Reducing oxidation under a high K gate dielectric
A metal layer is formed on a dielectric layer, which is formed on a substrate. After forming a masking layer on the metal layer, the exposed sides of the dielectric layer are covered with a polymer diffusion barrier.
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/939,227, filed Sep. 10, 2004.
BACKGROUNDThe present invention relates to methods for making semiconductor devices, in particular, semiconductor devices that include high K gate dielectrics.
Metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) field-effect transistors with very thin gate dielectrics made from silicon dioxide may experience unacceptable gate leakage currents. Forming the gate dielectric from certain high dielectric constant dielectric (k) materials, instead of silicon dioxide, can reduce gate leakage. Because such a dielectric may not be compatible with polysilicon, it may be desirable to use metal gate electrodes in devices that include high-k gate dielectrics.
A metal gate electrode may be formed on a high-k dielectric layer by depositing a metal layer on the dielectric layer, masking the metal layer, and then removing the exposed part of that layer. A patterned polysilicon layer may be used to mask the metal layer, and a dry etch process may be used to remove the exposed part of that layer.
During subsequent high temperature steps in the presence of oxygen, the high-k dielectric layer transports oxygen laterally, oxidizing the underlying silicon. This lateral oxidation may result in oxide encroachment under the high-k dielectric. This encroachment increases the effective electrical gate thickness, reducing transistor performance.
Thus, there is a need for better ways to make metal gate/high K transistors.
Features shown in these figures are not intended to be drawn to scale.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONAfter forming a dielectric layer on a substrate, a metal layer may be formed on the dielectric layer. After forming a masking layer on the metal layer, the sides of the dielectric layer are sealed with a diffusion barrier. In the following description, a number of details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art, however, that the invention may be practiced in many ways other than those expressly described here. The invention is thus not limited by the specific details disclosed below.
Dielectric layer 101 preferably comprises a high-k gate dielectric layer. By high-k it is intended to refer to dielectric materials having dielectric constants greater than 10. Some of the materials that may be used to make high-k gate dielectrics include: hafnium oxide, hafnium silicon oxide, lanthanum oxide, zirconium oxide, zirconium silicon oxide, tantalum oxide, titanium oxide, barium strontium titanium oxide, barium titanium oxide, strontium titanium oxide, yttrium oxide, aluminum oxide, lead scandium tantalum oxide, and lead zinc niobate. Particularly preferred are hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, and aluminum oxide. Although a few examples of materials that may be used to form dielectric layer 101 are described here, that layer may be made from other materials that serve to reduce gate leakage.
Dielectric layer 101 may be formed on substrate 100 using a conventional deposition method, e.g., a conventional chemical vapor deposition (“CVD”), low pressure CVD, or physical vapor deposition (“PVD”) process. Preferably, a conventional atomic layer CVD process is used. In such a process, a metal oxide precursor (e.g., a metal chloride) and steam may be fed at selected flow rates into a CVD reactor, which is then operated at a selected temperature and pressure to generate an atomically smooth interface between substrate 100 and dielectric layer 101. The CVD reactor should be operated long enough to form a layer with the desired thickness. The dielectric layer 101 may be less than about 60 Angstroms thick, for example, between about 5 Angstroms and about 40 Angstroms thick in one embodiment.
Although not shown in
Although in some embodiments it may be desirable to form a capping layer on dielectric layer 101, in the illustrated embodiment metal layer 102 is formed directly on dielectric layer 101. Metal layer 102 may comprise any conductive material from which a metal gate electrode may be derived, and may be formed on dielectric layer 101 using well known PVD or CVD processes. Examples of n-type materials that may be used to form metal layer 102 include: hafnium, zirconium, titanium, tantalum, aluminum, and metal carbides that include these elements, i.e., titanium carbide, zirconium carbide, tantalum carbide, hafnium carbide and aluminum carbide. Examples of p-type metals that may be used to form metal layer 102 include: ruthenium, palladium, platinum, cobalt, nickel, and conductive metal oxides, e.g., ruthenium oxide. Although a few examples of materials that may be used to form metal layer 102 are described here, those layers may be made from many other materials.
Metal layer 102 may be thick enough to ensure that any material formed on it will not significantly impact its workfunction. The metal layer 102 may, for example, be between about 25 Angstroms and about 300 Angstroms thick, and, in one embodiment, may be between about 25 Angstroms and about 200 Angstroms thick. When metal layer 102 comprises an n-type material, layer 102 may have a workfunction that is between about 3.9 eV and about 4.2 eV. When metal layer 102 comprises a p-type material, layer 102 may have a workfunction that is between about 4.9 eV and about 5.2 eV.
After depositing metal layer 102 over dielectric layer 101, masking layer 103 is formed on metal layer 102. Masking layer 103 may be formed by depositing a polysilicon layer on metal layer 102 and then patterning the polysilicon layer to generate a patterned polysilicon layer. Such a polysilicon layer may be undoped or doped with either n-type or p-type impurities, may be deposited using conventional methods, and may be between about 500 Angstroms and about 2,000 Angstroms thick in one embodiment.
