Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100109088 | BALANCE STEP-HEIGHT SELECTIVE BI-CHANNEL STRUCTURE ON HKMG DEVICES - The present disclosure provides a method including forming STI features in a silicon substrate, defining a first and a second active regions for a PFET and an NFET, respectively; forming a hard mask having an opening to expose the silicon substrate within the first active region; etching the silicon substrate through the opening to form a recess within the first active region; growing a SiGe layer in the recess such that a top surface of the SiGe layer within the first active region and a top surface of the silicon substrate within the second active region are substantially coplanar; forming metal gate material layers; patterning the metal gate material layers to form a metal gate stack on the SiGe layer within the first active region; and forming an eSiGe S/D stressor distributed in both the SiGe layer and the silicon substrate within the first active region. | 05-06-2010 |
20110042750 | CONTROLLING GATE FORMATION FOR HIGH DENSITY CELL LAYOUT - Methods of forming a semiconductor structure and the semiconductor structure are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes forming a gate dielectric layer over a substrate, forming a gate electrode layer over the gate dielectric layer, and etching the gate electrode layer and the gate dielectric layer to form a horizontal gate structure and a vertical gate structure, wherein the horizontal gate structure and the vertical gate structure are connected by an interconnection portion. The method further includes forming a photoresist covering the horizontal gate structure and the vertical gate structure, with the photoresist having a gap exposing the interconnection portion between the horizontal gate structure and the vertical gate structure, and then etching the interconnection portion. | 02-24-2011 |
20110057267 | POLYSILICON DESIGN FOR REPLACEMENT GATE TECHNOLOGY - The present disclosure provides an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit includes a semiconductor substrate; and a passive polysilicon device disposed over the semiconductor substrate. The passive polysilicon device further includes a polysilicon feature; and a plurality of electrodes embedded in the polysilicon feature. | 03-10-2011 |
20110198675 | SPACER STRUCTURE OF A FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR - This disclosure relates to a spacer structure of a field effect transistor. An exemplary structure for a field effect transistor includes a substrate; a gate structure that has a sidewall overlying the substrate; a silicide region in the substrate on one side of the gate structure having an inner edge closest to the gate structure; a first oxygen-sealing layer adjoining the sidewall of the gate structure; an oxygen-containing layer adjoining the first oxygen-sealing layer on the sidewall and further including a portion extending over the substrate; and a second oxygen-sealing layer adjoining the oxygen-containing layer and extending over the portion of the oxygen-containing layer over the substrate, wherein an outer edge of the second oxygen-sealing layer is offset from the inner edge of the silicide region. | 08-18-2011 |
20110237040 | MAIN SPACER TRIM-BACK METHOD FOR REPLACEMENT GATE PROCESS - The embodiments of methods described in this disclosure for trimming back nitride spacers for replacement gates allows the hard mask layers (or hard mask) to protect the polysilicon above the high-K dielectric during trim back process. The process sequence also allows determining the trim-back amount based on the process uniformity (or control) of nitride deposition and nitride etchback (or trimming) processes. Nitride spacer trim-back process integration is critical to avoid creating undesirable consequences, such as silicided polyisicon on top of high-K dielectric described above. The integrated process also allows widening the space between the gate structures to allow formation of silicide with good quality and allow contact plugs to have sufficient contact with the silicide regions. The silicide with good quality and good contact between the contact plugs and the silicide regions increase the yield of contact and allows the contact resistance to be in acceptable and workable ranges. | 09-29-2011 |
20110278646 | Balance Step-Height Selective Bi-Channel Structure on HKMG Devices - The present disclosure provides a method including forming STI features in a silicon substrate, defining a first and a second active regions for a PFET and an NFET, respectively; forming a hard mask having an opening to expose the silicon substrate within the first active region; etching the silicon substrate through the opening to form a recess within the first active region; growing a SiGe layer in the recess such that a top surface of the SiGe layer within the first active region and a top surface of the silicon substrate within the second active region are substantially coplanar; forming metal gate material layers; patterning the metal gate material layers to form a metal gate stack on the SiGe layer within the first active region; and forming an eSiGe S/D stressor distributed in both the SiGe layer and the silicon substrate within the first active region. | 11-17-2011 |
