This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-174553, filed on Sep. 19, 2018; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments described herein relate generally to a semiconductor device.
In some cases, a semiconductor device is configured such that a stacked body in which a conductive layer and an insulating film are alternately stacked is penetrated by a semiconductor pillar. At this time, it is desirable to increase the number of stacked layers in the stacked body to achieve high integration of the semiconductor device.
In general, according to one embodiment, there is provided a semiconductor device including a stacked body, a silicon nitride film, and a titanium film. The stacked body is disposed above a substrate. The stacked body includes a conductive layer and an insulating layer disposed repeatedly in a stacking direction. The silicon nitride film extends along a surface of the substrate between the substrate and the stacked body. The titanium film extends along the surface of the substrate between the substrate and the stacked body. The titanium film constitutes a film continuous with the silicon nitride film.
Exemplary embodiments of a semiconductor device will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.
In some cases, in a semiconductor device, a stacked body in which an insulating layer and a conductive layer are alternately stacked is penetrated by a semiconductor pillar and a gate insulating film covering a side surface of the semiconductor pillar to form a three-dimensional memory. Since this semiconductor device can increase the storage capacity by increasing the number of stacked layers, it is possible to reduce the necessity to use a more advanced patterning technique and to easily reduce the cost per bit. In this three-dimensional memory, each of portions where the conductive layers and the semiconductor pillars intersect each other is configured to function as a memory cell, and a memory cell array region in which a plurality of the memory cells are three-dimensionally disposed is configured.
In some cases, in order to further increase the integration density of the semiconductor device, a peripheral circuit region may be provided below the memory cell array region. In this case, after the peripheral circuit region is formed, the memory cell array region is formed. In the formation of the insulating layer and the interlayer insulating film in the memory cell array region, a material gas containing hydrogen such as silane is used. For this reason, in some cases, during or after the formation of the memory cell array region, hydrogen contained in the insulating layer or the interlayer insulating film may pass through contact plugs extending in the stacking direction and enter the peripheral circuit region.
For example, it is considered that hydrogen enters a semiconductor region functioning as a source region and/or a drain region connected to the contact plug. In a case where the semiconductor region contains P-type impurities (for example, boron or the like), there is a possibility that boron is inactivated due to hydrogen which has entered the semiconductor region being bonded to boron or the like. In a case where boron is inactivated and hard to function as an acceptor, it is difficult to make an ohmic contact between the contact plug and the semiconductor region, and thus, a Schottky barrier is formed at the contact interface, so that the transfer characteristic of the signal to the device including the semiconductor region is easily deteriorated. Similarly, in a case where the semiconductor region contains N-type impurities (for example, phosphorus or the like), there is a possibility that phosphorus is inactivated due to hydrogen which has entered the semiconductor region being bonded to phosphorus or the like. When phosphorus is inactivated and hard to function as a donor, it is difficult to make an ohmic contact between the contact plug and the semiconductor region, and thus, a Schottky barrier is formed at the contact interface, so that the transfer characteristic of the signal to a transistor including the semiconductor region is easily deteriorated.
Alternatively, for example, it is considered that hydrogen enters a polysilicon film functioning as a gate electrode connected to the contact plug or a gate insulating film below the polysilicon film. In a case where the gate electrode is a gate electrode of a PMOS transistor and the polysilicon film contains P-type impurities (for example, boron or the like), due to bonding of hydrogen which has entered the polysilicon film to boron and deterioration of a barrier property of a gate insulating film, the boron escapes to a substrate side, hump (a phenomenon in which a small peak appears in a Vg-Id curve of the transistor) occurs, and thus, there is a possibility that a threshold voltage and an off current Ioff is deviated and operation characteristics of the transistor are deteriorated.
Therefore, in the embodiment, in the semiconductor device, a continuous film of a silicon nitride film and a titanium film is disposed as a hydrogen barrier structure between the substrate and the stacked body in the stacking direction, and thus, entering of hydrogen into the peripheral circuit region is blocked to suppress deterioration in characteristic of the semiconductor device.
Specifically, a semiconductor device 1 can be configured as illustrated in
The semiconductor device 1 includes a memory cell array region MAR, a peripheral circuit region PCR, and an interconnection wiring structure WST. The memory cell array region MAR is disposed on the +Z side of the peripheral circuit region PCR. The interconnection wiring structure WST is disposed from a position above (in the +Z side) the +Z-side end of the memory cell array region MAR in the Z direction to a Z position reaching the peripheral circuit region PCR.
