1T/0C RAM cell with a wrapped-around gate device structure
A memory device and a method of forming the memory device. The memory device comprises a storage transistor at a surface of a substrate comprising a body portion between first and second source/drain regions, wherein the source/drain regions are regions of a first conductivity type. The storage transistor also comprises a gate structure that wraps at least partially around the body portion in at least two spatial planes. A bit line is connected to the first source/drain region and a word line connected to the gate structure. The memory device does not require an additional capacitive storage element.
The present invention relates to memory devices, more specifically to a dynamic random access memory device including a field effect transistor storage device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONSemiconductor memory, such as a random access memory (RAM), is an essential semiconductor device. A RAM device allows the user to execute both read and write operations on its memory cells. DRAM is a specific category of RAM containing an array of individual memory cells. DRAM devices are the most cost effective high speed memory used with computers and computer systems. Typically, each cell includes a capacitor for holding a charge and a transistor for accessing the charge held in the capacitor. The transistor is often referred to as the access transistor or the transfer device of the DRAM cell.
As DRAM devices continue to be scaled down in size, it is difficult to provide capacitors in a small area with sufficient capacitance, typically greater than 30 femtoFarads (fF). In addition, it is difficult to provide an access transistor with good off-state leakage characteristics for refresh operations and good on-state characteristics to write into the cell. Several designs have been proposed to address these issues.
One such design is a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) based memory cell that eliminates the need for a capacitor. See K. Inoh et al, “FBC (Floating Body Cell) for Embedded DRAM on SOI,” 2003 Symp. on VLSI Tech. Digest, June 2003; P. Fazan et al., “Capacitor-less 1-T DRAM,” 2002 IEEE Int'l. SOI Conf., pp. 10-13, October 2002; H. Wann et al., “A Capacitorless DRAM Cell on SOI Substrate,” Tech. Digest, Int'l Electron Device Mtg., pp. 635-638, December 1993. The above references discuss one-transistor capacitor-less (1T/0C) DRAM cells and the operation of a DRAM circuit employing such cells. The above references are incorporated herein by reference.
Such capacitor-less cells, however, can suffer from poor performance characteristics related to retention time, access time, distribution characteristics, and reliability. In a 1T/0C DRAM cell, carriers are generated in the substrate bulk to write a “1,” and are pulled out from the substrate bulk to write a “0.” In a 1T/0C DRAM cell employing a planar SOI device, carrier generation can present problems. For example, when impact ionization is essential for operation of such a DRAM cell, device reliability can be poor and efficiency can be reduced at higher temperatures due to a decrease in ionization. Also, a planar device can result in limited operation speed, disturb, and write operations that consume a lot of power because the transistor must be in an on-state. Further, when the planar SOI devices are scaled to smaller sizes charge storage can be limited due to the reduced active area.
It would be advantageous to provide a storage device structure for use in a memory cell that would allow for reduced size while providing improved performance characteristics.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONEmbodiments of the invention provide a memory cell and a method of forming the memory cell. The memory cell comprises a storage transistor at a surface of a substrate. The storage transistor comprises a body portion between first and second source/drain regions, wherein the source/drain regions are regions of a first conductivity type. The storage transistor also comprises a gate structure that wraps at least partially around the body portion in at least two spatial planes. A bit line is connected to the first source/drain region and a word line is connected to the gate structure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe foregoing and other advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of exemplary embodiments provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof and illustrate specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. In the drawings, like reference numerals describe substantially similar components throughout the several views. It is noted that the drawings of the invention are not to scale. The drawings are intended to depict only exemplary embodiments of the invention and, therefore, should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. 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 structural, logical, and electrical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The terms “wafer” and “substrate” are to be understood as including silicon, silicon-on-insulator (SOI), silicon-on-sapphire (SOS), and silicon-on-nothing (SON) technology, doped and undoped semiconductors, epitaxial layers of silicon supported by a base semiconductor foundation, and other semiconductor structures. Furthermore, when reference is made to a “wafer” or “substrate” in the following description, previous process steps may have been utilized to form regions or junctions in the base semiconductor structure or foundation. In addition, the semiconductor need not be silicon-based, but could be based on silicon-germanium, germanium, or gallium-arsenide.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a storage transistor having a wrapped-around gate structure for use in a memory cell, and particularly for use in a one transistor capacitor-less (1T/0C) DRAM cell. The storage transistor is configured to employ any of the following means to generate charge to be stored in the storage transistor: a) impact ionization; b) band-to-band tunneling; and c) channel-initiated secondary hot electrons (CHISEL). A combination of these three methods can be used to increase carrier generation efficiency. Carriers, e.g., holes, generated by these methods are stored in the body of the storage transistor during a write operation.
