor which includes the source/drain regions 25, the gate insulating film 12a, and the gate electrode 13. The gate insulating film 12a includes the first high dielectric constant insulating film 28 and the Al2O3 film 27. The source/drain regions 25 are connected to the storage electrode 36 of the capacitor.
The plate electrode 31 is a Si single crystal. The plate electrode 31 has ann-type conductivity, which is different from the p-type Si substrate 11. The plate electrode 31 is provided in a surface region of the deep trench 32. The capacitor insulating film 6 is provided between the plate electrode 31 and the storage electrode 36. The first high dielectric constant insulating film 33 is provided on the plate electrode 31. For the first high dielectric constant insulating film 33, a composite oxide containing Al, such as HfAlO, ZrAlO, LaAlO, may be used. The storage electrode 36 is provided on the Al2O3 film 34, so as to fill in the deep trench 32. The storage electrode 36 is n-type poly-Si or the like.
The collar oxide film 35 is provided on an edge of the capacitor insulating film 6 in the deep trench 32. The collar oxide film 35 serves as an electrical isolation film for preventing a parasitic transistor from turning on between the plate electrode 31 and the source/drain regions 25.
The source/drain regions 25 are formed in the substrate 11 including a surface of the substrate 11. The source/drain regions 25 are impurity diffusion layers.
The gate insulating film 12a is provided on the substrate 11. The gate insulating film 12a has a laminated structure including the first high dielectric constant insulating film 28 as a lower film and the Al2O3 film 27 as an upper film. For the first high dielectric constant insulating film 28, a composite oxide containing Al, such as HfAlO, ZrAlO, LaAlO, may be used. For the gate electrode 13, a conductive film, such as n-type poly-Si, may be used.
The volatile semiconductor storage device 2 according to the third embodiment is basically manufactured by a method similar to a usual manufacturing method of a volatile semiconductor storage device. However, a manufacturing method of a volatile semiconductor storage device 2 according to the third embodiment differs from the usual manufacturing method of a volatile semiconductor storage device in deposition methods for the capacitor insulating film 6 and the gate insulating film 12a.
For the deposition methods of the capacitor insulating film 6 and the gate insulating film 12a according to the third embodiment, the deposition methods of the first high dielectric constant insulating film 20 and the Al2O3 film 21, including PDA, according to the first embodiment, are used. Thus, the first high dielectric constant insulating films 28 and 33, and the Al2O3 films 27 and 34 are deposited, respectively. Moreover, desired thicknesses of the first high dielectric constant insulating films 28, 33 and the Al2O3 films 27, 34 are provided by adjusting the number of alternate feeding cycles of the source gases as needed.
The same effect of reducing the leak current as shown in
As described above, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to provide a semiconductor device having a high dielectric constant insulating film capable of effectively suppressing a leak current.
(Other Embodiments)
The present invention has been described through the first to third embodiments as mentioned above. However the descriptions and drawings that constitute a portion of this disclosure should not be perceived as limiting this invention. Various alternative embodiments and operational techniques will become clear to persons skilled in the art from this disclosure.
Accordingly, the present invention naturally includes various embodiments not specifically mentioned herein. Accordingly, the technical scope of the present invention may be limited only by the inventive features set forth by the scope of the patent claims deemed reasonable from the above description.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| P2005-276786 | Sep 2005 | JP | national |