The memory cell array region MAR includes a stacked body 3, a semiconductor pillar 4, and a gate insulating film 5. The stacked body 3 is disposed above the substrate 2 (in the +Z side). In the stacked body 3, a conductive layer WL and an insulating layer IL are repeatedly disposed in the stacking direction (Z direction). The semiconductor pillar 4 extends in the Z direction and penetrates the stacked body 3. The gate insulating film 5 covers a side surface of the semiconductor pillar 4, extends in the Z direction, and penetrates the stacked body 3. In the memory cell array region MAR, portions where the conductive layers WL and the semiconductor pillars 4 intersect each other are configured to function as memory cells, so that a plurality of the memory cells are three-dimensionally disposed. In addition, an interlayer insulating film IF is disposed around the memory cell array region MAR, including above and below the memory cell array region MAR.
The interconnection wiring structure WST functions as a wiring for electrically connecting the memory cell array region MAR and the peripheral circuit region PCR. For example, the interconnection wiring structure WST on the right side of
The plug 6 extends to the plug 7 in the Z direction. The plug 7 extends to the penetration plug 8 in the Z direction. The penetration plug 8 extends in the Z direction and penetrates the memory cell array region MAR. The penetration plug 8 extends from the plug 7 to the conductive film 9 in the Z direction. The −Z-side end of the penetration plug 8 is in contact with the +Z-side surface of the conductive film 9, and the +Z-side end of the plug 10 is in contact with the −Z-side surface of the conductive film 9. The plug 10 extends from the conductive film 9 to the conductive film 11 in the Z direction. The −Z-side end of the plug 10 is in contact with the +Z-side surface of the conductive film 11, and the +Z-side end of the contact plug 14 is in contact with the −Z-side surface of the conductive film 11. The contact plug 14 extends from the conductive film 11 in the Z direction and reaches the peripheral circuit region PCR. Similarly, the contact plugs 15 and 16 extend from the conductive films 12 and 13 in the Z direction and reach the peripheral circuit region PCR, respectively.
With this structure, in some cases, hydrogen contained in the insulating layer IL and the interlayer insulating film IF in the memory cell array region MAR passes through the penetration plug 8, the conductive film 9, the plug 10, the conductive film 11, and the contact plug 14 in this order and enters the peripheral circuit region PCR. In addition, in some cases, hydrogen contained in the interlayer insulating film IF between the memory cell array region MAR and the substrate 2 in the Z direction passes through the conductive films 11 to 13 and the contact plugs 14 to 16 in this order and enters the peripheral circuit region PCR.
On the other hand, the peripheral circuit region PCR has a configuration of a continuous film 100 of silicon nitride films 25, 27, and 32 and titanium films 17, 19, and 21 as illustrated in
Each of the silicon nitride films 25, 27, and 32 illustrated in
Specifically, the silicon nitride film 25 extends in an XY direction around a silicon oxide film 24 provided in a liner shape on the transistor. The silicon nitride film 25 is raised to the +Z side in the vicinity of the sidewalls 30 and 31 and is in contact with the −Z-side surface of the silicon nitride film 32.
The silicon nitride film 27 extends in the XY direction on the +Z side of the gate electrode 29. The silicon nitride film 27 covers the +Z-side surface of the gate electrode 29. The +Z-side surface of the silicon nitride film 27 is covered with the silicon nitride film 32.
The silicon nitride film 32 is disposed on the +Z side of the silicon nitride films 25 and 27. The silicon nitride film 32 extends in the X and Y directions around the gate electrode 29 and the sidewalls 30 and 31 covering the +Z-side surface of, for example, an oxide film 26. The oxide film 26 is provided at a height in the Z direction substantially equal to that of the upper surface of the silicon nitride film 27 around the portion raised to the +Z side in the silicon nitride film 25 and is made of a material containing an oxide (for example, a silicon oxide) as a main component. The −Z-side surface of the silicon nitride film 32 in the vicinity the sidewalls 30 and 31 is in contact with the end surface of the portion that is raised to the +Z side of the silicon nitride film 25. The silicon nitride film 32 covers the +Z-side surface of the silicon nitride film 27 on the +Z side of the gate electrode 29.
