Intel Corporation

Mohammad Hasan

Tahir Ghani

Leonard P Guler

Biswajeet Guha

Oleg Golonzka

William Hsu

Mohit K Haran

Michael Harper

Reken Patel

Niels Zussblatt

Jeffrey Miles Tan

Benjamin Kriegel

Willy Rachmady

Anand S Murthy

Charles Henry Wallace

Nicholas G Minutillo

Ryan Keech

Sudipto Naskar

Daniel Ouellette

Suresh Vishwanath

Subrina Rafique

Christopher Parker

Shengsi Liu

Robert Joachim

Prashant Wadhwa

Leah Shoer

Pedro Franco Navarro

Hsin-Fen Li

Jianqiang Lin

Sikandar Abbas

Integrated circuit (IC) static random-access memory (SRAM) bit-cell structures comprising pass-gate transistors having a different number of active channel regions than the number of active channel regions in pull-down transistors. A pass-gate transistor with fewer active channel regions than a pull-down transistor may reduce read instability of an SRAM bit-cell, and/or reduce overhead associated with read assist circuitry coupled to the bit-cell. In some examples, one or more pass-gate transistor channel regions are impurity doped or removed from either a top side or bottom side of the pass-gate transistors to depopulate the number of active channel regions relative to a pull-down transistor.

SRAM with channel count contrast for greater read stability

Techniques are provided herein to form semiconductor devices having epitaxial diffusion regions (e.g., source and/or drain regions) wrapped by a conductive contact. In an example, a semiconductor device includes a source or drain region and a conductive layer that extends around the source or drain region such that the conductive layer at least contacts the sidewalls of the source or drain region or wraps completely around the source or drain region. In some examples, a conducive contact extends upward through a thickness of an adjacent dielectric layer and contacts the conductive layer from below, thus forming a backside contact. By forming a conductive layer around multiple sides of the source or drain region (rather than just contacting a top or bottom surface) more surface area of the source or drain region is contacted thus providing an improved ohmic contact and a lower overall contact resistance.

Conductive contacts wrapped around epitaxial source or drain regions

Techniques are provided herein to form semiconductor devices having gate cut structures. Adjacent semiconductor devices having semiconductor regions (e.g., fins or nanoribbons) extending in a first direction have a gate structure that extends over the semiconductor regions in a second direction and are separated by a gate cut structure extending in the first direction and interrupting the gate structure. The gate cut structure further extends between adjacent source or drain regions (corresponding to the adjacent semiconductor devices). A dielectric liner on at least a sidewall and/or top surface of the source or drain regions and also extends up a sidewall surface of the gate cut structure. In some cases, the gate structure includes a gate dielectric present on the semiconductor regions, but not present on the gate cut structure. A contact may pass through the liner and at least partially land on a source or drain region.

Gate cut structures

Techniques are provided herein to form semiconductor devices having different pitches, yet maintaining a substantially similar depth to the diffusion regions between the semiconductor regions. In an example, a row of semiconductor devices having semiconductor regions extending in a first direction can include some devices having a diffusion region with a first width in the first direction and some devices having a diffusion region with a second width in the first direction, where the second width is different from the first width. The depths of the diffusion regions having both the first and second widths may be substantially similar (e.g., within 2 nm or less of one another). In some examples, the bottom surface of at least one of the wider diffusion regions has a step profile.

Deep etch processing for transistors having varying pitch

Gate-all-around integrated circuit structures having pre-spacer-deposition cut gates are described. For example, an integrated circuit structure includes a first vertical arrangement of horizontal nanowires and a second vertical arrangement of horizontal nanowires. A first gate stack is over the first vertical arrangement of horizontal nanowires, and a second gate stack is over the second vertical arrangement of horizontal nanowires. An end of the second gate stack is spaced apart from an end of the first gate stack by a gap. The integrated circuit structure also includes a dielectric structure having a first portion forming a gate spacer along sidewalls of the first gate stack, a second portion forming a gate spacer along sidewalls of the second gate stack, and a third portion completely filling the gap, the third portion continuous with the first and second portions.

Fabrication of gate-all-around integrated circuit structures having pre-spacer deposition cut gates

Integrated circuit structures having metal gates with tapered plugs, and methods of fabricating integrated circuit structures having metal gates with tapered plugs, are described. For example, includes a fin having a portion protruding above a shallow trench isolation (STI) structure. A gate dielectric material layer is over the protruding portion of the fin and over the STI structure. A conductive gate layer is over the gate dielectric material layer. A conductive gate fill material is over the conductive gate layer. A dielectric gate plug is laterally spaced apart from the fin. The dielectric gate plug is on the STI structure, and the dielectric gate plug has sides tapered outwardly from a top of the dielectric gate plug to a bottom of the dielectric gate plug.

Integrated circuit structures having metal gates with tapered plugs

Integrated circuit structures having backside gate partial cut or backside trench contact partial cut and/or spit epitaxial structure are described. For example, an integrated circuit structure includes a first sub-fin structure over a first stack of nanowires. A second sub-fin structure is over a second stack of nanowires. A first portion of a gate electrode is around the first stack of nanowires, a second portion of the gate electrode is around the second stack of nanowires, and a third portion of the gate electrode bridges the first and second portions of the gate electrode. A dielectric structure is between the first portion of the gate electrode and the second portion of the gate electrode, the dielectric structure over the third portion of the gate electrode. The dielectric structure is continuous along the first and second portions of the gate electrode and the first and second sub-fin structures.

Integrated circuit structures with backside gate partial cut or trench contact partial cut

Integrated circuit structures having source or drain structures with abrupt dopant profiles are described. In an example, an integrated circuit structure includes a vertical arrangement of horizontal nanowires. A gate stack is around the vertical arrangement of horizontal nanowires. A first epitaxial source or drain structure is at a first end of the vertical arrangement of horizontal nanowires. A second epitaxial source or drain structure is at a second end of the vertical arrangement of horizontal nanowires. The first and second epitaxial source or drain structures include silicon, phosphorous and arsenic, with an atomic concentration of phosphorous substantially the same as an atomic concentration of arsenic.

High aspect ratio source or drain structures with abrupt dopant profile

A transistor includes a first channel layer over a second channel layer, an epitaxial source structure coupled to a first end of the first and second channel layers and an epitaxial drain structure coupled to a second end of the first and second channel layers. The transistor includes a gate between the epitaxial source structure and the epitaxial drain structure, where the gate is above the first channel layer and between the first channel layer and the second channel layer. The transistor includes a first spacer of a first material, between the first and second channel layers includes. The first spacer has at least one convex sidewall that is between the gate and the epitaxial source structure and between the gate and the epitaxial drain structure. The transistor also includes a second spacer of a second material having substantially vertical sidewalls above the first channel layer.

Localized spacer for nanowire transistors and methods of fabrication

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Aloha, OR, United States of America

Mohammad Hasan