20120001259 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING GATE CONTACT - A method includes providing a substrate having a first surface, forming an isolation structure disposed partly in the substrate and having an second surface higher than the first surface by a step height, removing a portion of the isolation structure to form a recess therein having a bottom surface spaced from the first surface by less than the step height, forming a gate structure, and forming a contact engaging the gate structure over the recess. A different aspect involves an apparatus that includes a substrate having a first surface, an isolation structure disposed partly in the substrate and having a second surface higher than the first surface by a step height, a recess extending downwardly from the second surface, the recess having a bottom surface spaced from the first surface by less than the step height, a gate structure, and a contact engaging the gate structure over the recess. | 01-05-2012 |
20120009754 | METHOD FOR MAIN SPACER TRIM-BACK - The embodiments of methods described in this disclosure for trimming back nitride spacers for replacement gates allows the hard mask layers (or hard mask) to protect the polysilicon above the high-K dielectric during trim back process. The process sequence also allows determining the trim-back amount based on the process uniformity (or control) of nitride deposition and nitride etchback (or trimming) processes. Nitride spacer trim-back process integration is critical to avoid creating undesirable consequences, such as silicided polyisicon on top of high-K dielectric described above. The integrated process also allows widening the space between the gate structures to allow formation of silicide with good quality and allow contact plugs to have sufficient contact with the silicide regions. The silicide with good quality and good contact between the contact plugs and the silicide regions increase the yield of contact and allows the contact resistance to be in acceptable and workable ranges. | 01-12-2012 |
20120025309 | OFFSET GATE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - An offset gate semiconductor device includes a substrate and an isolation feature formed in the substrate. An active region is formed in the substrate substantially adjacent to the isolation feature. An interface layer is formed on the substrate over the isolation feature and the active region. A polysilicon layer is formed on the interface layer over the isolation feature and the active region. A trench being formed in the polysilicon layer over the isolation feature. The trench extending to the interface layer. A fill layer is formed to line the trench and a metal gate formed in the trench. | 02-02-2012 |
20120025323 | SPACER STRUCTURES OF A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - The disclosure relates to spacer structures of a semiconductor device. An exemplary structure for a semiconductor device comprises a substrate having a first active region and a second active region; a plurality of first gate electrodes having a gate pitch over the first active region, wherein each first gate electrode has a first width; a plurality of first spacers adjoining the plurality of first gate electrodes, wherein each first spacer has a third width; a plurality of second gate electrodes having the same gate pitch as the plurality of first gate electrodes over the second active region, wherein each second gate electrode has a second width greater than the first width; and a plurality of second spacers adjoining the plurality of second gate electrodes, wherein each second spacer has a fourth width less than the third width. | 02-02-2012 |
20120032238 | CONTACT ETCH STOP LAYERS OF A FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR - An exemplary structure for a field effect transistor according to at least one embodiment comprises a substrate comprising a surface; a gate structure comprising sidewalls and a top surface over the substrate; a spacer adjacent to the sidewalls of the gate structure; a first contact etch stop layer over the spacer and extending along the surface of the substrate; an interlayer dielectric layer adjacent to the first contact etch stop layer, wherein a top surface of the interlayer dielectric layer is coplanar with the top surface of the gate structure; and a second contact etch stop layer over the top surface of the gate structure. | 02-09-2012 |
20120074475 | METAL GATE STRUCTURE OF A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - The applications discloses a semiconductor device comprising a substrate having a first active region, a second active region, and an isolation region having a first width interposed between the first and second active regions; a P-metal gate electrode over the first active region and extending over at least ⅔ of the first width of the isolation region; and an N-metal gate electrode over the second active region and extending over no more than ⅓ of the first width. The N-metal gate electrode is electrically connected to the P-metal gate electrode over the isolation region. | 03-29-2012 |