The titanium film 17 may be made of a material containing titanium as a main component. The titanium film 17 is disposed between the contact plug 14 and a semiconductor region 2c in the Z direction. The titanium film 17 has a substantially plate shape corresponding to the bottom surface of the contact plug 14 when viewed from the Z direction. Side surfaces 17b and 17c of the titanium film 17 are connected to the silicon nitride film 25. In the vicinity of the side surface 17b of the titanium film 17, a +Z-side surface 17a of the titanium film 17 and an upper surface 25a of the silicon nitride film 25 have approximately the same Z-direction height. A barrier metal 14a is disposed on the bottom surface and the side surface of the contact plug 14, and a conductive member 14b is disposed inside the barrier metal 14a. The barrier metal 14a may be made of a material containing a titanium nitride as a main component. The conductive member 14b may be made of a material containing a conductive material (for example, tungsten) as a main component. The semiconductor region 2c is made of a material containing a semiconductor (for example, silicon) as a main component. The semiconductor region 2c may contain impurities (for example, boron) of a first conductivity type (for example, P-type) or may contain impurities (for example, phosphorus, arsenic) of a second conductivity type (for example, N-type).
A spacer film 18 having a substantially plate shape corresponding to the titanium film 17 is disposed between the titanium film 17 and the surface 2a of the substrate 2 when viewed from the Z direction. The spacer film 18 has a film thickness which is substantially equal to that of the silicon oxide film 24 having a liner shape. The silicon oxide film 24 extends along the surface 2a of the substrate 2 at a position adjacent to the spacer film 18 in the X and Y directions. The spacer film 18 has a +Z-side surface 18a having a height from the substrate 2 which is substantially equal to that of a +Z-side surface 24a of the silicon oxide film 24. The spacer film 18 has the +Z-side surface 18a having a height from the substrate 2 which is substantially equal to that of a −Z-side surface 25b of the silicon nitride film 25. Accordingly, it is easy to allow the +Z-side surface 17a of the titanium film 17 and the upper surface 25a of the silicon nitride film 25 to have substantially the same Z-direction height in the vicinity of the side surface 17b of the titanium film 17. The spacer film 18 may be made of a material containing a titanium nitride as a main component. A silicide region 2b is disposed in the vicinity of the surface 2a of the substrate 2 with which the spacer film 18 is in contact. The silicide region 2b may be made of a material containing titanium silicide as a main component.
In addition, when all the portions from the surface 2a of the substrate 2 to the height in the vicinity of the upper surface 25a of the silicon nitride film 25 are configured with the titanium film 17, the silicide region 2b generated by the reaction between the substrate 2 and the titanium film 17 excessively expands, and thus, there is a concern that a leak current between the contact plugs 14 and the substrate 2 may be increased. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The titanium film 19 illustrated in
A spacer film 20 having a substantially plate shape corresponding to the titanium film 19 is disposed between the titanium film 19 and a +Z-side surface 29b1 of the gate electrode 29 when viewed from the Z direction. The spacer film 20 has a film thickness corresponding to the difference in film thickness between the silicon nitride film 27 and the titanium film 19. The silicon nitride film 27 covers a +Z-side surface 29b1 of the gate electrode 29 at a position adjacent to the spacer film 20 in the X and Y directions. The spacer film 20 has a +Z-side surface 20a of which height from the substrate 2 is higher than the +Z-side surface 29b1 of the gate electrode 29 and of which height from the substrate 2 is lower than the upper surface 27a of the silicon nitride film 27. Accordingly, it is easy to allow the +Z-side surface 19a of the titanium film 19 and the upper surface 27a of the silicon nitride film 27 to be substantially equal in height in the Z direction in the vicinity of the side surfaces 19b and 19c of the titanium film 19. The spacer film 20 may be made of a material containing a titanium nitride as a main component. The metal silicide film 29b is disposed in the vicinity of the +Z-side surface 29b1 of the gate electrode 29 with which the spacer film 20 is in contact. The metal silicide film 29b may be made of a material containing metal silicide (for example, a tungsten silicide) as a main component.
In addition, the gate electrode 29 is disposed on the gate insulating film 28 covering the surface 2a of the substrate 2 and has the polysilicon film 29a and the metal silicide film 29b. The polysilicon film 29a may be made of a material containing polysilicon as a main component. The polysilicon film 29a may contain impurities (for example, boron) of a first conductivity type (for example, P-type) and may contain impurities (for example, phosphorus, arsenic) of a second conductivity type (for example, N-type).
