US20170170176A1 - Method of cutting fins to create diffusion breaks for finfets - Google Patents
Method of cutting fins to create diffusion breaks for finfets Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20170170176A1 US20170170176A1 US15/403,170 US201715403170A US2017170176A1 US 20170170176 A1 US20170170176 A1 US 20170170176A1 US 201715403170 A US201715403170 A US 201715403170A US 2017170176 A1 US2017170176 A1 US 2017170176A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- fin
- finfets
- gate
- cut
- dummy gate
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title abstract description 34
- 238000005520 cutting process Methods 0.000 title description 10
- 238000009792 diffusion process Methods 0.000 title description 5
- 125000006850 spacer group Chemical group 0.000 claims description 15
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 description 13
- 229910052732 germanium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 9
- GNPVGFCGXDBREM-UHFFFAOYSA-N germanium atom Chemical compound [Ge] GNPVGFCGXDBREM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 8
- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 7
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 7
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 7
- 239000010703 silicon Substances 0.000 description 6
- 238000000151 deposition Methods 0.000 description 5
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 5
- 238000001020 plasma etching Methods 0.000 description 5
- 229910052581 Si3N4 Inorganic materials 0.000 description 4
- VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicium dioxide Chemical compound O=[Si]=O VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- 238000005229 chemical vapour deposition Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000008021 deposition Effects 0.000 description 4
- 239000003989 dielectric material Substances 0.000 description 4
- 238000005530 etching Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 4
- HQVNEWCFYHHQES-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon nitride Chemical compound N12[Si]34N5[Si]62N3[Si]51N64 HQVNEWCFYHHQES-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- 238000001039 wet etching Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 3
- 239000007795 chemical reaction product Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000012071 phase Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 description 3
- QGZKDVFQNNGYKY-UHFFFAOYSA-N Ammonia Chemical compound N QGZKDVFQNNGYKY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N Atomic nitrogen Chemical compound N#N IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- VEXZGXHMUGYJMC-UHFFFAOYSA-N Hydrochloric acid Chemical compound Cl VEXZGXHMUGYJMC-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- MHAJPDPJQMAIIY-UHFFFAOYSA-N Hydrogen peroxide Chemical compound OO MHAJPDPJQMAIIY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- NBIIXXVUZAFLBC-UHFFFAOYSA-N Phosphoric acid Chemical compound OP(O)(O)=O NBIIXXVUZAFLBC-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910000577 Silicon-germanium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- LEVVHYCKPQWKOP-UHFFFAOYSA-N [Si].[Ge] Chemical compound [Si].[Ge] LEVVHYCKPQWKOP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 238000000137 annealing Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000005137 deposition process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 229910000041 hydrogen chloride Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- IXCSERBJSXMMFS-UHFFFAOYSA-N hydrogen chloride Substances Cl.Cl IXCSERBJSXMMFS-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229920002120 photoresistant polymer Polymers 0.000 description 2
- 210000002381 plasma Anatomy 0.000 description 2
- 239000000047 product Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000000377 silicon dioxide Substances 0.000 description 2
- 235000012239 silicon dioxide Nutrition 0.000 description 2
- ZOXJGFHDIHLPTG-UHFFFAOYSA-N Boron Chemical compound [B] ZOXJGFHDIHLPTG-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- UFHFLCQGNIYNRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N Hydrogen Chemical compound [H][H] UFHFLCQGNIYNRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910000147 aluminium phosphate Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910021529 ammonia Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910052796 boron Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000000919 ceramic Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000004140 cleaning Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000004020 conductor Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910021419 crystalline silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000005669 field effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910000078 germane Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 150000002290 germanium Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- BHEPBYXIRTUNPN-UHFFFAOYSA-N hydridophosphorus(.) (triplet) Chemical compound [PH] BHEPBYXIRTUNPN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000001257 hydrogen Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052739 hydrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000013067 intermediate product Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000005012 migration Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000013508 migration Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052757 nitrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910021420 polycrystalline silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229920005591 polysilicon Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 239000000376 reactant Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000002210 silicon-based material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000003892 spreading Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007480 spreading Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000012808 vapor phase Substances 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L27/00—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate
- H01L27/02—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers
- H01L27/04—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers the substrate being a semiconductor body
- H01L27/08—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers the substrate being a semiconductor body including only semiconductor components of a single kind
- H01L27/085—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers the substrate being a semiconductor body including only semiconductor components of a single kind including field-effect components only
- H01L27/088—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers the substrate being a semiconductor body including only semiconductor components of a single kind including field-effect components only the components being field-effect transistors with insulated gate
- H01L27/0886—Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate including semiconductor components specially adapted for rectifying, oscillating, amplifying or switching and having potential barriers; including integrated passive circuit elements having potential barriers the substrate being a semiconductor body including only semiconductor components of a single kind including field-effect components only the components being field-effect transistors with insulated gate including transistors with a horizontal current flow in a vertical sidewall of a semiconductor body, e.g. FinFET, MuGFET
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02104—Forming layers
- H01L21/02365—Forming inorganic semiconducting materials on a substrate
- H01L21/02518—Deposited layers
- H01L21/02521—Materials
- H01L21/02524—Group 14 semiconducting materials
- H01L21/02532—Silicon, silicon germanium, germanium
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
- H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
- H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
- H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
- H01L21/3105—After-treatment
- H01L21/311—Etching the insulating layers by chemical or physical means
- H01L21/31105—Etching inorganic layers
- H01L21/31111—Etching inorganic layers by chemical means
- H01L21/31116—Etching inorganic layers by chemical means by dry-etching
- H01L21/31122—Etching inorganic layers by chemical means by dry-etching of layers not containing Si, e.g. PZT, Al2O3
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
- H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
- H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
- H01L21/31—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to form insulating layers thereon, e.g. for masking or by using photolithographic techniques; After treatment of these layers; Selection of materials for these layers
- H01L21/3105—After-treatment
