Embedded substrate interconnect for underside contact to source and drain regions

A semiconductor topography (10) is provided which includes a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate having a conductive line (16) arranged within an insulating layer (22) of the SOI substrate. A method for forming an SOI substrate with such a configuration includes forming a first conductive line (16) within an insulating layer (22) arranged above a wafer substrate (12) and forming a silicon layer (24) upon surfaces of the first conductive line and the insulating layer. A further method is provided which includes the formation of a transistor gate (28) upon an SOI substrate having a conductive line (16) embedded therein and implanting dopants within the semiconductor topography to form source and drain regions (30) within an upper semiconductor layer (24) of the SOI substrate such that an underside of one of the source and drain regions is in contact with the conductive line.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention generally relates to semiconductor processing and, more specifically, to the formation of interconnects within substrates for making underside contact to source and drain regions of field effect transistors.

2. Description of the Related Art

The fabrication of integrated circuits includes the formation of several different metallization structures, including interconnect lines, contacts, and vias, to connect conductive components of a circuit. In particular, contacts and vias are generally used to provide vertical electrical connections between conductive components arranged among different planes of a circuit. In some cases, contacts may refer to metallization structures used to connect a transistor component (e.g., a source or drain region or agate electrode) with an overlying interconnect line. In contrast, vias may refer to metallization structures used to connect two interconnect lines having an insulating layer interposed therebetween. The terms “contacts” and “vias”, however, may be interchangeably referenced in some cases. In any case, interconnect lines differ from contacts and vias in that they are generally used to provide lateral electrical connections between conductive components arranged along a same plane parallel to a surface of a die substrate. The conductive components directly coupled to the interconnect lines may include contacts and/or vias. In other embodiments, interconnect lines may be formed in direct contact with a conductive element of a field effect transistor, such as a source or drain region or a transistor gate, without the use of a via or a contact and, thus, without an intervening insulating layer. Such interconnect lines do not permit traversal over unrelated conductive regions on the same plane of the die and, consequently, their routing is typically limited to interconnection between adjacent conductive elements and cannot be extended to traverse over several devices. For that reason, such interconnect lines are commonly referred to as “local interconnects.”

In general, circuits are designed such that metallization structures are arranged as close as possible to each other and other device components of the circuit to minimize circuit area and die cost without causing circuit faults. In some cases, however, the arrangement of metallization structures may be limited, particularly in regard to components of field effect transistors. In particular, contact structures and local interconnects arranged upon surfaces of source and drain regions induce a parasitic gate-to-contact capacitance. Such a capacitance may limit the switching speed of a transistor, an affect which is expected to become more prevalent as smaller feature dimensions continue to be imposed by advancements in technology. In order to limit the level of such a capacitance, circuits are sometimes designed to have contact structures and/or local interconnects spaced a specific distance from a transistor gate. In conventional designs, such a spacing is generally greater than approximately 70 nm, causing valuable die space to be occupied. In particular, source and drain regions need to be sufficiently large to provide such a spacing as well as room for the contact structures or local interconnects and a margin of error for deviations of alignment when forming the contact structures or local interconnects on the source and drain regions.

In addition or alternative to the arrangement of local interconnects being limited with regard to the location of transistor gates, the restriction of local interconnects over limited regions of a circuit imparts a significant constraint for connecting conductive components within non-adjacent devices at a level near the base of the integrated circuit, forcing many interconnects to be formed at higher levels within a circuit. It is generally recognized, however, that the formation of features within design specifications becomes increasingly more difficult within higher levels of a circuit. In particular, as more levels of a circuit are formed, the planarity of the topography lessens. As a result, problems with step coverage of deposited materials may arise. Furthermore, if a topography is nonplanar, a patterned image may be distorted and the intended structure may not be formed to the specifications of the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With regard to the drawings, an exemplary method for fabricating a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate with an embedded conductive line is shown inFIGS. 1-4. In addition,FIGS. 5-7illustrate a method for processing a SOI substrate having an embedded conductive line such that one of a pair of source and drain regions extends through an upper semiconductor layer of the SOI substrate to the conductive line. As used herein, an “upper” semiconductor layer of a SOI substrate refers to the layer within the substrate above which devices, such as transistors, are most remotely formed or slated to be formed. Therefore, the orientation of a semiconductor topography including such a substrate (i.e., whether the topography is arranged sideways, flipped, or upright relative to the position of the upper semiconductor layer within the substrate) does not affect the reference of the upper semiconductor layer. In other words, the upper semiconductor layer of a SOI substrate may not necessarily be the topmost layer of the substrate, depending on the orientation of the substrate.