20120074498 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING GATE CONTACT - A method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes providing a substrate having a first surface, forming an isolation structure disposed partly in the substrate and having an second surface higher than the first surface by a step height, removing a portion of the isolation structure to form a recess therein having a bottom surface disposed below the first surface, and forming a contact engaging the gate structure over the recess. A different aspect involves an apparatus that includes a substrate having a first surface, an isolation structure disposed partly in the substrate and having a second surface higher than the first surface by a step height, a recess extending downwardly from the second surface, the recess having a bottom surface disposed below the first surface, a gate structure, and a contact engaging the gate structure over the recess. | 03-29-2012 |
20120280323 | DEVICE HAVING A GATE STACK - A device includes a drain, a source, and a gate stack. The gate stack has a gate dielectric layer, a gate conductive layer immediately on top of the gate dielectric layer, and first gate and a second gate layer that are immediately on top of the gate conductive layer. The first gate layer has a first resistance higher than a second resistance of the second gate layer. The second gate layer is conductive, is electrically coupled with the gate conductive layer, and has a contact terminal configured to serve as a gate contact terminal for the device. Fabrication methods of the gate stack are also disclosed. | 11-08-2012 |
20120292739 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT HAVING SILICON RESISTOR AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME - An embodiment of the disclosure includes a method of forming an integrated circuit. A substrate having an active region and a passive region is provided. A plurality of trenches is formed in the passive region. A root mean square of a length and a width of each trench is less than 5 μm. An isolation material is deposited over the substrate to fill the plurality of trenches. The isolation material is planarized to form a plurality of isolation structures. A plurality of silicon gate stacks and at least one silicon resistor stack are formed on the substrate in the active region and on the plurality of isolation structures respectively. | 11-22-2012 |
20120299115 | SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURE WITH SUPPRESSED STI DISHING EFFECT AT RESISTOR REGION - A method includes forming a first isolation feature of a first width and a second isolation feature of a second width in a substrate, the first width being substantially greater than the second width; forming an implantation mask on the substrate, wherein the implantation mask covers the first isolation feature and exposes the second isolation feature; performing an ion implantation process to the substrate using the implantation mask; and thereafter performing an etching process to the substrate. | 11-29-2012 |
20130020651 | METAL GATE STRUCTURE OF A CMOS SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME - The invention relates to integrated circuit fabrication, and more particularly to a metal gate structure. An exemplary structure for a CMOS semiconductor device comprises a substrate, an N-metal gate electrode, and a P-metal gate electrode. The substrate comprises an isolation region surrounding a P-active region and an N-active region. The N-metal gate electrode comprises a first metal composition over the N-active region. The P-metal gate electrode comprises a bulk portion over the P-active region and an endcap portion over the isolation region. The endcap portion comprises the first metal composition and the bulk portion comprises a second metal composition different from the first metal composition. | 01-24-2013 |
20130029482 | SPACER STRUCTURES OF A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - The disclosure relates to spacer structures of a semiconductor device. An exemplary structure for a semiconductor device comprises a substrate having a first active region and a second active region; a plurality of first gate electrodes having a gate pitch over the first active region, wherein each first gate electrode has a first width; a plurality of first spacers adjoining the plurality of first gate electrodes, wherein each first spacer has a third width; a plurality of second gate electrodes having the same gate pitch as the plurality of first gate electrodes over the second active region, wherein each second gate electrode has a second width greater than the first width; and a plurality of second spacers adjoining the plurality of second gate electrodes, wherein each second spacer has a fourth width less than the third width. | 01-31-2013 |
20130032884 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DEVICE HAVING DEFINED GATE SPACING AND METHOD OF DESIGNING AND FABRICATING THEREOF - A device, and method of fabricating and/or designing such a device, including a first gate structure having a width (W) and a length (L) and a second gate structure separated from the first gate structure by a distance greater than: (√{square root over (W*W+L*L)})/10. The second gate structure is a next adjacent gate structure to the first gate structure. A method and apparatus for designing an integrated circuit including implementing a design rule defining the separation of gate structures is also described. In embodiments, the distance of separation is implemented for gate structures that are larger relative to other gate structures on the substrate (e.g., greater than 3 μm | 02-07-2013 |
