This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-187501, filed on Sep. 16, 2014; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments described herein relate generally to a semiconductor memory device and a method for manufacturing the same.
Conventionally, a stacked type semiconductor memory device has been proposed. In such the device, a stacked body, where a plurality of electrode films are stacked, is formed, and a semiconductor pillar is made to pierce the stacked body, and a memory cell is formed in an intersection portion of the electrode film and the semiconductor pillar. By processing an end portion of the stacked body into a step-wise shape, providing a step per electrode film, and collectively forming a contact from above, each electrode film is led to a peripheral circuit. However, if the number of steps of the electrode film is increased, a height of the contact is different per electrode film, and it is difficult to accurately form a connection portion of the contact and the electrode film.
According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes a multilayer body, a semiconductor pillar, a memory film, an interlayer insulating film and a contact. The multilayer body includes a first insulating film, a first electrode film, a second insulating film, and a second electrode film. There are stacked in this order in the multilayer body. An end portion of the first electrode film extends outside a region directly under the second electrode film in an end portion of the multilayer body. The semiconductor pillar pierces the first electrode film and the second electrode film. The memory film is provided between the first electrode film and the semiconductor pillar and between the second electrode film and the semiconductor pillar. The memory film is capable of storing a charge. The interlayer insulating film is provided on the end portion of the multilayer body. The contact pierces the interlayer insulating film. The contact is connected to the end portion of the first electrode film. A first portion connected to the contact of the first electrode film includes a metal or a metal nitride. A second portion surrounding the memory film of the first electrode film includes silicon. Composition of the second portion is different from composition of the first portion.
According to another embodiment, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor memory device includes forming a multilayer body by stacking a first insulating film, a first electrode film including silicon, a second insulating film, a second electrode film including silicon, and a third insulating film in this order. The method includes forming a hole piercing the third insulating film, the second electrode film, the second insulating film, the first electrode film, and the first insulating film in the multilayer body. The method includes forming a memory film capable of storing a charge on an inner face of the hole. The method includes forming a semiconductor pillar on a side surface of the memory film. The method includes removing a portion of the second electrode directly above an end portion of the first electrode film, and exposing an end face of the second electrode film and an end face of the first electrode film by selectively removing an end portion of the multilayer body. The method includes forming a first concave portion between the first insulating film and the second insulating film in the end portion of the multilayer body, and forming a second concave portion between the second insulating film and the third insulating film in the end portion of the multilayer body by edging back an exposed face of the first electrode film and an exposed face of the second electrode film with etching. The method includes forming a conductive film including a metal or a metal nitride so as to cover the end portion of the multilayer body, to enter the first concave portion and the second concave portion, and to be in contact with the first electrode film and the second electrode film. The method includes dividing the conductive film into a portion connected to the first electrode film and a portion connected to the second electrode film by selectively removing the conductive film. The method includes forming an interlayer insulating film on the end portion of the multilayer body. The method includes forming a contact piercing the interlayer insulating film, and the contact reaching a portion connected to the first electrode film in the conductive film.
First, a first embodiment will be described.
The semiconductor memory device according to the first embodiment, is a stacked type nonvolatile semiconductor memory device.
As shown in
Hereinafter, in the specification, for convenience of description, an XYZ rectangular coordinate system is adopted. Two directions, which are parallel to an upper face of the silicon substrate 10 and are orthogonal to each other, are assumed to be an “X-direction”, and a “Y-direction”. A direction which is perpendicular to the upper face of the silicon substrate 10, that is, a vertical direction is assumed to be a “Z-direction”. The wiring lead-out region Rp is disposed on both sides of the Y-direction, when seen from the memory cell region Rm.