As noted below, the process steps described in reference to the fabrication of an SOI substrate inFIGS. 1-4and the processing of a SOI substrate described in reference toFIGS. 5-7are not necessarily mutually exclusive. In particular, several different sequences of processing steps may be considered for the fabrication of an SOI substrate with an embedded conductive line as described in more detail below in reference toFIGS. 1-4. Consequently, the method described in reference toFIGS. 5-7for processing an SOI substrate having an embedded conductive line is not necessarily restricted to following the process steps depicted inFIGS. 1-4for fabricating the substrate. Likewise, the manner in which an SOI substrate having an embedded conductive line is processed subsequent to its formation is not necessarily restricted to the sequence of steps outlined in reference toFIGS. 5-7. As such, although the SOI substrate described herein may be particularly applicable for forming source and drain regions in contact with the embedded conductive lines, the structure resulting from the substrate fabrication process described in reference toFIGS. 1-4is not necessarily so restricted.

FIG. 1illustrates semiconductor topography10including wafer substrate12and insulating layer14formed thereon. In come cases, wafer substrate12may be a semiconductor material. In particular, wafer substrate12may, in some embodiments, be a bulk substrate wafer of a semiconductor material. In other embodiments, wafer substrate12may include multiple layers, at least one of which includes a semiconductor material. For example, wafer substrate12may, in some cases, include a dielectric layer. In such embodiments, the dielectric layer may be of the same material or a different material than insulating layer14described in more detail below. Utilizing a substrate wafer having a semiconductor material has generally proven effective for the fabrication of integrated circuits in the semiconductor industry, but other substrate materials may be considered for semiconductor topography10. For example, in some cases, wafer substrate12may include or may be entirely made of a conductive material.

As used herein, a semiconductor material may generally refer to a material in which its one or more non-dopant elements are selected essentially from Group IV of the periodic table or, alternatively, may refer to a material in which its plurality of synthesized non-dopant elements are selected from Groups II through VI of the periodic table. Examples of Group IV semiconductor materials which may be suitable for wafer substrate12include silicon, germanium, mixed silicon and germanium (“silicon-germanium”), mixed silicon and carbon (“silicon-carbon”), mixed silicon, germanium and carbon (“silicon-germanium-carbon”), and the like. Examples of Group III-V materials suitable for wafer substrate12include gallium arsenide, aluminum gallium arsenide, indium gallium arsenide, and the like. Other semiconductor materials are also possible for wafer substrate12. It is noted that the nomenclature of semiconductor materials may generally refer to the non-dopant compositions of the materials consisting essentially of the referenced elements, but the materials are not restrained from having non-dopant impurities and/or dopants therein. For example, silicon-germanium has a non-dopant composition consisting essentially of silicon and germanium, but is not restricted to having dopants and/or impurities of other elements selected from Groups II through VI of the periodic table. As such, wafer substrate12may be undoped or may be doped with p-type or n-type dopants.

In general, insulating layer14may include a dielectric material, such as silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, or any combination of such layers to provide electrical isolation between wafer substrate12and a conductive line subsequently formed upon insulating layer14. In some cases, insulating layer14may be thermally grown from wafer substrate12. In other embodiments, insulating layer14may be deposited. In either case, an exemplary range of thickness for insulating layer14may generally be between approximately 50 angstroms and approximately 300 angstroms. Larger or smaller thicknesses for insulating layer14, however, may be employed depending on the design specifications of the ensuing devices. It is noted that the layers and structures depicted inFIGS. 1-7are not necessarily drawn to scale. In particular, the dimensions of the layers and structures may be distorted to emphasize the fabrication of the topographies and, consequently, should not be restricted to the depictions of the drawings. For example, wafer substrate12may generally have a thickness of tens of microns, while insulating layer14, as noted above, may generally have a thickness of tens to hundreds of angstroms.