20130056837 | SELF-ALIGNED INSULATED FILM FOR HIGH-K METAL GATE DEVICE - A method of making an integrated circuit includes providing a semiconductor substrate and forming a gate dielectric over the substrate, such as a high-k dielectric. A metal gate structure is formed over the semiconductor substrate and the gate dielectric and a thin dielectric film is formed over that. The thin dielectric film includes oxynitride combined with metal from the metal gate. The method further includes providing an interlayer dielectric (ILD) on either side of the metal gate structure. | 03-07-2013 |
20130069174 | CONTACT FOR HIGH-K METAL GATE DEVICE - A method of making an integrated circuit includes providing a substrate with a high-k dielectric and providing a polysilicon gate structure over the high-k dielectric. A doping process is performed on the substrate adjacent to the polysilicon gate structure, after which the polysilicon gate structure is removed and replaced with a metal gate structure. An interlayer dielectric (ILD) is deposited over the metal gate structure and the doped substrate, and a dry etch process forms a trench in the ILD to a top surface of the metal gate structure. After the dry etch process, a wet etch process forms an undercut near the top surface of the metal gate structure. The trench and undercut are then filled with a conductive material. | 03-21-2013 |
20130099323 | METAL GATE STRUCTURE OF A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - The invention relates to integrated circuit fabrication, and more particularly to a metal gate structure. An exemplary structure for a CMOS semiconductor device comprises a substrate comprising an isolation region surrounding and separating a P-active region and an N-active region; a P-metal gate electrode over the P-active region and extending over the isolation region, wherein the P-metal gate electrode comprises a P-work function metal and an oxygen-containing TiN layer between the P-work function metal and substrate; and an N-metal gate electrode over the N-active region and extending over the isolation region, wherein the N-metal gate electrode comprises an N-work function metal and a nitrogen-rich TiN layer between the N-work function metal and substrate, wherein the nitrogen-rich TiN layer connects to the oxygen-containing TiN layer over the isolation region. | 04-25-2013 |
20130126977 | N/P BOUNDARY EFFECT REDUCTION FOR METAL GATE TRANSISTORS - The present disclosure provides a method of fabricating a semiconductor device. The method includes forming a plurality of dummy gates over a substrate. The dummy gates extend along a first axis. The method includes forming a masking layer over the dummy gates. The masking layer defines an elongate opening extending along a second axis different from the first axis. The opening exposes first portions of the dummy gates and protects second portions of the dummy gates. A tip portion of the opening has a width greater than a width of a non-tip portion of the opening. The masking layer is formed using an optical proximity correction (OPC) process. The method includes replacing the first portions of the dummy gates with a plurality of first metal gates. The method includes replacing the second portions of the dummy gates with a plurality of second metal gates different from the first metal gates. | 05-23-2013 |
20130154022 | CMOS Devices with Metal Gates and Methods for Forming the Same - A method includes forming a PMOS device. The method includes forming a gate dielectric layer over a semiconductor substrate and in a PMOS region, forming a first metal-containing layer over the gate dielectric layer and in the PMOS region, performing a treatment on the first metal-containing layer in the PMOS region using an oxygen-containing process gas, and forming a second metal-containing layer over the first metal-containing layer and in the PMOS region. The second metal-containing layer has a work function lower than a mid-gap work function of silicon. The first metal-containing layer and the second metal-containing layer form a gate of the PMOS device. | 06-20-2013 |
20130228834 | CONTACT ETCH STOP LAYERS OF A FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR - A field effect transistor, the field effect transistor includes a substrate including a surface and a gate structure including sidewalls and a top surface, the gate structure being positioned over the substrate. The field effect transistor further includes a spacer adjacent to the sidewalls of the gate structure and a first contact etch stop layer over the spacer and extending along the surface of the substrate. The field effect transistor further includes an interlayer dielectric layer adjacent to the first contact etch stop layer, wherein a top surface of the interlayer dielectric layer is coplanar with the top surface of the gate structure. The field effect transistor further includes a second contact etch stop layer over at least a portion of the top surface of the gate structure. | 09-05-2013 |
