Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080237712 | SOI TRANSISTOR HAVING DRAIN AND SOURCE REGIONS OF REDUCED LENGTH AND A STRESSED DIELECTRIC MATERIAL ADJACENT THERETO - By reconfiguring material in a recess formed in drain and source regions of SOI transistors, the depth of the recess may be increased down to the buried insulating layer prior to forming respective metal silicide regions, thereby reducing series resistance and enhancing the stress transfer when the corresponding transistor element is covered by a highly stressed dielectric material. The material redistribution may be accomplished on the basis of a high temperature hydrogen bake. | 10-02-2008 |
20090032888 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - A sidewall spacer structure is formed adjacent to a gate structure whereby a material forming an outer surface of the sidewall spacer structure contains nitrogen. Subsequent to its formation the sidewall spacer structure is annealed to harden the sidewall spacer structure from a subsequent cleaning process. An epitaxial layer is formed subsequent to the cleaning process. | 02-05-2009 |
20090140396 | STRESSED INTERLAYER DIELECTRIC WITH REDUCED PROBABILITY FOR VOID GENERATION IN A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE BY USING AN INTERMEDIATE ETCH CONTROL LAYER OF INCREASED THICKNESS - By forming an etch control material with increased thickness on a first stressed dielectric layer in a dual stress liner approach, the surface topography may be smoothed prior to the deposition of the second stressed dielectric material, thereby allowing the deposition of an increased amount of stressed material while not contributing to yield loss caused by deposition-related defects. | 06-04-2009 |
20090170339 | REDUCING THE CREATION OF CHARGE TRAPS AT GATE DIELECTRICS IN MOS TRANSISTORS BY PERFORMING A HYDROGEN TREATMENT - By performing a heat treatment on the basis of a hydrogen ambient, exposed silicon-containing surface portions may be reorganized prior to the formation of gate dielectric materials. Hence, the interface quality and the material characteristics of the gate dielectrics may be improved, thereby reducing negative bias temperature instability effects in highly scaled P-channel transistors. | 07-02-2009 |
20090321836 | DOUBLE GATE AND TRI-GATE TRANSISTOR FORMED ON A BULK SUBSTRATE AND METHOD FOR FORMING THE TRANSISTOR - Three-dimensional transistor structures such as FinFETS and tri-gate transistors may be formed on the basis of an enhanced masking regime, thereby enabling the formation of drain and source areas, the fins and isolation structures in a self-aligned manner within a bulk semiconductor material. After defining the basic fin structures, highly efficient manufacturing techniques of planar transistor configurations may be used, thereby even further enhancing overall performance of the three-dimensional transistor configurations. | 12-31-2009 |
20100025779 | SHALLOW PN JUNCTION FORMED BY IN SITU DOPING DURING SELECTIVE GROWTH OF AN EMBEDDED SEMICONDUCTOR ALLOY BY A CYCLIC GROWTH/ETCH DEPOSITION PROCESS - A silicon/carbon alloy may be formed in drain and source regions, wherein another portion may be provided as an in situ doped material with a reduced offset with respect to the gate electrode material. For this purpose, in one illustrative embodiment, a cyclic epitaxial growth process including a plurality of growth/etch cycles may be used at low temperatures in an ultra-high vacuum ambient, thereby obtaining a substantially bottom to top fill behavior. | 02-04-2010 |
20100155850 | TECHNIQUE FOR PROVIDING STRESS SOURCES IN TRANSISTORS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO A CHANNEL REGION BY RECESSING DRAIN AND SOURCE REGIONS - By recessing drain and source regions, a highly stressed layer, such as a contact etch stop layer, may be formed in the recess in order to enhance the strain generation in the adjacent channel region of a field effect transistor. Moreover, a strained semiconductor material may be positioned in close proximity to the channel region by reducing or avoiding undue relaxation effects of metal silicides, thereby also providing enhanced efficiency for the strain generation. In some aspects, both effects may be combined to obtain an even more efficient strain-inducing mechanism. | 06-24-2010 |
20100164016 | ADJUSTING OF STRAIN CAUSED IN A TRANSISTOR CHANNEL BY SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL PROVIDED FOR THRESHOLD ADJUSTMENT - The threshold voltage of a sophisticated transistor may be adjusted by providing a specifically designed semiconductor alloy in the channel region of the transistor, wherein a negative effect of this semiconductor material with respect to inducing a strain component in the channel region may be reduced or over-compensated for by additionally incorporating a strain-adjusting species. For example, a carbon species may be incorporated in the channel region, the threshold voltage of which may be adjusted on the basis of a silicon/germanium alloy of a P-channel transistor. Consequently, sophisticated metal gate electrodes may be formed in an early manufacturing stage. | 07-01-2010 |
