Imec Vzw

Gaspard Hiblot

Geert Van Der Plas

Stefaan Van Huylenbroeck

Julien Jussot

Luka Kljucar

Shamin Houshmand Sharifi

Sylvain Baudot

Hans Mertens

Anshul Gupta

Anne Jourdain

Bertrand Parvais

Douglas Charles La Tulipe

Van Der Plas

A method producing a nano-sized interconnect structure that electrically connects the front side of a semiconductor substrate to the back side of the substrate is provided. In one aspect, the method produces a semiconductor component such as an integrated circuit chip that includes active devices formed on the front side of the substrate, and an interconnect network such as a power delivery network on the back side of the substrate. The substrate includes a lower semiconductor layer, an intermediate layer, and an upper layer. A trench is formed through the upper layer, the material of the intermediate layer is etched from inside the trench to form a cavity at the foot of the trench, and the trench and the cavity are filled with an electrically conductive material to form a buried rail with a wide contact pad at the foot of the rail, that is, wider than the width of the rail and extending between the front and back surfaces of the intermediate layer. A nanoTSV connection is processed from the back of the substrate, the nanoTSV contacting the contact pad, to thereby form the interconnect structure.

Interconnect structure of a semiconductor component and methods for producing the structure

A method for forming an interconnection structure for a first transistor and a second transistor is provided. The first transistor includes a horizontally extending first channel portion and the second transistor includes a horizontally extending second channel portion. The channel portions are stacked above each other on a substrate. The method includes forming a conductive line extending beside and below the second channel portion, forming, on the conductive line, a first vertical interconnect structure for electrically contacting the first channel portion, and thinning the substrate from the backside to expose the conductive line from below. The method further includes forming a via hole exposing the second channel portion from below, filling the via hole with a conductive material to form a second vertical interconnect structure, and forming a conductive structure on the second vertical interconnect structure. A semiconductor device is also provided.

Method for forming an interconnection structure

A method of producing a gate cut in a semiconductor component is provided. In one aspect, an array of nano-sized semiconductor fins is processed on a semiconductor substrate. Rails may be buried in the substrate and in a layer of dielectric material that isolates neighboring fins from each other. The rails may extend in the direction of the fins and each rail may be situated between two adjacent fins. The rails may be buried power rails for enabling the formation of a power delivery network at the back of an integrated circuit chip. At the front side of the substrate, one or more gate structures are produced. The gate structures extend transversally, or perpendicularly, with respect to the fins and the rails. A gate cut is produced by forming an opening from the back side of the substrate, and removing a portion of the gate structure at the bottom of the opening, thereby creating a gate cut that is aligned to the sidewalls of the rail. In another aspect, a semiconductor component, such as an integrated circuit, includes a gate cut that is aligned to the sidewalls of a buried contact rail.

Method of producing a gate cut in a semiconductor component

The disclosed technology relates to a selector device for a memory array, and a method of forming the selector device. In some embodiments, the selector device comprises a first electrode layer embedded in an oxide; a second electrode layer arranged above the first electrode layer and separated from the first electrode layer by the oxide; and a semiconductor material forming a semiconductor layer on the top surface of the second electrode layer, and extending through the second electrode layer and the oxide onto the top surface of the first electrode layer, wherein the semiconductor material contacts the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer. In some embodiments, the selector device helps to solve the sneak path problem in the memory array it is inserted into.

Bipolar selector device for a memory array

Example embodiments relate to methods for inducing stress in semiconductor devices. One method includes a method for producing a first semiconductor device and a second semiconductor device configured to conduct current through the controlled density of charge carriers in a channel area. The charge carriers of the first semiconductor device have opposite polarity to the charge carriers of the second semiconductor device. The method includes producing a stress relaxed buffer (SRD) layer. The back side of the SRB layer is positioned on a substrate. The method also includes producing a semiconductor layer on the front side of the SRB layer. Additionally, the method includes producing the first semiconductor device and the second semiconductor device on the semiconductor layer, removing the substrate, thinning the SRB layer, producing a cavity in the SRB layer, and filling the cavity with a material to create a stress compensation area.

Method for inducing stress in semiconductor devices

The disclosed technology relates to the field of memory devices including memory arrays, and more particularly, to magnetic memory devices. In one aspect, the disclosed technology provides a method of fabricating a memory device, and the memory device. The method comprises: processing a plurality of selector devices in a semiconductor layer of a first substrate, processing an interconnect layer on a front-side of the semiconductor layer, the interconnect layer comprising an interconnect structure electrically connected to the plurality of selector devices, processing a plurality of memory elements in an oxide layer of the first substrate arranged on a back-side of the semiconductor layer, each memory element being electrically connected to one of the selector devices, and processing one or more vias through the semiconductor layer to electrically connect the memory elements to the interconnect structure.

An integrated circuit (IC) chip that includes a semiconductor substrate including active devices on its front side, and at least part of a power delivery network (PDN) on its back side, is disclosed. In one aspect, the PDN includes a power supply terminal (Vdd) and a reference terminal (Vss) at the back of the IC. A plurality of TSV (Through Semiconductor Via) connections through the substrate bring the power to the front of the substrate. A field effect transistor is integrated at the back side of the substrate, and includes a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a gate electrode, which are contacted at the back side of the substrate. The IC further includes a gate control terminal for controlling the gate voltage. The transistor is coupled between the power supply terminal and one or more of the active devices of the IC.

