Abstract:
A method is provided for manufacturing a semiconductor memory device, particularly ferroelectric devices, in which an interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer formed on an upper part of a semiconductor substrate containing a capacitor structure is etched under conditions in which the plasma electron temperature is maintained in a range between 2.0 eV and 4.0 eV to open contact holes to expose the capacitor structure and thereby avoid degradation of the device characteristics.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor memory device and, more particularly, to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor memory device which is capable of preventing deterioration of the semiconductor memory device resulting from plasma etching.  
         DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART  
         [0002]    A memory device provides a means for storing and retrieving data. Certain types of semiconductor memory devices, e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices are characterized by small size, high reliability, commodity pricing and high speed operation.  
           [0003]    In semiconductor memory devices utilizing a ferroelectric material as a capacitor dielectric, several approaches have been developed for overcoming the need to refresh the data as in a conventional DRAM and to achieve a large capacitance. A ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM) is a type of nonvolatile memory device that can maintain stored information in a power-off state and can provide operating speeds comparable to those of conventional DRAMs.  
           [0004]    Strontium bismuth tantalate, SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9  (SBT), or lead zirconate titanate, Pb(Zr x , Ti 1−x )O 3  (PZT), are materials commonly used as the ferroelectric material in FeRAM devices. A ferroelectric material that has a dielectric constant on the order of  10   2 - 10   3  at room temperatures and has two stable residual polarization states. These properties, therefore, render such ferroelectric materials suitable for use in nonvolatile memory devices. Nonvolatile memory devices utilizing ferroelectric materials input data by setting the orientation of the polarization by applying an electric field. Once the orientation of the residual or remnant polarization is set, the electric field may be removed without losing the digital data, i.e., the stored “ 1 ” or “ 0 ”, stored in the FeRAM.  
           [0005]    The process for manufacturing FeRAM devices utilizes fairly conventional DRAM methods including a first interlayer dielectric (ILD) oxide layer formed on a semiconductor substrate over a bottom structure, e.g., a transistor and a bottom electrode. A ferroelectric layer and a top electrode are sequentially laminated on the first ILD layer to form a capacitor and a second ILD oxide layer is formed over the whole structure to cover the capacitor. Finally, contact holes are formed to expose a portion of the top electrode and a portion of the bottom electrode for electrical connection.  
           [0006]    Conventional plasma etch processes can utilize a variety of plasma generating devices, e.g., reactive ion etching (RIE), induced coupled plasma (ICP), electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) and transformer coupled plasma (TCP), to generate plasma having a high ion density D i , a high electron density D e  and capable of etching an oxide layer. The ferroelectric materials used in FeRAM devices are, however, fragile and easily damaged during the plasma etch process. Accordingly, the residual polarization P r  and the coercive voltage V c  are reduced and less uniform, changes that will, in turn, degrade the resulting FeRAM device reliability. To solve this problem, a recovery annealing process should be carried out after performing plasma dry etching.  
           [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1A is a graph illustrating results achieved using the conventional plasma etching condition for etching an ILD oxide layer covering the capacitor in a FeRAM device. The electron temperature T e  is relatively fixed, though the electron density D e  and the ion density D i  are increased in each of the plasma conditions  1 ,  2 ,  3  or  4  which are achieved by setting different process conditions, mainly modification of the injection gas flows.  
           [0008]    [0008]FIGS. 1B and 1C are graphs showing the residual polarization P r  and the coercive voltage V c  change when an etching is carried out in the same condition of FIG. 1A. The cumulative probability, as reflected in FIGS. 1B and 1C, is the probability of getting specific ranges between a maximum value and a minimum value for dP and dV on the x-axis in accordance with the conditions  1 ,  2 ,  3  and  4  respectively. This is the cumulative probability means the probability of a specific value which is obtained between the minimum values and the maximum values under the conditions  1 ,  2 ,  3  and  4 . As shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, as D e  and D i  are increased, the P r  and the V c  are decreased. That is, a deterioration of the FeRAM capacitor characteristics is unavoidable by increasing of D e  and D i .  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a ferroelectric memory device that prevents deterioration of the ferroelectric capacitor characteristics induced by increased electron density D e  and ion density D i  during the ILD etching process to form an opening in the ILD layer and expose a portion of the ferroelectric capacitor.  