Subsequent to the formation of insulating layer14, conductive lines16may be formed upon insulating layer14as shown inFIG. 2. Although two conductive lines of similar dimensions are depicted inFIG. 2, any number of conductive lines of any size and pattern may be formed thereon accordingly to the design specifications of the ensuing substrate. As shown inFIG. 2, conductive lines16may include bulk portion18and cap layer20. Bulk portion18may generally include any conductive material, such as but not limited to doped amorphous silicon, doped polysilicon, aluminum, copper, tantalum, titanium, tungsten, or any metal alloy, nitride or silicide thereof or any material to be made conductive by subsequent implantations of dopants, such as undoped polysilicon, for example. In some embodiments, alloys of tungsten, such as a tungsten metal or tungsten silicide, may be advantageous for bulk portion18due to the good thermal stability properties of tungsten.

In other embodiments, it may be advantageous for bulk portion18to include amorphous silicon or polysilicon (either doped or doped by subsequent implantations of dopants). In particular, such materials may have similar processing properties as insulating materials and, thus, in some cases, may be more compatible with established techniques for processes slated to be performed subsequent to the formation of conductive lines16. For example, when conductive lines16include polysilicon or amorphous silicon, bonding a semiconductor layer upon conductive lines16and an adjacent insulating material, as described below in reference toFIG. 4, may, in some embodiments, be conducted with process parameters similar to those established in the semiconductor industry for bonding a semiconductor layer to a topography only having an insulating layer upon its upper surface. On the contrary, when conductive lines16include a metal material, bonding a semiconductor layer to conductive lines16and an adjacent insulating layer may, in some embodiments, necessitate additional optimization of the bonding process since the metal material may affect the bonding process differently than the materials.

In any case, cap layer20may include a material configured to improve the contact resistance of bulk portion18and, thus, may include a different conductive material than bulk portion18. Exemplary materials exhibiting low contact resistance include titanium and titanium nitride, but other materials may be used as well or alternatively for cap layer20. In other cases, conductive lines16may not include cap layer20. As such, conductive lines16are not necessarily restricted to their depiction inFIGS. 2-7. Regardless of their configuration, conductive lines16may be formed with any dimensions specified for ensuing devices. An exemplary thickness range may be between approximately 200 angstroms and approximately 500 angstroms, but smaller or larger thicknesses may be used. In addition, an exemplary width for conductive lines16may be the minimum dimension obtainable by a photolithographic tool used to form the line, but larger widths may be used. In some embodiments, the formation of conductive lines16may include the deposition of the materials included in the lines followed by known lithography process steps to pattern the materials. In alternative embodiments, conductive lines16may be formed by a damascene process in which the conductive lines are formed within trenches of insulating layer14spaced above wafer substrate12. In such cases, the thickness of insulating layer14may be greater than noted above to accommodate the conductive lines. In addition, the formation of an additional insulating layer upon insulating layer14, such as insulating layer22described below in reference toFIG. 3, may, in some embodiments, be omitted from the fabrication process in such cases.

As shown inFIG. 3, insulating layer22may be formed adjacent to conductive lines16or, more specifically, coplanar with conductive lines16. As with insulating layer14, insulating layer22may include a dielectric material, such as silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, or any combination of such layers. In some embodiments, insulating layer22may include the same material as insulating layer14. In other embodiments, however, insulating layer22may include a different material than insulating layer14. In general, insulating layer22may be deposited upon exposed portions of insulating layer14and, in some cases, upon upper surfaces of conductive lines16. Subsequent thereto, semiconductor topography10may be polished such that upper surfaces of conductive lines16are exposed and are coplanar with portions of insulating layer22. An exemplary resultant thickness for insulating layer22may generally be between approximately 200 angstroms and approximately 500 angstroms, but larger or smaller thicknesses may be employed depending on the design specifications of the ensuing devices. In yet other embodiments, insulating layer22may be omitted from semiconductor topography10as described above relative to the use of a damascene process to form conductive lines16within insulating layer14.