Impact ionization generates carriers when a first generation high-energy undergoes a collision (scattering event) with the lattice of the substrate. For example, a first generation high-energy electron in the conduction band undergoes a collision, thereby liberating a second generation electron from the valence band. The second generation electron leaves behind a hole. High-energy first generation carriers lose energy upon collision as energy is transferred to the second generation electron.
Impact ionization is a strong function of carrier energy. Impact ionization is strongly dependent on temperature and is aided by a high electric field, but is not dependent upon the electric field. The frequency of impact ionization decreases at higher temperatures due to increased lattice scattering. Further, impact ionization also depends strongly on the energy band structure of the substrate, which is an intrinsic material property. See V. Chandramouli et al., “Design Consideration for High Performance Avalanche Photodiode Multiplication Layers,” IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. 41, pp. 648-654, 1994, which is incorporated herein by reference, discussing impact ionization.
Band-to-band tunneling of carriers occurs when there is significant band bending in the presence of electric fields in a device. Like impact ionization, band-to-band tunneling results in charge carrier amplification. There are, however, significant differences. Band-to-band tunneling is strongly dependent on electric field and is independent of temperature. In transistors, band-to-band tunneling is a primary cause of gate-induced-drain-leakage (GIDL).
CHISEL mechanisms also result in carrier amplification. As is known in the art, carrier generation through CHISEL mechanisms involve impact ionization and second generation carrier energy gain in the presence of an electric field.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a fin-type field effect transistor (FinFET) is provided for a 1T/0C DRAM cell. As is known in the art, a FinFET is a multiple-gate FET and, typically, is a fully depleted (FD) SOI device employed in advanced logic technologies. FD-FinFET's are typically designed to eliminate floating body effect (FBE). For an SOI FET, there is often no contact to the body portion between source and drain regions so that the body is floating. Floating body effect causes fluctuation in the threshold voltage for the device from charge build up in the body, which is detrimental to conventional operation of a FET.
A FD-SOI device, however, is not suited for charge storage as needed in a DRAM cell. When a FinFET is to be used as a storage device, it is advantageous to have FBE. Therefore, embodiments of the invention provide a partially depleted (PD) FinFET with increased FBE over a FD-SOI device. See D. Munteanu et al., “Generation-Recombination Transient Effects in Partially Depleted SOI Transistors: Systematic Experiments and Simulations,” IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. 45, No. 8, pp. 1678-83, August 1998, describing the most frequent transient phenomena due to FBE in PD SOI MOSFET's.
FinFET 201 is a partially depleted (PD) SOI device. Accordingly, FinFET 201 is formed of a silicon layer 215 over a buried oxide layer (BOX) 212. BOX 212 overlies a base silicon layer 211. There is also an isolation region 213 for isolating FinFET 201 from neighboring devices. Illustratively, isolation region 213 is a shallow trench isolation region.
As shown in
The body 217 is a structure protruding from a surface of the substrate layer 215 and has a wall or fin-like shape. As FinFET 201 is an SOI device, body 217 is floating. There is a gate oxide layer 225 in contact with the body 217. Over the oxide layer 225 is a gate structure 220. Gate structure 220 wraps around a portion of the body 217 to form gates 220a, 220b, and 220c (
Because gate structure 220 wraps around three sides of body 217, the gates provide good control in the sub-threshold and linear operating regions. Additionally, due to superior gate control, FinFET 201 can be formed to have a low threshold voltage. FinFET 201 can have a threshold voltage between approximately 300 mV to approximately 700 mV, when no charge is stored in body 217. Illustratively, the threshold voltage of FinFET 201 is approximately 500 mV. A low threshold voltage enables low power operation, particularly where band-to-band tunneling is used to write a “1” into cell 200. Furthermore, FinFET 201 is more easily scaled to smaller physical dimensions and lower operating voltages than a conventional planar SOI FET.