20100181619 | METHOD OF FORMING A FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR - A method of forming a field effect transistor comprises providing a substrate comprising a biaxially strained layer of a semiconductor material. A gate electrode is formed on the biaxially strained layer of semiconductor material. A raised source region and a raised drain region are formed adjacent the gate electrode. Ions of a dopant material are implanted into the raised source region and the raised drain region to form an extended source region and an extended drain region. Moreover, in methods of forming a field effect transistor according to embodiments of the present invention, a gate electrode can be formed in a recess of a layer of semiconductor material. Thus, a field effect transistor wherein a source side channel contact region and a drain side channel contact region located adjacent a channel region are subject to biaxial strain can be obtained. | 07-22-2010 |
20100252866 | TRANSISTOR HAVING A CHANNEL WITH TENSILE STRAIN AND ORIENTED ALONG A CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC ORIENTATION WITH INCREASED CHARGE CARRIER MOBILITY - By appropriately orienting the channel length direction with respect to the crystallographic characteristics of the silicon layer, the stress-inducing effects of strained silicon/carbon material may be significantly enhanced compared to conventional techniques. In one illustrative embodiment, the channel may be oriented along the <100> direction for a (100) surface orientation, thereby providing an electron mobility increase of approximately a factor of four. | 10-07-2010 |
20100289094 | ENHANCING DEPOSITION UNIFORMITY OF A CHANNEL SEMICONDUCTOR ALLOY BY AN IN SITU ETCH PROCESS - When forming sophisticated gate electrode structures requiring a threshold adjusting semiconductor alloy for one type of transistor, a recess is formed in the corresponding active region, thereby providing superior process uniformity during the deposition of the semiconductor material. Due to the recess, any exposed sidewall surface areas of the active region may be avoided during the selective epitaxial growth process, thereby significantly contributing to enhanced threshold stability of the resulting transistor including the high-k metal gate stack. | 11-18-2010 |
20110024805 | USING HIGH-K DIELECTRICS AS HIGHLY SELECTIVE ETCH STOP MATERIALS IN SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES - A spacer structure in sophisticated semiconductor devices is formed on the basis of a high-k dielectric material, which provides superior etch resistivity compared to conventionally used silicon dioxide liners. Consequently, a reduced thickness of the etch stop material may nevertheless provide superior etch resistivity, thereby reducing negative effects, such as dopant loss in the drain and source extension regions, creating a pronounced surface topography and the like, as are typically associated with conventional spacer material systems. | 02-03-2011 |
20110024846 | LEAKAGE CONTROL IN FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTORS BASED ON AN IMPLANTATION SPECIES INTRODUCED LOCALLY AT THE STI EDGE - In a static memory cell, the failure rate upon forming contact elements connecting an active region with a gate electrode structure formed above an isolation region may be significantly reduced by incorporating an implantation species at a tip portion of the active region through a sidewall of the isolation trench prior to filling the same with an insulating material. The implantation species may represent a P-type dopant species and/or an inert species for significantly modifying the material characteristics at the tip portion of the active region. | 02-03-2011 |
20110027952 | FORMATION OF A CHANNEL SEMICONDUCTOR ALLOY BY DEPOSITING A HARD MASK FOR THE SELECTIVE EPITAXIAL GROWTH - A growth mask provided for the deposition of a threshold adjusting semiconductor alloy may be formed on the basis of a deposition process, thereby obtaining superior thickness uniformity. Consequently, P-channel transistors and N-channel transistors with an advanced high-k metal gate stack may be formed with superior uniformity. | 02-03-2011 |
20110045665 | REDUCING THE CREATION OF CHARGE TRAPS AT GATE DIELECTRICS IN MOS TRANSISTORS BY PERFORMING A HYDROGEN TREATMENT - By performing a heat treatment on the basis of a hydrogen ambient, exposed silicon-containing surface portions may be reorganized prior to the formation of gate dielectric materials. Hence, the interface quality and the material characteristics of the gate dielectrics may be improved, thereby reducing negative bias temperature instability effects in highly scaled P-channel transistors. | 02-24-2011 |
20120018816 | SELF-ALIGNED SILICIDATION FOR REPLACEMENT GATE PROCESS - A semiconductor device is formed with low resistivity self aligned silicide contacts with high-K/metal gates. Embodiments include postponing silicidation of a metal layer on source/drain regions in a silicon substrate until deposition of a high-K dielectric, thereby preserving the physical and morphological properties of the silicide film and improving device performance. An embodiment includes forming a replaceable gate electrode on a silicon-containing substrate, forming source/drain regions, forming a metal layer on the source/drain regions, forming an ILD over the metal layer on the substrate, removing the replaceable gate electrode, thereby forming a cavity, depositing a high-K dielectric layer in the cavity at a temperature sufficient to initiate a silicidation reaction between the metal layer and underlying silicon, and forming a metal gate electrode on the high-K dielectric layer. | 01-26-2012 |
20120032278 | SHALLOW PN JUNCTION FORMED BY IN SITU DOPING DURING SELECTIVE GROWTH OF AN EMBEDDED SEMICONDUCTOR ALLOY BY A CYCLIC GROWTH/ETCH DEPOSITION PROCESS - A silicon/carbon alloy may be formed in drain and source regions, wherein another portion may be provided as an in situ doped material with a reduced offset with respect to the gate electrode material. For this purpose, in one illustrative embodiment, a cyclic epitaxial growth process including a plurality of growth/etch cycles may be used at low temperatures in an ultra-high vacuum ambient, thereby obtaining a substantially bottom to top fill behavior. | 02-09-2012 |
20120329239 | METHODS OF FABRICATING A SEMICONDUCTOR IC HAVING A HARDENED SHALLOW TRENCH ISOLATION (STI) - Methods and provided for fabricating a semiconductor IC having a hardened shallow trench isolation (STI). In accordance with one embodiment the method includes providing a semiconductor substrate and forming an etch mask having an opening exposing a portion the semiconductor substrate. The exposed portion is etched to form a trench extending into the semiconductor substrate and an oxide is deposited to at least partially fill the trench. At least the surface portion of the oxide is plasma nitrided to form a nitrided oxide layer and then the etch mask is removed. | 12-27-2012 |
20130092957 | SELF-ALIGNED SILICIDATION FOR REPLACEMENT GATE PROCESS - A semiconductor device is formed with low resistivity self aligned silicide contacts with high-K/metal gates. Embodiments include postponing silicidation of a metal layer on source/drain regions in a silicon substrate until deposition of a high-K dielectric, thereby preserving the physical and morphological properties of the silicide film and improving device performance. An embodiment includes forming a replaceable gate electrode on a silicon-containing substrate, forming source/drain regions, forming a metal layer on the source/drain regions, forming an ILD over the metal layer on the substrate, removing the replaceable gate electrode, thereby forming a cavity, depositing a high-K dielectric layer in the cavity at a temperature sufficient to initiate a silicidation reaction between the metal layer and underlying silicon, and forming a metal gate electrode on the high-K dielectric layer. | 04-18-2013 |
20130113019 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE WITH REDUCED THRESHOLD VARIABILITY HAVING A THRESHOLD ADJUSTING SEMICONDUCTOR ALLOY IN THE DEVICE ACTIVE REGION - Generally, the subject matter disclosed herein is directed to semiconductor devices with reduced threshold variability having a threshold adjusting semiconductor material in the device active region. One illustrative semiconductor device disclosed herein includes an active region in a semiconductor layer of a semiconductor device substrate, the active region having a region length and a region width that are laterally delineated by an isolation structure. The semiconductor device further includes a threshold adjusting semiconductor alloy material layer that is positioned on the active region substantially without overlapping the isolation structure, the threshold adjusting semiconductor alloy material layer having a layer length that is less than the region length. Additionally, the disclosed semiconductor device includes a gate electrode structure that is positioned above the threshold adjusting semiconductor alloy material layer, the gate electrode structure including a high-k dielectric material and a metal-containing electrode material formed above the high-k dielectric material. | 05-09-2013 |
20130307090 | ADJUSTING OF STRAIN CAUSED IN A TRANSISTOR CHANNEL BY SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL PROVIDED FOR THE THRESHOLD ADJUSTMENT - The threshold voltage of a sophisticated transistor may be adjusted by providing a specifically designed semiconductor alloy in the channel region of the transistor, wherein a negative effect of this semiconductor material with respect to inducing a strain component in the channel region may be reduced or over-compensated for by additionally incorporating a strain-adjusting species. For example, a carbon species may be incorporated in the channel region, the threshold voltage of which may be adjusted on the basis of a silicon/germanium alloy of a P-channel transistor. Consequently, sophisticated metal gate electrodes may be formed in an early manufacturing stage. | 11-21-2013 |