- H01L21/311—Etching the insulating layers by chemical or physical means
- H01L21/31144—Etching the insulating layers by chemical or physical means using masks
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/70—Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of a plurality of solid state components formed in or on a common substrate or of parts thereof; Manufacture of integrated circuit devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/77—Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of a plurality of solid state components or integrated circuits formed in, or on, a common substrate
- H01L21/78—Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of a plurality of solid state components or integrated circuits formed in, or on, a common substrate with subsequent division of the substrate into plural individual devices
- H01L21/82—Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of a plurality of solid state components or integrated circuits formed in, or on, a common substrate with subsequent division of the substrate into plural individual devices to produce devices, e.g. integrated circuits, each consisting of a plurality of components
- H01L21/822—Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of a plurality of solid state components or integrated circuits formed in, or on, a common substrate with subsequent division of the substrate into plural individual devices to produce devices, e.g. integrated circuits, each consisting of a plurality of components the substrate being a semiconductor, using silicon technology
- H01L21/8232—Field-effect technology
- H01L21/8234—MIS technology, i.e. integration processes of field effect transistors of the conductor-insulator-semiconductor type
- H01L21/823431—MIS technology, i.e. integration processes of field effect transistors of the conductor-insulator-semiconductor type with a particular manufacturing method of transistors with a horizontal current flow in a vertical sidewall of a semiconductor body, e.g. FinFET, MuGFET
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/70—Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of a plurality of solid state components formed in or on a common substrate or of parts thereof; Manufacture of integrated circuit devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/77—Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of a plurality of solid state components or integrated circuits formed in, or on, a common substrate
- H01L21/78—Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of a plurality of solid state components or integrated circuits formed in, or on, a common substrate with subsequent division of the substrate into plural individual devices
- H01L21/82—Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of a plurality of solid state components or integrated circuits formed in, or on, a common substrate with subsequent division of the substrate into plural individual devices to produce devices, e.g. integrated circuits, each consisting of a plurality of components
- H01L21/822—Manufacture or treatment of devices consisting of a plurality of solid state components or integrated circuits formed in, or on, a common substrate with subsequent division of the substrate into plural individual devices to produce devices, e.g. integrated circuits, each consisting of a plurality of components the substrate being a semiconductor, using silicon technology
- H01L21/8232—Field-effect technology
- H01L21/8234—MIS technology, i.e. integration processes of field effect transistors of the conductor-insulator-semiconductor type
- H01L21/823481—MIS technology, i.e. integration processes of field effect transistors of the conductor-insulator-semiconductor type isolation region manufacturing related aspects, e.g. to avoid interaction of isolation region with adjacent structure
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L29/00—Semiconductor devices specially adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching and having potential barriers; Capacitors or resistors having potential barriers, e.g. a PN-junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
- H01L29/66—Types of semiconductor device ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
- H01L29/66007—Multistep manufacturing processes
- H01L29/66075—Multistep manufacturing processes of devices having semiconductor bodies comprising group 14 or group 13/15 materials
- H01L29/66227—Multistep manufacturing processes of devices having semiconductor bodies comprising group 14 or group 13/15 materials the devices being controllable only by the electric current supplied or the electric potential applied, to an electrode which does not carry the current to be rectified, amplified or switched, e.g. three-terminal devices
- H01L29/66409—Unipolar field-effect transistors
- H01L29/66477—Unipolar field-effect transistors with an insulated gate, i.e. MISFET
- H01L29/66545—Unipolar field-effect transistors with an insulated gate, i.e. MISFET using a dummy, i.e. replacement gate in a process wherein at least a part of the final gate is self aligned to the dummy gate
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L29/00—Semiconductor devices specially adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching and having potential barriers; Capacitors or resistors having potential barriers, e.g. a PN-junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
- H01L29/66—Types of semiconductor device ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
- H01L29/66007—Multistep manufacturing processes
- H01L29/66075—Multistep manufacturing processes of devices having semiconductor bodies comprising group 14 or group 13/15 materials
- H01L29/66227—Multistep manufacturing processes of devices having semiconductor bodies comprising group 14 or group 13/15 materials the devices being controllable only by the electric current supplied or the electric potential applied, to an electrode which does not carry the current to be rectified, amplified or switched, e.g. three-terminal devices
- H01L29/66409—Unipolar field-effect transistors
- H01L29/66477—Unipolar field-effect transistors with an insulated gate, i.e. MISFET
- H01L29/6656—Unipolar field-effect transistors with an insulated gate, i.e. MISFET using multiple spacer layers, e.g. multiple sidewall spacers
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L29/00—Semiconductor devices specially adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching and having potential barriers; Capacitors or resistors having potential barriers, e.g. a PN-junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
- H01L29/66—Types of semiconductor device ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
- H01L29/66007—Multistep manufacturing processes
- H01L29/66075—Multistep manufacturing processes of devices having semiconductor bodies comprising group 14 or group 13/15 materials
- H01L29/66227—Multistep manufacturing processes of devices having semiconductor bodies comprising group 14 or group 13/15 materials the devices being controllable only by the electric current supplied or the electric potential applied, to an electrode which does not carry the current to be rectified, amplified or switched, e.g. three-terminal devices
- H01L29/66409—Unipolar field-effect transistors
- H01L29/66477—Unipolar field-effect transistors with an insulated gate, i.e. MISFET
- H01L29/66787—Unipolar field-effect transistors with an insulated gate, i.e. MISFET with a gate at the side of the channel
- H01L29/66795—Unipolar field-effect transistors with an insulated gate, i.e. MISFET with a gate at the side of the channel with a horizontal current flow in a vertical sidewall of a semiconductor body, e.g. FinFET, MuGFET
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L29/00—Semiconductor devices specially adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching and having potential barriers; Capacitors or resistors having potential barriers, e.g. a PN-junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
- H01L29/66—Types of semiconductor device ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
- H01L29/68—Types of semiconductor device ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor controllable by only the electric current supplied, or only the electric potential applied, to an electrode which does not carry the current to be rectified, amplified or switched
- H01L29/76—Unipolar devices, e.g. field effect transistors
- H01L29/772—Field effect transistors
- H01L29/78—Field effect transistors with field effect produced by an insulated gate
- H01L29/785—Field effect transistors with field effect produced by an insulated gate having a channel with a horizontal current flow in a vertical sidewall of a semiconductor body, e.g. FinFET, MuGFET
Definitions
- the present invention relates to the electrical, electronic, and computer arts, and, more particularly, to methods for cutting fins in integrated circuits comprising FinFETs.
