1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to semiconductor devices and fabrication processes and, more particularly, to complementary transistors having dual work function metal gate electrodes and methods for their fabrication.
2. Background of the Invention
Electrical active devices such as complementary transistors require low threshold voltages (Vt) for high device performance. Generally, metal gate electrodes are used to reduce gate depletion and meet the high performance goals, for example, for the 45 nm node. A conventional solution to obtain low Vt is to use dual work function metal gate electrodes. Problems arise, however, because integration of dual work function metal gate electrodes has proven to be a difficult task. For example, one difficult aspect of dual work function metal gate integration is the control of the work function, especially when the metal gates are subjected to a high temperature anneal. High temperature annealing of metals that form the gates tends to shift the work function towards the mid-gap due to the formation of dipoles at the metal/dielectric interface. Currently, there is no solution in the prior art to control the work function of metal gate electrodes by controlling the dipoles.
Thus, there is a need to overcome these and other problems of the prior art and to provide structures and methods to control the work function of metal gate electrodes by engineering and/or controlling the interface dipoles.
According to various embodiments, the present teachings include a semiconductor device. The semiconductor device can include a dielectric material disposed over a semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor device can also include a first metal gate electrode disposed on the dielectric material having a first interface therebetween. At the first interface, a first plurality of interface dipoles can be formed to provide the first metal gate electrode with an increased work function value. The semiconductor device can further include a second metal gate electrode disposed on the dielectric material having a second interface therebetween. At the second interface, a second plurality of interface dipoles can be formed to provide the second metal gate electrode with a decreased work function value.
According to various embodiments, the present teachings also include a method for forming a semiconductor device. In the method, a metal layer can be formed on a dielectric material, which can be disposed over a semiconductor substrate. A first portion of the metal layer can then be converted to a first gate material having a plurality of electronegative species disposed at a first interface between the first gate material and the dielectric material. A second portion of the metal layer can also be converted to a second gate material having a plurality of electropositive species disposed at a second interface between the second gate material and the dielectric material.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one (several) embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments (exemplary embodiments) of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part thereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific exemplary embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The following description is, therefore, merely exemplary.
While the invention has been illustrated with respect to one or more implementations, alterations and/or modifications can be made to the illustrated examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular function. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “including”, “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.” The term “at least one of” is used to mean one or more of the listed items can be selected.
Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical value, however, inherently contains certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements. Moreover, all ranges disclosed herein are to be understood to encompass any and all sub-ranges subsumed therein. For example, a range of “less than 10” can include any and all sub-ranges between (and including) the minimum value of zero and the maximum value of 10, that is, any and all sub-ranges having a minimum value of equal to or greater than zero and a maximum value of equal to or less than 10, e.g., 1 to 5.
Exemplary embodiments provide structures and methods for dual work function metal gate electrodes for applications such as complementary transistors. Specifically, the work function value of a metal gate electrode can be controlled by forming various dipoles (also referred to herein as “interface dipoles”) and by further controlling the polarity direction of the various dipoles at the interface between the metal gate electrode and the underlying dielectric material. In this manner, the work function value of the metal gate electrode can be increased or decreased. In various embodiments, the interface dipoles can in turn be controlled by disposing one or more of electronegative species and electropositive species at the metal/dielectric interface.
The metal gate electrode can include one or more conductive materials (also referred to herein as “metals”), from which a competent metal gate electrode can be formed, such as, for example, single metals, metal compounds, metal alloys, metal nitrides, metal silicides, metal oxide and all possible combinations. Exemplary metals can include, but are not limited to, Ti, Al, Ta, W, Ir, Mo, Ru, Pt, Ni, Hf, TiTa, RuTa, TiSi2, WN, WCON, WAlN, WSiN TaN, TaAlN, TaCON, NiSi, WSi2, TiN, CoSi2, MoSi2, ZrN, WSi, HfN, IrO2, PtTa, TaCN, MoN, RuO2, TiAlN, TiSiN, TaSiN, TiTaN, RuTaN, PtTaN, WSiN, MoSiN, ZrSiN, HfSi, and ZrSi.
The dielectric material can include one or more materials selected from the group consisting of silicon oxide (SiO2), silicon nitride (Si3N4), silicon oxynitride (SiON), fluorinated silicon dioxide (SiOF), silicon oxycarbide (SiOC), hafnium oxide (HfO2), hafnium-silicate (HfSiO), nitride hafnium-silicate (HfSiON), zirconium oxide (ZrO2), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), barium strontium titanate (BST), lead zirconate titanate (PZT), zirconium silicate (ZrSiO2), zirconium silicon oxynitride (ZrSiON), hafnium lanthanum oxynitride (HfLaON), hafnium aluminum oxynitride (HfAlON), and tantalum oxide (TaO2).