           [0010]    In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a semiconductor memory device, the method comprising the steps of forming an interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer on an upper part of a semiconductor substrate provided with a capacitor structure and etching the ILD layer to expose a portion of the capacitor structure under conditions in which the electron temperature of the plasma is maintained in a range between 2.0 eV and 4.0 eV.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    Other objects and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1A is a graph illustrating a plasma etching condition in which an electron density D e  and an ion density D i  are changeable and an electron temperature T e  is relatively fixed;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIGS. 1B and 1C are graphs showing a residual polarization P r  and a coercive voltage V c  change, respectively, when they are etched in FIG. 1A condition;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2A is a graph showing a plasma etching condition in which the T e , the D e  and the D i  are changed;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIGS. 2B and 2C are graphs showing a residual polarization P r  and a coercive voltage V c  change, respectively, when they are etched in FIG. 2A condition; and  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a FeRAM device which is manufactured by a method of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2A is a graph showing plasma etching conditions  5 ,  6 ,  7  in which an electron temperature T e , an electron density D e  and an ion density D i  are changed, wherein the D e  and the D i  are increased and the T e  is decreased. FIGS. 2B and 2C are graphs showing P r  and V c  changes, respectively, when etching processes are carried out in response to the plasma etching conditions shown in FIG. 2A. As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, in spite of increasing the D e  and the D i , the present invention maintains the P r  and the V c  to predetermined values as the T e  is decreased. That is, under conditions of constant or increased D e  and D i , the deterioration of the FeRAM ferroelectric capacitor characteristics induced by the plasma can be prevented by decreasing the T e .  
         [0018]    In order to maintain the T e  of the plasma at a low temperature, various methods, e.g., increasing pressure, addition of another gas or gases, and/or a plasma pulse can be used.  
         [0019]    Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a method for manufacturing the FeRAM device in detail in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0020]    The method begins with preparing a semiconductor substrate  10  provided with a bottom structure (not shown). A first interlayer dielectric (ILD) oxide layer  11 , a TiO 2  adhesive layer  12 , a bottom electrode  13 , a ferroelectric layer  14  and a top electrode  15  are successively formed on the semiconductor substrate  10  and then patterned and etched into a predetermined configuration to form a capacitor. A second ILD oxide layer  16  is then formed on the capacitor and the semiconductor substrate  10 . A photosensitive layer pattern PR is formed to define a first contact hole opening C 1  to expose a portion of the top electrode  15  and a second contact hole opening C 2  to expose a portion of the bottom electrode  13  of the capacitor. The second ILD oxide layer  16  is then etched using the PR as an etching mask, whereby the C 1  and the C 2  contact holes are formed, respectively. The bottom electrode  13  and the top electrode  15  preferably comprise a layer of Pt or Ir, and the ferroelectric layer  14  is preferably formed from SBT or BST.  
         [0021]    The second ILD oxide layer  16  which is not covered with the PR is removed by a dry etching process to form the C 1  and the C 2  contact holes wherein the dry etching utilizes a plasma. At this time, a gas which including C, F and H are used as a main etching gas and the etching progress is performed 20 mTorr pressure to decrease the T e . Also, the T e  can be decreased by using a plasma pulse.  
         [0022]    According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second ILD oxide layer  16  is etched on condition that maintaining the D i  in a range from 8.5×10 10 /cm 3  to 1.7×10 11 /cm 3 , the D e  in a range from 4.5×10 10 /cm 3  to 1.0×10 11 /cm 3  and the T e  in a range between 2.0 eV to 4.0 eV.  
         [0023]    In the course of manufacturing FeRAM devices, the plasma which is used in the dry etching process tends to deteriorate the device characteristics to a significant degree, making it necessary to use a subsequent heat treatment to recover the desired electrical characteristics. The plasma used in the present invention is capable of decreasing the electron temperature T e  during the oxide layer etching process for the FeRAM device. When an etching is carried out in a plasma that can decrease the T e , it prevents problems resulting from a residual polarization P r  reduction and coercive voltage V c  changes by minimizing or eliminating etch damage. Therefore, the oxide layer can be etched properly without the need for a subsequent heat treatment.  
         [0024]    The present invention is capable of preserving the desirable ferroelectric capacitor characteristics by preventing deterioration of the FeRAM device during oxide etch by applying a plasma having a reduced T e , thereby improving the process margin.  
         [0025]    Although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.