- Multi-gate field-effect transistors are of considerable interest because of their superior electrostatic integrity, as well as their promise of lower supply voltages, reduced threshold voltages, and extended scalability.
- FinFETs are one form of such multi-gate device.
- a narrow channel feature i.e., fin
- the gate is thereby capacitively coupled to the top as well as the sides of the fin. So structured, very little leakage current passes through channel portions of the fin when the device is in the off state. This allows the use of lower threshold voltages and higher switching speeds.
- a single fin may initially be patterned to span across regions that will ultimately be separated into multiple FinFETs. Later, after forming additional elements such as gates and contacts, the fin may be cut to isolate one transistor from another. Ideally, such cutting will utilize as small an area as possible. Nevertheless, cutting just the fins without simultaneously damaging the nearby structures remains challenging. Gas phase plasmas, for example, may be made somewhat selective to silicon, but have enough plasma potential to also etch nearby dielectric materials.
- Embodiments of the invention provide a means for cutting fins in integrated circuits with FinFETs so as to isolate one transistor device from another.
- the cut may be accomplished in about the width of a gate, making the process extremely space-efficient.
- the ends of the cut fin portions may be terminated in sidewall spacers that both electrically isolate these fin portions, as well as protect them during further processing.
- aspects of the invention are directed to a method for forming an integrated circuit. Initially, a fin is received with a dummy gate passing thereover. The dummy gate is removed to form a space over the fin. A temporary layer is subsequently placed in the space, and an element from the temporary layer is caused to pass into a portion of the fin to form a modified fin portion. After the temporary layer is removed, at least part of the modified fin portion is etched away to form a gap in the fin.
- Additional aspects of the invention are directed to an integrated circuit formed at least in part using a method like that set forth in the previous paragraph.
- an integrated circuit comprising a gate, a first fin portion ending in a first terminus, and a second fin portion lined up with the first fin portion and ending in a second terminus.
- the first terminus and the second terminus are separated by about the width of the gate.
- FIG. 1 shows a method for cutting a fin, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 2 shows a layout view of a portion of an integrated circuit while performing the FIG. 1 method
- FIGS. 3A-9B show sectional views along the planes indicated in FIG. 2 of intermediate film stacks that are formed while performing the FIG. 1 method;
- FIG. 10 shows a layout view of a portion of an integrated circuit, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 11 shows a sectional view of an edge portion of the FIG. 10 integrated circuit after performing the FIG. 1 method.
- FIG. 1 shows a flow diagram of a method 100 for cutting a fin in a FinFET, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
- the cutting of the fin occurs in a region of a fin that sits immediately below a dummy gate (i.e., a gate feature not intended for use as an active device). Such a region is shown in a layout view in FIG. 2 .
- a representative dummy gate 200 passes over a representative fin 205 . It is intended that the portion of the fin 205 immediately underneath the dummy gate 200 be cut.
- FIGS. 3A-9B show sectional views of intermediate film stacks along the planes indicated in FIG. 2 as the method 100 is completed.
- FIGS. 3A and 3B show the state of the region indicated in FIG. 2 at this point in the fabrication process.
- the fin 205 is disposed on a buried oxide (BOX) layer 210 , which is itself positioned on top of a substrate 215 .
- the dummy gate 200 passes over the fin 205 and, in so doing, contacts the fin 205 on three sides.
- Sidewall spacers 220 are formed on opposing sidewalls of the dummy gate 200 .
- a gate dielectric 225 is disposed between the dummy gate 200 and the fin 205 , and an intragate dielectric 230 is present on both sides of the dummy gate 200 and is planar with the top of the dummy gate 200 .
- the substrate 215 and the fin 205 may be formed of crystalline silicon, and the BOX layer 210 , the intragate dielectric 230 , and the gate dielectric 225 may be formed of silicon dioxide.
- the fin 205 may be doped with boron or phosphorous to be p- or n-type.
- the dummy gate 200 may be formed of polysilicon, and the sidewall spacers 220 may be formed of lower-k dielectric materials, such as, siliconborocarbonitride (SiBCN), siliconoxycarbonitride (SiOCN), siliconoxycarbide (SiOC), or some combination thereof.
- the method starts in step 105 with the removal of the dummy gate 200 by, for example, wet etching in hot ammonia (selective to dielectrics) to yield the film stack in FIGS. 4A and 4B .
- Such processing leaves a space 235 over the fin 205 .
- the space 235 is bordered on two sides by the sidewall spacers 220 .
- a fin-cut hard mask 240 is formed on the film stack in FIGS. 4A and 4B to yield the film stack in FIGS. 5A and 5B .
- a purpose of the fin-cut hard mask 240 is to define which fins will be cut and which will remain intact.
- the fin-cut hard mask 240 is open over the space 235 previously occupied by the dummy gate 200 .
- the fin-cut hard mask 240 is intact over other gates where a fin is not to be cut.
- the fin-cut hard mask 240 may comprise silicon nitride, and may be formed by conventional deposition, photolithographic, and anisotropic etching steps.
- Deposition of the fin-cut hard mask 240 may be by chemical vapor deposition (CVD).
- a photoresist may then be patterned on top of the fin-cut hard mask 240 and its pattern transferred to the underlying material via reactive ion etching (RIE).
- RIE reactive ion etching
- the gate dielectric 225 may also be removed during the same RIE step, or a subsequent RIE step.
- the photoresist may then be stripped.
- a portion of the fin 205 immediately below the space 235 is exposed. This is the portion of the fin 205 to be cut.
- Step 115 of the method 100 involves depositing a germanium-containing temporary layer 245 into the space 235 previously occupied by the dummy gate 200 so that the temporary layer 245 envelopes three faces of the exposed portion of the fin 205 .
- the resultant film stack is shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B .
