Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

TSMC Nanjing Company, Limited

Yi-Chun Huang

Jye-Yen Cheng

Chih-Hsiang Yao

Ju-Wang Hsu

Chih-Hsin Ko

Hun-Jan Tao

Jyu-Horng Shieh

Yen-Ping Wang

I-Chih Chen

Baw-Ching Perng

Chun-Wei Kuo

Chih-Hao Wang

Jhon Jhy Liaw

Chien-Hao Chen

Chun-Chieh Lin

Ming-Huan Tsai

Jyh-Huei Chen

Wen-Chuan Chiang

Shien-Yang Wu

Yuan-Hung Chiu

Bor-Wen Chan

Yung-Shun Chen

Lawrence Chiang Sheu

Tung-Heng Shie

Steve Ming Ting

Hung Der Su

Ying-Wen Huang

Yun-Hua Chen

Bow-Wen Chan

A method of forming a semiconductor structure includes forming a plurality of lower level conductive lines in a first dielectric layer. The plurality of lower level conductive lines includes a first lower level conductive line. The method further includes recessing portions of the first lower level conductive line below a top surface of the first dielectric layer to form a recess, forming a dielectric cap in the recess, depositing a second dielectric layer over the first dielectric layer. Forming a via opening exposes a portion of the second lower level conductive line. The method further includes forming an upper level conductive line and a via in the trench and in the via opening, respectively. The via couples the upper level conductive line to the second lower level conductive line, and the upper level conductive line overlaps with the dielectric cap.

Method of back end of line via to metal line margin improvement

A semiconductor structure includes a first conductive line and a second conductive line in a first dielectric layer, and a third conductive line in a second dielectric layer overlying the first dielectric layer. The first conductive line and the second conductive line each extend along a first direction. The third conductive line extends along a second direction different from the first direction and above at least the second conductive line. The semiconductor structure further includes a via in the second dielectric layer and electrically connecting the second conductive line and the third conductive line. The via lands on a portion of the second conductive line. The semiconductor structure further includes a dielectric cap over the first conductive line. A bottom surface of the dielectric cap is below a top surface of the first dielectric layer.

Back end of line via to metal line margin improvement

In a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, a first dielectric layer is formed over a substrate. A first set of recesses is formed in the first dielectric layer. A metal layer is formed in the first set of recesses. A set of metal wirings is formed from the metal layer in the first set of recesses. A second set of recesses is formed in the first dielectric layer. A second dielectric layer is formed over the set of metal wirings and in the second set of recesses. A third set of recesses is formed in the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer. A third dielectric layer is formed over the metal wirings and in the third set of recesses.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof

An embodiment semiconductor device includes a first conductive feature in a dielectric layer and a second conductive feature over the dielectric layer and electrically connected to the first conductive feature. The second conductive feature includes a dual damascene structure and further includes a top portion within both a line portion and a via portion of the second conductive feature and a bottom portion in the via portion of the second conductive feature. The bottom portion comprises a different conductive material than the top portion, and a thickness of the bottom portion is at least about twenty percent of a total thickness of the via portion of the second conductive feature.

Interconnect structures and methods of forming same

A method for forming a contact is provided. The method includes: forming a first dielectric layer over a substrate; forming a second dielectric layer over the first dielectric layer; patterning the second dielectric layer to form a first recess; patterning the first dielectric layer by a first etchant through the first recess to form a second recess, wherein the first etchant has a higher etching rate with respect to the first dielectric layer than with respect to the second dielectric layer and further wherein the second recess is aligned with the first recess; and forming a continuous contact plug in the first recess and the second recess.

Semiconductor device, method for forming contact and method for etching continuous recess

A strained channel transistor is provided. The strained channel transistor comprises a substrate formed of a first material. A source region comprised of a second material is formed in a first recess in the substrate, and a drain region comprised of the second material is formed in a second recess in the substrate. A strained channel region formed of the first material is intermediate the source and drain region. A gate stack formed over the channel region includes a gate electrode overlying a gate dielectric. A gate spacer formed along a sidewall of the gate electrode overlies a portion of at least one of said source region and said drain region. A cap layer may be formed over the second material, and the source and drain regions may be silicided.

Strained channel transistor formation

An ultra shallow junction (USJ) FET device and method for forming the same with improved control over SDE or LDD doped region interfaces to improve device performance and reliability is provided, the method including providing a semiconductor substrate; forming a gate structure comprising a gate dielectric, an overlying gate electrode, and first offset spacers adjacent either side of the gate electrode; forming at least one doped semiconductor layer comprising dopants over a respective source and drain region adjacent the respective first offset spacers; forming second offset spacers adjacent the respective first offset spacers; and, thermally treating the at least one semiconductor layer to cause out-diffusion of the dopants to form doped regions in the semiconductor substrate.

Ultra shallow junction formation by solid phase diffusion

A method for forming a field effect transistor device employs a conformal spacer layer formed upon a gate electrode. The gate electrode is employed as a mask for forming a lightly doped extension region within the semiconductor substrate and the gate electrode and conformal spacer layer are employed as a mask for forming a source/drain region within the semiconductor substrate. An anisotropically etched shaped spacer material layer is formed upon the conformal spacer layer and isotropically etched to enhance exposure of the source/drain region prior to forming a silicide layer thereupon.

Spacer layer etch method providing enhanced microelectronic device performance

A process for trimming a photoresist layer during the fabrication of a gate electrode in a MOSFET is described. A bilayer stack with a top photoresist layer on a thicker organic underlayer is patternwise exposed with 193 nm or 157 nm radiation to form a feature having a width win the top layer. A pattern transfer through the underlayer is performed with an anisotropic etch based on H/Nand SOchemistry. The feature formed in the bilayer stack is trimmed by 10 nm or more to a width wby a HBr/O/Clplasma etch. The pattern transfer through an underlying gate layer is performed with a third etch based on HBr/O/Clchemistry. The underlayer is stripped by an Oashing with no damage to the gate electrode. Excellent profile control of the gate electrode is achieved and a larger (w&#x2212;w) is possible than in prior art methods.

Method of trimming technology

A semiconductor interconnect structure includes an organic and/or photosensitive etch buffer layer disposed over a contact surface. The structure further provides an interlevel dielectric formed over the etch buffer layer. A method for forming an interconnect structure includes etching to form an opening in the interlevel dielectric, the etching operation being terminated at or above the etch buffer layer. The etch buffer layer is removed to expose the contact surface using a removal process that may include wet etching, ashing or DUV exposure followed by developing or other techniques that do not result in damage to contact surface. The contact surface may be a conductive material such as silicide, salicide or a metal alloy.

Alternative interconnect structure for semiconductor devices

Semiconductor devices and methods for fabricating the same. The semiconductor device includes a resistance-reduced transistor with metallized bilayer overlying source/drain regions and gate electrode thereof. A first dielectric layer with a conductive contact overlies the resistance-reduced transistor. A second dielectric layer having a first conductive feature overlies the first dielectric layer. A third dielectric layer with a second conductive feature overlies the second dielectric layer, forming a conductive pathway down to the top surface of the metallized bilayer over one of the source/drain regions or the gate electrode layer.

Resistance-reduced semiconductor device and methods for fabricating the same

An integrated advanced method for forming a semiconductor device utilizes a sacrificial stress layer as part of a film stack that enables spatially selective silicide formation in the device. The low-resistance portion of the device to be silicided includes NMOS transistors and PMOS transistors. The stressed film may be a tensile or compressive nitride film. An annealing process is carried out prior to the silicide formation process. During the annealing process, the stressed nitride film preferentially remains over either the NMOS transistors or PMOS transistors, but not both, to optimize device performance. A tensile nitride film remains over the NMOS transistors but not the PMOS transistors while a compressive nitride film remains over the PMOS transistors but not the NMOS transistors, during anneal.

Method for forming integrated advanced semiconductor device using sacrificial stress layer

A method of forming a channel region for a MOSFET device in a strained silicon layer via employment of adjacent and surrounding silicon-germanium shapes, has been developed. The method features simultaneous formation of recesses in a top portion of a conductive gate structure and in portions of the semiconductor substrate not occupied by the gate structure or by dummy spacers located on the sides of the conductive gate structure. The selectively defined recesses will be used to subsequently accommodate silicon-germanium shapes, with the silicon-germanium shapes located in the recesses in the semiconductor substrate inducing the desired strained channel region. The recessing of the conductive gate structure and of semiconductor substrate portions reduces the risk of silicon-germanium bridging across the surface of sidewall spacers during epitaxial growth of the alloy layer, thus reducing the risk of gate to substrate leakage or shorts.

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Pingjhen, Taiwan

Yi-Chun Huang