Texas Instruments Corporation

Antonio Luis Pacheco Rotondaro

James Joseph Chambers

Luigi Colombo

Mark R Visokay

Amitabh Jain

Trace Quentin Hurd

Elisabeth Marley Koontz

Seetharaman Sridhar

Kaiping Liu

Majid Movahed Mansoori

Tracy Q Hurd

Elizabeth Marley Koontz

Husam N Alshareef

Alwin J Tsao

Jau-Yuann Yang

Stephanie Watts Butler

Jihong Chen

Che-Jen Hu

Brian Ashley Smith

Craig Lawrence Hall

Hamseswari Renganathan

An SRAM device and method of forming MOS transistors of the device having reduced defects associated with selective epitaxial growth in moat tip regions is discussed. The SRAM device comprises a core region and a logic region, logic transistors within the logic region of the SRAM, and selective epitaxial regions grown on both source and drain regions; and memory cell transistors within the core region of the SRAM, and having the selective epitaxial regions grown on only one of the source and drain regions. One method of forming the MOS transistors of the SRAM cell comprises forming a gate structure over a first conductivity type substrate to define a channel therein, masking one of the source and drain regions in the core region, forming a recess in the substrate of the unmasked side of the channel, epitaxially growing SiGe in the recess, removing the mask, and forming the source and drain extension regions in source/drain regions.

Defect prevention on SRAM cells that incorporate selective epitaxial regions

A semiconductor device comprises a gate structure on a semiconductor substrate and a recessed region in the semiconductor substrate. The recessed region has a widest lateral opening that is near a top surface of the semiconductor substrate. The widest lateral opening undercuts the gate structure.

Semiconductor device with gate-undercutting recessed region

The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a transistor device, a method for manufacturing an integrated circuit, and a transistor device. The method for manufacturing the transistor device, among other steps, includes forming a gate structure over a substrate and forming source/drain regions in the substrate proximate the gate structure, the source/drain regions having a boundary that forms an electrical junction with the substrate. The method further includes forming dislocation loops in the substrate, the dislocation loops not extending outside the boundary of the source/drain regions.

Semiconductor device having a dislocation loop located within a boundary created by source/drain regions and a method of manufacture therefor

A method for improving high-&#x3ba; gate dielectric film () properties. The high-&#x3ba; film () is subjected to a two step anneal sequence. The first anneal is performed in a reducing ambient () with low partial pressure of oxidizer to promote film relaxation and increase by-product diffusion and desorption. The second anneal is performed in an oxidizing ambient () with a low partial pressure of reducer to remove defects and impurities.

Defect control in gate dielectrics

Forming metal gate transistors that have different work functions is disclosed. In one example, a first metal, which is a 'mid gap' metal, is manipulated in first and second regions by second and third metals, respectively, to move the work function of the first metal in opposite directions in the different regions. The resulting work functions in the different regions correspond to that of different types of the transistors that are to be formed.

Work function control of metals

A semiconductor device comprising a gate structure on a semiconductor substrate and a recessed-region in the semiconductor substrate. The recessed-region has a widest lateral opening that is near a top surface of the semiconductor substrate. The widest lateral opening undercuts the gate structure.

Crystallographic preferential etch to define a recessed-region for epitaxial growth

A semiconductor device is fabricated with a protective liner and/or layer. Well regions and isolation regions are formed within a semiconductor body. A gate dielectric layer is formed over the semiconductor body. A gate electrode layer, such as polysilicon, is formed on the gate dielectric layer. A protective gate liner is formed on the gate electrode layer. A resist mask is formed that defines gate structures. The gate electrode layer is patterned to form the gate structures. Offset spacers are formed on lateral edges of the gate structures and extension regions are then formed in the well regions. Sidewall spacers are then formed on the lateral edges of the gate structures. An NMOS protective region layer is formed that covers the NMOS region of the device. A recess etch is performed within the PMOS region followed by formation of strain inducing recess structures.

Methods to selectively protect NMOS regions, PMOS regions, and gate layers during EPI process

The present invention provides a semiconductor device, a method of manufacture therefor, and a method for manufacturing an integrated circuit. The semiconductor device (), among other possible elements, includes a first transistor () located over a semiconductor substrate (), wherein the first transistor () has a metal gate electrode () having a work function, and a second transistor () located over the semiconductor substrate () and proximate the first transistor (), wherein the second transistor () has a plasma altered metal gate electrode () having a different work function.

Semiconductor device having multiple work functions and method of manufacture therefor

The present invention pertains to formation of a transistor in a manner that mitigates overlap capacitances, thereby facilitating, among other things, enhanced switching speeds. More particularly, a gate stack of the transistor is formed to include an optional layer of poly-SiGe and a layer of poly-Si, where at least one or the layers comprises carbon. The stack may also include a polysilicon seed layer that can also comprise carbon. The carbon changes the components of sidewall passivation materials and affects etch rates during an etching process, thereby facilitating isotropic etching. The changed passivation materials coupled with an enhanced sensitivity of the poly-SiGe and carbon-doped poly-SiGe layer to an etchant utilized in the etching process causes the stack to have a notched appearance. The tapered configuration of the gate stack provides little, if any, area for dopants that may migrate under the gate structure to overlap the conductive layers in the stack, and thus mitigates the opportunity for overlap capacitances to arise.

Method to reduce transistor gate to source/drain overlap capacitance by incorporation of carbon

The present invention facilitates semiconductor fabrication by providing methods of fabrication that selectively apply tensile strain to channel regions of devices while mitigating masking operations employed. A cap poly layer is formed over NMOS and PMOS regions of a semiconductor device. Then, a resist mask is employed to remove a portion of the cap poly layer from the PMOS region. Subsequently, the same resist mask and/or remaining portion of the cap poly layer is employed to form source/drain regions within the PMOS region by implanting a p-type dopant. Afterward, a cap poly thermal process is performed that causes tensile strain to be induced only in channel regions of devices located within the NMOS region. As a result, channel mobility and/or performance of devices located in the PMOS region is not substantially degraded.

Method to selectively strain NMOS devices using a cap poly layer

In one embodiment, a method for extracting C-V characteristics of ultra-thin oxides includes coupling a device under test to a testing structure, in which the device under test includes a plurality of transistors. Alternatively, the device under test includes a plurality of varactors. The method further includes inputting a radio frequency signal of at least one GHz into the testing structure, de-embedding the parasitics of the testing structure, inputting a bias into the device under test, determining the capacitance density per gate width of the device under test, plotting capacitance density per gate width versus gate length to obtain a first curve, and determining a slope of the first curve. These steps are repeated for one or more additional biasing conditions, and the determined slopes are plotted on a capacitance density per voltage graph to obtain a C-V curve for the device under test.

System and method for extraction of C-V characteristics of ultra-thin oxides

Methods and systems are disclosed that facilitate formation of dielectric layers having a particular composition profile by forming the dielectric layer as a number of sub-layers. The sub-layers are thin enough so that specific relative compositions can be achieved for each layer and, therefore, the sub-layers collectively yield a dielectric layer with a particular profile. The formation of individual sub layers is accomplished by controlling one or more processing parameters for a chemical vapor deposition process that affect relative compositions. Some processing parameters that can be employed include wafer temperature, pressure, and precursor flow rate.

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Dallas, TX, United States of America

Antonio Luis Pacheco Rotondaro