- the temporary layer 245 may comprise, for example, polycrystalline germanium, amorphous germanium, or some combination of these phases. In alternative embodiments, the temporary layer 245 may comprise germanium mixed with another element (e.g., silicon).
- Deposition may be by a conformal deposition process such as, for example, CVD using germane and hydrogen and/or nitrogen as gas-phase reactants. Deposition will also occur on the top of the fin-cut hard mask 240 , as indicated in the figures.
- Germanium from the temporary layer 245 is then driven into the underlying fin 205 in step 120 .
- This diffusion process may be performed by, for example, annealing.
- the temporary layer 245 may be removed, leaving the film stack shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B . Removal of the temporary layer 245 may be accomplished by, for example, wet etching in hydrogen peroxide, which tends to etch silicon and dielectric materials quite slowly.
- the portion of the fin 205 immediately below the space 235 has been modified in relation to the remainder of the fin 205 because of the inclusion of germanium from the temporary layer 245 , and this germanium-containing portion is now labeled and referenced as a “modified fin portion” 205 ′.
- germanium from the temporary layer 245 may migrate into portions of the fin 205 underlying the sidewall spacers 220 , but this lateral spreading is not particularly critical so long as it is not excessive.
- the extent of such migration may be controlled by the annealing temperature as well as time-at-temperature.
- step 130 involves selectively removing the modified fin portion 205 ′ without significantly altering the exposed portions of the unmodified fin 205 (e.g., silicon), the BOX layer 210 (e.g., silicon dioxide), the fin-cut hard mask 245 (e.g., silicon nitride), and the sidewall spacers 220 (e.g., SiBCN, SiOCN, and/or SiOC). Silicon-germanium tends to be very susceptible to etching by hydrogen chloride. Therefore, in one or more embodiments, step 130 may utilize vapor phase etching (VPE) with hydrogen chloride to remove the modified fin portion 205 ′.
- VPE vapor phase etching
- the fin-cut hard mask 240 may be etched away via wet etching.
- This wet etching may include, for example, hot phosphoric acid, which would etch silicon nitride selective to the other exposed materials.
- the resultant film stack is shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B .
- step 135 has additional inside sidewall spacers 250 formed inside the space 235 left between the original sidewall spacers 220 . That is, the inside sidewall spacers 250 occupy a region from which the modified fin portion 205 ′ has been etched away.
- the resultant film stack is shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B .
- the inside sidewall spacers 250 may comprise silicon nitride or silicon oxynitride, and may be formed by a conventional spacer formation process, namely, a conformal deposition process (e.g., CVD) followed by an anisotropic etch process (e.g., RIE) that acts to remove the just-deposited material from the horizontal surfaces.
- RIE anisotropic etch
- the method 100 and more generally, methods falling within the scope of the invention, are operative to effectively cut a fin within the confines of a single gate. So cut, what was once a single fin, now defines a first fin with a first terminus, and a second fin with a second terminus in spaced relation to the first terminus and in line with the first fin ( FIG. 9B ). The distance between the first terminus and the second terminus is about equal to the width of a dummy gate that originally occupied the space immediately above the cut fin.
- FIG. 10 shows a layout view of an exemplary region of a partially-formed integrated circuit, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
- fins have been formed running left-to-right, and dummy have been formed up-down so that the gates cross over the fins.
- the region of the integrated circuit shown in FIG. 10 comprises two dummy gates 1000 that will ultimately be replaced by active gate conductors to regulate two separate banks of FinFETs.
- a middle dummy gate 1005 is disposed between the two banks of FinFETs.
- Edge dummy gates 1010 are positioned at the edges of the banks.
- the fins in the left bank are continuous with the fins in the right bank. That is, the fins have not yet been cut, and the banks are not yet electrically isolated.
- the method 100 may be utilized to cut the fins under the middle and edge dummy gates 1005 , 1010 .
- the regions covered and uncovered by the fin cut mask are indicated in FIG. 10 .
- the regions of the integrated circuit falling outside the indicated boundaries are covered, while the regions within the indicated boundaries are not covered. Accordingly, it will be observed that the fin-cut mask exposes the middle dummy gate 1005 and about half of each of the edge dummy gates 1010 .
- practicing the method 100 has the effect of cutting the fins immediately underneath the middle dummy gate 1005 . In this manner, the two banks of FinFETs are isolated from each other in the width of about a gate, in the manner indicated in FIGS. 9A and 9B .
- a film stack similar to that shown in the sectional view in FIG. 11 is produced (where the cleave plane is parallel to the fin 205 ).
- a terminus of the fin 205 is covered in a self-aligned sidewall spacer 260 that effectively isolates that portion of the fin 205 from subsequent processing steps.
- a diffusion break in a fin in about the width of a dummy gate is extremely space-efficient. It should be compared to, for example, other designs wherein the entire region between two gates is utilized to create a diffusion break.
- the smaller area in accordance with methods set forth herein is due at least in part to the excellent selectivity that is achieved when etching portions of fins that have been converted to silicon-germanium.
- the methods described above are used in the fabrication of integrated circuit chips.
- the resulting integrated circuit chips can be distributed by the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as a single wafer that has multiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die, or in a packaged form.
- the chip is mounted in a single chip package (such as a plastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or other higher level carrier) or in a multichip package (such as a ceramic carrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buried interconnections).
- the chip is then integrated with other chips, discrete circuit elements, and/or other signal processing devices as part of either (a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or (b) an end product.
- the end product can be any product that includes integrated circuit chips, ranging from toys and other low-end applications to advanced computer products having a display, a keyboard or other input devices, and a central processor. These integrated circuits and end products would also fall within the scope of the invention.
- a FinFET may be formed with III-V materials, and the temporary layer modified to include an element that, when driven into a fin, allows a portion of that fin to be etched away with high selectivity to the surrounding structures.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
- General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- Thin Film Transistor (AREA)
- Insulated Gate Type Field-Effect Transistor (AREA)
Abstract
A method is provided for forming an integrated circuit with FinFETs. Initially, a fin is received with a dummy gate passing thereover. The dummy gate is removed to form a space over the fin. A temporary layer is subsequently placed in the space, and an element from the temporary layer is caused to pass into a portion of the fin to form a modified fin portion. After the temporary layer is removed, at least part of the modified fin portion is etched away to form a gap in the fin.