In any case, insulating layer14and, in some embodiments, insulating layer22may serve as an insulating layer of an ensuing semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. As such, insulating layers14and22may, in some embodiments, be referred to as sub-layers. In addition, conductive lines16may be described as being formed within (i.e., embedded) an insulating layer of a SOI substrate. As used herein, the terms “within” and “embedded” may refer a structure which is bound by a material on opposing sides of the structure. The reference, however, does not necessarily infer encapsulation by the material as shown by conductive lines16being substantially coplanar with insulating layer22inFIG. 3.

In accordance with the fabrication of an SOI substrate, semiconductor layer24may be formed upon semiconductor topography10as shown inFIG. 4. In some cases, the formation of semiconductor layer24may include bonding a semiconductor wafer substrate upon the upper surfaces of conductive lines16and adjacent portions of insulating layer22and subsequently reducing the thickness the semiconductor wafer substrate within design specifications for an ensuing device. The bonding process may include any known technique for securing a semiconductor wafer substrate upon an insulating material, including but not limited to adhesion or surface activation. Furthermore, the reduction of thickness of the semiconductor wafer substrate may be performed by grinding or cleaving the semiconductor wafer substrate. In yet other cases, semiconductor layer24may be grown or deposited upon semiconductor layer14. In any case, exemplary resultant thicknesses of semiconductor layer24may be between approximately 500 angstroms and approximately 1000 angstroms, but smaller or larger thicknesses may be employed. In general, semiconductor layer24may include any semiconductor material. In some cases, semiconductor layer24may include a silicon-based semiconductor material, such as monocrystalline silicon, silicon-germanium, silicon-carbon, silicon-germanium-carbon, and the like. In other embodiments, semiconductor layer24may include other types of semiconductor materials including an arsenide-based semiconductor material, such as gallium arsenide, aluminum gallium arsenide, indium gallium arsenide, and the like.

As noted above, the SOI substrate resulting from the fabrication processes described in reference toFIGS. 1-4may be used for the fabrication of several different integrated circuit devices. As such, a number of different processing steps may follow the formation of semiconductor layer24. An exemplary sequence of steps which may be particularly applicable for processing the SOI substrate illustrated inFIG. 4-is outlined inFIGS. 5-7. In particular,FIGS. 5-7illustrate the formation of a field effect transistor upon and within semiconductor layer24such that at least one of a pair of source and drain regions is electrically coupled to one of conductive lines16. As noted above, however, the fabrication of a transistor with such a configuration is not necessarily restricted to SOI substrates having the configuration depicted inFIG. 4. For example, the sequence of fabrication steps described in reference toFIGS. 5-7may alternately be conducted upon an SOI substrate in which conductive lines are formed within a single insulating layer by a damascene process.

FIG. 5illustrates a field effect transistor formed upon and within semiconductor layer24. In particular,FIG. 5illustrates the formation of transistor gate28upon semiconductor layer24as well as source and drain regions30on either side of transistor gate28within semiconductor layer24extending down to conductive lines16, respectively. In other words, source and drain regions30are formed such that their underside surfaces are in respective contact with conductive lines16. In general, source and drain regions30may be formed by implanting dopants of either p-type or n-type conductivity within semiconductor topography10, depending on the design specifications of the field effect transistor. Although both of source and drain regions30are shown in contact with conductive lines16, the ensuing device is not necessarily so limited. In particular, one of conductive lines16may be omitted from semiconductor topography10and, therefore, the underside surface of one of source and drain regions30may merely be in contact with the upper surface of insulating layer22. In such cases, contact may be alternatively made to the region by a contact structure or a local interconnect upon the upper surface of the region. In the interest to limit the use of contact structures and local interconnects, it may be preferable, however, to make contact to both source and drain regions at their underside surfaces by conductive lines embedded within semiconductor layer24as shown inFIG. 5.

