Multichannel Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) Transistors
Unit cells of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors are provided including an integrated circuit substrate an a MOS transistor on the integrated circuit substrate. The MOS transistor includes a source region, a drain region and a gate. The gate is positioned between the source region and the drain region. A horizontal channel is provided between the source and drain regions. The horizontal channel includes at least two spaced apart horizontal channel regions. Related methods of fabricating MOS transistors are also provided.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/797,463, filed Mar. 10, 2004, which claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 2003-30883, filed May 15, 2003, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in their entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to integrated circuit devices and methods of fabricating the same and, more specifically, to metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors and methods of fabricating the same.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONAs integrated circuit devices become more highly integrated, the overall size of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors have become smaller and channel lengths of the MOS transistors have also been reduced. Accordingly, short channel MOS transistors may experience a punch-through phenomenon that may cause large leakage currents between source and drain regions of the transistor. In addition, source and drain junction capacitances and gate capacitances may also increase. Thus, it may be difficult to provide high performance, low power integrated circuit devices.
To address the problems with MOS transistors discussed above, silicon on insulator (SOI) technology using a SOI substrate has been introduced. A SOI substrate typically includes a supporting substrate, an insulating layer on the supporting substrate and a silicon layer on the insulating layer. SOI devices may provide low junction leakage currents, reduction in frequency of punch-through, low operation voltage and high efficiency in device isolation. However, heat generated from SOI devices during operation may not be efficiently conducted to the supporting substrate due to the insulating layer between the supporting substrate and the silicon layer. Accordingly, temperatures of SOI devices may increase and thereby degrade the overall characteristics of the device. Furthermore, SOI devices may experience a floating body effect that may cause a parasitic bipolar transistor action and complex manufacturing techniques may be used to remove the floating body effect. Accordingly, improved integrated circuit devices and methods of fabricating integrated circuit devices may be desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONEmbodiments of the present invention provide a unit cell of a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor, the unit cell including an integrated circuit substrate a MOS transistor on the integrated circuit substrate. The MOS transistor includes a source region, a drain region and a gate. The gate is positioned between the source region and the drain region. A horizontal channel is provided between the source and drain regions. The horizontal channel includes at least two spaced apart horizontal channel regions.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the at least two spaced apart horizontal channel regions include an active region on the integrated circuit substrate and at least one epitaxial pattern on the active region and spaced apart from the active region. In certain embodiments of the present invention, the at least one epitaxial pattern includes first and second epitaxial patterns. The second epitaxial pattern may be positioned on the first epitaxial pattern and spaced apart from the first epitaxial pattern. The unit cell may further include a mask pattern on the second epitaxial pattern. The second epitaxial pattern may be directly connected to the mask pattern.
In further embodiments of the present invention, the source and drain regions include vertical source and drain regions. The vertical source region may be positioned on a first side of the horizontal channel region and the vertical drain region may be positioned on a second side of the horizontal channel region. The vertical drain region may also be spaced apart from the source region.
In still further embodiments of the present invention, a gate pattern is provided on the horizontal channel and between the at least two spaced apart horizontal channel regions. A gate insulation layer may also be provided between the gate pattern and the at least two spaced apart horizontal channel regions channel. Source and drain electrodes may be electrically coupled to the vertical source and drain regions, respectively. A first insulation pattern may be provided between the source and drain electrodes and the integrated circuit substrate and between the gate pattern and the integrated circuit substrate.
In some embodiments of the present invention, a mask pattern may be provided on the horizontal channel. The gate pattern may extend between an upper channel region of the at least two spaced apart horizontal channel regions and the mask pattern. A second insulation pattern may also be provided on the horizontal channel and the vertical source and drain regions. The second insulation pattern may define a gate opening on the horizontal channel. The gate pattern may be provided in the gate opening and the source and drain electrodes may extend through the second insulation pattern and be connected to the vertical source drain regions.
In further embodiments of the present invention, a third insulation pattern may be provided on the second insulation pattern and the gate pattern. The source and drain electrodes may extend through the third insulation pattern and the second insulation pattern to be connected to the vertical source and drain regions. An upper surface of the first insulation pattern may be higher relative to a lower surface of the gate pattern.
While the present invention is described above primarily with reference transistors, methods of forming transistors are also provided herein.