On the silicon substrate 10, for example, an insulating film 11 which is made of a silicon oxide is provided, and a back gate electrode BG is provided thereon. A shape of the back gate electrode BG is a flat plate shape, and the back gate electrode BG is formed of silicon (Si) including, for example, boron (B). Within an upper layer portion of the back gate electrode BG, a pipe connector PC of almost a rectangular parallel-piped, where the X-direction is assumed to be a longitudinal direction, is provided. On the back gate electrode BG, for example, a stopper film 12 which is made of a silicon nitride is provided.
On the stopper film 12, a plurality of sheets of control gate electrode films 13, and a plurality of sheets of insulating films 14 are alternately stacked, and thus, a stacked body (multilayer body) 15 is formed. Within the stacked body 15, an insulating member 17, which widens in a YZ-flat surface, is provided. The insulating member 17 is formed of an insulating material such as silicon nitride or silicon oxide. The insulating member 17 goes through a directly above region of a center portion of the pipe connector PC in the X-direction. By the insulating member 17, each control gate electrode film 13 is divided into a plurality of band-shaped portions WL which are extended in the Y-direction. That is, the plurality of band-shaped portions WL are respectively extended in the Y-direction, and are arrayed to be mutually distal along the X-direction and the Z-direction. Each band-shaped portion WL functions as a word line.
On the stacked body 15, for example, a stopper film 20 that is made of silicon nitride is provided. On the stopper film 20, a selection gate electrode film 21 that is made of polysilicon to which impurities are added is provided, and on the selection gate electrode film 21, for example, an insulating film 22 which is made of silicon oxide is provided. By the stopper film 20, the selection gate electrode film 21 and the insulating film 22, an upper stacked body 25 is formed.
Within the upper stacked body 25, an insulating member 27 widening in the YZ-flat surface, is provided. The insulating member 27 is formed of an insulating material such as the silicon nitride or the silicon oxide. The insulating member 27 is disposed in the directly above region of the insulating member 17, and a region therebetween. Hence, in the X-direction, an array period of the insulating member 27 is a half of an array period of the insulating member 17. By the insulating member 27, the selection gate electrode film 21 is divided into a plurality of band-shaped portions SG which are extended in the Y-direction. Each band-shaped portion SG functions as a selection gate line.
In the memory cell region Rm, inside the stacked body 15 and the upper stacked body 25, silicon pillars SP which are extended in the Z-direction are plurally provided. Each silicon pillar SP pierces the control gate electrode film 13, the insulating film 14, the stopper film 20, the selection gate electrode film 21, and the insulating film 22. For example, the plural silicon pillars SP are arrayed in a matrix form along the X-direction and the Y-direction. Lower ends of two silicon pillars SP, which are adjacent to each other in the X-direction, are connected to both end portions of the pipe connector PC. The silicon pillar SP and the pipe connector PC are integrally formed of a semiconductor material, for example, silicon (Si). Furthermore, the plural silicon pillars SP may be arrayed in a zigzag shape.
On a surface of a structure body which is made of two silicon pillars SP and one pipe connector PC, a memory film 28 which is capable of storing a charge is provided. That is, the memory film 28 is disposed between the silicon pillar SP and the control gate electrode film 13, and between the silicon pillar SP and the selection gate electrode film 21. In the memory film 28, a tunnel insulating layer, a charge storage layer, and a block insulating layer (none of which are shown) are stacked in order from the silicon pillar SP side. The tunnel insulating layer typically has insulating properties. However, if a desired voltage, which is within a range of a drive voltage of the semiconductor memory device 1, is applied, the tunnel insulating layer is a layer where a FN tunnel current flows. The charge storage layer is a layer which has a capability of storing the charge, and is formed of a material having, for example, a trap site of an electron. The block insulating layer is a layer where the current does not substantially flow even when the voltage within the range of the drive voltage of the semiconductor memory device 1 is applied. Hereby, the memory cell is formed at every intersection portion of the silicon pillar SP and the control gate electrode film 13.