Charge carriers, e.g., holes, are stored in body 217. As body 217 is a fin structure, it is better isolated from source/drain regions 235, 230 as compared to a planar device. Therefore, charge can be stored longer in body 217 improving data retention characteristics of DRAM cell 200.
Also, as shown in
Illustratively, region 236 is a heavily doped P-type halo region. Halo region 236 is located below a point where source/drain region 235 and gate structure 220 overlap and is in contact with a bottom portion of source/drain region 235 and a top surface of BOX 212. Halo region 236 ensures that FinFET 201 is a PD device and also increases carriers generated by CHISEL mechanisms, thereby increasing programming efficiency. Leaving a side of body 217, which is adjacent to where bit line 296 is connected, undoped provides a large programming window and allows full depletion of body 217 on that side enhancing write “0” operations.
For illustration purposes, an exemplary fabrication of a single DRAM cell 200 is now described with reference to
Isolation regions 213 (
As shown in
An insulating layer 225 is grown or deposited by conventional methods on substrate layer 215, as shown in
As shown in
A P-type dopant, such as boron or indium is implanted in substrate layer 215. The implant dose can be between approximately 5e12 atoms/cm2 to approximately 1e14 atoms/cm2. In this example the implant dose is approximately 1e13 atoms/cm2. Multiple implants can be used to tailor the profile of the halo region 236. Also, angled implantation can be conducted to form halo region 236, such that implantation is carried out at angles other than 90 degrees relative to the top surface of substrate layer 215.
As shown in
Alternatively, LDD regions 237 and 238 can be formed separately using separate mask levels. For example, the mask used forming halo region 236 can remain when LDD region 237 is formed.
Source/drain regions 235, 230 can be implanted by known methods to achieve the structure shown in
Conventional processing methods can be used to complete DRAM cell 200. For example, insulating and metallization layers to connect a bit line, word line, and source line to cell 200 may be formed. The entire surface can be covered with a passivation layer (not shown) of, for example, silicon dioxide, borosilicate glass (BSG), phosphosilicate glass (PSG), or borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG), which is CMP planarized and etched to provide contact holes, which are then metallized to provide contacts. Conventional layers of conductors and insulators can also be used to connect cell 200 to peripheral circuitry.
As shown in
Silicide layer 245 is a different silicide than silicide layer 240. Silicide layers 745, 740 can be formed by methods known in the art, such as deposition of a metal layer followed by an annealing step. Layers 745, 740 are formed such that the Schottky barrier height between one of source/drain regions 235, 230 and body 217 is higher than between the other of source/drain regions 235, 230 and body 217. Schottky barrier height depends on the work-function of the silicide. A higher work-function tends to result in a higher Schottky barrier.
In the embodiment of
Also, an increased dopant level augments the Schottky barrier. Accordingly, the dopant level in the source/drain region 235 can be greater than that in the source/drain region 230. In such a case, source/drain regions 235, 230 can be formed in separate steps.
Providing a higher Schottky barrier on the side of FinFET 701 adjacent to line 504 serves to increase carrier generation in the body 217 due to gate tunneling effect when FinFET 201 is in an on-state. Gate tunneling causes a tunneling current from the gate to the body increasing the body charge. Additionally, such a Schottky barrier increases high-energy carriers, thereby increasing the probability of impact ionization.
Referring to
Inert dopant region 839 enhances a write “0” operation by providing recombination centers in BOX 212 on the side of FinFET 801 adjacent to bit line 206 (
As shown in
Carriers are accelerated through the layers in the presence of an electric field and gain energy. In the example of
Illustratively, the difference between the levels of Ev for the first and second materials, represented by reference numeral 93, is less than the difference between the levels of Ec for the first and second materials 92. Accordingly, holes gain less energy than electrons. Where FinFET 901 is a P-channel device, source/drain regions 235, 230 can be configured such that hole injection velocity in the source/drain region 235 is increased. In such a case, the difference of Ec between the first and second materials can be greater.
