Abstract:
A method for limiting divot formation in shallow trench isolation structures. The method includes: providing a trench formed in a silicon region with a deposited oxide; oxidizing a top layer of the silicon region to form a layer of thermal oxide on top of the silicon region; and selectively etching the thermal oxide with respect to the deposited oxide.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the fabrication of semiconductor devices; more specifically, it relates to method for limiting divot formation in a shallow trench isolation (STI) structures used in semiconductor devices. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The trend in semiconductor device fabrication towards smaller, faster and more densely packed devices has led to the development of STI and as gate dielectrics have trended thinner, nitrogen implanted gate dielectrics. In the STI technique, a trench surrounding a semiconductor device such as a transistor is etched into a semiconductor substrate and then filled with a dielectric material. In the nitrogen implanted gate dielectric technique, nitrogen atoms are introduced into gate oxide in order to increase the dielectric constant of the gate. A side effect of this implant has been to increase the etch rate of the STI dielectric. Increasing the etch rate of the STI dielectric has lead to an increase in the propensity for and size of STI divots. 
     FIG. 1 is a top view of a semiconductor transistor illustrating an STI divot. In FIG. 1, semiconductor device  100  (in the present example a complementary metal oxide silicon (CMOS) transistor, is surrounded by an STI dielectric  105 . Semiconductor device  100  includes source/drain regions  110  formed in silicon and separated by a channel region  115 . A gate  120  (generally polysilicon over a gate dielectric) is formed over channel region  115  and overlaps source/drain regions  110 . A divot  125  has been formed in STI  105  adjacent to semiconductor device  100 . 
     FIG. 2 is a side view through  2 — 2  of FIG.  1 . FIG. 5 illustrates the device of FIG. 1 fabricated in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. In SOI technology, a layer of oxide is formed on a silicon substrate and a silicon layer formed on the oxide layer. In FIG. 2, channel region  115  and STI  105  are formed on top of a buried oxide (BOX) layer  135 . Gate dielectric  130  and gate  120  are formed over STI  105  and channel region  115 . Divot  125  clearly illustrated in STI  105  where the STI and channel region  115  meet. The thickness of channel region  115  is “D1” under gate  120 , but decreases to thickness “D2” at the STI  105 /channel region  115  interface due to the presence of divot  125  in the STI. Gate dielectric  130  and gate  120  fill in divot  125  forming a “corner device.” A corner device causes leakage because a conductive inversion layer will form in channel region  115  near divot  125  at a lower voltage than the normal turn-on voltage of the central portions of the device because “D2” is less than “D1.” 
     Referring again to FIG. 1, divot  125  extends along the entire periphery of semiconductor device  100 . In addition to the “corner” device described above, divot  125  may result in the need to over-etch gate polysilicon during definition of gate  120  in order to remove polysilicon from the divot. If polysilicon is not removed from divot  125 , gate to source/drain shorts may result. If the over etch is too much, then punch through of gate oxide  130  (see FIG. 2) may occur during the definition of gate  120  resulting in unwanted etching of the underlying silicon. A method that eliminates or reduces STI divot formation would eliminate or reduce both the leakage problem and polysilicon etch related problems. However, to be economically viable, such a method must add as little change to the current fabrication processes as possible. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A first aspect of the present invention is a method for limiting divot formation in shallow trench isolation structures comprising: providing a trench formed in a silicon region with a deposited oxide within the trench; oxidizing a top layer of the silicon region to form a layer of thermal oxide on top of the silicon region; and selectively etching the thermal oxide with respect to the deposited oxide. 
     A second aspect of the present invention is a method for forming shallow trench isolation structures comprising: forming a layer of thermal oxide on a silicon region; forming a trench through the layer of thermal oxide into the silicon region; filling the trench with a deposited oxide; and selectively etching the thermal oxide with respect to the deposited oxide. 