20130234254 | METHOD OF HYBRID HIGH-K/METAL-GATE STACK FABRICATION - A process fabricating a semiconductor device with a hybrid HK/metal gate stack fabrication is disclosed. The process includes providing a semiconductor substrate having a plurality of isolation features between a PFET region and a NFET region, and forming gate stacks on the semiconductor substrate. In the PFET region, the gate stack is formed as a HK/metal gate. In the NFET region, the gate stack is formed as a polysilicon gate. A high-resistor is also formed on the semiconductor substrate by utilizing another polysilicon gate. | 09-12-2013 |
20130244416 | SPACER STRUCTURE OF A FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR WITH AN OXYGEN-CONTAINING LAYER BETWEEN TWO OXYGEN-SEALING LAYERS - A method of fabricating a spacer structure which includes forming a dummy gate structure comprising a top surface and sidewall surfaces over a substrate and forming a spacer structure over the sidewall surfaces. Forming the spacer structure includes depositing a first oxygen-sealing layer on the dummy gate structure and removing a portion of the first oxygen-sealing layer on the top surface of the dummy gate structure, whereby the first oxygen-sealing layer remains on the sidewall surfaces. Forming the spacer structure further includes depositing an oxygen-containing layer on the first oxygen-sealing layer and the top surface of the dummy gate structure. Forming the spacer structure further includes depositing a second oxygen-sealing layer on the oxygen-containing layer and removing a portion of the second oxygen-sealing layer over the top surface of the dummy gate structure. Forming the spacer structure further includes thinning the second oxygen-sealing layer. | 09-19-2013 |
20130256805 | METAL GATE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THEREOF - A method of semiconductor fabrication including forming a first work function metal layer on a first region of the substrate and forming a metal layer on the first work function metal layer and on a second region of the substrate. A dummy layer is formed on the metal layer. The layers are then patterned to form a first gate structure in the first region and a second gate structure in the second region of the substrate. The dummy layer is then removed to expose the metal layer, which is treated. The treatment may be an oxygen treatment that allows the metal layer to function as a second work function layer. | 10-03-2013 |
20130260547 | METHOD OF FABRICATING A METAL GATE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - A method of semiconductor device fabrication including providing a substrate having a gate dielectric layer such as a high-k dielectric disposed thereon. A tri-layer element is formed on the gate dielectric layer. The tri-layer element includes a first capping layer, a second capping layer, and a metal gate layer interposing the first and second capping layer. One of an nFET and a pFET gate structure are formed using the tri-layer element, for example, the second capping layer and the metal gate layer may form a work function layer for one of an nFET and a pFET device. The first capping layer may be a sacrificial layer used to pattern the metal gate layer. | 10-03-2013 |
20130264652 | Cost-Effective Gate Replacement Process - The present disclosure provides a method of fabricating a semiconductor device. The method includes forming a first gate structure and a second gate structure over a substrate. The first and second gate structures each include a high-k dielectric layer located over the substrate, a capping layer located over the high-k dielectric layer, an N-type work function metal layer located over the capping layer, and a polysilicon layer located over the N-type work function metal layer. The method includes forming an inter-layer dielectric (ILD) layer over the substrate, the first gate structure, and the second gate structure. The method includes polishing the ILD layer until a surface of the ILD layer is substantially co-planar with surfaces of the first gate structure and the second gate structure. The method includes replacing portions of the second gate structure with a metal gate. A silicidation process is then performed to the semiconductor device. | 10-10-2013 |
20130285150 | DEVICE AND METHODS FOR HIGH-K AND METAL GATE STACKS - A semiconductor device having five gate stacks on different regions of a substrate and methods of making the same are described. The device includes a semiconductor substrate and isolation features to separate the different regions on the substrate. The different regions include a p-type field-effect transistor (pFET) core region, an input/output pFET (pFET IO) region, an n-type field-effect transistor (nFET) core region, an input/output nFET (nFET IO) region, and a high-resistor region. | 10-31-2013 |
20130285151 | DEVICE AND METHODS FOR HIGH-K AND METAL GATE STACKS - A semiconductor device having five gate stacks on different regions of a substrate and methods of making the same are described. The device includes a semiconductor substrate and isolation features to separate the different regions on the substrate. The different regions include a p-type field-effect transistor (pFET) core region, an input/output pFET (pFET IO) region, an n-type field-effect transistor (nFET) core region, an input/output nFET (nFET IO) region, and a high-resistor region. | 10-31-2013 |