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the thickness of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity. It will be further understood that when a layer is referred to as being “on” to another layer, it can be directly on the other layer or intervening layers may also be present. It will be further understood that when a layer is referred to as being “directly on” another layer, no intervening layers may be present. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
It will be understood that although the terms first and second are used herein to describe various layers or regions, these layers or regions should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one layer or region from another layer or region. Thus, a first layer or region discussed below could be termed a second layer or region, and similarly, a second layer or region may be termed a first layer or region without departing from the teachings of the present invention.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with respect to
Referring now to
It will be understood that embodiments of the present invention illustrated in
A gate pattern 34 may be provided in a gap region of the horizontal channel regions 14a and 50. The gate pattern may be provided on the horizontal channel regions 14a and 50. A gate insulation layer 32 may be provided between the horizontal channel regions 14a and 50 and the gate pattern 34. A mask pattern 16a is provided on an upper surface of the second epitaxial pattern 14a. In other words, the mask pattern 16a is provided on an upper surface of the last horizontal channel region 14a in the stack of spaced apart channel regions 50 and 14a. The mask pattern 16a is provided between the upper surface of the second epitaxial pattern 14a and the gate pattern 34. The vertical source and drain regions 52s and 52d are electrically coupled to a source electrode 42s and a drain electrode 42d, respectively.
In some embodiments of the present invention, a first insulation pattern 22 may be provided between the source and drain electrodes 42s and 42d and the integrated circuit substrate 10 to reduce leakage of a current from the source and drain electrodes 42s and 42d into the integrated circuit substrate 10. A second insulation pattern 30 may be provided on a surface of the integrated circuit substrate 10, including the horizontal channel regions 14a and 50 and the vertical source and drain regions 52s and 52d. The second insulation pattern 30 may define a gate opening. The gate pattern 34 may be provided in the gate opening using, for example, a damascene process. Furthermore, source and drain electrodes 42s and 42d may penetrate the second insulation pattern 30, electrically coupling the source and drain electrodes 42s and 42d to the source and drain regions 52s and 52d.
A third insulation pattern 36 may be provided on the second insulation pattern 30. In embodiments of the present invention including the third insulation pattern 36, the third insulation pattern 36 may electrically insulate an interconnection connected to source and drain electrodes 42s and 42d and the gate pattern 34. Furthermore, an etch stop layer 26 may be provided between a lower surface of the second insulation pattern 30 and the first insulation pattern 22. The etch stop layer 26 may reduce the likelihood that the first insulation pattern 22 will be over etched during a process of forming the source and drain electrodes 42s and 42d. The etch stop layer 26 may also reduce the likelihood that the first insulation pattern 22 will be over etched during a process of forming the gate opening 28.
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Source and drain regions may be formed by implanting impurities into the third epitaxial layer 24. It will be understood that the source and drain regions may be formed in a subsequent process using, for example, conformal concentration using an oblique ion implantation. An etch stop layer 26 is formed on a surface of the integrated circuit substrate 10. The presence of the etch stop layer 26 may reduce the likelihood of over etching the first insulation pattern 22. The etch stop layer 26 may include, for example, silicon nitride.
Referring now to
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A gate insulation layer 32 is formed on surface of the channel of the transistor. In other words, the gate insulation layer 32 is formed on a surface of the active region 50 and surfaces of the second epitaxial patterns 14a. The gate insulation layer 32 can be formed conformally using, for example, a thermal process or a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method.
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The presence of the first insulation pattern 22 on the floor of the source and drain contact holes 40s and 40d may reduce the likelihood that the integrated circuit substrate will be over etched during the formation of the source and drain contact holes 40s and 40d. A conductive layer is provided in the source and drain contact holes 40s and 40d to provide source and drain electrodes 42s and 42d (
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Transistors according to some embodiments of the present invention illustrated in
As briefly discussed above with respect to
Furthermore, as discussed above, transistors according to embodiments of the present invention include vertical source and drain regions. Accordingly, the surface dimension of the source and drain regions is wide relative to conventional transistors even though the junction depth of the source and drain regions has been reduces. Therefore, the resistance of transistors according to embodiments of the present invention can be reduced. Finally, the presence of an etch stop layer may reduce damage caused to the integrated circuit substrate during the process of forming the source and drain contact holes, thus, a leakage current may be reduced.
In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed typical preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.
Claims
1. A unit cell of a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor, comprising:
- an integrated circuit substrate;
- a MOS transistor on the integrated circuit substrate, the MOS transistor having a vertical source region, a vertical drain region and a plurality of gates, the plurality of gates being between the vertical source region and the vertical drain region; and
- a horizontal channel between the vertical source and drain regions, the horizontal channel including at least two spaced apart horizontal channel regions,
- wherein widths of the plurality of gates contacted to the at least two horizontal channel regions are identical.