Instead, memory cell 200 includes a heavily doped N-tub layer 1018 underlying a P-type substrate 1015. N-tub layer 1018 creates a barrier for minority carriers. N-tub layer 1018 can be formed by techniques known in the art prior to forming devices of memory cell 200, such as FinFET 1001. Although FinFET 1001 does not provide the benefits of an SOI substrate, it is a cost effective alternative.
The additional features described above in connection with
Although a DRAM cell 200 of the above embodiments is described as including a FinFET, the invention is not limited to a storage transistor with a body having a fin structure. The invention can include any transistor device having a wrapped-around gate structure. That is, a DRAM cell 200 can include a storage transistor that includes a gate structure that wraps at least partially around the body portion of the transistor in at least two spatial planes. For example, DRAM cell 200 can include a cylindrical or surround gate that wraps around sidewalls of a pillar-shaped body or an omega FET, among others.
Although the above embodiments are described with respect to an N-channel device, the invention is also applicable to a DRAM cell 200 that includes a P-channel device. Where DRAM cell 200 includes a P-channel device, the conductivity types of the structures would change, as is known in the art. For example, source and drain regions would be P-type regions.
The column decoder 1148 is connected to the sense amplifier circuit 1146 via control and column select signals on column select lines 1162. The sense amplifier circuit 1146 receives input data destined for the memory array 299 and outputs data read from the memory array 299 over input/output (I/O) data lines 1163. Data is read from the cells of the memory array 1142 by activating a word line 298 (via the row decoder 1144), which couples all of the memory cells corresponding to that word line to respective bit lines 296, which define the columns of the array. One or more bit lines 296 are also activated. When a particular word line 508 and bit lines 296 are activated, the sense amplifier circuit 1146 connected to a bit line column detects and amplifies the data bit transferred from the memory cell to its bit line 296.
Although the
It is again noted that the above description and drawings are exemplary and illustrate preferred embodiments that achieve the objects, features and advantages of the present invention. It is not intended that the present invention be limited to the illustrated embodiments. Any modification of the present invention which comes within the spirit and scope of the following claims should be considered part of the present invention. Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the foregoing description or drawings, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A memory device comprising:
- a storage transistor at a surface of a substrate, the storage transistor comprising:
- a body portion between first and second source/drain regions, wherein the first and second source/drain regions are regions of a first conductivity type, and
- a gate structure, wherein the gate structure wraps at least partially around the body portion in at least two spatial planes;
- a bit line connected to the first source/drain region; and
- a word line connected to the gate structure.
2. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a silicon-on-insulator substrate.
3. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the storage transistor is a partially depleted device.
4. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type overlying a semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type.
5. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the storage transistor is a FinFET.
6. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the gate structure comprises a gate electrode, and wherein the gate electrode comprises a material from the group consisting of P+ polysilicon, N+ polysilicon, P+ SixGe1-x, N+ SixGe1-x, Ti, TaN, WN, and W.
7. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the gate structure comprises a metal gate electrode.
8. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the body portion contains a heavily doped region of a second conductivity type adjacent to the second source/drain region and separated from the first source/drain region.
9. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the body portion contains an inert dopant region heavily doped with inert ions adjacent to the first source/drain region and separated from the second source/drain region.
10. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the inert dopant region has a dopant dose within the range of approximately 5e12 atoms/cm2 to approximately 1e16 atoms/cm2.
11. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the storage transistor further comprises an insulating layer between the gate structure and the body portion, and wherein the thickness of the insulating layer on a top surface of the body portion is greater than the thickness of the insulating layer on sidewalls of the body portion.
12. The memory device of claim 11, wherein the insulating layer is a material from the group consisting of silicon oxide, oxynitride, nitrided hafnium oxide, aluminum-doped hafnium oxide, hafnium oxide, aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, tantalum pentoxide lanthanum oxide, titanium oxide, and yttrium oxide.
13. The memory device of claim 11, wherein the insulating layer is a material having a high dielectric constant.
14. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the storage transistor further comprises a higher Schottky barrier between the second source/drain region and the body portion than a Schottky barrier between the body portion and the first source/drain region.
15. The memory device of claim 14, wherein the storage transistor further comprises a silicide layer in contact with the second source/drain region.
16. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the storage transistor further comprises a silicide layer in contact with the first source/drain region.
17. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the first and second source/drain regions are raised such that the first and second source/drain regions share a same horizontal spatial plane as the portion of the gate structure on a sidewall of the body portion.
18. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the first and second source/drain regions each include a plurality of layers, and wherein the plurality of layers comprises at least one layer of a first material and at least one layer of a second material.
19. The memory device of claim 18, wherein the first and second materials have different band gaps.
20. The memory device of claim 18, wherein the plurality of layers are configured such that a first carrier type gains energy upon moving through the plurality of layers.
21. The memory device of claim 18, wherein the first and second materials have different valence band energies.
22. The memory device of claim 18, wherein the plurality of layers comprises alternating layers of SixGe1-x and SiyGe1-y, respectively, where x is not equal to y.
23. A dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cell comprising:
- a storage transistor at a surface of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, the storage transistor comprising:
- a body portion between first and second source/drain regions, the body portion containing a heavily doped region of a first conductivity type adjacent to the second source/drain region and separated from the first source/drain region, the first and second source/drain regions being regions of a second conductivity type, and
- a gate structure, the gate structure wrapping at least partially around the body portion in at least two spatial planes;
- a bit line connected to the first source/drain region; and
- a word line connected to the gate structure.
24. The DRAM cell of claim 23, wherein the body portion comprises at least one fin-shaped structure, wherein the storage transistor further comprises an oxide layer between the gate structure and the body portion, and wherein the thickness of the oxide layer on a top surface of each fin-shaped structure is greater than the thickness of the oxide layer on sidewalls of each fin-shaped structure.
25. The DRAM cell of claim 23, wherein the first and second source/drain regions are silicided differently from one another.
26. The memory device of claim 23, wherein the first and second source/drain regions have different dopant concentrations than one another.
27. The DRAM cell of claim 23, wherein the body portion comprises an inert dopant region adjacent to the first source/drain region, the inert dopant region having an amorphous dopant profile, and wherein the peak of the dopant profile is within a buried oxide layer.
28. A memory array comprising:
- a plurality of memory cells, each memory cell comprising a storage transistor at a surface of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, the storage transistor comprising:
- a body portion between first and second source/drain regions, the body portion containing a heavily doped region of a first conductivity type adjacent to the second source/drain region and separated from the first source/drain region, the first and second source/drain regions being regions of a second conductivity type, and
- a plurality of gates at least partially surrounding the body portion;
- a bit line connected to the first source/drain region; and
- a word line connected to at least one gate.
29. The memory array of claim 28, wherein the plurality of gates are interconnected.
30. A semiconductor chip comprising:
- a plurality of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cells, at least one DRAM cell comprising a partially depleted storage transistor at a surface of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, the storage transistor comprising:
- a body portion between first and second source/drain regions, the body portion comprising at least one fin-shaped structure and a region of a first conductivity type adjacent to the second source/drain region, the first and second source/drain regions being regions of a second conductivity type, and
- a gate structure, the gate structure wrapping at least partially around each fin-shaped structure;
- a bit line connected to the first source/drain region; and
- a word line connected to the gate structure.
31. The semiconductor chip of claim 30, wherein the gate structure wraps uninterruptedly around three sides of each fin structure.
32. A processor system comprising:
- a processor coupled to a memory device, the memory device comprising a plurality of memory cells, each memory cell comprising a storage transistor at a surface of a substrate, the storage transistor comprising:
- a body portion between first and second source/drain regions, the first and second source/drain regions being regions of a first conductivity type, and
- a gate structure, the gate structure wrapping at least partially around the body portion in at least two spatial planes;
- a bit line connected to the first source/drain region; and
- a word line connected to the gate structure.
33. The processor system of claim 32, wherein the substrate is a silicon-on-insulator substrate.
34. The processor system of claim 32, wherein the storage transistor is a FinFET.
35. The processor system of claim 32, wherein the body portion contains a heavily doped region of a second conductivity type adjacent to the second source/drain region and separated from the first source/drain region.
36. The processor system of claim 32, wherein the body portion contains an inert dopant region heavily doped with inert ions adjacent to the first source/drain region and separated from the second source/drain region.