20130299913 | DEVICE AND METHODS FOR HIGH-K AND METAL GATE STACKS - A semiconductor device having five gate stacks on different regions of a substrate and methods of making the same are described. The device includes a semiconductor substrate and isolation features to separate the different regions on the substrate. The different regions include a p-type field-effect transistor (pFET) core region, an input/output pFET (pFET IO) region, an n-type field-effect transistor (nFET) core region, an input/output nFET (nFET IO) region, and a high-resistor region. | 11-14-2013 |
20130323893 | Methods for Forming MOS Devices with Raised Source/Drain Regions - A method includes forming a first gate stack of a first device over a semiconductor substrate, and forming a second gate stack of a second MOS device over the semiconductor substrate. A first epitaxy is performed to form a source/drain stressor for the second MOS device, wherein the source/drain stressor is adjacent to the second gate stack. A second epitaxy is performed to form a first silicon layer and a second silicon layer simultaneously, wherein the first silicon layer is over a first portion of the semiconductor substrate, and is adjacent the first gate stack. The second silicon layer overlaps the source/drain stressor. | 12-05-2013 |
20130328115 | Contact for High-K Metal Gate Device - An integrated circuit includes a semiconductor substrate including a source region and a drain region and a gate dielectric over the semiconductor substrate. A metal gate structure is over the semiconductor substrate and the gate dielectric and between the source and drain regions. The integrated circuit further includes an interlayer dielectric (ILD) over the semiconductor substrate. First and second contacts extend through the ILD and adjacent the source and drain regions, respectively, and a third contact extends through the ILD and adjacent a top surface of the metal gate structure. The third contact further extends into an undercut region of the metal gate structure. | 12-12-2013 |
20130328134 | Method and Apparatus for Improving Gate Contact - A method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes providing a substrate having a first surface, forming an isolation structure disposed partly in the substrate and having an second surface higher than the first surface by a step height, removing a portion of the isolation structure to form a recess therein having a bottom surface disposed below the first surface, and forming a contact engaging the gate structure over the recess. A different aspect involves an apparatus that includes a substrate having a first surface, an isolation structure disposed partly in the substrate and having a second surface higher than the first surface by a step height, a recess extending downwardly from the second surface, the recess having a bottom surface disposed below the first surface, a gate structure, and a contact engaging the gate structure over the recess. | 12-12-2013 |
20140017886 | SPACER STRUCTURES OF A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - A method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes forming a first set of gate electrodes over a substrate, adjacent gate electrodes of the first set of gate electrodes being separated by a first gap width, and having a first gate width. The method includes forming a second set of gate electrodes over the substrate, adjacent gate electrodes of the second set of gate electrodes being separated by a second gap width less than the first gap width, and having a second gate width greater than the first gate width. The method further includes forming a first set of spacer structures on sidewalls of the first and second sets of gate electrodes. The method further includes forming a second set of spacer structures abutting the first set of spacer structures and removing a subset of the second set of spacer structures over the sidewalls of the second set of gate electrodes. | 01-16-2014 |
20140045310 | METHOD OF MAKING STRUCTURE HAVING A GATE STACK - A method includes removing a first portion of a gate layer of a structure. The structure includes a drain region, a source region, and a gate stack, and the gate stack includes a gate dielectric layer, a gate conductive layer directly on the gate dielectric layer, and the gate layer directly on the gate conductive layer. A drain contact region is formed on the drain region, and a source contact region is formed on the source region. A conductive region is formed directly on the gate conductive layer and adjacent to a second portion of the gate layer. A gate contact terminal is formed in contact with the conductive region. | 02-13-2014 |
20140048886 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME - A method of forming a semiconductor device includes forming a gate stack over a substrate, forming an amorphized region in the substrate adjacent to an edge of the gate stack, forming a stress film over the substrate, performing a process to form a dislocation with a pinchoff point in the substrate, removing at least a portion of the dislocation to form a recess cavity with a tip in the substrate, and forming a source/drain feature in the recess cavity. | 02-20-2014 |
