Trench transistor with insulative spacers

Abstract

An IGFET with a gate electrode and insulative spacers in a trench is disclosed. The IGFET includes a trench with opposing sidewalls and a bottom surface in a semiconductor substrate, a gate insulator on the bottom surface, a gate electrode on the gate insulator, and insulative spacers between the gate electrode and the sidewalls. A method of forming the IGFET includes implanting a doped layer into the substrate, etching completely through the doped layer and partially through the substrate to form the trench and split the doped layer into source and drain regions, depositing a blanket layer of insulative spacer material over the substrate and applying an anisotropic etch to form the insulative spacers on the sidewalls, growing the gate insulator on a central portion of the bottom surface between the insulative spacers, depositing a gate electrode material on the gate insulator and the insulative spacers, polishing the gate electrode material so that the gate electrode is substantially aligned with a top surface of the substrate, and applying a high-temperature anneal to diffuse the source and drain regions beneath the bottom surface, thereby forming a source and drain with channel junctions substantially aligned with the gate electrode. Advantageously, the channel length is significantly smaller than the trench length.