For the metal 130, the work function values (“φm”) can be determined by the energy necessary to emit the electrons (“e−”) at a conduction band level from the metal 130 into a vacuum. The vacuum level at line 110 can be at a higher position than the conduction band level of the metal 130.
For the first metal material 150, when the first plurality of interface dipoles 180 exist and point into the surface, i.e., with positive charges in the metal, the electron (“e−”) emitted from the metal surface can be decelerated by the dipoles as the electron moves into vacuum, thereby increasing the work function (“φm+”) of the metal.
For the second metal material 170, when the second plurality of interface dipoles 185 exist and point out of the surface, i.e., with negative charges in the metal, the electron (“e−”) emitted from the surface can be accelerated by the dipoles as the electron moves into vacuum, thereby decreasing the work function (“φm−”) of the metal.
Therefore, the polarity directions of the interface dipoles (i.e., either pointing into or out of the metal) can be used to increase and/or decrease the work function value of the metal, respectively. In various embodiments, the interface dipoles can in turn be controlled by selectively disposing various electronegative and/or electropositive species at the metal surface. For example, various electronegative species can be disposed at the interface of a metal gate electrode and a dielectric material to provide increased work function values of, for example, about 4.8 to 5.4 eV, which can be used for PMOS transistors in dual work function gated devices. In another example, various electropositive species can be disposed at the interface of a metal gate electrode and a dielectric material to provide decreased work function values of, for example, about 3.8 to 4.4 eV, which can be used for NMOS transistors in the dual work function gated devices.
Exemplary electronegative species can include, but are not limited to, C, N, O, F, S, Cl, Se, Br, Kr, I, and Xe, while exemplary electropositive species can include, but are not limited to, Cs, Ba, Rb, Sr, Mg, Li, Be, Yb, and Gd.
In various embodiments, the disclosed dual work function gated devices can be formed with a first work function value such as for PMOS gate electrodes and a second work function value such as for NMOS gate electrodes, wherein the first work function value is greater than the second work function value. Each of the PMOS gate electrodes and the NMOS gate electrodes can be formed by adding one or more suitable species selected from the group consisting of electropositive species and electronegative species.
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The silicon substrate 210 can be conductively doped to form a PMOS region 212 and an NMOS region 214 with an isolation region 216 separating the doped regions 212 and 214. The dielectric material 220 can be formed of any dielectric material as described above. The metal layer 230 can be formed of any conductive material (i.e., metal) from which a competent metal gate electrode can be formed.
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In various embodiments, the metal used for PMOS and NMOS gate materials can be different. For example, the second selected portion of the metal layer 230 in
At 265, with the mask pattern 260 in place, the second selected portion of the metal layer 230 (or the second metal) can be implanted with electropositive species using, for example, a standard ion implantation process.
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As a result, the device 200 can include a first plurality of interface dipoles 280 formed at the first interface pointing into the PMOS gate material 250 to provide an increased work function value. The device 200 can also include a second plurality of interface dipoles 285 formed at the second interface pointing out of the NMOS gate material 270 to provide a decreased work function value.
In various embodiments, the converted metal layer 230, including the PMOS gate material 250 and the NMOS gate material 270, can be a mid-gap film formed on the dielectric material 220. In this case, a conductive material (not shown) such as a heavily doped film, for example, a polysilicon, can then be formed over the mid-gap film to form composite gate materials. Furthermore, depending upon the specific metal used for the metal layer 230, a diffusion barrier material can be inserted between the heavily doped film and the metal layer 230 to prevent reaction between metal layer 230 and the heavily doped film. Exemplary diffusion barrier materials can include, but are not limited to, TiN, TaN, or WN.
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In various embodiments, metals used for the PMOS and NMOS gate electrodes can be different and with desired electronegative and/or electropositive species.
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Conventional processes can then be used to pattern and etch the device 300 shown in
In various embodiments, various electronegative and/or electropositive species can be added to form metal gate materials by alternative techniques, for example, a solid state diffusion process, using a cladding layer over the metal layer.
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The cladding layer 435 can be used to facilitate the solid state diffusion of desired electronegative and/or electropositive species into the metal layer 430 to form metal gate materials. In various embodiments, the cladding layer 435 can be formed of, for example, a polysilicon.
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As a result, the device 400 can include a first plurality of interface dipoles 480 pointing into the PMOS gate material 450 at the interface 452. The device 400 can also include a second plurality of interface dipoles 485 pointing out of the NMOS gate material 470 at the interface 472. In various embodiments, the cladding layer including portions of 437 and 439 can be removed to expose the PMOS gate material 450 and the NMOS gate material 470.
Conventional processes can be followed to pattern and etch the device 400 shown in
Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.