Description
- This patent application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/964,445 filed Dec. 9, 2015, entitled “METHOD OF CUTTING FINS TO CREATE DIFFUSION BREAKS FOR FINFETS.” The complete disclosure of the aforementioned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/964,445 is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
- The present invention relates to the electrical, electronic, and computer arts, and, more particularly, to methods for cutting fins in integrated circuits comprising FinFETs.
- Multi-gate field-effect transistors (FETs) are of considerable interest because of their superior electrostatic integrity, as well as their promise of lower supply voltages, reduced threshold voltages, and extended scalability. FinFETs are one form of such multi-gate device. In a FinFET, a narrow channel feature (i.e., fin) is raised above the substrate and passes under a gate, which effectively wraps around the fin. The gate is thereby capacitively coupled to the top as well as the sides of the fin. So structured, very little leakage current passes through channel portions of the fin when the device is in the off state. This allows the use of lower threshold voltages and higher switching speeds.
- A single fin may initially be patterned to span across regions that will ultimately be separated into multiple FinFETs. Later, after forming additional elements such as gates and contacts, the fin may be cut to isolate one transistor from another. Ideally, such cutting will utilize as small an area as possible. Nevertheless, cutting just the fins without simultaneously damaging the nearby structures remains challenging. Gas phase plasmas, for example, may be made somewhat selective to silicon, but have enough plasma potential to also etch nearby dielectric materials.
- Embodiments of the invention provide a means for cutting fins in integrated circuits with FinFETs so as to isolate one transistor device from another. Advantageously, the cut may be accomplished in about the width of a gate, making the process extremely space-efficient. Moreover, the ends of the cut fin portions may be terminated in sidewall spacers that both electrically isolate these fin portions, as well as protect them during further processing.
- Aspects of the invention are directed to a method for forming an integrated circuit. Initially, a fin is received with a dummy gate passing thereover. The dummy gate is removed to form a space over the fin. A temporary layer is subsequently placed in the space, and an element from the temporary layer is caused to pass into a portion of the fin to form a modified fin portion. After the temporary layer is removed, at least part of the modified fin portion is etched away to form a gap in the fin.
- Additional aspects of the invention are directed to an integrated circuit formed at least in part using a method like that set forth in the previous paragraph.
- Lastly, even additional aspects of the invention are directed to an integrated circuit comprising a gate, a first fin portion ending in a first terminus, and a second fin portion lined up with the first fin portion and ending in a second terminus. The first terminus and the second terminus are separated by about the width of the gate.
- These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
-
FIG. 1 shows a method for cutting a fin, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention; -
FIG. 2 shows a layout view of a portion of an integrated circuit while performing theFIG. 1 method; -
FIGS. 3A-9B show sectional views along the planes indicated inFIG. 2 of intermediate film stacks that are formed while performing theFIG. 1 method; -
FIG. 10 shows a layout view of a portion of an integrated circuit, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention; an -
FIG. 11 shows a sectional view of an edge portion of theFIG. 10 integrated circuit after performing theFIG. 1 method. - In the sectional views included herein, features present behind the sectional planes are not shown to reduce clutter and enhance clarity.
- The present invention will be described with reference to illustrative embodiments. For this reason, numerous modifications can be made to these embodiments and the results will still come within the scope of the invention. No limitations with respect to the specific embodiments described herein are intended or should be inferred.
- As the term is used herein and in the appended claims, “about” means within plus or minus twenty percent.
-
FIG. 1 shows a flow diagram of amethod 100 for cutting a fin in a FinFET, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention. As will be further elucidated below, the cutting of the fin occurs in a region of a fin that sits immediately below a dummy gate (i.e., a gate feature not intended for use as an active device). Such a region is shown in a layout view inFIG. 2 . InFIG. 2 , arepresentative dummy gate 200 passes over arepresentative fin 205. It is intended that the portion of thefin 205 immediately underneath thedummy gate 200 be cut.FIGS. 3A-9B , in turn, show sectional views of intermediate film stacks along the planes indicated inFIG. 2 as themethod 100 is completed. - Although the
method 100 and the structures formed thereby are entirely novel, many of the individual processing steps required to implement themethod 100 may utilize conventional semiconductor fabrication techniques and conventional semiconductor fabrication tooling. These techniques and tooling will already be familiar to one having ordinary skill in the relevant arts given the teachings herein. Moreover, details of the individual processing steps used to fabricate semiconductor devices described herein may be found in a number of publications, for example, S. Wolf and R. N. Tauber, Silicon Processing for the VLSI Era, Volume 1, Lattice Press, 1986; S. Wolf, Silicon Processing for the VLSI Era, Vol. 4: Deep-Submicron Process Technology, Lattice Press, 2003; and S. M. Sze, VLSI Technology, Second Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1988, all of which are incorporated by reference herein. It is also emphasized that the descriptions provided herein are not intended to encompass all of the processing steps that may be required to successfully form a functional device. Rather, certain processing steps that are conventionally used in forming integrated circuit devices, such as, for example, wet cleaning steps, are purposefully not described herein for economy of description. However, one skilled in the art will readily recognize those processing steps omitted from this more generalized description. - Structural and functional aspects of MOSFETs and FinFETs are described in J. G. Fossum et al., Fundamentals of Ultra-Thin-Body MOSFETs and FinFETs, Cambridge University Press, 2013, which is also hereby incorporated by reference herein.