On the other hand, in the wiring lead-out region Rp, an end portion 15a of the stacked body 15 in the Y-direction is processed into a step-wise shape, and a step 31 is formed at every control gate electrode film 13. The step 31 is an upper face of the control gate electrode film 13 or the insulating film 14, and the step 31 is a region where other control gate electrode films 13, other insulating films 14 and the upper stacked body 25 are not disposed in the directly above region thereof. Hereby, the end portion of a certain insulating film 14 and the control gate electrode film 13 which is disposed on one layer is extended to the outside of a directly under region of the insulating film 14 and the control gate electrode film 13 which are disposed upwards therefrom. That is, all of the control gate electrode films 13 configuring each step 31 are disposed in the directly under region of the insulating films 14 configuring the same steps 31. Moreover, the end portions of the control gate electrode film 13 of the uppermost step and the stopper film 20, are extended to the outside of the directly under region of the selection gate electrode film 21. In the wiring lead-out region Rp, two end portions 15a are formed so as to be opposed to each other, and are formed into one valley. The control gate electrode films 13 of the same steps, which are opposed by sandwiching the valley, may be integrated on a back side or a front side of paper in
Moreover, within the end portion 15a of the stacked body 15, a support 32 which is made of the insulating material is provided. A shape of the support 32 is a column shape which is extended in Z-direction, and a lower end thereof is positioned within the stopper film 12, and an upper end thereof protrudes from the step 31. Therefore, the support 32 is in contact with all of the control gate electrode films 13 and the insulating films 14 which are pierced.
On the stopper film 12, so as to cover the stacked body 15 and the upper stacked body 25, for example, an interlayer insulating film 33 which is made of the silicon oxide is provided. Within a portion which is disposed in the directly above region of the end portion 15a of the stack body 15 in the interlayer insulating film 33, plural contacts 35, which are extended in the Z-direction and pierce the interlayer insulating film 33, are provided. A lower end of each contact 35 is in contact with the upper face of the control gate electrode film 13, in the step 31. The contact 35 is formed of a metal, for example, tungsten (W).
An end portion 13a of the control gate electrode film 13 is formed of a material of one type or more that is selected from a group which is made of a conductive material including a metal or a metal nitride, for example, tungsten, titanium (Ti), a tungsten nitride (WN) and a titanium nitride (TiN). For example, the end portion 13a includes tungsten. The end portion 13a of the control gate electrode film 13 is disposed in the end portion 15a of the stacked body 15, and is made of a portion where other control gate electrode films 13 are not disposed in the directly above region thereof, and a portion in the vicinity thereof. The end portion 13a is in contact with the contact 35.
On the other hand, a composition of a main body portion 13b except for the end portion 13a in the control gate electrode film 13 is different from composition of the end portion 13a. The main body portion 13b is formed of a conductive material including silicon, for example, silicon including boron. The main body portion 13b of the control gate electrode film 13 is a portion which is pierced by the silicon pillar SP, and is a portion which surrounds the memory film 28.
Similarly, an end portion 21a of the selection gate electrode film 21 in the Y-direction is formed of the conductive material including the metal or the metal nitride, in the same manner as the end portion 13a. Moreover, a main body portion 21b except for the end portion 21a in the selection gate electrode film 21 is formed of the conductive material including silicon, for example, silicon including boron.
On the interlayer insulating film 33, a source line SL which is extended in the Y-direction, and a word lead-out line 36 which is extended in the X-direction, are provided. A plug 37 is provided within the interlayer insulating film 33, and the source line SL is two silicon pillars SP which are adjacent to each other along the X-direction through the plug 37, and is connected to the silicon pillar SP which is not connected to each other by the pipe connector PC. The word lead-out line 36 is connected to an upper end of the contact 35.
On the interlayer insulating film 33, an interlayer insulating film 38 is provided so as to cover the source line SL and the word lead-out line 36. On the interlayer insulating film 38, a bit line BL which is extended in the X-direction is provided. Moreover, a plug 39 is provided within the interlayer insulating films 33 and 38. The bit line BL is connected to the silicon pillar SP which is not connected to the source line SL through the plug 39. On the interlayer insulating film 38, an interlayer insulating film 40 is provided so as to cover the bit line BL.