37. The processor system of claim 32, wherein the storage transistor further comprises an oxide layer between the gate structure and the body portion, and wherein the thickness of the oxide layer on a top surface of the body portion is greater than the thickness of the oxide layer on sidewalls of the body portion.
38. The processor system of claim 32, wherein the storage transistor further comprises a higher Schottky barrier between the second source/drain region and the body portion than a Schottky barrier between the body portion and the first source/drain region.
39. The processor system of claim 38, wherein the storage transistor further comprises a silicide layer in contact with the second source/drain region.
40. The processor system of claim 39, wherein the storage transistor further comprises a silicide layer in contact with the first source/drain region.
41. The processor system of claim 32, wherein the first and second source/drain regions are raised such that the first and second source/drain regions share a same horizontal spatial plane as the portion of the gate structure on a sidewall of the body portion.
42. The processor system of claim 32, wherein the first and second source/drain regions each include a plurality of layers, and wherein the plurality of layers comprises at least one layer of a first material and at least one layer of a second material.
43. The processor system of claim 42, wherein the first and second materials have different band gaps.
44. The processor system of claim 42, wherein the plurality of layers are configured such that a first carrier type gains energy upon moving through the plurality of layers.
45. The processor system of claim 42, wherein the first and second materials have different valence band energies.
46. The processor system of claim 42, wherein the plurality of layers comprises alternating layers of SixGe1-x and SiyGe1-y, respectively, where x is not equal to y.
47. A transistor device comprising:
- a first source/drain region of a first conductivity type;
- a second source/drain region of a first conductivity type;
- a body portion for storing charge, the body portion protruding from a surface of a substrate, the body portion being located between the first and second source/drain regions, the body portion including a doped region of a second conductivity type adjacent to the second source/drain region and separated from the first source/drain region; and
- a gate structure wrapping around the body portion in at least two spatial planes.
48. The transistor device of claim 47, wherein the substrate is a silicon-on-insulator substrate.
49. The transistor device of claim 47, wherein the substrate is a semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type overlying a semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type.
50. The transistor device of claim 47, wherein the storage transistor is a FinFET.
51. The transistor device of claim 47, wherein the gate structure comprises a gate electrode, and wherein the gate electrode comprises a material from the group consisting of P+ polysilicon, N+ polysilicon, P+ SixGe1-x, N+ SixGe1-x, Ti, TaN, WN, and W.
52. The transistor device of claim 47, wherein the gate structure comprises a metal gate electrode.
53. The transistor device of claim 47, wherein the region of a second conductivity type has an implant dose of between approximately 5e12 atoms/cm2 to approximately 1e14 atoms/cm2.
54. The transistor device of claim 47, wherein the body portion contains an inert dopant region heavily doped with inert ions adjacent to the first source/drain region and separated from the second source/drain region.
55. The transistor device of claim 54, wherein the inert dopant region has a dopant dose within the range of approximately 5e12 atoms/cm2 to approximately 1e16 atoms/cm2.
56. The transistor device of claim 47, further comprising an insulating layer between the gate structure and the body portion, and wherein the thickness of the insulating layer on a top surface of the body portion is greater than the thickness of the insulating layer on sidewalls of the body portion.
57. The transistor device of claim 56, wherein the insulating layer is a material from the group consisting of silicon oxide, oxynitride, nitrided hafnium oxide, aluminum-doped hafnium oxide, hafnium oxide, aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, tantalum pentoxide lanthanum oxide, titanium oxide, and yttrium oxide.
58. The transistor device of claim 56, wherein the insulating layer is a material having a high dielectric constant.
59. The transistor device of claim 47, further comprising a higher Schottky barrier between the second source/drain region and the body portion than a Schottky barrier between the body portion and the first source/drain region.
60. The transistor device of claim 59, further comprising a silicide layer in contact with the second source/drain region.
61. The transistor device of claim 60, further comprising a silicide layer in contact with the first source/drain region.
62. The transistor device of claim 47, wherein the first and second source/drain regions are raised such that the first and second source/drain regions share a same horizontal spatial plane as the portion of the gate structure on a sidewall of the body portion.
