This application claims benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0048555 filed on Apr. 13, 2023 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Example embodiments relate to a semiconductor device.
As demand for high performance, high speed, and/or multifunctionality of a semiconductor device have increased, integration density of a semiconductor device has increased. In response to the trend for high integration of a semiconductor device, a semiconductor device having a back side power delivery network (BSPDN) structure, in which power rails are disposed on a rear surface of a wafer, has been developed. As power is transferred from a rear surface, there have been attempts to develop a semiconductor device having better power transfer from the rear surface.
Example embodiments provide a semiconductor device having improved electrical properties.
According to an example embodiment, a semiconductor device may include a substrate including an active region extending in a first direction; a gate structure on the active region, the gate structure extending in a second direction, the second direction intersecting the first direction, and the gate structure intersecting the active region; a source/drain region on the active region, the source/drain region on at least one side of the gate structure; a contact structure on the source/drain region and connected to the source/drain region; a device isolation layer surrounding the active region on the substrate; an interlayer insulating layer on the device isolation layer, the interlayer insulating layer covering the gate structure and the source/drain region; a vertical power structure penetrating through the device isolation layer and the interlayer insulating layer, the vertical power structure being connected to the contact structure and being below the contact structure; a rear power structure surrounding an entirety of a lower surface of the vertical power structure and a portion of a side surface of the vertical power structure, the rear power structure being electrically connected to the vertical power structure; a vertical insulating film covering the side surface of the vertical power structure, the vertical insulating film being between the vertical power structure and the rear power structure; and a rear insulating film covering a side surface of the rear power structure.
According to an example embodiment, a semiconductor device may include a substrate including an active region extending in a first direction; a gate structure on the active region, the gate structure extending in a second direction, the second direction intersecting the first direction, and the gate structure intersecting the active region; a source/drain region on the active region, the source/drain region on at least one side of the gate structure; a contact structure on the source/drain region and connected to the source/drain region; a device isolation layer surrounding the active region on the substrate; an interlayer insulating layer on the device isolation layer, the interlayer insulating layer covering the gate structure and the source/drain region; a vertical power structure penetrating through the substrate, the vertical power structure extending in a third direction, the third direction being perpendicular to an upper surface of the substrate, and the vertical power structure being connected to the contact structure; a first conductive barrier on a side surface of the vertical power structure; a rear power structure electrically connected to the vertical power structure, the rear power structure penetrating through a portion of the substrate and a portion of the device isolation layer; and a rear insulating film covering a side surface of the rear power structure. The rear power structure may overlap the vertical power structure in the second direction and the third direction. A level of an upper end of the rear power structure may be higher than a level of a lower end of the vertical power structure. A width of an upper end of the rear power structure may be greater than a width of the lower end of the vertical power structure.
According to an example embodiment, a semiconductor device may include a substrate including an active region extending in a first direction; a gate structure on the active region, the gate structure extending in a second direction, the second direction intersecting the first direction; a source/drain region on the active region, the source/drain region on at least one side of the gate structure; a contact structure on the source/drain region and connected to the source/drain region; a device isolation layer surrounding the active region on the substrate; an interlayer insulating layer on the device isolation layer, the interlayer insulating layer covering the gate structure and the source/drain region; a vertical power structure penetrating through the device isolation layer and the interlayer insulating layer, the vertical power structure being connected to the contact structure and being below the contact structure; a rear power structure surrounding an entirety of a lower surface of the vertical power structure and a portion of a side surface of the vertical power structure, the rear power structure being electrically connected to the vertical power structure; a first conductive barrier on a side surface of the vertical power structure and the lower surface of the vertical power structure; a vertical insulating film surrounding a side surface of the first conductive barrier; a second conductive barrier on a side surface of the rear power structure and an upper surface of the rear power structure; and a rear insulating film on a side surface of the second conductive barrier. The vertical power structure may extend into a recessed portion of the substrate. An upper end of the vertical power structure may include a recess. A portion of the contact structure may extend into the recess of the upper end of the vertical power structure.