- Before the
method 100 is started, the integrated circuit comprising thedummy gate 200 and thefin 205 is already partially processed in a manner consistent with a gate-last or replacement metal gate (RMG) process flow.FIGS. 3A and 3B show the state of the region indicated inFIG. 2 at this point in the fabrication process. Thefin 205 is disposed on a buried oxide (BOX)layer 210, which is itself positioned on top of asubstrate 215. Thedummy gate 200 passes over thefin 205 and, in so doing, contacts thefin 205 on three sides.Sidewall spacers 220 are formed on opposing sidewalls of thedummy gate 200. Agate dielectric 225 is disposed between thedummy gate 200 and thefin 205, and anintragate dielectric 230 is present on both sides of thedummy gate 200 and is planar with the top of thedummy gate 200. - In one or more non-limiting embodiments, the
substrate 215 and thefin 205 may be formed of crystalline silicon, and theBOX layer 210, theintragate dielectric 230, and thegate dielectric 225 may be formed of silicon dioxide. Thefin 205 may be doped with boron or phosphorous to be p- or n-type. Thedummy gate 200 may be formed of polysilicon, and thesidewall spacers 220 may be formed of lower-k dielectric materials, such as, siliconborocarbonitride (SiBCN), siliconoxycarbonitride (SiOCN), siliconoxycarbide (SiOC), or some combination thereof. - The method starts in
step 105 with the removal of thedummy gate 200 by, for example, wet etching in hot ammonia (selective to dielectrics) to yield the film stack inFIGS. 4A and 4B . Such processing leaves aspace 235 over thefin 205. Thespace 235 is bordered on two sides by thesidewall spacers 220. - Next, in
step 110, a fin-cuthard mask 240 is formed on the film stack inFIGS. 4A and 4B to yield the film stack inFIGS. 5A and 5B . A purpose of the fin-cuthard mask 240 is to define which fins will be cut and which will remain intact. In the present illustrative embodiment, the fin-cuthard mask 240 is open over thespace 235 previously occupied by thedummy gate 200. In contrast, the fin-cuthard mask 240 is intact over other gates where a fin is not to be cut. In one or more embodiments, the fin-cuthard mask 240 may comprise silicon nitride, and may be formed by conventional deposition, photolithographic, and anisotropic etching steps. Deposition of the fin-cuthard mask 240 may be by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). A photoresist may then be patterned on top of the fin-cuthard mask 240 and its pattern transferred to the underlying material via reactive ion etching (RIE). Thegate dielectric 225 may also be removed during the same RIE step, or a subsequent RIE step. The photoresist may then be stripped. At this point in themethod 100, a portion of thefin 205 immediately below thespace 235 is exposed. This is the portion of thefin 205 to be cut. - Step 115 of the
method 100 involves depositing a germanium-containingtemporary layer 245 into thespace 235 previously occupied by thedummy gate 200 so that thetemporary layer 245 envelopes three faces of the exposed portion of thefin 205. The resultant film stack is shown inFIGS. 6A and 6B . Thetemporary layer 245 may comprise, for example, polycrystalline germanium, amorphous germanium, or some combination of these phases. In alternative embodiments, thetemporary layer 245 may comprise germanium mixed with another element (e.g., silicon). Deposition may be by a conformal deposition process such as, for example, CVD using germane and hydrogen and/or nitrogen as gas-phase reactants. Deposition will also occur on the top of the fin-cuthard mask 240, as indicated in the figures. - Germanium from the
temporary layer 245 is then driven into theunderlying fin 205 instep 120. This diffusion process may be performed by, for example, annealing. Once the drive-in is completed, thetemporary layer 245 may be removed, leaving the film stack shown inFIGS. 7A and 7B . Removal of thetemporary layer 245 may be accomplished by, for example, wet etching in hydrogen peroxide, which tends to etch silicon and dielectric materials quite slowly. At this point in the process, the portion of thefin 205 immediately below thespace 235 has been modified in relation to the remainder of thefin 205 because of the inclusion of germanium from thetemporary layer 245, and this germanium-containing portion is now labeled and referenced as a “modified fin portion” 205′. While not explicitly shown in the figures, some of the germanium from thetemporary layer 245 may migrate into portions of thefin 205 underlying thesidewall spacers 220, but this lateral spreading is not particularly critical so long as it is not excessive. The extent of such migration may be controlled by the annealing temperature as well as time-at-temperature. - With the modified
fin portion 205′ now comprising a significant concentration of germanium,step 130 involves selectively removing the modifiedfin portion 205′ without significantly altering the exposed portions of the unmodified fin 205 (e.g., silicon), the BOX layer 210 (e.g., silicon dioxide), the fin-cut hard mask 245 (e.g., silicon nitride), and the sidewall spacers 220 (e.g., SiBCN, SiOCN, and/or SiOC). Silicon-germanium tends to be very susceptible to etching by hydrogen chloride. Therefore, in one or more embodiments,step 130 may utilize vapor phase etching (VPE) with hydrogen chloride to remove the modifiedfin portion 205′. With thefin 205 now cut, the fin-cuthard mask 240 may be etched away via wet etching. This wet etching may include, for example, hot phosphoric acid, which would etch silicon nitride selective to the other exposed materials. The resultant film stack is shown inFIGS. 8A and 8B . - Finally, with the
fin 205 now cut,step 135 has additionalinside sidewall spacers 250 formed inside thespace 235 left between theoriginal sidewall spacers 220. That is, theinside sidewall spacers 250 occupy a region from which the modifiedfin portion 205′ has been etched away. The resultant film stack is shown inFIGS. 9A and 9B . Theinside sidewall spacers 250 may comprise silicon nitride or silicon oxynitride, and may be formed by a conventional spacer formation process, namely, a conformal deposition process (e.g., CVD) followed by an anisotropic etch process (e.g., RIE) that acts to remove the just-deposited material from the horizontal surfaces. After formation, theinside sidewall spacers 250 act to both electrically isolate the ends of thefins 205 as well as protect thesefins 205 during subsequent processing. - Thus, the
method 100, and more generally, methods falling within the scope of the invention, are operative to effectively cut a fin within the confines of a single gate. So cut, what was once a single fin, now defines a first fin with a first terminus, and a second fin with a second terminus in spaced relation to the first terminus and in line with the first fin (FIG. 9B ). The distance between the first terminus and the second terminus is about equal to the width of a dummy gate that originally occupied the space immediately above the cut fin. - The