Next, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor memory device according to the first embodiment, will be described.
First, as shown in
Next, the stacked body 15 is formed by alternately stacking the control gate electrode film 13 and the insulating film 14. At this time, the control gate electrode film 13 is formed of the conductive material including silicon, for example, polysilicon to which boron is added. The insulating film 14 is formed of the insulating material, for example, the silicon oxide.
Subsequently, as shown in
Next, for example, by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), the insulating material such as the silicon nitride or the silicon oxide is deposited, and is embedded in the slit 52 and the hole for support 53. Next, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is performed, and the insulating material which is deposited on an upper face of the stacked body 15 is removed. Hereby, the insulating member 17 is formed within the slit 52, and the support 32 is formed within the hole for support 53. The insulating member 17 and the support 32 pierce all of the control gate electrode films 13 and the insulating films 14 of the stacked body 15, and reach the stopper film 12.
Subsequently, as shown in
Next, the mask pattern (not shown) is formed on the upper stacked body 25, and the stopper film 20 is made as a stopper, and anisotropic etching such as RIE is performed. Hereby, a slit 54 which is extended in the Y-direction is formed in the directly above region of the insulating member 17, and the directly above region of an intermediate position of the insulating member 17 which is adjacent thereto. By the slit 54, each selection gate electrode film 21 is divided into the plurality of band-shaped portions SG which are extended in the Y-direction. Next, by embedding the insulating material such as the silicon nitride or the silicon oxide in the slit 54, the insulating member 27 is formed. Thereafter, the mask pattern is removed.
Subsequently, another mask pattern (not shown) is formed on the upper stacked body 25, and for example, the anisotropic etching such as the RIE is performed. Hereby, in the memory cell region Rm, a memory hole 55 is formed within the upper stacked body 25 and the stacked body 15. The memory hole 55 pierces the insulating film 22, the selection gate electrode film 21, the stopper film 20, the insulating film 14, the control gate electrode film 13, and the stopper film 12, and reaches both end portions of the concave portion 50 in the X-direction. Next, by performing wet etching through the memory hole 55, the sacrifice member 51 (see
Subsequently, as shown in
In each step 31, the insulating film 14 is disposed above the control gate electrode film 13. Moreover, an end face of the control gate electrode film 13 of each step is exposed. Still more, in each step 31, the upper end of the support 32 is exposed on an upper face of the insulating film 14. The control gate electrode film 13 of the uppermost step is covered by the stopper film 20, and the selection gate electrode film 21 and the insulating film 22 are removed from the end portions of the control gate electrode film 13 of the uppermost step and the stopper film 20.
Next, as shown in
As a result, in the end portion 15a, a concave portion 57 is formed between the stopper film 12 and the insulating film 14 of the lowermost step, and between two sheets of the insulating films 14 which are adjacent to each other in the Z-direction, and between the insulating film 14 of the uppermost step and the stopper film 20. Moreover, in the end portion of the upper stacked body 25, a concave portion 58 is formed between the stopper film 20 and the insulating film 22. At this time, the support 32 is disposed within the concave portion 57, and the support 32 supports the control gate electrode film 13. Hereby, it can be suppressed that the concave portion 57 is broken by surface tension or the like at the time of removing the etching solution. Furthermore, a left-behind portion of the control gate electrode film 13 becomes the main body portion 13b, and a left-behind portion of the selection gate electrode film 21 becomes the main body portion 21b.
Next, as shown in
Next, as shown in
Subsequently, as shown in
Next, as shown in
Next, all over the surface, for example, a barrier metal film (not shown) which includes the titanium nitride (TiN) is formed, and for example, a metal film which is made of tungsten (W) is formed. The metal film enters the contact hole 61, and is in contact with the end portion 13a of the control gate electrode film 13. Along therewith, the metal film enters the hole 62, and is in contact with an upper end of the silicon pillar SP. Next, the CMP is performed with respect to an upper face of the metal film. Hereby, the portions entering the contact hole 61 and the hole 62 in the metal film are left, and the portion which is deposited on the upper face of the interlayer insulating film 33 is removed. As a result, the contact 35 is formed within the contact hole 61, and the plug 37 is formed within the hole 62.