The above and other aspects, features, and advantages in example embodiments will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, example embodiments will be described as follows with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, it can be understood that terms such as ‘on,’ ‘upper portion,’ ‘upper surface,’ ‘below,’ ‘lower portion,’ ‘lower surface,’ ‘side surface,’ and the like may be indicated by reference numerals and may be based on drawings, unless otherwise indicated.
Referring to
The substrate 101 may have an upper surface extending in an X-direction and a Y-direction. The substrate 101 may include a semiconductor material, such as a group IV semiconductor, a group III-V compound semiconductor, or a group II-VI compound semiconductor. For example, the group IV semiconductor may include silicon, germanium, or silicon-germanium. The substrate 101 may be provided as a bulk wafer, an epitaxial layer, a silicon on insulator (SOI) layer, or a semiconductor on insulator (SeOI) layer.
The substrate 101 may include active regions 105 disposed thereon. However, in some example embodiments, the active regions 105 may be a component separate from the substrate 101. In some example embodiments, the substrate 101 below the active regions 105 may be removed.
The active regions 105 may extend in the first direction, for example, the X-direction. The active regions 105 may be defined at a desired and/or alternatively predetermined depth from an upper surface in a portion of the substrate 101. The active regions 105 may be formed by a portion of the substrate 101 or may include an epitaxial layer grown from the substrate 101. Each of the active regions 105 may include active fins protruding upwardly. The active regions 105 may form, together with the channel structures 140, an active structure in which a channel region of a transistor is formed. Each of the active regions 105 may include an impurity region. The impurity region may form at least a portion of a well region of a transistor.
A device isolation layer 110 may be disposed between active regions 105 adjacent to each other in the Y-direction. Upper surfaces of the active regions 105 may be disposed on a level higher than a level of the upper surface of the device isolation layer 110. The active regions 105 may be partially recessed on at least one side of the gate structures 160, and source/drain regions 130 may be disposed on the recess regions.
The device isolation layer 110 may fill a region between the active regions 105 and may define the active regions 105 in the substrate 101. The device isolation layer 110 may be formed by, for example, a shallow trench isolation (STI) process. The device isolation layer 110 may expose an upper surface of the active region 105, or may partially expose an upper portion. The device isolation layer 110 may be formed of an insulating material. The device isolation layer 110 may include, for example, oxide, nitride, or a combination thereof.
The rear insulating layer 270 may be disposed to cover a lower surface of the substrate 101. In the substrate 101, when an upper surface on which active regions 105 are disposed is referred to as a first surface, a rear insulating layer 270 may be disposed on a second surface of the substrate 101 opposite to the first surface.
A level of a lower surface of the substrate 101 may be the same as or substantially the same as a level of a lower surface of the rear power structure 250. A thickness of the rear insulating layer 270 may be varied in example embodiments. The rear insulating layer 270 may include an insulating material such as oxide, nitride, or a combination thereof. In some example embodiments, the rear insulating layer 270 may include, for example, a native oxide of the substrate 101.
The gate structures 160 may be disposed to intersect the active regions 105 on the active regions 105 and may extend in a second direction, for example, the Y-direction. A channel region of transistors may be formed in the active regions 105 and the channel structure 140 intersecting the gate electrode 165 of the gate structures 160. A portion of the gate structures 160 may be disposed on a linear line in the Y-direction and may be spaced apart from each other.
Each of the gate structures 160 may include gate dielectric layers 162, gate spacer layers 164, and gate electrode 165. In example embodiments, each of the gate structures 160 may further include a capping layer on the upper surface of the gate electrode 165. Alternatively, a portion of the first upper insulating layer 171 on the gate structures 160 may be referred to as a gate capping layer.