     A third aspect of the present invention is a method for forming shallow trench isolation structures comprising: forming a first layer of thermal oxide on a silicon region; forming a trench through the first layer of thermal oxide into the silicon region; filling the trench with a deposited oxide; removing the first layer of thermal oxide and a top surface portion of the deposited oxide; forming a second layer of thermal oxide on the silicon region; and selectively etching predefined areas of the second layer of thermal oxide with respect to the deposited oxide. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     The features of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a top view of a semiconductor transistor illustrating an STI divot; 
     FIG. 2 is a side view through  2 — 2  of FIG. 1; 
     FIGS. 3A through 3G are partial cross-sectional views illustrating STI divot formation; and 
     FIGS. 4A through 4G are partial cross-sectional views illustrating the method of reducing STI divot formation according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS. 3A through 3G are partial cross-sectional views illustrating STI divot formation. In FIG. 3A, a silicon substrate  140  has a top surface  145 . Formed on top surface  145  of silicon substrate  140  is a BOX layer  150  having a top surface  155 . Formed on top surface  155  of BOX layer  150  is a silicon layer  160  having a top surface  165 . In one example, silicon layer  160  is about 300 to 2000 Å thick. Formed on top surface  165  of silicon layer  160  is a pad oxide layer  170  having a top surface  175 . Formed on top surface  175  of pad oxide layer  170  is a pad nitride layer  180 . In one example, pad oxide layer  170  is a thermal oxide formed by oxidation of upper portions of silicon layer  160  and is about 60 to 250 Å thick and pad nitride layer  180  is formed by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process and is about 500 to 1500 Å thick. 
     In FIG. 3B, a trench  185  is formed through pad nitride layer  180 , pad oxide layer  170  and silicon layer  160  to expose top surface  155  of BOX layer  150 . Trench  185  is formed by forming and patterning a photoresist layer on pad nitride layer  180 , plasma etching the pad nitride layer, stripping the photoresist layer, wet etching the pad oxide layer, and plasma etching the silicon layer. Trench  185  is “W1” wide. In one example, “W1” is 500 Å or greater. 
     In FIG. 3C, trench  185  (see FIG. 3B) is filled with dielectric, in the present example, a high-density plasma (HDP) oxide; the oxide is chemically-mechanically-polished (CMP) to form STI  190  and pad nitride layer  180  (see FIG. 3B) removed. The removal of pad nitride layer  180  reduces the thickness of pad oxide layer  170  from about 60 to 250 Å to about 45 to 250 Å. 
     In FIG. 3D, pad oxide layer  170  (see FIG. 3C) is removed using a dilute hydrofluoric acid etchant (DHF) to expose top surface  165  of silicon layer  160 . DHF comprises an aqueous solution of 1 part 49% HF by weight to 8 parts of water by weight. The etch rate of the HDP oxide of STI  190  in DHF is about one to three times the etch rate of the thermal oxide of pad oxide layer  170  in DHF. In order to ensure that all of pad oxide layer  170  is removed an over etch is performed. The etch time of the pad oxide layer removal process in DHF is selected to remove about 70 to 400 Å of pad oxide, though only about 45 to 250 Å are present. Some of STI  190  is also removed. After removal of pad oxide layer  170 , STI  190  extends a distance “D3” above top surface  165  of silicon layer  160 . In one example, “D3” is about 700 to 1300 Å. Since DHF is an isotropic etchant for oxides, that is, DHF etches in all directions equally; concavities  195  are formed along the exposed periphery of STI  190 . 
     In FIG. 3E, a sacrificial oxide layer  200  is thermally grown on top surface  165  of silicon layer  160 . By the nature of thermal oxidation processes, an upper portion of silicon layer  160  is converted to silicon oxide. In one example, sacrificial oxide layer  200  is 40 to 250 Å thick. At this point, various fabrication processes may be performed. For example, in the case of complementary-metal-oxide-silicon (CMOS) device fabrication Nwell and Pwell ion implants are performed. The purpose of sacrificial oxide layer  200  is to protect top surface  165  of silicon layer  160 . 
     In FIG. 3F, sacrificial oxide layer  200  (see FIG. 3E) is removed using DHF. In order to ensure that all of sacrificial oxide layer  200  is removed an over etch is performed. The etch time of the sacrificial oxide layer removal process in DHF is selected to remove about 70 to 400 Å of sacrificial oxide, though only about 40 to 250 Å are present. Continuing the example of a CMOS device, about a 20 to 70 Å thick thermal gate oxide layer  202  is grown on top surface  165  of silicon layer  160 . A nitrogen ion implantation is then performed. 