Subsequently, as shown in
Next, effects of the first embodiment will be described.
In the first embodiment, in the process shown in
Moreover, in the first embodiment, since the control gate electrode film 13 is used as an etching stopper, there is no need to form a general-purpose etching stopper film on the end portion 15a of the stacked body 15. Hereby, it is possible to shorten a length of a terrace 31 in the Y-direction as much as a film thickness of the etching stopper film, in comparison with a case of forming the general-purpose etching stopper film.
Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, the end portion 13a of the control gate electrode film 13 and the end portion 21a of the selection gate electrode film 21 are formed of the metal or the metal nitride, and thereby, it is possible to reduce electric resistance of the control gate electrode film 13 and the selection gate electrode film 21.
Next, a second embodiment will be described.
As shown in
Similarly, a tip portion 21c of the end portion 21a of the selection gate electrode film 21 is extended up to the outside of the directly under region of the insulating film 22. The tip portion 21c is thicker than the portion except for the tip portion 21c in the selection gate electrode film 21, that is, the portion which is disposed in the directly under region of the insulating film 22. Hereby, the tip portion 21c covers at least a portion of the end face of the insulating film 22. A configuration of the second embodiment other than the above point is the same as the first embodiment described above.
Next, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor memory device according to the second embodiment, will be described.
First, the processes shown in
Next, as shown in
However, in order to divide the portion 60a connected to each control gate electrode film 13 and the portion 60b connected to the selection gate electrode film 21 in the conductive film 60 from each other, a portion of the upper face of the insulating film 14 is exposed. In order to reliably prevent a short circuit of the control gate electrode films 13, it may be slightly over-etched, after the upper face of the insulating film 14 is exposed.
Subsequently, the processes shown in
Next, the effects of the second embodiment will be described.
In the second embodiment, the tip portion 13c of the control gate electrode film 13 is formed to be thicker than other portions, in the process shown in
Next, a third embodiment will be described.
As shown in
Similarly, both end portions SGe in the width direction (X-direction) of the band-shaped portion SG of the selection gate electrode film 21 are formed of the conductive material including the metal, for example, tungsten. On the other hand, a center portion SGc in the width direction of the band-shaped portion SG of the selection gate electrode film 21 is formed of the conductive material including silicon, for example, polysilicon to which boron is added. A configuration of the third embodiment other than the above point is the same as the first embodiment described above.
Next, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor memory device according to the third embodiment will be described.
First, as shown in
Next, the memory hole 55 is formed in the upper stacked body 25 and the stacked body 15. Next, the memory film 28 and the silicon pillar SP are formed within the memory hole 55. Next, by the anisotropic etching such as the RIE, a slit 70 is formed in the upper stacked body 25 and the stacked body 15. By the slit 70, each control gate electrode film 13 is divided into the plurality of band-shaped portions WL, and the selection gate electrode film 21 is divided into the plurality of band-shaped portions SG.
Subsequently, as shown in
Next, as shown in
Next, as shown in
Subsequently, the effects of the third embodiment will be described.
In the third embodiment, the control gate electrode film 13 and the selection gate electrode film 21 are partially formed of the metal, and thereby, it is possible to reduce the resistance. The effects of the third embodiment other than the above point are the same as the first embodiment described above. Furthermore, in the third embodiment, after the process shown in
According to the embodiments described above, it is possible to realize the semiconductor memory device of which the reliability is high, and the method for manufacturing the same.
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 invention. Additionally, the embodiments described above can be combined mutually.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2014-187501 | Sep 2014 | JP | national |