method 100 thereby becomes an excellent way to cut fins in a space-efficient manner in integrated circuits comprising FinFETs.FIG. 10 shows a layout view of an exemplary region of a partially-formed integrated circuit, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention. In this integrated circuit, fins have been formed running left-to-right, and dummy have been formed up-down so that the gates cross over the fins. - The region of the integrated circuit shown in
FIG. 10 comprises twodummy gates 1000 that will ultimately be replaced by active gate conductors to regulate two separate banks of FinFETs. Amiddle dummy gate 1005 is disposed between the two banks of FinFETs.Edge dummy gates 1010 are positioned at the edges of the banks. Notably, the fins in the left bank are continuous with the fins in the right bank. That is, the fins have not yet been cut, and the banks are not yet electrically isolated. - The
method 100 may be utilized to cut the fins under the middle and edgedummy gates FIG. 10 . The regions of the integrated circuit falling outside the indicated boundaries are covered, while the regions within the indicated boundaries are not covered. Accordingly, it will be observed that the fin-cut mask exposes themiddle dummy gate 1005 and about half of each of theedge dummy gates 1010. With this fin-cut mask, practicing themethod 100 has the effect of cutting the fins immediately underneath themiddle dummy gate 1005. In this manner, the two banks of FinFETs are isolated from each other in the width of about a gate, in the manner indicated inFIGS. 9A and 9B . At the same time, underneath theedge dummy gates 1010, a film stack similar to that shown in the sectional view inFIG. 11 is produced (where the cleave plane is parallel to the fin 205). In this edge region, a terminus of thefin 205 is covered in a self-alignedsidewall spacer 260 that effectively isolates that portion of thefin 205 from subsequent processing steps. - The formation of a diffusion break in a fin in about the width of a dummy gate is extremely space-efficient. It should be compared to, for example, other designs wherein the entire region between two gates is utilized to create a diffusion break. The smaller area in accordance with methods set forth herein is due at least in part to the excellent selectivity that is achieved when etching portions of fins that have been converted to silicon-germanium.
- The methods described above are used in the fabrication of integrated circuit chips. The resulting integrated circuit chips can be distributed by the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as a single wafer that has multiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die, or in a packaged form. In the latter case the chip is mounted in a single chip package (such as a plastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or other higher level carrier) or in a multichip package (such as a ceramic carrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buried interconnections). In any case, the chip is then integrated with other chips, discrete circuit elements, and/or other signal processing devices as part of either (a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or (b) an end product. The end product can be any product that includes integrated circuit chips, ranging from toys and other low-end applications to advanced computer products having a display, a keyboard or other input devices, and a central processor. These integrated circuits and end products would also fall within the scope of the invention.
- It should again be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to be illustrative only. Other embodiments may, for example, utilize different materials and processing steps from those expressly set forth above to achieve embodiments falling within the scope of the invention. These many alternative embodiments will be apparent to one having ordinary skill in the relevant arts. In other embodiments, for example, a FinFET may be formed with III-V materials, and the temporary layer modified to include an element that, when driven into a fin, allows a portion of that fin to be etched away with high selectivity to the surrounding structures.
- All the features disclosed herein may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent, or similar purposes, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
- Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function or “step for” performing a specified function is not to be interpreted as a “means for” or “step for” clause as specified in AIA 35 U.S.C. §112(f). In particular, the use of “steps of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of AIA 35 U.S.C. §112(f).
Claims (2)
1. An integrated circuit comprising:
a gate;
a first fin portion ending in a first terminus; and
a second fin portion lined up with the first fin portion and ending in a second terminus;
wherein the first terminus and the second terminus are separated by about a width of the gate.
2. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first sidewall spacer abutting the first terminus; and
a second sidewall spacer abutting the second terminus.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US15/403,170 US20170170176A1 (en) | 2015-12-09 | 2017-01-10 | Method of cutting fins to create diffusion breaks for finfets |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US14/964,445 US9978748B2 (en) | 2015-12-09 | 2015-12-09 | Method of cutting fins to create diffusion breaks for finFETs |
US15/403,170 US20170170176A1 (en) | 2015-12-09 | 2017-01-10 | Method of cutting fins to create diffusion breaks for finfets |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US14/964,445 Division US9978748B2 (en) | 2015-12-09 | 2015-12-09 | Method of cutting fins to create diffusion breaks for finFETs |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20170170176A1 true US20170170176A1 (en) | 2017-06-15 |
Family
ID=59020179
Family Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US14/964,445 Active US9978748B2 (en) | 2015-12-09 | 2015-12-09 | Method of cutting fins to create diffusion breaks for finFETs |
US15/403,170 Abandoned US20170170176A1 (en) | 2015-12-09 | 2017-01-10 | Method of cutting fins to create diffusion breaks for finfets |
Family Applications Before (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US14/964,445 Active US9978748B2 (en) | 2015-12-09 | 2015-12-09 | Method of cutting fins to create diffusion breaks for finFETs |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (2) | US9978748B2 (en) |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN109841618A (en) * | 2017-11-29 | 2019-06-04 | 台湾积体电路制造股份有限公司 | Semiconductor structure cutting technique and the structure being consequently formed |
US10734224B2 (en) | 2017-08-16 | 2020-08-04 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method and device for incorporating single diffusion break into nanochannel structures of FET devices |