     In FIG. 3G, gate oxide layer  202  is etched in buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF.) BHF is comprised of one part of 49% HF, five parts of 30% NH 4 OH and eight parts of water, all by weight. BHF is an isotropic etchant for oxides. Wherever the nitrogen implant impinges on STI  190 , the etch rate of the HDP oxide in BHF increases from about 1.5 times that of thermal oxide to about 6 times that of thermal oxide. In order to ensure that the gate oxide layer is etched through completely an over etch is performed. The etch time of the gate oxide layer etch process in BHF is selected to remove about 40 to 140 Å of gate oxide, though only about 20 to 70 Å are present. This increased etch rate of nitrogen implanted HDP in BHF results in formation of large divots  205  along the periphery of STI  190  when the gate oxide is etched. Divot  205  extends a linear distance “D5” below top surface  165  of silicon layer  160  and is a linear distance “D6” wide. In one example, “D5” and “D6” are in excess of about 500 Å. 
     FIGS. 4A through 4G are partial cross-sectional views illustrating the method of reducing STI divot formation according to the present invention. In FIG. 4A, a silicon substrate  240  has a top surface  245 . Formed on top surface  245  of silicon substrate  240  is a BOX layer  250  have a top surface  255 . Formed on top surface  255  of BOX layer  250  is a silicon layer  260  having a top surface  265 . In one example, silicon layer  260  is about 300 to 2000 Å thick. Formed on top surface  265  of silicon layer  260  is a pad oxide layer  270  having a top surface  275 . Formed on top surface  275  of pad oxide layer  270  is a pad nitride layer  280 . In one example, pad oxide layer  270  is a thermal oxide formed by oxidation of upper portions of silicon layer  270  and is about 60 to 250 Å thick and pad nitride layer  280  is formed by a CVD process and is about 500 to 1500 Å thick. 
     In FIG. 4B, a trench  285  is formed through pad nitride layer  280 , pad oxide layer  270  and silicon layer  260  to expose top surface  255  of BOX layer  250 . Trench  285  is formed by forming and patterning a photoresist layer on pad nitride layer  280 , plasma etching the pad nitride layer, stripping the photoresist layer, wet etching the pad oxide layer, and plasma etching the silicon layer. Trench  285  is “W2” wide. In one example, “W2” is 500 Å or greater. 
     In FIG. 4C, trench  285  (see FIG. 4B) is filled with dielectric, in the present example, a high-density plasma (HDP) oxide; the oxide is chemically-mechanically-polished (CMP) to form STI  290  and pad nitride layer  280  (see FIG. 4B) removed. HDP oxide may be formed in a Concept Tool manufactured by Novellus Corp. of San Jose, Calif. running a mixture of SiH 4  and O 2  gases at about 3600 to 4000 watts and about 100 millitorr. Alternative dielectrics for STI  290  include high temperature CVD (HTCVD) oxide, low pressure CVD (LPCVD) oxide, tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) oxide and other deposited oxides. The removal of pad nitride layer  280  reduces the thickness of pad oxide layer  270  from about 60 to 250 Å to about 45 to 250 Å. 
     In FIG. 4D, pad oxide layer  270  (see FIG. 4C) is removed using DHF to expose top surface  265  of silicon layer  260 . DHF comprises an aqueous solution of 1 part 49% HF by weight to 80 parts of water by weight. The etch rate of the HDP oxide of STI  290  in DHF is about one to two times the etch rate of the thermal oxide of pad oxide layer  270  in DHF. In order to ensure that all of pad oxide layer  270  is removed an over etch is performed. The etch time of the pad oxide layer removal process in DHF is selected to remove about 70 to 400 Å of pad oxide, though only about 45 to 250 Å are present. 
     Alternatively, a chemical oxide removal (COR) process may be used to remove pad oxide layer  270 . COR is a two-step process. The first step of COR may be run in an AMAT 5000 tool manufactured by AME Corp of Santa Clara, Calif., using a mixture of NH3 at a flow rate of about 1 to 35 sccm and HF vapor at a flow rate of about 0 to 100 sccm, a pressure of 2 to 100 millitorr and a temperature of about 15 to 35° C. In the first step a self-passivating oxide layer and an ammonium biflouride by-product are formed. The second step of COR is a 100° C. insitu thermal desorption anneal. The first and second steps are repeated as many times are required to remove the desired thickness of oxide. The etch rate of the HDP oxide of STI  290  in COR is about the same as the etch rate of the thermal oxide of pad oxide layer  270  in COR. In order to ensure that all of pad oxide layer  270  is removed an over etch is performed. The COR pad oxide layer removal process is performed a sufficient number of times to remove about 60 to 400 Å of pad oxide, though only about 45 to 250 Å are present. 