20140103429 | Method and Structure to Boost MOSFET Performance and NBTI - The present disclosure provides one embodiment of a method forming a p-type field effect transistor (pFET) structure. The method includes forming a mask layer on a semiconductor substrate, the mask layer including an opening that exposes a semiconductor region of the semiconductor substrate within the opening; forming a n-type well (n-well) in the semiconductor region by performing an ion implantation of a n-type dopant to the semiconductor substrate through the opening of the mask layer; and performing a germanium (Ge) channel implantation to the semiconductor substrate through the opening of the mask layer, forming a Ge channel implantation region in the n-well. | 04-17-2014 |
20140183648 | Semiconductor Structures and Methods of Forming the Same - A structure and method of forming the structure is disclosed. According to an embodiment, a structure includes three devices in respective three regions of a substrate. The first device comprises a first gate stack, and the first gate stack comprises a first dielectric layer. The second device comprises a second gate stack, and the second gate stack comprises a second dielectric layer. The third device comprises a third gate stack, and the third gate stack comprises a third dielectric layer. A thickness of the third dielectric layer is less than a thickness of the second dielectric layer, and the thickness of the second dielectric layer is less than a thickness of the first dielectric layer. A gate length of the third gate stack differs in amount from a gate length of the first gate stack and a gate length of the second gate stack. | 07-03-2014 |
20140203373 | DEVICE AND METHODS FOR HIGH-K AND METAL GATE STACKS - A semiconductor device having five gate stacks on different regions of a substrate and methods of making the same are described. The device includes a semiconductor substrate and isolation features to separate the different regions on the substrate. The different regions include a p-type field-effect transistor (pFET) core region, an input/output pFET (pFET IO) region, an n-type field-effect transistor (nFET) core region, an input/output nFET (nFET IO) region, and a high-resistor region. | 07-24-2014 |
20140203374 | N/P Boundary Effect Reduction for Metal Gate Transistors - The present disclosure provides a method of fabricating a semiconductor device. The method includes forming a plurality of dummy gates over a substrate. The dummy gates extend along a first axis. The method includes forming a masking layer over the dummy gates. The masking layer defines an elongate opening extending along a second axis different from the first axis. The opening exposes first portions of the dummy gates and protects second portions of the dummy gates. A tip portion of the opening has a width greater than a width of a non-tip portion of the opening. The masking layer is formed using an optical proximity correction (OPC) process. The method includes replacing the first portions of the dummy gates with a plurality of first metal gates. The method includes replacing the second portions of the dummy gates with a plurality of second metal gates different from the first metal gates. | 07-24-2014 |
20140246732 | Circuit Incorporating Multiple Gate Stack Compositions - An integrated circuit having multiple different device gate configurations and a method for fabricating the circuit are disclosed. An exemplary embodiment of forming the circuit includes receiving a substrate having a first device region, a second device region, and a third device region. A first interfacial layer is formed over at least a portion of each of the first device region, the second device region, and the third device region. The first interfacial layer is patterned to define a gate stack within the third device region. A second interfacial layer is formed over at least a portion of the second device region. The second interfacial layer is patterned to define a gate stack within the second device region. A third interfacial layer is formed over at least a portion of the first device region. The third interfacial layer defines a gate stack within the first device region. | 09-04-2014 |
20140252455 | Structure And Method For Static Random Access Memory Device Of Vertical Tunneling Field Effect Transistor - The present disclosure provides one embodiment of a SRAM cell that includes first and second inverters cross-coupled for data storage, each inverter including at least one pull-up device and at least one pull-down devices; and at least two pass-gate devices configured with the two cross-coupled inverters. The pull-up devices, the pull-down devices and the pass-gate devices include a tunnel field effect transistor (TFET) that further includes a semiconductor mesa formed on a semiconductor substrate and having a bottom portion, a middle portion and a top portion; a drain of a first conductivity type formed in the bottom portion and extended into the semiconductor substrate; a source of a second conductivity type formed in the top portion, the second conductivity type being opposite to the first conductivity type; a channel in a middle portion and interposed between the source and drain; and a gate formed on sidewall of the semiconductor mesa and contacting the channel. | 09-11-2014 |