The gate dielectric layers 162 may be disposed between the active region 105 and the gate electrode 165 and between the channel structure 140 and the gate electrode 165, and may be disposed to cover at least a portion of the surfaces of the gate electrode 165. For example, the gate dielectric layers 162 may be disposed to surround the entirety of surfaces other than an uppermost surface of the gate electrode 165. The gate dielectric layers 162 may extend to a region between the gate electrode 165 and the gate spacer layers 164, but example examples embodiment are not limited thereto. The gate dielectric layer 162 may include an oxide, a nitride, or a high-K material. The high-K material may refer to a dielectric material having a dielectric constant higher than that of silicon oxide (SiO2). The high-K material may be at least one of, for example, aluminum oxide (Al2O3), tantalum oxide (Ta2O3), titanium oxide (TiO2), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), zirconium oxide (ZrO2), zirconium silicon oxide (ZrSixOy), hafnium oxide (HfO2), hafnium silicon oxide (HfSixOy), lanthanum oxide (La2O3), lanthanum aluminum oxide (LaAlxOy), lanthanum hafnium oxide (LaHfxOy), hafnium aluminum oxide (HfAlxOy), and praseodymium oxide (Pr2O3). In example embodiments, the gate dielectric layer 162 may have a multilayer structure.
The gate electrode 165 may include a conductive material, for example, a metal nitride such as titanium nitride (TiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), or tungsten nitride (WN), and/or a metal material such as aluminum (Al), tungsten (W), or molybdenum (Mo) or semiconductor materials such as doped polysilicon, and/or a combination thereof. In example embodiments, the gate electrode 165 may have a multilayer structure.
The gate spacer layers 164 may be disposed on both side surfaces of the gate electrode 165 on the channel structure 140. The gate spacer layers 164 may insulate the source/drain region 130 and the gate electrodes 165. In example embodiments, a shape of an upper end of the gate spacer layers 164 may be varied, and the gate spacer layers 164 may have a multilayer structure. The gate spacer layers 164 may include at least one of oxide, nitride, and oxynitride, and may include, for example, a low dielectric constant layer.
The channel structures 140 may be disposed on the active regions 105 in regions in which the active regions 105 may intersect the gate structures 160. Each of the channel structures 140 may include first to fourth channel layers 141, 142, 143, and 144, which may be two or more channel layers spaced apart from each other in the Z-direction. That is, a plurality of channel layers 141, 142, 143, and 144 spaced apart from each other in the third direction (Z-direction) perpendicular to the first direction (X-direction) and the second direction (Y-direction) on the active region 105 and surrounded by the gate structure 160 may be further included. The channel structures 140 may be associated with the source/drain regions 130. The channel structures 140 may have a width the same as or smaller than a width of the active region 105 in the Y-direction, and may have a width the same as or similar to a width of the gate structures 160 in the X-direction. In a cross-section taken in the Y-direction, a lower channel layer among the first to fourth channel layers 141, 142, 143, and 144 may have a width equal to or larger than that of an upper channel layer. In some example embodiments, the channel structures 140 may have a reduced width as compared to that of the gate structures 160, such that side surfaces may be disposed below the gate structures 160 in the X-direction.
The channel structures 140 may be formed of a semiconductor material, and may include, for example, at least one of silicon (Si), silicon germanium (SiGe), and germanium (Ge). The channel structures 140 may be formed of the same material as that of the active regions 105, for example. The number and the shape of channel layers included in a channel structure 140 may be varied in example embodiments.
In the semiconductor device 100, a gate electrode 165 may be disposed between the active region 105 and the channel structures 140, between the first to fourth channel layers 141, 142, 143, and 144 of the channel structures 140, and on the channel structures 140. Accordingly, the semiconductor device 100 may include a transistor having a multi-bridge channel FET (MBCFET™) structure, which may be a gate-all-around type field effect transistor. However, in some example embodiments, the semiconductor device 100 may not include the channel structures 140, and may have, for example, a FinFET structure.