In addition to the field effect transistor,FIG. 5illustrates the formation of isolation regions26within semiconductor layer24to isolate the active region in which the field effect transistor is formed. The fabrication of isolation regions26as well as spacers along the sidewalls of transistor gate28may generally follow methods known in the semiconductor industry and, therefore, are not described herein for the sake of brevity. In addition, although not shown, additional diffusion regions such as halo regions and/or channel stop regions may be formed within semiconductor layer24and, consequently, should not be presumed to be necessarily omitted based upon the depictions of the figures.

In general, transistor gate28may include any number of layers, including but not limited to a gate dielectric layer and one or more conductive layers, the composition of which may be any other those known in the semiconductor industry for transistor gates. In addition, the fabrication of transistor gate28may generally follow deposition and lithography techniques known in the semiconductor industry. In some embodiments, the formation of transistor gate28may include aligning a lithography tool used to pattern the gate relative to conductive lines16. In particular, since the thickness of semiconductor layer24is relatively thin (i.e., on the order of approximately 100 nm), the arrangement of conductive lines16within semiconductor topography10may be detectable prior to the deposition of materials used to form transistor gate28. Consequently, a lithography tool may be programmed to pattern ensuing transistor gate28in a position such that the subsequent formation of source or drain regions adjacent thereto may be arranged over conductive lines16.

In some cases, transistor gate28may be formed laterally spaced from a sidewall of at least one of conductive lines16by a minimum distance32as shown inFIG. 5. As used herein, the term “laterally spaced” may generally refer to a gap between two respective structures, the referenced dimension of which is parallel to upper surfaces of the structures or, in the case of the methods and devices described herein, parallel to the upper surface of the SOI substrate. In some cases, minimum distance32may be configured to reduce any parasitic gate-to-conductive line capacitance which may affect the switching speed of the field effect transistor comprising transistor gate28. However, since conductive lines16are vertically spaced from transistor gate28, the parasitic gate-to-conductive line capacitance of the devices described herein may be lower than the parasitic gate-to-contact capacitance of devices in conventional circuit designs in which a contact structure is arranged upon a source or drain region of a transistor. As such, for a given transistor gate length, minimum distance32may be comparatively smaller than minimum distances specified for conventional circuit configurations.

For example, minimum distance32may be less than approximately 50 nm for technologies having transistor gate lengths of 90 nm or less and, in some cases, may be specifically between approximately 30 nm and approximately 40 nm. Larger or smaller minimum distances, however, may be employed, depending on the design specifications of the ensuing device. In yet other embodiments, the ensuing device may not be designed with specifications of a lateral spacing between conductive lines16and transistor gate28(i.e., the ensuing transistor may not have a minimum distance32design specification). As such, transistor gate28may be patterned to laterally overlap one or both of conductive lines16. In other words, the sidewalls of one or both of conductive lines16may extend beneath transistor gate28in some embodiments. In such cases, conductive line16may provide electrical connection to the channel region of the transistor formed upon semiconductor layer24, in effect forming a source-to-body tied device. In any case, the opposing sidewalls of conductive lines16may extend to regions beneath source and drain regions30as shown inFIG. 5or may extend to regions beneath isolation regions26, depending on the dimensional specifications of conductive lines16and source and drain regions30.

In general, the arrangement of conductive lines16along the underside of source and drain regions30and, furthermore, the relatively small lateral spacing specification for arranging transistor gate28relative to conductive lines16may advantageously loosen alignment specifications for a transistor and/or allow higher density circuits to be fabricated. In particular, the specifications of alignment regarding the position of transistor gate28relative to conductive lines16may be loosened due to the larger area of source and drain region30along which conductive lines16may be arranged. In addition or alternatively, the size of source and drain regions30may, in some embodiments, be reduced relative to a conventional device, thereby allowing more devices to be fabricated upon a die of a given size. In particular, the dimensions of source and drain regions30extending from the sidewalls of transistor gate28may be reduced. More specifically, in cases in which transistor gate28may laterally overlap portions of conductive line16, source and drain regions30do not have to be sized to provide room lateral spacing between such components or for the entire width of conductive lines16. A reduction of size of source and drain regions30may also be realized in cases in which a minimum lateral spacing between transistor gate28and conductive lines16is specified. In particular, the spacing is generally smaller than those of conventional circuits of a given technology and, therefore, the size of source and drain regions30may be reduced.

