Semiconductor device manufacturing: process – Making passive device – Stacked capacitor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-27
2002-06-04
Dang, Trung (Department: 2823)
Semiconductor device manufacturing: process
Making passive device
Stacked capacitor
C438S240000, C438S255000, C438S381000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06399459
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device and method of fabricating same. More particularly, the present invention relates to capacitor fabrication techniques applicable to dynamic random access memories (“DRAMs”) utilizing high dielectric constant (“HDC”) materials with hemispherical grain (“HSG”) silicon and utilizing a double layer electrode having a useful barrier system during the fabrication of the same.
2. State of the Art
A widely utilized DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) manufacturing process utilizes MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) technology to produce DRAM circuits which comprise an array of unit memory cells, each including one capacitor and one transistor, such as a field effect transistor (“FET”). In the most common circuit designs, one side of the transistor is connected to external circuit lines called the bit line and the word line, and the other side of the capacitor is connected to a reference voltage that is typically one-half the internal circuit voltage. In such memory cells, an electrical signal charge is stored in a storage node of the capacitor connected to the transistor which charges and discharges circuit lines of the capacitor.
Higher performance, lower cost, increased miniaturization of components, and greater packaging density of integrated circuits are ongoing goals of the computer industry. The advantages of increased miniaturization of components include: reduced-bulk electronic equipment, improved reliability by reducing the number of solder or plug connections, lower assembly and packaging costs, and improved circuit performance. In pursuit of increased miniaturization, DRAM chips have been continually redesigned to achieve ever higher degrees of integration which has reduced the size of the DRAM. However, as the dimensions of the DRAM are reduced, the occupation area of each unit memory cell of the DRAM must be reduced. This reduction in occupied area necessarily results in a reduction of the dimensions of the capacitor, which, in turn, makes it difficult to ensure required storage capacitance for transmitting a desired signal without malfunction. However, the ability to densely pack the unit memory cells while maintaining required capacitance levels is a crucial requirement of semiconductor manufacturing technologies if future generations of DRAM devices are to be successfully manufactured.
In addition to the need for smaller components, there has also been a growing demand for devices having lower power consumption. In the manufacture of transistors, these trends have led the industry to refine approaches to achieve thinner cell dielectric and conductive layers. These trends have also added to the difficulty of ensuring storage capacitance for transmitting a desired signal without malfunction.
In order to minimize such a decrease in storage capacitance caused by the reduced occupied area of the capacitor, the capacitor should have a relatively large surface area within the limited region defined on a semiconductor substrate. The drive to produce smaller DRAM circuits has given rise to a great deal of capacitor development. However, for reasons of available capacitance, reliability, and ease of fabrication, most capacitors are stacked capacitors in which the capacitor covers nearly the entire area of a cell and in which vertical portions of the capacitor contribute significantly to the total charge storage capacity. In such designs, the side of the capacitor connected to the transistor is generally called the “storage node” or “storage poly” since the material out of which is it formed is doped polysilicon, while the polysilicon layer defining the side of the capacitor connected to the reference voltage mentioned above is called the “cell poly.”
One method used for increasing the surface area of a capacitor involves forming rough or irregular storage node or electrode surfaces. Commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,494,841, 5,407,534, 5,340,765, 5,340,763, 5,338,700, hereby incorporated herein by reference, each teach forming a rough surface on the capacitor storage node by depositing a hemispherical grain polysilicon on the capacitor storage node, then blanket etching the hemispherical grain polysilicon (or similar technique), which forms a roughened layer of polysilicon that increases the overall surface area in a given unit area over a normally smooth surface. With the increased surface area caused by the roughened surface, a higher storage capacitance can be achieved.
Another method of increasing the capacitance capability of a capacitor is through the use of high dielectric constant materials. The “dielectric constant” is a value characteristic of a material which is proportional to the amount of charge that can be stored in the material when it is interposed between two electrodes. HDC materials generally have dielectric constant values greater than 50 at the normal semiconductor device operating temperatures. High dielectric constant materials which can be used in capacitor fabrication include perovskite, Ba
x
Sr
(z-x)
TiO
3
[“BST”], Sr
(z-x)
TiO
3
[“ST”], BaTiO
3
, SrTiO
3
, PbTiO
3
, Pb(Zr,Ti)O
3
[“PZT”], (Pb,La,Zr,Ti)O
3
[“PLZT”], (Pb,La)TiO
3
[“PLT”], KNO
3
, and LiNbO
3
. Unfortunately, most high dielectric constant materials are incompatible with existing processes and cannot be simply deposited on a polysilicon electrode as are presently utilized dielectric materials, such as Si
3
N
4
, SiO
2
, and Si
3
N
4
/SiO
2
composite layers. The incompatibility is a result of the O
2
-rich ambient atmosphere present during high dielectric constant material deposition or during annealing steps. The O
2
oxidizes portions of the material used for the storage node plate. Thus, barrier layers must be used to prevent oxidation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,302, issued Jan. 10, 1995 to Sandhu et al., teaches methods for fabricating capacitors compatible with high dielectric constant materials wherein a storage node electrode is provided with a barrier layer, such as titanium nitride, which prohibits diffusion of atoms.
Various metals and metallic compounds, and typically noble metals, such as platinum (“Pt”), and conductive oxides, such as ruthenium dioxide (“RuO
2
”), have been proposed as the electrodes for use with HDC materials. However, there are several problems with the materials in standard thin film applications. For example, platinum, which is unreactive with respect to the HDC material, is difficult to use as an electrode, because platinum generally allows oxygen to diffuse through it, which renders neighboring materials susceptible to oxidization. Additionally, platinum also does not normally stick very well to traditional dielectrics, such as silicon dioxide or silicon nitride, and platinum can rapidly transform into platinum silicide at low temperatures. Thus, a tantalum or a titanium nitride layer has been suggested as an adhesion layer under the platinum electrode. However, during the deposition or annealing of the HDC material, oxygen can diffuse through the platinum and oxidize the adhesion layer and make the adhesion layer less conductive. Further, the substrate, such as a silicon-containing material, can become undesirably oxidized during the deposition of the HDC material when a platinum electrode is used.
Conductive oxides, such as ruthenium dioxide, may also exhibit problems in standard thin film structures. For example, the electrical properties of the structures formed using these oxides are usually inferior to those formed using platinum. Many thin film applications require small leakage current density in addition to a large capacitance per unit area. The leakage current is sensitive to many variables such as thickness, structure, electrode geometry, and material composition. For example, the leakage current of the HDC material, lead zirconium titanate (PZT), using ruthenium dioxide electrodes is several orders of magnitude larger than the leakage current of PZT using platinum electrodes.
U.S. Pat. No
Al-Shareef Husam N.
DeBoer Scott
Thakur Randhir
Dang Trung
Micro)n Technology, Inc.
TraskBritt
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