Intermolecular, Inc.

Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Sandisk 3d LLC

Other

Globalfoundries Inc.

Jinhong Tong

Tony P Chiang

Chi-I Lang

Nitin Kumar

Zhi-Wen Sun

Prashant B Phatak

Anh Duong

Zachary M Fresco

Bob Kong

Sandra Guy Malhotra

Vidyut Gopal

Randall Higuchi

Ronald John Kuse

Imran Hashim

Thomas R Boussie

Shouqian Shao

Frederick Carlos Fulgenico

Igor C Ivanov

Michael A Miller

Anna Tsizelmon

Yun Yu Wang

Takeshi Yamaguchi

Tim Minvielle

Chien-Lan Hsueh

Albert Sanghyup Lee

Sandip Niyogi

Anna Tsimelzon

Methods for producing RRAM resistive switching elements having reduced forming voltage include preventing formation of interfacial layers, and creating electronic defects in a dielectric film. Suppressing interfacial layers in an electrode reduces forming voltage. Electronic defects in a dielectric film foster formation of conductive pathways.

Method for reducing forming voltage in resistive random access memory

Methods for producing RRAM resistive switching elements having reduced forming voltage include doping to create oxygen deficiencies in the dielectric film. Oxygen deficiencies in a dielectric film promote formation of conductive pathways.

Method for forming a doped metal oxide for use in resistive switching memory elements

A method is disclosed for the selective etching of a multi-layer metal oxide stack comprising a platinum layer on a TiN layer on an HfOor ZrOlayer on a substrate. In some embodiments, the method comprises a physical sputter process to selectively etch the platinum layer, followed by a plasma etch process comprises CHFand oxygen to selectively etch the TiN, HfOor ZrOlayers with respect to the substrate.

Methods for selective etching of a multi-layer substrate

Provided are resistive random access memory (ReRAM) cells having switching layers that include hafnium, aluminum, oxygen, and nitrogen. The composition of such layers is designed to achieve desirable performance characteristics, such as low current leakage as well as low and consistent switching currents. In some embodiments, the concentration of nitrogen in a switching layer is between about 1 and 20 atomic percent or, more specifically, between about 2 and 5 atomic percent. Addition of nitrogen helps to control concentration and distribution of defects in the switching layer. Also, nitrogen as well as a combination of two metals helps with maintaining this layer in an amorphous state. Excessive amounts of nitrogen reduce defects in the layer such that switching characteristics may be completely lost. The switching layer may be deposited using various techniques, such as sputtering or atomic layer deposition (ALD).

Resistive switching layers including Hf-Al-O

Methods of modifying a patterned semiconductor substrate are presented including: providing a patterned semiconductor substrate surface including a dielectric region and a conductive region; and applying an amphiphilic surface modifier to the dielectric region to modify the dielectric region. In some embodiments, modifying the dielectric region includes modifying a wetting angle of the dielectric region. In some embodiments, modifying the wetting angle includes making a surface of the dielectric region hydrophilic. In some embodiments, methods further include applying an aqueous solution to the patterned semiconductor substrate surface. In some embodiments, the conductive region is selectively enhanced by the aqueous solution. In some embodiments, methods further include providing the dielectric region formed of a low-k dielectric material. In some embodiments, applying the amphiphilic surface modifier modifies an interaction of the low-k dielectric region with a subsequent process.

Methods for coating a substrate with an amphiphilic compound

Resistive switching memory elements are provided that may contain electroless metal electrodes and metal oxides formed from electroless metal. The resistive switching memory elements may exhibit bistability and may be used in high-density multi-layer memory integrated circuits. Electroless conductive materials such as nickel-based materials may be selectively deposited on a conductor on a silicon wafer or other suitable substrate. The electroless conductive materials can be oxidized to form a metal oxide for a resistive switching memory element. Multiple layers of conductive materials can be deposited each of which has a different oxidation rate. The differential oxidization rates of the conductive layers can be exploited to ensure that metal oxide layers of desired thicknesses are formed during fabrication.

Methods for forming resistive switching memory elements

Provided is a two-step ALD deposition process for forming a gate dielectric involving an erbium oxide layer deposition followed by a hafnium oxide layer deposition. Hafnium oxide can provide a high dielectric constant, high density, large bandgap and good thermal stability. Erbium oxide can act as a barrier against oxygen diffusion, which can lead to increasing an effective oxide thickness of the gate dielectric and preventing hafnium-silicon reactions that may lead to higher leakage current.

Methods of atomic-layer deposition of hafnium oxide/erbium oxide bi-layer as advanced gate dielectrics

Resistive-switching memory elements having improved switching characteristics are described, including a memory element having a first electrode and a second electrode, a switching layer between the first electrode and the second electrode, the switching layer comprising a first metal oxide having a first bandgap greater than 4 electron volts (eV), the switching layer having a first thickness, and a coupling layer between the switching layer and the second electrode, the coupling layer comprising a second metal oxide having a second bandgap greater the first bandgap, the coupling layer having a second thickness that is less than 25 percent of the first thickness.

Resistive-switching memory elements having improved switching characteristics

Embodiments of the current invention describe a method of plating platinum selectively on a copper film using a self-initiated electroless process. In particular, platinum films are plated onto very thin copper films having a thickness of less than 300 angstroms. The electroless plating solution and the resulting structure are also described. This process has applications in the semiconductor processing of logic devices, memory devices, and photovoltaic devices.

Electroless deposition of platinum on copper

Nonvolatile memory elements are provided that have resistive switching metal oxides. The nonvolatile memory elements may be formed by depositing a metal-containing material on a silicon-containing material. The metal-containing material may be oxidized to form a resistive-switching metal oxide. The silicon in the silicon-containing material reacts with the metal in the metal-containing material when heat is applied. This forms a metal silicide lower electrode for the nonvolatile memory element. An upper electrode may be deposited on top of the metal oxide. Because the silicon in the silicon-containing layer reacts with some of the metal in the metal-containing layer, the resistive-switching metal oxide that is formed is metal deficient when compared to a stoichiometric metal oxide formed from the same metal.

Nonvolatile memory elements with metal-deficient resistive-switching metal oxides

Embodiments of the current invention describe methods of processing a semiconductor substrate that include applying a zincating solution to the semiconductor substrate to form a zinc passivation layer on the titanium-containing layer, the zincating solution comprising a zinc salt, FeCl, and a pH adjuster.

Formation of a zinc passivation layer on titanium or titanium alloys used in semiconductor processing

Methods of atomic layer deposition of hafnium oxide / erbium oxide bi-layer as advanced gate dielectrics

Methods and apparatuses for combinatorial processing are disclosed. Methods include introducing a substrate into a processing chamber. Methods further include forming a first film on a surface of a first site-isolated region on the substrate and forming a second film on a surface of a second site-isolated region on the substrate. The methods further include exposing the first film to a plasma having a first source gas to form a first treated film on the substrate and exposing the second film to a plasma having a second source gas to form a second treated film on the substrate without etching the first treated film in the processing chamber. In addition, methods include evaluating results of the treated films post processing.

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Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Jinhong Tong