The source/drain region 130 may be in contact with the channel structures 140 on both sides of the gate structures 160, respectively. The source/drain region 130 may be disposed in regions in which an upper portion of the active region 105 is partially recessed. As illustrated in
Upper surfaces of the source/drain region 130 may be disposed on a level the same as or similar to a level of lower surfaces of the gate structures 160 on the channel structures 140, but a level of the upper surfaces of the source/drain region 130 may be varied in example embodiments. The source/drain region 130 may have a polygonal shape or an elliptical shape as illustrated in
The internal spacer layers 150 may be disposed parallel to the gate electrode 165 between the first to fourth channel layers 141, 142, 143, and 144 in the Z-direction. The gate electrode 165 may be stably spaced apart from the source/drain regions 130 by the internal spacer layers 150 and may be electrically isolated therefrom. A side surface of the internal spacer layers 150 opposing the gate electrode 165 may have a rounded shape, rounded inwardly toward the gate electrode 165, but example examples embodiment are not limited thereto. The internal spacer layers 150 may include at least one of oxide, nitride, and oxynitride, and may include, for example, a low dielectric constant layer. However, in some example embodiments, the internal spacer layers 150 may not be provided.
The contact structures 180 may be disposed on the source/drain region 130. The contact structures 180 may penetrate through the interlayer insulating layer 170 and may be connected to the source/drain regions 130. The contact structures 180 may have an inclined side surface, such that a width thereof may decrease toward the substrate 101 due to an aspect ratio, but example embodiments are not limited thereto. The contact structures 180 may be disposed to be in contact with a portion of surfaces including an upper surface of the source/drain region 130 by being partially recessed into the source/drain region 130. Accordingly, a portion of the contact structure 180 may overlap a portion of the source/drain region 130 in the first direction (X-direction). In a region not illustrated, other gate contact structures 180 may be further disposed on the gate electrodes 165.
Each of the contact structures 180 may include a metal silicide layer on a lower end, and may further include a barrier layer on the metal silicide layer and sidewalls. The barrier layer may include, for example, a metal nitride such as titanium nitride (TiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), or tungsten nitride (WN). The contact structures 180 may include, for example, a metal material such as aluminum (Al), tungsten (W), or molybdenum (Mo). In example embodiments, the number and arrangement of the conductive layers included in the contact structures 180 may be varied.
Among the contact structures 180, the contact structure 180 connected to the source/drain region 130 may be connected relatively long in the Y-direction, and may also be connected to the vertical power structure 120. The contact structure 180 may be connected to an upper surface of the vertical power structure 120, but example examples embodiment are not limited thereto. In some example embodiments, the contact structure 180 may be connected to a side surface of the vertical power structure 120 or to an upper surface and a side surface of the vertical power structure 120. In some example embodiments, the contact structure 180 and the vertical power structure 120 may be integrated with each other. An upper surface or upper end of the vertical power structure 120 may be disposed at the same level as a level of an upper surface or upper end of the source/drain region 130. A lower surface of the vertical power structure 120 may be disposed on a level lower than a level of an upper surface of the substrate 101.
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The vertical power structure 120 may be disposed to connect the contact structure 180 to the rear power structure 250. As illustrated in
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In example embodiments, the vertical power structure 120 may be connected to the contact structure 180 through an upper surface and may be connected to the rear power structure 250 through a lower surface. An upper surface or an upper end of the vertical power structure 120 may be disposed on a level lower than a level of an upper surface or an upper end of the source/drain region 130. A lower end of the vertical power structure 120 may be disposed on a level lower than a level of a lower surface of the source/drain region 130, may be disposed on a level lower than levels of an upper surface and a lower surface of the active regions 105, may be disposed on a level lower than a level of an interfacial surface between the device isolation layer 110 and the substrate 101, and may be disposed on a level higher than a level of a lower surface of the substrate 101. The vertical power structure 120 may have an inclined side surface, such that a width thereof may decrease toward the substrate 101 due to an aspect ratio, but example examples embodiment are not limited thereto.
The vertical power structure 120 may include a conductive material, for example, a metal material such as tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu), and/or cobalt (Co).
The first conductive barrier 122 may be disposed to cover side surfaces of the vertical power structure 120. The first conductive barrier 122 may cover a side surface of the vertical power structure 120 and also a lower surface. The barrier layer may include, for example, a metal nitride such as titanium nitride (TiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), or tungsten nitride (WN).
The vertical insulating film 121 may be disposed to cover side surfaces of the first conductive barrier 122. In some example embodiments, the vertical insulating film 121 may be disposed only in a region between the vertical power structure 120 and the substrate 101, and the first conductive barrier 122 may not be present and the vertical insulating film 121 may be disposed to cover side surfaces of the vertical power structure 120. A lower end of the vertical insulating film 121 may be disposed on a level lower than a level of the interfacial surface between the substrate 101 and the device isolation layer 110, and may electrically isolate the vertical power structure 120 and the substrate 101 from each other. The vertical insulating film 121 may include a plurality of layers and may include an insulating material, and may include, for example, at least one of oxide, nitride, and oxynitride.
The rear power structure 250 may be connected to a lower end or a lower surface of the vertical power structure 120. The rear power structure 250 may form a BSPDN configured to apply power or ground voltage, and may also be referred to as a rear power rail or a buried power rail. For example, the rear power structure 250 may be configured as a buried interconnection line extending in one direction, for example, in the X-direction below the vertical power structure 120, but the shape of the rear power structure 250 is not limited thereto. For example, in some example embodiments, the rear power structure 250 may include a via region and a line region.
The rear power structure 250 may be formed to surround the entirety of the lower surface of the vertical power structure 120 and a portion of a side surface connected to the lower surface. In this case, a portion of a side surface of the vertical insulating film 121 on the first conductive barrier 122 may be surrounded by the rear power structure 250. In some example embodiments, the rear power structure 250 may be formed by being recessed into a portion of the vertical power structure 120, and the vertical insulating film 121 or the first conductive barrier 122 may also be recessed. In example embodiments, whether each of the vertical power structure 120, the vertical insulating film 121, and the first conductive barrier 122 is recessed and the degree of being recessed thereof may vary.
The upper end of the rear power structure 250 may be disposed on a level higher than a level of the interfacial surface between the device isolation layer 110 and the substrate 101, and may be disposed on a level higher than a level of the lower end of the vertical power structure 120. In this case, the lower end of the vertical power structure 120 may be disposed on a level higher than a level of the interfacial surface between the substrate 101 and the device isolation layer 110 and lower than the upper end of the rear power structure 250. In this case, a level difference D1 between the upper end of the rear power structure 250 and the lower end of the vertical power structure 120 illustrated in
A width of the rear power structure 250 may continuously increase toward the bottom, but example examples embodiment are not limited thereto. For example, the width W3 of the lower end of the rear power structure 250 may be greater than the width W2 of the upper end of the rear power structure 250.
The upper end of the rear power structure 250 may be disposed on a level higher than a level of the lower end of the vertical power structure 120, and may be disposed on a level higher than or the same as a level of the lower end of the device isolation layer 110. In some example embodiments, an upper end of the rear power structure 250 may be disposed on a level lower than a level of a lower end of the device isolation layer 110.
The rear power structure 250 may include a conductive material, for example, a metal material such as tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu), or cobalt (Co), and the vertical power structure 120 and may include the same material.
The rear power structure 250 may be connected to a lower end or a lower surface of the vertical power structure 120. The lower interconnection line M2 may be disposed on the lower surface of the rear power structure 250 and may be electrically connected thereto. The rear power structure 250 and lower interconnection line M2 may form a BSPDN, and each of the rear power structure 250 and the lower interconnection line M2 may have inclined side surfaces such that a width thereof may decrease toward the upper portion.
The rear insulating film 251 may be disposed to cover side surfaces of the rear power structure 250. The rear insulating film 251 may electrically isolate the rear power structure 250 and the substrate 101 from each other. In some example embodiments, the rear insulating film 251 may include a plurality of layers and may include an insulating material. For example, the rear insulating film 251 may include at least one of oxide, nitride, and oxynitride.
The second conductive barrier 252 may be disposed to surround a side surface of the rear power structure 250 in the rear insulating film 251. The second conductive barrier 252 may cover a side surface of the rear power structure 250 and also an upper surface, and the rear power structure 250 may be electrically connected to the vertical power structure 120 through the first conductive barrier 122 and the second conductive barrier 252. The barrier layer may include, for example, a metal nitride such as titanium nitride (TiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), or tungsten nitride (WN), and the second conductive barrier 252 may include the same material as that of the first conductive barrier 122.