Integrated circuit with backside power delivery network and backside transistor

A vertical isolated gate FET transistor integrated in the front end of line of a semiconductor chip is disclosed. In one aspect, the transistor includes a modified version of a buried power rail and back side TSV (through semiconductor via) connection for connecting the front end of line to a back side signal delivery network, such as a power delivery network (PDN), the PDN being arranged on the backside of the semiconductor substrate that carries the active devices of the FEOL on its front side. In contrast to standard power rail/TSV combinations, the TSV is not electrically connected to the rail, but isolated therefrom by a dielectric plug at the bottom of the rail. The TSV is isolated from the semiconductor substrate by a dielectric liner. Well regions are furthermore provided on the front side, enveloping the rail and the dielectric plug, and on the backside, surrounding the TSV and liner. On the back side, the well includes a contact area adjacent the TSV. The TSV thereby acts as the gate of the transistor, while the rail and the contact area respectively act as source and drain or vice versa.

Vertical isolated gate field effect transistor integrated in a semiconductor chip

A method is provided for bonding and interconnecting two semiconductor chips arranged on semiconductor substrates. HSQ (Hydrogen Silsesquioxane) or an equivalent material is used as a bonding layer and after bonding and thinning one of the wafers (or first thinning and then bonding), the bond layer is locally irradiated by an e-beam through the thinned substrate, thereby locally transforming the bonding material into silicon oxide. Then a via opening is etched through the thinned substrate and an etch process selectively removes the oxide from an area delimited by the bonding material or vice versa. The filling of the via opening establishes an electrical connection between the bonded wafers, that is equivalent to a connection obtained by hybrid bonding, but that does not suffer from the disadvantages thereof.

Method for bonding and interconnecting semiconductor chips

A sensor for measuring mechanical stress in a layered metallization structure such as the back end of line portion of an integrated circuit die is provided. The sensor operates as a field effect transistor comprising a gate electrode, gate dielectric, channel and source and drain electrodes, wherein the gate electrode is a conductor of a first metallization level and the source and drain electrodes are two interconnect vias, connecting the channel to respective conductors in an adjacent level. At least one of the interconnect vias is formed of a material whereof the electrical resistance is sensitive to mechanical stress in the direction of the via. The sensitivity of the electrical resistance to the mechanical stress is sufficient to facilitate measurement of the stress by reading out the drain current of the transistor. The sensor thereby allows monitoring of stress in the BEOL prior to cracking.

Stress sensor suitable for measuring mechanical stress in a layered metallization structure of a microelectronic component

The disclosed technology relates generally to integrated circuit structures, and more particularly to a semiconductor fin structure having silicided portions. In an aspect, a semiconductor device including a fin structure and a substrate is disclosed. The fin structure includes a first source/drain region, a second source/drain region, and a channel region. The channel region is arranged between the first source/drain region and the second source/drain region to separate the first source/drain region and the second source/drain region in a length direction of the fin structure. The first source/drain region includes a bottom portion and a top portion, wherein the bottom portion of the first source/drain region is fully silicided and the top portion of the first source/drain region is partly silicided.

Semiconductor fin structures having silicided portions

A method of forming aligned gates for horizontal nanowires or nanosheets, comprising: providing a wafer which comprises at least one fin of sacrificial layers alternated with functional layers, and a dummy gate covering a section of the fin between a first end and a second end; at least partly removing the sacrificial layers at the first end and the second end thereby forming a void between the functional layers at the first and end such that the void is partly covered by the dummy gate; providing resist material which oxidizes upon EUV exposure; exposing the wafer to EUV light; selectively removing the dummy gate and the unexposed resist; forming a gate between the functional layers and between the exposed resist at the first end and at the second end.

Self-aligned internal spacer with EUV

The disclosed technology relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit that comprises a semiconductor device which has a port to be protected from Plasma-Induced Damage due to electric charge that may accumulate at the port during a plasma-processing step, and a protection circuit that is provided to the integrated circuit. In one aspect, the protection circuit comprises a discharge path, a control terminal, and a plasma pick-up antenna connected to the control terminal. The protection circuit further comprises a bipolar transistor which has a base connected to the control terminal. Such protection circuit is much more efficient in allowing charge transfer from the device port to a reference voltage terminal.

Semiconductor integrated circuit manufactured using a plasma-processing step

A method of producing a through semiconductor via (TSV) connection is disclosed. In one aspect, an opening of the TSV is produced for contacting a first semiconductor die bonded to a second die or to a temporary carrier. The first die includes fin-shaped devices in the front end of line of the die. Etching of the TSV opening does not end on a metal pad, but the opening is etched until reaching a well that is formed of material of a first doping type and formed in the first die amid semiconductor material of a second doping type opposite the first. After filling the TSV opening with a conductive material, the TSV connects to a conductor of an intermediate metallization (IM) of the first die through at least one fin extending from the well and connected to the conductor. A package of dies comprising at least one TSV produced by the above method is also disclosed.

Method for producing a through semiconductor via connection

Example embodiments relate to low-temperature voltage references using Coulomb blockade mechanisms. One embodiment includes a method of generating a reference voltage. The method includes providing a first single-electron transistor (SET) and a second SET connected in series. The method also includes biasing the first SET and the second SET using a same biasing current (I). Further, the method includes operating the first SET at a slope of a first Coulomb peak and the second SET at a slope of a second Coulomb peak. The slope of the first Coulomb peak and the second Coulomb peak are of the same slope type selected from a rising slope, a peak maximum, and a falling slope. The second Coulomb peak is different from the first Coulomb peak. Additionally, the method includes generating the reference voltage (V) based on a difference between gate-to-source voltages of the first SET (V) and the second SET (V).

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Leuven, Belgium

Gaspard Hiblot