20140252504 | Method for Fabricating a Semiconductor Device - A method for fabricating a semiconductor device includes receiving a silicon substrate having an isolation feature disposed on the substrate and a well adjacent the isolation feature, wherein the well includes a first dopant. The method also includes etching a recess to remove a portion of the well and epitaxially growing a silicon layer (EPI layer) in the recess to form a channel, wherein the channel includes a second dopant. The method also includes forming a barrier layer between the well and the EPI layer, the barrier layer including at least one of either silicon carbon or silicon oxide. The barrier layer can be formed either before or after the channel. The method further includes forming a gate electrode disposed over the channel and forming a source and drain in the well. | 09-11-2014 |
20140264725 | SILICON RECESS ETCH AND EPITAXIAL DEPOSIT FOR SHALLOW TRENCH ISOLATION (STI) - The embodiments described provide methods and semiconductor device areas for etching an active area region on a semiconductor body and epitaxially depositing a semiconductor layer overlying the active region. The methods enable the mitigation or elimination of problems encountered in subsequent manufacturing associated with STI divots. | 09-18-2014 |
20140299937 | SPACER STRUCTURES OF A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - A method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes forming a first set of gate electrodes over a substrate, adjacent gate electrodes of the first set of gate electrodes being separated by a first gap width. Each gate electrode of the first set of gate electrodes has a first gate width. The method further includes forming a second set of gate electrodes over the substrate, adjacent gate electrodes of the second set of gate electrodes being separated by a second gap width less than the first gap width. Each gate electrode of the second set of gate electrodes has a second gate width greater than the first gate width. | 10-09-2014 |
20140317581 | REVISING LAYOUT DESIGN THROUGH OPC TO REDUCE CORNER ROUNDING EFFECT - The present disclosure provides a method of fabricating a semiconductor device. A first layout design for a semiconductor device is received. The first layout design includes a plurality of gate lines and an active region that overlaps with the gate lines. The active region includes at least one angular corner that is disposed adjacent to at least one of the gate lines. The first layout design for the semiconductor device is revised via an optical proximity correction (OPC) process, thereby generating a second layout design that includes a revised active region with a revised corner that protrudes outward. Thereafter, the semiconductor device is fabricated based on the second layout design. | 10-23-2014 |
20140332893 | Integrated Circuit Device Having Defined Gate Spacing And Method Of Designing And Fabricating Thereof - A device, and method of fabricating and/or designing such a device, including a first gate structure having a width (W) and a length (L) and a second gate structure separated from the first gate structure by a distance greater than: (√{square root over (W*W+L*L)})/10. The second gate structure is a next adjacent gate structure to the first gate structure. A method and apparatus for designing an integrated circuit including implementing a design rule defining the separation of gate structures is also described. In embodiments, the distance of separation is implemented for gate structures that are larger relative to other gate structures on the substrate (e.g., greater than 3 μm | 11-13-2014 |
20140367802 | SELF-ALIGNED INSULATED FILM FOR HIGH-K METAL GATE DEVICE - An integrated circuit includes a semiconductor substrate, a gate dielectric over the substrate, a metal gate structure over the semiconductor substrate and the gate dielectric, a dielectric film on the metal gate structure, the dielectric film comprising oxynitride combined with metal from the metal gate, and an interlayer dielectric (ILD) on either side of the metal gate structure. | 12-18-2014 |
20140374835 | METAL GATE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - A semiconductor device including a first gate structure associated with a first type of transistor and a second gate structure of a second type of transistor. The first gate structure includes a capping layer, a first metal layer having a first type of work function on the capping layer, and a second metal layer having a second type of work function, overlying the first metal layer and a fill layer on the second metal layer. The second type of work function is different than the first type of work function. The second gate structure includes the gate dielectric and the second metal layer formed on the gate dielectric, and the fill layer on the second metal layer. | 12-25-2014 |
20150021672 | CONTACT FOR HIGH-K METAL GATE DEVICE - An integrated circuit having an improved gate contact and a method of making the circuit are provided. In an exemplary embodiment, the method includes receiving a substrate. The substrate includes a gate stack disposed on the substrate and an interlayer dielectric disposed on the gate stack. The interlayer dielectric is first etched to expose a portion of the gate electrode, and then the exposed portion of the gate electrode is etched to form a cavity. The cavity is shaped such that a portion of the gate electrode overhangs the electrode. A conductive material is deposited within the cavity and in electrical contact with the gate electrode. In some such embodiments, the etching of the gate electrode forms a curvilinear surface of the gate electrode that defines the cavity. | 01-22-2015 |