As illustrated in
The titanium film 21 illustrated in
A spacer film 22 having a substantially plate shape corresponding to the titanium film 21 is disposed between the titanium film 21 and the surface 2a of the substrate 2 when viewed from the Z direction. The spacer film 22 has a film thickness which is substantially equal to that of the silicon oxide film 24 having a liner shape. The spacer film 22 has a +Z-side surface 22a having a height from the substrate 2 which is substantially equal to that of the −Z-side surface 25b of the silicon nitride film 25. Accordingly, it is easy to allow the +Z-side surface 21a of the titanium film 21 and the upper surface 25a of the silicon nitride film 25 to have substantially the same the Z-direction height in the vicinity of the side surface 21b of the titanium film 21. The spacer film 22 may be made of a material containing a titanium nitride as a main component. A silicide region 2d is disposed in the vicinity of the surface 2a of the substrate 2 with which the spacer film 22 is in contact. The silicide region 2d may be made of a material containing titanium silicide as a main component.
As illustrated in
Next, a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device 1 will be described with reference to
In the process illustrated in
In the process illustrated in
In the process illustrated in
In the process illustrated in
In the process illustrated in
In the process illustrated in
Then, barrier metals (for example, titanium nitride films) 14b, 15b, and 16b are deposited on the bottom and side surfaces of the contact holes CH1, CH2, and CH3, and the conductive members 14a, 15a, and 16a are buried inside the barrier metals 14b, 15b, and 16b, so that the contact plugs 14, 15, and 16 illustrated in
As described above, in the embodiment, in the semiconductor device 1, the continuous film 100 of the silicon nitride films 25, 27, and 32 and the titanium films 17, 19, and 21 is disposed as the hydrogen barrier structure between the substrate 2 and the stacked body 3 in the stacking direction (Z direction). Accordingly, entering of hydrogen into the peripheral circuit region PCR can be blocked, and thus, it is possible to suppress deterioration in characteristic of the semiconductor device 1.
Furthermore, as Modified Example of the embodiment, the continuous film of the silicon nitride film and the titanium film may be configured so that the heights of the silicon nitride film and the titanium films are approximately equal to each other in the Z direction. For example, the continuous film 200 of the silicon nitride film 32 and titanium films 117, 119, and 121 may be configured as illustrated in
As illustrated in
The titanium film 117 may be made of a material containing titanium as a main component. The titanium film 117 is disposed between a contact plug 142 and the contact plug 141 in the Z direction. The titanium film 117 has a substantially plate shape corresponding to the bottom surface of the contact plug 142 when viewed from the Z direction. Side surfaces 117b and 117c of the titanium film 117 are connected to the silicon nitride film 32. In the vicinity of side surfaces 117b and 117c of the titanium film 117, a +Z-side surface 117a of the titanium film 117 and an upper surface 32a of the silicon nitride film 32 have substantially the same height in the Z direction.
The −Z-side surface of the contact plug 142 is in contact with the +Z-side surface 117a of the titanium film 117. In addition, the −Z-side surface of the titanium film 117 is in contact with the +Z-side surface of the contact plug 141. The contact plug 142 is disposed between the titanium film 117 and the conductive film 11 (refer to
As illustrated in
The titanium film 119 illustrated in
The −Z-side surface of the contact plug 152 is in contact with the +Z-side surface of the titanium film 119. In addition, the −Z-side surface of the titanium film 119 is in contact with the +Z-side surface of the contact plug 151. The contact plug 152 is disposed between the titanium film 119 and the conductive film 12 (refer to
As illustrated in
The titanium film 121 illustrated in
The −Z-side surface of the contact plug 162 is in contact with the +Z-side surface of the titanium film 121. In addition, the −Z-side surface of the titanium film 121 is in contact with the +Z-side surface of the contact plug 161. The contact plug 162 is disposed between the titanium film 121 and the conductive film 13 (refer to
As illustrated in
The continuous film 200 may be formed by the following method of manufacturing the semiconductor device 1. First, after the process illustrated in
In the process illustrated in
In the process illustrated in
Then, barrier metals (for example, titanium nitride films) 142a, 152a, and 162a are deposited on the titanium films 117, 119, and 121 (in the +Z side) in the contact holes CH1, CH2, and CH3, and the conductive members 142b, 152b, and 162b are buried in the inner side to form the contact plugs 142, 152, and 162 illustrated in
In this manner, in Modified Example of the embodiment, the continuous film 200 of the silicon nitride film 32 and the titanium films 117, 119, and 121 is disposed. Accordingly, entering of hydrogen into the peripheral circuit region PCR can be blocked, and thus, it is possible to suppress deterioration in characteristic of the semiconductor device 1.
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 embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments 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 |
---|---|---|---|
2018-174553 | Sep 2018 | JP | national |