     Some of STI  290  is also removed. After removal of pad oxide layer  270 , STI  290  extends a distance “D7” above top surface  265  of silicon layer  260 . In one example, “D7” using a COR process is about 800 to 1500 Å and using a DHF etchant about 700 to 1300 Å. Since both COR and DHF are isotropic etchants for oxides concavities  295  are formed along the exposed periphery of STI  290 . 
     In FIG. 4E, a sacrificial oxide layer  300  is thermally grown on top surface  265  of silicon layer  260 . By the nature of thermal oxidation processes, an upper portion of silicon layer  260  is converted to silicon oxide. In one example, sacrificial oxide layer 300 is 40 to 250 Å thick. At this point, various fabrication processes may be performed. For example, in the case of complementary-metal-oxide-silicon (CMOS) device fabrication Nwell and Pwell ion implants are performed. The purpose of sacrificial oxide layer  300  is to protect top surface  265  of silicon layer  260 . 
     In FIG. 4F, sacrificial oxide layer  300  (see FIG. 4E) is removed using DHF. In order to ensure that all of sacrificial oxide layer  300  is removed an over etch is performed. The etch time of the sacrificial oxide layer removal process in DHF is selected to remove about 70 to 400 Å of sacrificial oxide, though only about 40 to 250 Å are present. 
     Alternatively, a COR process may be used to remove sacrificial oxide layer  300 . The COR pad oxide layer removal process is performed a sufficient number of times to remove about 60 to 400 Å of sacrificial oxide layer  300 , though only about 40 to 250 Å are present. 
     Continuing the example of a CMOS device, about a 20 to 70 Å thick thermal gate oxide layer  302  is grown on top surface  265  of silicon layer 260. Å nitrogen ion implantation is then performed. 
     In FIG. 4G, gate oxide layer  302  is etched using a COR process. Wherever the nitrogen implant impinges on STI  290 , the COR etch rate of the HDP oxide decreases to about one half or less that of thermal oxide. In other words, the etch rate ratio between the gate (thermal) oxide and nitrogen implanted HDP (deposited) oxide is at least 1:1. In order to ensure that the gate oxide layer is etched through completely an over etch is performed. The COR gate oxide layer removal process is performed a sufficient number of times to remove about 40 to 140 Å of gate oxide. The decreased etch rate of nitrogen implanted HDP by COR processing and the self-limiting nature of COR oxide etching results in elimination of or reduced size divots  305  along the periphery of STI  290  when the gate oxide is etched. Divot  305  extends a distance “D8” below top surface  265  of silicon layer  260  and is “D9” wide. In one example, “D8” is about 0 to 20 Å and “D9” is about 0 to 250 Å. 
     Table I shows the amount of HDP (HDP) oxide lost (based on experimental measurement) when DHF and BHF are used to strip (etch) pad oxide, sacrificial oxide and gate oxide layers vs. when a COR process is used to strip (remove) pad oxide, sacrificial oxide and gate oxide layers. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE I 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 AMOUNT OF HDP (STI) OXIDE LOSS 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 PAD OXIDE 
                 SACRIFICIAL OXIDE 
                 GATE OXIDE 
               
               
                 PROCESS 
                 STRIP 
                 STRIP 
                 STRIP 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 DHF 
                 120 
                 Å 
                 120 
                 Å 
                   
                   
               
               
                 BHF 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 370 
                 Å 
               
               
                 COR 
                 80 
                 Å 
                 72 
                 Å 
                 37 
                 Å 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     As may be seen from Table I, the use of COR is most efficacious in terms of not removing HDP (STI) when used for gate oxide strip (providing for ten times less HDP loss), but also has significant effect on HDP (STI) when used for pad oxide and sacrificial oxide strip. In both processes (DHF/BHF vs. COR) the HDP (STI) was subjected to a nitrogen ion implant and the same thicknesses of pad oxide, sacrificial oxide and gate oxide were stripped. Different amounts of HDP (STI) were lost because the pad oxide, sacrificial oxide and gate oxide were of different thicknesses from one another requiring different etch times. 
     The description of the embodiments of the present invention is given above for the understanding of the present invention. It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein, but is capable of various modifications, rearrangements and substitutions as will now become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, nitrogen implantation may be replaced with implantation of other atoms such as argon, hydrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, boron, helium and germanium. Also, while the present invention has been illustrated and described for SOI technology, the invention is also applicable to bulk silicon technology. Therefore it is intended that the following claims cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.