The first upper insulating layer 171 may be disposed to cover upper surfaces of the source/drain region 130 and the gate structures 160 and to cover an upper surface of the device isolation layer 110. The second upper insulating layer 172 may be disposed to cover an upper surface of the first upper insulating layer 171. The rear insulating layer 270 may be disposed to cover a lower surface of the substrate 101 and may surround the rear power structure 250.
The first and second upper insulating layers 171 and 172 and the rear insulating layer 270 may include at least one of oxide, nitride, and oxynitride, and may include, for example, a low dielectric constant material. In example embodiments, each of the first and second upper insulating layers 171 and 172 and the rear insulating layer 270 may include a plurality of insulating layers.
The via V may penetrate through the first upper insulating layer 171. The via V may be connected to the contact structures 180. The via V may be formed of a conductive material.
The upper interconnection line M1 and the via V may form a back end of line (BEOL). The lower interconnection line M2 may be provided as an interconnection portion for power transfer, and the upper interconnection lines M1 and via V may be provided as an interconnection portion for signal transfer. In example embodiments, the signal network may be configured to be connected to the device region (e.g., the source/drain region 130 and the gate electrode 165) through the contact structure 180 from the upper interconnection line M1 and the via V, and the power transfer network may be configured to penetrate through the substrate 101 from the lower interconnection line M2 and to be connected to the device region (e.g., source/drain region 130). In some example embodiments, an insulating layer may be further disposed between the lower interconnection line M2 and the lower surface of the substrate 101.
The semiconductor device 100 may be packaged by inverting the structure in
In the description of example embodiments below, the description overlapping the above description will not be provided.
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The first to fourth channel layers 141, 142, 143, and 144 may include a semiconductor material including at least one of silicon (Si), silicon germanium (SiGe), and germanium (Ge), and may include different materials, and may or may not include impurities.
The active structures may be formed in a line shape extending in one direction, for example, the X-direction, and may be spaced apart from each other in the Y-direction. Depending on an aspect ratio, side surfaces of the active structures may have an inclined shape such that a width may increase toward the lower portion.
A device isolation layer 110 may be formed on the upper surface of the substrate 101 such that the active regions 105 may protrude. In this case, the upper surface of the device isolation layer 110 may be formed on a level lower than a level of the upper surface of the active regions 105.
The source/drain regions 130 may be formed by growing from side surfaces of the active regions 105 and the channel structures 140, for example, by a selective epitaxial process. The source/drain regions 130 may include impurities by in-situ doping, and may include a plurality of layers having different doping elements and/or doping concentrations. In this process, a gate structure 160 (see
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A hole penetrating through the interlayer insulating layer 170 and extending into the substrate 101 may be formed between source/drain regions 130 adjacent to each other in the Y-direction, and an insulating layer and a conductive layer may be formed in order in the hole, thereby forming a vertical insulating film 121 and a vertical power structure 120. The vertical insulating film 121 may be formed to conformally cover a bottom surface and internal side surfaces of the hole, and the vertical power structure 120 may be formed to fill the hole. In this case, the vertical power structure 120 may be formed by being recessed into a portion of the substrate 101. Also, a first conductive barrier 122 covering a side surface and a lower surface of the vertical power structure 120 in the vertical insulating film 121 may be further included.
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The thickness from which the substrate 101 is removed may be varied in example embodiments. The substrate 101 may be removed and thinned by, for example, lapping, grinding or polishing processes.
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The semiconductor device 100 may be packaged in a state in which the rear power structure 250 is disposed thereon, but example examples embodiment are not limited thereto.
According to example embodiments, by disposing the rear power structure to surround the vertical power structure, resistance may be limited and/or addressed, such that a semiconductor device having improved electrical properties may be provided.
While some example embodiments have been illustrated and described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations may be made without departing from the sprit and scope of inventive concepts as defined by the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2023-0048555 | Apr 2023 | KR | national |