Globalfoundries Inc.

T-ram Semiconductor, Inc.

Tram, Inc.

International Business Machines Corporation

Advanced Micro Devices Corporation

Stmicroelectronics Gmbh

Hyun-Jin Cho

Farid Nemati

Scott T Robins

Tenko Yamashita

Hui Zang

Andrew Edward Horch

Ruilong Xie

Kevin J Yang

Robert Homan Igehy

Xiuyu Cai

Xunyuan Zhang

James D Plummer

Seowoo Nam

Sang Hoo Dhong

Jung-Suk Goo

Gurupada Mandal

Veeraraghavan S Basker

Chun-chen Yeh

Qing Liu

Johnathan E Faltermeier

Rajesh N Gupta

Kam-Leung Lee

Ming He

Craig Child

Daniel T Pham

Nathaniel C Berliner

A method of forming a gate structure for a semiconductor device that includes forming first spacers on the sidewalls of replacement gate structures that are present on a fin structure, wherein an upper surface of the first spacers is offset from an upper surface of the replacement gate structure, and forming at least second spacers on the first spacers and the exposed surfaces of the replacement gate structure. The method may further include substituting the replacement gate structure with a functional gate structure having a first width portion in a first space between adjacent first spacers, and a second width portion having a second width in a second space between adjacent second spacers, wherein the second width is greater than the first width.

Spacer chamfering gate stack scheme

Integrated circuits that include a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) for a magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) and methods for fabricating such integrated circuits are provided. In one example, a method for fabricating an integrated circuit includes forming a lower electrode on a metal interconnect. The metal interconnect is disposed above a semiconductor substrate and is aligned with a normal axis that is substantially perpendicular to the semiconductor substrate. The lower electrode includes a conductive metal plug. A MTJ stack is formed on the lower electrode aligned with the normal axis.

Integrated circuits including magnetic tunnel junctions for magnetoresistive random-access memory and methods for fabricating the same

A method of forming a self-aligned MTJ without using a photolithography mask and the resulting device are provided. Embodiments include forming a first electrode over a metal layer, the metal layer recessed in a low-k dielectric layer; forming a MTJ layer over the first electrode; forming a second electrode over the MTJ layer; removing portions of the second electrode, the MTJ layer, and the first electrode down to the low-k dielectric layer; forming a silicon nitride-based layer over the second electrode and the low-k dielectric layer; and planarizing the silicon nitride-based layer down to the second electrode.

Topological method to build self-aligned MTJ without a mask

One illustrative method disclosed herein includes, among other things, forming a sacrificial gate structure above a semiconductor substrate, forming a sidewall spacer adjacent opposite sides of the sacrificial gate structure, removing the sacrificial gate structure and forming a replacement gate structure in its place, at some point after forming the replacement gate structure, performing an etching process to reduce the height of the spacers so as to thereby define recessed spacers having an upper surface that partially defines a spacer recess, and forming a spacer etch block cap on the upper surface of each recessed spacer structure and within the spacer recess.

Methods of forming a semiconductor device with a spacer etch block cap and the resulting device

Disclosed is a novel system and method to form local interconnects in a continuity test structure. The method begins with a first set of transistor gate lines and a second set of transistor gate lines are formed. Next, a first group of two or more local interconnect lines landing on transistor gates and formed substantially perpendicular to the first set of transistor gate lines and electrically coupled therewith is formed using a first lithography pass. A second group of two or more local interconnect lines landing and formed substantially perpendicular to the second set of transistor gate lines and electrically coupled therewith is formed during second lithography pass. For some technologies, a third set of transistor gate lines is formed along with a third group using a third lithography pass.

Lithography process monitoring of local interconnect continuity

A method for making a semiconductor device may include forming a first semiconductor layer on a substrate comprising a first semiconductor material, forming a second semiconductor layer on the first semiconductor layer comprising a second semiconductor material, and forming mask regions on the second semiconductor layer and etching through the first and second semiconductor layers to define a plurality of spaced apart pillars on the substrate. The method may further include forming an oxide layer laterally surrounding the pillars and mask regions, and removing the mask regions and forming inner spacers on laterally adjacent corresponding oxide layer portions atop each pillar. The method may additionally include etching through the second semiconductor layer between respective inner spacers to define a pair of semiconductor fins of the second semiconductor material from each pillar, and removing the inner spacers and forming an oxide beneath each semiconductor fin.

Semiconductor device providing enhanced fin isolation and related methods

Embodiments herein provide a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) formed between metal layers of a semiconductor device. Specifically, provided is an approach for forming the semiconductor device using only one or two masks, the approach comprising: forming a first metal layer in a dielectric layer of the semiconductor device, forming a bottom electrode layer over the first metal layer, forming a MTJ over the bottom electrode layer, forming a top electrode layer over the MTJ, patterning the top electrode layer and the MTJ with a first mask, and forming a second metal layer over the top electrode layer. Optionally, the bottom electrode layer may be patterned using a second mask. Furthermore, in another embodiment, an insulator layer (e.g., manganese) is formed atop the dielectric layer, wherein a top surface of the first metal layer remains exposed following formation of the insulator layer such that the bottom electrode layer contacts the top surface of the first metal layer. By forming the MTJ between the metal layers using only one or two masks, the overall number of processing steps is reduced.

Magnetic tunnel junction between metal layers of a semiconductor device

Approaches for spacer chamfering in a replacement metal gate (RMG) device are provided. Specifically, a semiconductor device is provided with a set of fins formed from a substrate; a silicon-based layer conformally deposited over the set of fins; an etch-stop layer (e.g., titanium nitride (TiN)) formed over the silicon-based layer, the etch-stop layer being selective to at least one of: silicon, oxide, and nitride; a set of RMG structures formed over the substrate; a set of spacers formed along each of the set of RMG structures, wherein a vertical layer of material from each of the set of spacers is removed selective to the etch-stop layer. By chamfering each sidewall spacer, a wider area for subsequent work-function (WF) metal deposition is provided. Meanwhile, each transistor channel region is covered by the etch-stop layer (e.g., TiN), which maintains the original gate critical dimension during reactive ion etching.

Spacer chamfering for a replacement metal gate device

Growing community of inventors

Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Hyun-Jin Cho