US10910376B2 (en) | 2018-08-14 | 2021-02-02 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Semiconductor devices including diffusion break regions |
Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20040266076A1 (en) * | 2003-06-26 | 2004-12-30 | International Business Machines Corporation | HYBRID PLANAR AND FinFET CMOS DEVICES |
US20130082308A1 (en) * | 2011-10-03 | 2013-04-04 | International Business Machines Corporation | Semiconductor devices with raised extensions |
US20150287650A1 (en) * | 2014-04-04 | 2015-10-08 | International Business Machines Corporation | Iii-v, ge, or sige fin base lateral bipolar transistor structure and method |
US20150318377A1 (en) * | 2014-05-01 | 2015-11-05 | International Business Machines Corporation | Finfet with epitaxial source and drain regions and dielectric isolated channel region |
US20150364578A1 (en) * | 2014-06-17 | 2015-12-17 | Stmicroelectronics, Inc. | Method of forming a reduced resistance fin structure |
Family Cites Families (11)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
KR100578130B1 (en) | 2003-10-14 | 2006-05-10 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Multi silicon fins for finfet and method for fabricating the same |
US7858481B2 (en) * | 2005-06-15 | 2010-12-28 | Intel Corporation | Method for fabricating transistor with thinned channel |
US7785982B2 (en) | 2007-01-05 | 2010-08-31 | International Business Machines Corporation | Structures containing electrodeposited germanium and methods for their fabrication |
EP2206808B1 (en) | 2008-12-23 | 2017-07-12 | Imec | Method for manufacturing a mono-crystalline semiconductor layer on a substrate |
US8368127B2 (en) | 2009-10-08 | 2013-02-05 | Globalfoundries Singapore Pte., Ltd. | Method of fabricating a silicon tunneling field effect transistor (TFET) with high drive current |
US20130175579A1 (en) * | 2012-01-10 | 2013-07-11 | International Business Machines Corporation | Transistor with recessed channel and raised source/drain |
US8809178B2 (en) * | 2012-02-29 | 2014-08-19 | Globalfoundries Inc. | Methods of forming bulk FinFET devices with replacement gates so as to reduce punch through leakage currents |
CN104022037B (en) * | 2013-02-28 | 2016-08-31 | 中芯国际集成电路制造(上海)有限公司 | Fin formula field effect transistor and forming method thereof |
US8993399B2 (en) * | 2013-05-17 | 2015-03-31 | International Business Machines Corporation | FinFET structures having silicon germanium and silicon fins |
US20150097217A1 (en) | 2013-10-03 | 2015-04-09 | International Business Machines Corporation | Semiconductor attenuated fins |
US9412603B2 (en) | 2013-11-19 | 2016-08-09 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Trimming silicon fin width through oxidation and etch |
-
2015
- 2015-12-09 US US14/964,445 patent/US9978748B2/en active Active
-
2017
- 2017-01-10 US US15/403,170 patent/US20170170176A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20040266076A1 (en) * | 2003-06-26 | 2004-12-30 | International Business Machines Corporation | HYBRID PLANAR AND FinFET CMOS DEVICES |
US20130082308A1 (en) * | 2011-10-03 | 2013-04-04 | International Business Machines Corporation | Semiconductor devices with raised extensions |
US20150287650A1 (en) * | 2014-04-04 | 2015-10-08 | International Business Machines Corporation | Iii-v, ge, or sige fin base lateral bipolar transistor structure and method |
US20150318377A1 (en) * | 2014-05-01 | 2015-11-05 | International Business Machines Corporation | Finfet with epitaxial source and drain regions and dielectric isolated channel region |
US20150364578A1 (en) * | 2014-06-17 | 2015-12-17 | Stmicroelectronics, Inc. | Method of forming a reduced resistance fin structure |
Cited By (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US10734224B2 (en) | 2017-08-16 | 2020-08-04 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Method and device for incorporating single diffusion break into nanochannel structures of FET devices |
CN109841618A (en) * | 2017-11-29 | 2019-06-04 | 台湾积体电路制造股份有限公司 | Semiconductor structure cutting technique and the structure being consequently formed |
US11114549B2 (en) | 2017-11-29 | 2021-09-07 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Semiconductor structure cutting process and structures formed thereby |
US12027608B2 (en) | 2017-11-29 | 2024-07-02 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | Semiconductor structure having dielectric structure extending into second cavity of semiconductor Fin |
US10910376B2 (en) | 2018-08-14 | 2021-02-02 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Semiconductor devices including diffusion break regions |
US11380687B2 (en) | 2018-08-14 | 2022-07-05 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Semiconductor devices including diffusion break regions |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US20170170171A1 (en) | 2017-06-15 |
US9978748B2 (en) | 2018-05-22 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US9589845B1 (en) | Fin cut enabling single diffusion breaks | |
US6709982B1 (en) | Double spacer FinFET formation | |
US20190027558A1 (en) | Fin Recess Last Process for FinFET Fabrication | |
US6645797B1 (en) | Method for forming fins in a FinFET device using sacrificial carbon layer | |
KR101637679B1 (en) | Mechanisms for forming finfet device | |
US8174073B2 (en) | Integrated circuit structures with multiple FinFETs | |
KR101496519B1 (en) | Dummy FinFET Structure and Method of Making Same | |
US8648400B2 (en) | FinFET semiconductor device with germanium (GE) fins | |
US8900973B2 (en) | Method to enable compressively strained pFET channel in a FinFET structure by implant and thermal diffusion | |
US10283636B2 (en) | Vertical FET with strained channel | |
US12027607B2 (en) | Methods for GAA I/O formation by selective epi regrowth | |
US10170471B2 (en) | Bulk fin formation with vertical fin sidewall profile | |
US10256155B1 (en) | Method for fabricating single diffusion break structure directly under a gate line | |
CN104916541A (en) | Methods of forming semiconductor devices and FinFET devices, and FinFET devices | |
US20170170176A1 (en) | Method of cutting fins to create diffusion breaks for finfets | |
US9620589B2 (en) | Integrated circuits and methods of fabrication thereof | |
US8963254B2 (en) | Simultaneous formation of FinFET and MUGFET | |
US20180254340A1 (en) | Tunnel finfet with self-aligned gate | |
US9735058B2 (en) | Method of forming performance optimized gate structures by silicidizing lowered source and drain regions | |
JP2024102121A (en) | HORIZONTAL GATE-ALL-AROUND (hGAA) NANO-WIRE AND NANO-SLAB TRANSISTORS | |
US8957479B2 (en) | Formation of multi-height MUGFET | |
US9530701B2 (en) | Method of forming semiconductor fins on SOI substrate |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION, NEW Y Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:JAGANNATHAN, HEMANTH;KANAKASABAPATHY, SIVANANDA K.;REZNICEK, ALEXANDER;REEL/FRAME:040939/0426 Effective date: 20151204 |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: FINAL REJECTION MAILED |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |