International Business Machines Corporation

Globalfoundries Inc.

Infineon Technologies North America Corp.

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd (corporation)

Eric C Harley

Judson Robert Holt

Yue Ke

Henry K Utomo

Rishikesh Krishnan

Keith Howard Tabakman

Kangguo Cheng

Alexander Reznicek

Kevin K Chan

Thomas N Adam

Matthew W Stoker

Ali Khakifirooz

Viorel C Ontalus

Kathryn Turner Schonenberg

Abhishek Dube

Timothy James McArdle

Anita Madan

Linda R Black

Teresa L Pinto

Stephen W Bedell

Terence B Hook

Reinaldo Ariel Vega

Kern Rim

Dominic Joseph Schepis

Michael Patrick Chudzik

Jack Oon Chu

Christos Dimitrios Dimitrakopoulos

Conal Eugene Murray

Jin-Ping Han

Oliver Desmond Patterson

Chung Woh Lai

Thomas A Wallner

Jin Zheng Wallner

Richard J Murphy

Richard O Henry

Annie Levesque

Yong Siang Tan

Kevin T Wu

A device and method for forming a semiconductor device includes forming a gate structure on a channel region of fin structures and forming a flowable dielectric material on a source region portion and a drain region portion of the fin structures. The flowable dielectric material is present at least between adjacent fin structures of the plurality of fin structures filling a space between the adjacent fin structures. An upper surface of the source region portion and the drain region portion of fin structures is exposed. An epitaxial semiconductor material is formed on the upper surface of the source region portion and the drain region portion of the fin structures.

FinFET with dielectric isolation after gate module for improved source and drain region epitaxial growth

A method forming a semiconductor device that in one embodiment includes forming a gate structure on a channel region of fin structures, and forming a flowable dielectric material on a source region portion and a drain region portion of the fin structures. The flowable dielectric material is present at least between adjacent fin structures of the plurality of fin structures filling a space between the adjacent fin structures. An upper surface of the source region portion and the drain region portion of fin structures is exposed. An epitaxial semiconductor material is formed on the upper surface of the source region portion and the drain region portion of the fin structures.

A self-limiting selective epitaxy process can be employed on a plurality of semiconductor fins such that the sizes of raised active semiconductor regions formed by the selective epitaxy process are limited to dimensions determined by the sizes of the semiconductor fins. Specifically, the self-limiting selective epitaxy process limits growth of the semiconductor material along directions that are perpendicular to crystallographic facets formed during the selective epitaxy process. Once the crystallographic facets become adjoined to one another or to a dielectric surface, growth of the semiconductor material terminates, thereby preventing merger among epitaxially deposited semiconductor materials.

Self-limiting selective epitaxy process for preventing merger of semiconductor fins

A semiconductor device including at least one suspended channel structure of a silicon including material, and a gate structure present on the suspended channel structure. At least one gate dielectric layer is present surrounding the suspended channel structure, and at least one gate conductor is present on the at least one gate dielectric layer. Source and drain structures may be composed of a silicon and germanium including material. The source and drain structures are in contact with the source and drain region ends of the suspended channel structure through a silicon cladding layer.

FinFET and nanowire semiconductor devices with suspended channel regions and gate structures surrounding the suspended channel regions

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device with an embedded layer, by anisotropically etching a substrate adjacent to an already formed gate structure. A dummy layer is deposited in the previously etched region, and a second spacer is formed next to the first spacer. The dummy layer is removed, and a second anisotropic etch is performed. A semiconductor substrate is then epitaxially grown in the etched out region to form the embedded layer.

Method for embedded diamond-shaped stress element

A semiconductor substrate inspection system includes an e-beam inspection system configured to deliver electrons to a specimen semiconductor substrate. A sensor is configured to detect reflected electrons that reflect off the surface of the specimen semiconductor substrate. An analysis unit is configured to determine a number of electrons received by the semiconductor substrate, and to determine at least one target region including at least one defect of the semiconductor substrate. A reference image module is in electrical communication with the analysis unit. The reference image module is configured to generate a first digital image having a plurality of pixels, and to adjust a gray-scale level of the pixels included in the target region based on the number electrons included in each pixel to generate a second digital image that excludes the at least one defect.

Method of inspecting a semiconductor substrate

finFET with dielectric isolation after gate module for improved source and drain region epitaxial growth

A semiconductor structure may include a semiconductor fin, a gate over the semiconductor fin, a spacer on a sidewall of the gate, an angled recess region in an end of the semiconductor fin beneath the spacer, and a first semiconductor region filling the angled recess. The angled recess may be v-shaped or sigma shaped. The structure may further include a second semiconductor region in contact with the first semiconductor region and the substrate. The structure may be formed by forming a gate above a portion of the semiconductor fin on a substrate, forming a spacer on a sidewall of the gate; removing a portion of the semiconductor fin not covered by the spacer or the gate to expose a sidewall of the fin, etching the sidewall of the fin to form an angled recess region beneath the spacer, and filling the angled recess region with a first epitaxial semiconductor region.

FINFET structures with fins recessed beneath the gate

Silicon-carbon alloy structures can be formed as inverted U-shaped structures around semiconductor fins by a selective epitaxy process. A planarization dielectric layer is formed to fill gaps among the silicon-carbon alloy structures. After planarization, remaining vertical portions of the silicon-carbon alloy structures constitute silicon-carbon alloy fins, which can have sublithographic widths. The semiconductor fins may be replaced with replacement dielectric material fins. In one embodiment, employing a patterned mask layer, sidewalls of the silicon-carbon alloy fins can be removed around end portions of each silicon-carbon alloy fin. An anneal is performed to covert surface portions of the silicon-carbon alloy fins into graphene layers. In one embodiment, each graphene layer can include only a horizontal portion in a channel region, and include a horizontal portion and sidewall portions in source and drain regions. If a patterned mask layer is not employed, each graphene layer can include only a horizontal portion.

Graphene transistor with a sublithographic channel width

A semiconductor fin suspended above a top surface of a semiconductor layer and supported by a gate structure is formed. An insulator layer is formed between the top surface of the semiconductor layer and the gate structure. A gate spacer is formed, and physically exposed portions of the semiconductor fin are removed by an anisotropic etch. Subsequently, physically exposed portions of the insulator layer can be etched with a taper. Alternately, a disposable spacer can be formed prior to an anisotropic etch of the insulator layer. The lateral distance between two openings in the dielectric layer across the gate structure is greater than the lateral distance between outer sidewalls of the gate spacers. Selective deposition of a semiconductor material can be performed to form raised active regions.

Partial FIN on oxide for improved electrical isolation of raised active regions

A method of forming a semiconductor structure includes forming a first fin and a second fin on a substrate. A gate structure is formed over a first portion of the first fin and the second fin without covering a second portion of the first fin and the second fin. Single-crystal epitaxial layers are deposited surrounding the second portion of the first fin and the second fin such that the single-crystal epitaxial layer on the first fin does not contact the single-crystal epitaxial layer on the second fin. A polycrystalline layer is then deposited surrounding the single-crystal epitaxial layers, so that the polycrystalline layer contacts the single-crystal epitaxial layer on the first fin and the single-crystal epitaxial layer on the second fin. The single-crystal epitaxial layers and the polycrystalline layer form a merged source-drain region.

Single crystal source-drain merged by polycrystalline material

Method of forming multi-gate finFETs with epitaxially-grown merged source/drains. Embodiments of the invention may include forming a plurality of semiconductor fins joined by a plurality of inter-fin semiconductor regions, depositing a sacrificial gate over a center portion of each of the plurality of fins, forming a first merge layer over a first end of each of the plurality of fins to form a first merged fin region, forming a second merge layer over the second end of each of the plurality of fins to form a second merged fin region, etching a portion of the first merged fin region to form a first source/drain base region, etching a portion of the second merged fin region to form a second source/drain base region, forming a first source/drain region on the first source/drain base region, and forming a second source/drain region on the second source/drain base region.

Multigate finFETs with epitaxially-grown merged source/drains

A direct measurement of lattice spacing by X-ray diffraction is performed on a periodic array of unit structures provided on a substrate including semiconductor devices. Each unit structure includes a single crystalline strained material region and at least one stress-generating material region. For example, the single crystalline strained material region may be a structure simulating a channel of a field effect transistor, and the at least one stress-generating material region may be a single crystalline semiconductor region in epitaxial alignment with the single crystalline strained material region. The direct measurement can be performed in-situ at various processing states to provide in-line monitoring of the strain in field effect transistors in actual semiconductor devices.

Measurement of CMOS device channel strain by X-ray diffraction

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Lagrangeville, NY, United States of America

Eric C Harley