2. The unit cell of claim 1, wherein the at least two spaced apart horizontal channel region comprise:
- an active region on the integrated circuit substrate; and
- at least one epitaxial pattern on the active region and spaced apart from the active region.
3. The unit cell of claim 2, wherein the at least one epitaxial pattern comprises first and second epitaxial patterns, the second epitaxial pattern being on the first epitaxial pattern and spaced apart from the first epitaxial pattern, the unit cell further comprising:
- a mask pattern on the second epitaxial pattern.
4. The unit cell of claim 3, wherein the second epitaxial pattern is directly connected to the mask pattern.
5. The unit cell of claim 1, wherein the source and drain regions comprise vertical source and drain regions, the vertical source region being on a first side of the horizontal channel region and the vertical drain region being on a second side of the horizontal channel region and spaced apart from the vertical source region.
6. The unit cell of claim 5, further comprising:
- a gate pattern on the horizontal channel and between the at least two spaced apart horizontal channel regions; and
- a gate insulation layer between the gate pattern and the at least two spaced apart horizontal channel regions.
7. The unit cell of claim 3, further comprising:
- a source electrode electrically coupled to the vertical source region;
- a drain electrode electrically coupled to the vertical drain region; and
- a first insulation pattern between the source and drain electrodes and the integrated circuit substrate and between the gate pattern and the integrated circuit substrate.
8. The unit cell of claim 7, wherein the gate pattern extends between an upper channel region of the at least two spaced apart horizontal channel regions and the mask pattern.
9. The unit cell of claim 8, further comprising:
- a second insulation pattern on the horizontal channel and the vertical source and drain regions, wherein the second insulation pattern defines a gate opening on the horizontal channel, wherein the gate pattern is provided in the gate opening and wherein the source and drain electrodes extend through the second insulation pattern and are connected to the vertical source drain regions.
10. The unit cell of claim 9, further comprising:
- a third insulation pattern on the second insulation pattern and the gate pattern, wherein the source and drain electrodes extend through the third insulation pattern and the second insulation pattern and are connected to the vertical source and drain regions.
11. The unit cell of claim 10, wherein an upper surface of the first insulation pattern is higher relative to a lower surface of the gate pattern.
12. A unit cell of a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor, comprising:
- an integrated circuit substrate including a trench and an active region higher than the trench, the active region protruding from the integrated circuit substrate to function as a horizontal channel;
- the horizontal channel between a vertical source region and a vertical drain region, the horizontal channel including at least two single crystalline horizontal channel regions formed in spaced apart patterns, and further including the active region higher than the trench;
- a plurality of gates between at least two single crystalline horizontal channel regions, wherein widths of the plurality of gates that contact the at least two single crystalline horizontal channel regions are substantially identical;
- the vertical source region and the vertical drain region in other patterns at one side of the spaced apart patterns, respectively, wherein the vertical source and drain regions extend along sides of the at least two horizontal channel regions and sides of the active region protruding from the integrated circuit substrate; and
- a vertical source electrode contacted to a side of the vertical source region and a vertical drain electrode contacted to a side of the vertical drain region.
13. A transistor comprising:
- an integrated circuit substrate including a trench region to define an active region and a device insulation layer on a floor of the trench region;
- a horizontal channel including a plurality of spaced apart channel layers on the active region, wherein widths of the plurality of spaced apart channel layers are substantially identical;
- a gate pattern on the horizontal channel, the gate pattern including a plurality of gates simultaneously formed between the plurality of spaced apart channel layers;
- a pair of junctions including a vertical source region and a vertical drain region on the device isolation layer; and
- a vertical source electrode and a vertical drain electrode on the device isolation layer, the vertical source electrode contacting to a side of the source region and the vertical drain electrode contacting to a side of the drain region.
14. The transistor of claim 13, wherein an upper surface of the device isolation layer is lower relative to the active region.
15. The transistor of claim 13, wherein the pair of junction covers sides of the active region and sides of the plurality of spaced apart channel layers.
16. The transistor of claim 13, wherein the plurality of spaced apart channel layers are single crystalline.
17. The transistor of claim 13, wherein the horizontal channel comprises at least one gap region, in which at least one gate is formed, between the plurality of spaced apart channel layers.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 14, 2010
Publication Date: May 6, 2010
Inventors: Kyoung-Hwan Yeo (Seoul), Dong-Gun Park (Gyeonggi-do), Jeong-Dong Choe (Gyeonggi-do)
Application Number: 12/687,613
International Classification: H01L 29/78 (20060101);