A patterned polysilicon layer may be created by first forming a hard mask that covers part of the polysilicon layer, and leaves part of that layer exposed. Such a hard mask may comprise silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, silicon oxynitride, or a nitrided silicon dioxide. The hard mask may be between about 100 Angstroms and about 500 Angstroms thick, and may be deposited and patterned using conventional techniques. The exposed parts of the polysilicon layer 103, layer 102, and layer 101 may then be removed using a dry etch process.
Hard mask 110 may be retained after masking layer 103 is formed to protect masking layer 103 during subsequent etching operations. After etching to form the
After layer 106 is deposited, an anisotropic plasma dry etch process may be applied to remove a portion of the sacrificial diffusion barrier 106 from substrate 100 and the top of the hard mask 110, generating the
Process steps for completing the device, e.g., forming sidewall spacers on the gate electrode stack, source and drain regions and the device's contacts, are well known to those skilled in the art and will not be described in more detail here. In this regard, using dummy doped polysilicon layers for masking layer 103 may enable one to apply commonly used nitride spacer, source/drain, and silicide formation techniques, when completing the structure. During those subsequent process steps, hard mask 110 may be retained to prevent a significant part of masking layer 103 from being converted into a silicide. Conversely, if it is desirable to subsequently convert part or all of masking layer 103 into a silicide, then hard mask 110 must be removed beforehand.
Referring to
The diffusion barrier 306 may be selectively formed on a substrate 300 and the dielectric layer 301 by etching using a gaseous plasma mixture that polymerizes onto the dielectric layer 30 on contact. For example, with fluorocarbon etch chemistries, polymer deposition can occur selectively on metal containing layers such as a layer 301 in the form of a metal oxide. This selective deposition is believed to be due to increased reactivity catalysis at the metal surface, due to its electrical properties.
Masking layer 203 may be formed from conventional materials using conventional techniques. In one embodiment, masking layer 203 may comprise a silicon nitride or silicon dioxide hard mask, which may be formed using deposition and patterning techniques that are well known to those skilled in the art. After forming masking layer 203, a dry or wet etch process is applied to remove part of first metal layer 202, leaving part of dielectric layer 201 exposed. After first metal layer 202 is etched, the remainder of masking layer 203 is removed, generating the
In this embodiment, second metal layer 204 is then deposited on first metal layer 202 and on the exposed part of dielectric layer 201—generating the
After depositing second metal layer 204 on first metal layer 202 and dielectric layer 201, masking layer 203 (e.g., a hard mask) is deposited on second metal layer 204. Masking layer 210 is then formed on masking layer 203 to define sections of masking layer 203 to be removed and sections to be retained.
After etching masking layer 203, the sides of masking structures 207, 208 are lined with a polymer diffusion layer 206, generating the
Because process steps for completing the device are well known to those skilled in the art, they will be omitted here. As with the previously described embodiment, masking layers 210 may be removed prior to converting masking structures 207, 208 into a silicide, or retained to prevent significant portions of structures 207, 208 from being converted into a silicide during subsequent process steps.
The three layer gate electrode stack of
The first metal layer should set the transistor's workfunction, regardless of the composition of the remainder of the gate electrode stack. For that reason, the presence of the second metal layer on top of the first metal layer in the three layer gate electrode stack, and the presence of a dummy doped polysilicon layer in either a three or two layer gate electrode stack, should not affect the workfunction of that stack in a meaningful way.
Although such a polysilicon layer should not affect the workfunction of an underlying metal layer, that polysilicon layer may serve as an extension of the transistor's contacts, as well as a support for the nitride spacers. It also defines the transistor's vertical dimension. Gate electrode stacks that include such a polysilicon layer are thus considered to be “metal gate electrodes,” as are gate electrode stacks that include one or more metal layers, but do not include a polysilicon layer.
As illustrated above, the method of the present invention enables one to etch a metal layer without depositing undesirable residues on the sides of an overlying masking layer and without removing significant portions of the metal layer from beneath that masking layer. Although the embodiments described above provide examples of desirable metal layer etch processes, the present invention is not limited to these particular embodiments.
Although the foregoing description has specified certain steps and materials that may be used in the present invention, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many modifications and substitutions may be made. Accordingly, it is intended that all such modifications, alterations, substitutions and additions be considered to fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A semiconductor structure comprising:
- a substrate;
- a stack formed on said substrate, said stack including a polysilicon layer over a dielectric layer; and
- a polymer diffusion barrier covering the sides of said dielectric layer.
2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said structure in the complementary metal oxide semiconductor structure including an NMOS transistor and a PMOS transistor, each of said transistors including a dielectric layer whose sides are covered by a polymer diffusion layer.
3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said dielectric layer has a dielectric constant greater than 10.
4. The structure of claim 1 wherein said polymer diffusion barrier is formed of fluorocarbon etch residue.
Type: Application
Filed: May 7, 2008
Publication Date: Sep 4, 2008
Inventors: Robert B. Turkot (Hillsboro, OR), Justin K. Brask (Portland, OR), Jack Kavalieros (Portland, OR), Mark L. Doczy (Beaverton, OR), Matthew V. Metz (Hillsboro, OR), Uday Shah (Portland, OR), Suman Datta (Beaverton, OR), Robert S. Chau (Beaverton, OR)
Application Number: 12/151,483
International Classification: H01L 27/092 (20060101);