As shown inFIG. 5, in cases in which two conductive lines16are arranged within the SOI substrate, the formation of transistor gate28may include patterning the gate in a region of semiconductor topography10between the conductive lines. Such an arrangement of transistor gate28is further shown in the plan view of semiconductor topography10inFIG. 6. In particular,FIG. 6illustrates a plan view of semiconductor topography10from which the cross-sectional view ofFIG. 5is taken along line36. As shown in the plan view ofFIG. 6, one of conductive lines16may extend to a different active region over which different transistor gate38is formed and is isolated from transistor gate28by isolation region26. Semiconductor topography10may further include an additional conductive line formed on the underside of the opposing source and drain regions35adjacent to transistor gate38. Conductive lines16are outlined by dotted lines inFIG. 6indicating their arrangement below isolation region26and source and drain regions30and35. As shown inFIG. 6, the formation of additional transistor gate38may include patterning a portion of the gate over a portion of isolation region26which overlies a portion of one of conductive lines16. Alternatively stated, a conductive line may be routed to pass beneath a transistor gate of an ensuing transistor in some circuit designs. As such, the arrangement of conductive lines16along the underside of source and drain regions generally allows greater flexibility in the routing conductive lines16and transistor gates relative to each other as well as relative to other conductive elements within the ensuing circuit. Consequently, conductive lines16may not be restricted to serving as local interconnect lines.

In general, semiconductor topography10may be subjected to further processing subsequent to the formation of the field effect transistors illustrated inFIG. 6. For example, exemplary positions of subsequently formed contact structures making contact with conductive lines16through portions of isolation region26are shown inFIG. 6by cross-hatched boxes. Such placements of contact structures are exemplary as are the patterns of conductive lines16and, therefore, should not be presumed to restrict devices resulting from the method described herein. Other exemplary processing may include the formation of remote routing interconnects above the topography illustrated inFIG. 5. In particular,FIG. 7illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of semiconductor topography10subsequent to the deposition of dielectric layer40over transistor gate28and upon the upper surfaces of source and drain regions30as well as subsequent to the formation of interconnect lines42upon dielectric layer40.

As shown inFIG. 7, dielectric layer40is retained upon and across the entirety of the upper surfaces of source and drain regions30not covered by the sidewall spacers along transistor gate28. In other words, neither contact structures nor local interconnect lines are formed upon the upper surfaces of source and drain regions30causing a parasitic gate-to-contact capacitance. Although three interconnect lines42are shown inFIG. 7, any number of interconnect lines may be formed upon dielectric layer40, depending on the design specifications of the device. Furthermore, the arrangement of interconnect lines42relative to each other and relative to underlying components of semiconductor topography10are not necessarily restricted to the depiction ofFIG. 7. Since conductive lines16contact the underside of source and drain regions30, the formation of interconnect lines42may constitute the first layer of metallization above transistor gate28, commonly referred to in the industry as “metal1layer” or “M1layer”. Such a configuration differs from many conventional circuit designs in that the M1layer includes connections to source and drain regions of transistors and is generally limited to electrical connections between adjacent devices. Interconnect lines42, however, may used for providing electrical connection between devices dispersed across a die and, therefore, may more generally be referred to as wiring layers.

It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that this invention is believed to provide a SOI substrate having embedded conductive lines for making underside contact to source and drain regions of field effect transistors and methods for fabricating such substrates and devices. Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description. For example, the process steps described in reference to the fabrication of a SOI substrate inFIGS. 1-4and the processing of a SOI substrate described in reference toFIGS. 5-7are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the invention. It is to be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described herein are to be taken as the presently preferred embodiments. Elements and materials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts and processes may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the invention. Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims.