Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Yu-Hung Cheng

Yeur-Luen Tu

Cheng-Ta Wu

Chia-Shiung Tsai

Tung-I Lin

Wei-Li Chen

Ru-Liang Lee

Tze-Liang Lee

Chii-Horng Li

Shih-Pei Chou

Jiech-Fun Lu

Min-Ying Tsai

Ching I Li

Ming-Hua Yu

Shyh-Fann Ting

Yi-Hung Lin

Alexander Kalnitsky

Xiaomeng Chen

Chin-Szu Lee

Yen-Ting Chiang

Cheng-Lung Wu

Cheng-Yi Wu

Kuan-Liang Liu

Yen-Chang Chu

Kuo-Hwa Tzeng

Hsiang Sheng Liu

Yen-Hsiu Chen

Ren-Hua Guo

Wen-Chin Chen

Po-Jung Chiang

Ching-Wei Tsai

Pang-Yen Tsai

Yen-Ru Lee

Chen-Hao Chiang

Cheng-Kang Hu

Sheng-Hsiang Chuang

Lilly Su

Wei-Kung Tsai

Yu-Chun Chang

Kuo Liang Lu

Ming-Che Yang

Yong-En Syu

Chang-Chen Tsao

Yu-Lung Yeh

Po-Wei Liu

Victor Y Lu

Pu-Fang Chen

Eugene Chen

Jhi-Cherng Lu

Shi-Chieh Lin

Chris Chen

Yu-Siang Fang

Chun Hsiung Tsai

Jhy-Jyi Sze

Tsz-Mei Kwok

Jeff J Xu

Tzu-Jui Wang

Yung-Lung Lin

Hung-Wen Hsu

Eugene I-Chun Chen

Chun-Tsung Kuo

Chin-Chia Kuo

Alex Usenko

Chiao-Chun Hsu

Ming-Hsiang Kao

Wu-Ping Huang

I-Ting Li

Ke-Dian Wu

Tung-Hsiung Tseng

Ching-Pei Su

Yu-Yao Hsia

A cyclic pre-cleaning technique may be used to clean the surfaces of a recess in which a deep trench isolation (DTI) structure is to be formed. The cyclic pre-cleaning technique may include performing one or more deposition and etch cycles to remove oxygen from the surfaces of the recess to reduce the oxygen concentration in the surfaces of the recess. A passivation layer may be formed in the recess after the cyclic pre-cleaning technique is used to clean the surfaces. The cyclic pre-cleaning technique may include the use of germanium (Ge) to bond with oxygen in the surfaces of the recess, which results in the formation of germanium oxide (GeO). The germanium oxide is removed, resulting in reduced oxygen concentration in the surfaces of the recess. The reduced oxygen concentration increases the quality of epitaxial growth of the passivation layer in the recess.

Pre-cleaning for a deep trench isolation structure in a pixel sensor

The present disclosure provides a semiconductor structure, including: a semiconductor device layer including a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first surface is at a front side of the semiconductor device layer, and the second surface is at a backside of the semiconductor device layer; an insulating layer above the second surface of the semiconductor device; and a through-silicon via (TSV) traversing the insulating layer. Associated manufacturing methods of the same are also provided.

Semiconductor structure having a silicon active layer formed over a SiGe etch stop layer and an insulating layer with a through silicon via (TSV) passed therethrough

The present disclosure relates to an integrated chip. The integrated chip includes a sensor semiconductor layer. The sensor semiconductor layer is doped with a first dopant. A photodetector is along a frontside of the sensor semiconductor layer. A backside semiconductor layer is along a backside of the sensor semiconductor layer, opposite the frontside. The backside semiconductor layer is doped with a second dopant. A diffusion barrier structure is between the sensor semiconductor layer and the backside semiconductor layer. The diffusion barrier structure includes a third dopant different from the first dopant and the second dopant.

Image sensor with diffusion barrier structure

A boron (B) layer may be formed as a passivation layer in a recess in which a vertical transfer gate is to be formed. The recess may then be filled with a gate electrode of the vertical transfer gate over the passivation layer (and/or one or more intervening layers) to form the vertical transfer gate. The passivation layer may be formed in the recess by epitaxial growth. The use of epitaxy to grow the passivation layer enables precise control over the profile, uniformity, and boron concentration in the passivation layer. Moreover, the use of epitaxy to grow the passivation layer may reduce the diffusion length of the passivation layer into the substrate of the pixel sensor, which provides increased area in the pixel sensor for the photodiode.

Passivation for a vertical transfer gate in a pixel sensor

Various embodiments of the present application are directed towards a method for forming a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate with a thick device layer and a thick insulator layer. In some embodiments, the method includes forming an insulator layer covering a handle substrate, and epitaxially forming a device layer on a sacrificial substrate. The sacrificial substrate is bonded to a handle substrate, such that the device layer and the insulator layer are between the sacrificial and handle substrates, and the sacrificial substrate is removed. The removal includes performing an etch into the sacrificial substrate until the device layer is reached. Because the device layer is formed by epitaxy and transferred to the handle substrate, the device layer may be formed with a large thickness. Further, because the epitaxy is not affected by the thickness of the insulator layer, the insulator layer may be formed with a large thickness.

Method for forming a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate

In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to an integrated chip that includes a semiconductor device, a polysilicon isolation structure, and a first and second insulator liner. The semiconductor device is disposed on a frontside of a substrate. The polysilicon isolation structure continuously surrounds the semiconductor device and extends from the frontside of the substrate towards a backside of the substrate. The first insulator liner and second insulator liner respectively surround a first outermost sidewall and a second outermost sidewall of the polysilicon isolation structure. The substrate includes a monocrystalline facet arranged between the first and second insulator liners. A top of the monocrystalline facet is above bottommost surfaces of the polysilicon isolation structure, the first insulator liner, and the second insulator liner.

Selective polysilicon growth for deep trench polysilicon isolation structure

In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to an integrated chip, including a substrate, a first image sensing element and a second image sensing element arranged next to one another over the substrate, the first image sensing element and the second image sensing element having a first doping type, and a backside deep trench isolation (BDTI) structure arranged between the first and second image sensing elements and including a first isolation epitaxial layer setting an outermost sidewall of the BDTI structure and having the first doping type, a second isolation epitaxial layer arranged along inner sidewalls of the first isolation epitaxial layer and having a second doping type different than the first doping type, and an isolation filler structure filling between inner sidewalls of the second isolation epitaxial layer.

Isolation epitaxial bi-layer for backside deep trench isolation structure in an image sensor

In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a high-resistivity silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, including a first polysilicon layer arranged over a semiconductor substrate. A second polysilicon layer is arranged over the first polysilicon layer, and a third polysilicon layer is arranged over the second polysilicon layer. An active semiconductor layer over an insulator layer may be arranged over the third polysilicon layer. The second polysilicon layer has an elevated concentration of oxygen compared to the first and third polysilicon layers.

Multi-layered polysilicon and oxygen-doped polysilicon design for RF SOI trap-rich poly layer

Various embodiments of the present application are directed to a method for forming a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) device with an impurity competing layer to absorb potential contamination metal particles during an annealing process, and the SOI structure thereof. In some embodiments, an impurity competing layer is formed on the dummy substrate. An insulation layer is formed over a support substrate. A front side of the dummy wafer is bonded to the insulation layer. An annealing process is performed and the impurity competing layer absorbs metal from an upper portion of the dummy substrate. Then, a majority portion of the dummy substrate is removed including the impurity competing layer, leaving a device layer of the dummy substrate on the insulation layer.

Fabrication method of metal-free SOI wafer

A method for forming an SOI substrate is provided. The method includes following operations. A recycle substrate is received. A first multilayered structure is formed on the recycle substrate. A trench is formed in the first multilayered structure. A lateral etching is performed to remove portions of sidewalls of the trench to form a recess in the first multilayered structure. The trench and the recess are sealed with an epitaxial layer, and a potential cracking interface is formed in the first multilayered structure. A second multilayered structure is formed over the first multilayered structure. The device layer of the recycle substrate is bonded to an insulator layer over an carrier substrate. The first multilayered structure is cleaved along the potential cracking interface to separate the recycle substrate from the second multilayered structure, the insulator layer and the carrier substrate. The device layer is exposed.

Method for forming semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate by cleaving a multilayer structure along voids to separate a substrate

The present disclosure relates to an image sensor having a photodiode surrounded by a back-side deep trench isolation (BDTI) structure, and an associated method of formation. In some embodiments, a plurality of pixel regions is disposed within an image sensing die and respectively comprises a photodiode configured to convert radiation into an electrical signal. The photodiode comprises a photodiode doping column with a first doping type surrounded by a photodiode doping layer with a second doping type that is different than the first doping type. A BDTI structure is disposed between adjacent pixel regions and extending from the back-side of the image sensing die to a position within the photodiode doping layer. The BDTI structure comprises a doped liner with the second doping type and a dielectric fill layer. The doped liner lines a sidewall surface of the dielectric fill layer.

Back-side deep trench isolation structure for image sensor

Various embodiments of the present application are directed to a method for forming a thin semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate without implantation radiation and/or plasma damage. In some embodiments, a device layer is epitaxially formed on a sacrificial substrate and an insulator layer is formed on the device layer. The insulator layer may, for example, be formed with a net charge that is negative or neutral. The sacrificial substrate is bonded to a handle substrate, such that the device layer and the insulator layer are between the sacrificial and handle substrates. The sacrificial substrate is removed, and the device layer is cyclically thinned until the device layer has a target thickness. Each thinning cycle comprises oxidizing a portion of the device layer and removing oxide resulting from the oxidizing.

Method for forming thin semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrates

In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a method for forming an integrated chip (IC), including forming a plurality of image sensing elements including a first doping type within a substrate, performing a first removal process to form deep trenches within the substrate, the deep trenches separating the plurality of image sensing elements from one another, performing an epitaxial growth process to form an isolation epitaxial precursor including a first material within the deep trenches and to form a light absorbing layer including a second material different than the first material within the deep trenches and between sidewalls of the isolation epitaxial precursor, performing a dopant activation process on the light absorbing layer and the isolation epitaxial precursor to form a doped isolation layer including a second doping type opposite the first doping type, and filling remaining portions of the deep trenches with an isolation filler structure.

Light absorbing layer to enhance P-type diffusion for DTI in image sensors

Deep trench isolation structures for high voltage semiconductor-on-insulator devices are disclosed herein. An exemplary deep trench isolation structure surrounds an active region of a semiconductor-on-insulator substrate. The deep trench isolation structure includes a first insulator sidewall spacer, a second insulator sidewall spacer, and a multilayer silicon-comprising isolation structure disposed between the first insulator sidewall spacer and the second insulator sidewall spacer. The multilayer silicon-comprising isolation structure includes a top polysilicon portion disposed over a bottom silicon portion. The bottom polysilicon portion is formed by a selective deposition process, while the top polysilicon portion is formed by a non-selective deposition process. In some embodiments, the bottom silicon portion is doped with boron.

Multilayer isolation structure for high voltage silicon-on-insulator device

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Tainan, Taiwan

Yu-Hung Cheng