63. The transistor device of claim 47, wherein the first and second source/drain regions each include a plurality of layers, and wherein the plurality of layers comprises at least one layer of a first material and at least one layer of a second material.
64. The transistor device of claim 63, wherein the first and second materials have different band gaps.
65. The transistor device of claim 63, wherein the plurality of layers are configured such that a first carrier type gains energy upon moving through the plurality of layers.
66. The transistor device of claim 63, wherein the first and second materials have different valence band energies.
67. The transistor device of claim 63, wherein the plurality of layers comprises alternating layers of SixGe1-x and SiyGe1-y, respectively, where x is not equal to y.
68. A method of forming a memory device, the method comprising:
- forming a storage transistor at a surface of a substrate, the act of forming the storage transistor comprising:
- forming a body portion protruding from a surface of the substrate,
- forming a first source/drain region of a first conductivity type on a side of the body portion,
- forming a second source/drain region of the first conductivity type on an opposing side of the body portion from the first source/drain region, and
- forming a gate structure wrapping at least partially around the body portion in at least two spatial planes;
- forming a bit line connected to the first source/drain region; and
- forming a word line connected to the gate structure.
69. The method of claim 68, wherein the act of forming the storage transistor comprises forming the storage transistor at a surface of a silicon-on-insulator substrate.
70. The method of claim 68, wherein the act of forming the storage transistor comprises forming a partially depleted storage transistor.
71. The method of claim 68, wherein the act of forming the storage transistor comprises forming the storage transistor at a surface of a semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type and overlying a semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type.
72. The method of claim 68, wherein the act of forming the storage transistor comprises forming a FinFET.
73. The method of claim 72, wherein the act of forming the gate structure comprises forming a gate electrode of a material from the group consisting of P+ polysilicon, N+ polysilicon, P+ SixGe1-x, N+ SixGe1-x, Ti, TaN, WN, and W.
74. The method of claim 72, wherein the act of forming the gate structure comprises forming a metal gate electrode.
75. The method of claim 68, wherein the act of forming the storage transistor further comprises forming a heavily doped region of a second conductivity type adjacent to the second source/drain region and separated from the first source/drain region.
76. The method of claim 68, wherein the act of forming the storage transistor further comprises forming an inert dopant region heavily doped with inert ions adjacent to the first source/drain region and separated from the second source/drain region.
77. The method of claim 76, wherein the act of forming the inert dopant region comprises implanting a dose within the range of approximately 5e12 atoms/cm2 to approximately 1e16 atoms/cm2.
78. The method of claim 68, wherein the act of forming the storage transistor further comprises forming an insulating layer between the gate structure and the body portion, and wherein the thickness of the insulating layer on a top surface of the body portion is greater than the thickness of the insulating layer on a sidewall of the body portion.
79. The method of claim 78, wherein the act of forming the insulating layer comprises forming a layer of a material from the group consisting of silicon oxide, oxynitride, nitrided hafnium oxide, aluminum-doped hafnium oxide, hafnium oxide, aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, tantalum pentoxide lanthanum oxide, titanium oxide, and yttrium oxide.
80. The method of claim 78, wherein the act of forming the insulating layer comprises forming a layer of a material having a high dielectric constant.
81. The method of claim 68, wherein the act of forming the storage transistor further comprises forming a higher Schottky barrier between the second source/drain region and the body portion than a Schottky barrier between the body portion and the first source/drain region.
82. The method of claim 81, wherein the act of forming the storage transistor further comprises forming a silicide layer in contact with the second source/drain region.
83. The method of claim 82, wherein the act of forming the storage transistor further comprises forming a silicide layer in contact with the first source/drain region.
84. The method of claim 68, wherein the acts of forming the first and second source/drain regions comprise growing at least one epitaxial layer such that the first and second source/drain regions share a same horizontal spatial plane as the portion of the gate structure on a sidewall of the body portion.
85. The method of claim 68, wherein the acts of forming each of the first and second source/drain regions comprise forming a plurality of layers, the act of forming the plurality of layers comprising forming at least one layer of a first material and at least one layer of a second material.
86. The memory device of claim 85, wherein the first and second materials have different valence band energies.
87. The method of claim 85, wherein the act of forming the plurality of layers comprises forming a plurality of layers having different band gaps.
88. The method of claim 85, wherein the act of forming the plurality of layers comprises configuring the plurality of such that a first carrier type gains energy upon moving through the plurality of layers.
89. The method of claim 85, wherein the act of forming the plurality of layers comprises forming alternating layers of SixGe1-x and SiyGe1-y, where x is not equal to y.
90. A method of fabricating a storage transistor, the method comprising:
- forming at least one structure protruding from a surface of the substrate, the at least one structure forming at least a portion of a channel region;
- forming a first source/drain region of a first conductivity type on a side of the at least one structure;
- forming a second source/drain region of a first conductivity type on a side of the at least one structure opposite to the first source/drain region;
- forming a region of a second conductivity type in the substrate adjacent to the second source/drain region and separated from the first source/drain region; and
- forming a gate structure, wherein the gate structure wraps at least partially around the at least one fin-shaped structure in at least two spatial planes.
91. The method of claim 90, wherein the act of forming the at least one structure comprises etching a surface of the substrate.
92. The method of claim 90, wherein the act of forming the at least one structure comprises forming the at least one structure protruding from a surface of a silicon-on-insulator substrate.
93. The method of claim 90, wherein the act of forming the at least one structure comprises forming the at least one structure protruding from a surface of a semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type and overlying a semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type.
94. The method of claim 90, wherein the act of forming the at least one structure comprises forming at least on fin-shaped structure.
95. The method of claim 90, wherein the act of forming the gate structure comprises forming a gate electrode of a material from the group consisting of P+ polysilicon, N+ polysilicon, P+SixGe1-x, N+ SixGe1-x, Ti, TaN, WN, and W.
96. The method of claim 90, wherein the act of forming the gate structure comprises forming a metal gate electrode
97. The method of claim 90, further comprising forming an inert dopant region heavily doped with inert ions adjacent to the first source/drain region and separated from the second source/drain region.
98. The method of claim 97, wherein the act of forming the inert dopant region comprises implanting a dose within the range of approximately 5e12 atoms/cm2 to approximately 1e16 atoms/cm2.
99. The method of claim 90, further comprising forming an insulating layer between the gate structure and the body portion, and wherein the thickness of the insulating layer on a top surface of the body portion is greater than the thickness of the insulating layer on a sidewall of the body portion.
100. The method of claim 99, wherein the act of forming the insulating layer comprises forming a layer of a material from the group consisting of silicon oxide, oxynitride, nitrided hafnium oxide, aluminum-doped hafnium oxide, hafnium oxide, aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, tantalum pentoxide lanthanum oxide, titanium oxide, and yttrium oxide.
101. The method of claim 99, wherein the act of forming the insulating layer comprises forming a layer of a material having a high dielectric constant.
102. The method of claim 90, further comprising forming a higher Schottky barrier between the second source/drain region and the body portion than a Schottky barrier between the body portion and the first source/drain region.
103. The method of claim 101, further comprising forming a silicide layer in contact with the second source/drain region.
104. The method of claim 102, further comprising forming a silicide layer in contact with the first source/drain region.
105. The method of claim 90, wherein the acts of forming the first and second source/drain regions comprise growing at least one epitaxial layer such that the first and second source/drain regions share a same horizontal spatial plane as the portion of the gate structure on a sidewall of the body portion.
106. The method of claim 90, wherein the acts of forming each of the first and second source/drain regions comprise forming a plurality of layers, the act of forming the plurality of layers comprising forming at least one layer of a first material and at least one layer of a second material.
107. The memory device of claim 105, wherein the first and second materials have different valence band energies.
108. The method of claim 105, wherein the first and second materials have different band gaps.
109. The method of claim 105, wherein the act of forming the plurality of layers comprises configuring the plurality of such that a first carrier type gains energy upon moving through the plurality of layers.
110. The method of claim 105, wherein the act of forming the plurality of layers comprises forming alternating layers of SixGe1-x and SiyGe1-y, where x is not equal to y.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 8, 2003
Publication Date: Apr 14, 2005
Inventor: Chandra Mouli (Boise, ID)
Application Number: 10/680,158