Abstract:
A method of fabricating an integrated circuit device comprises forming a refractory metal layer on a silicon-containing substrate, processing the refractory metal layer to form an amorphous metal suicide layer, and depositing an insulating material on the amorphous metal silicide layer. The insulating material is deposited at a temperature that maintains at least a portion of the amorphous metal silicide layer in an amorphous state, to form a capping structure that contains the amorphous metal silicide layer. The method further includes crystallizing the contained amorphous metal silicide layer, and forming an etching stop layer on the capping structure.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 2001-69981, filed on Nov. 10, 2001, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to methods for fabricating integrated circuit devices, and more particularly, to methods for fabricating metal suicide structures in integrated circuit devices.  
           [0003]    In general, a suicide layer is formed on a gate electrode and junction region of a metal oxide silicon (MOS) transistor to improve the conductive characteristics of the gate electrode and the junction region to reduce RC delay time. Such a silicide layer may be formed of a compound of a silicon material and a refractory metal layer made of cobalt, titanium, or tungsten by a selective deposition method.  
           [0004]    A conventional method of fabricating a silicide layer by the selective deposition method will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1A through 1E. Referring to FIG. 1A, gate insulating layers  14  and gate electrodes  16  are formed on a semiconductor substrate  10  having an isolation layer  12 . Insulating layer spacers  18  are formed at the sidewalls of the gate electrodes  16  by a conventional technique. Next, junction regions  20  are formed in the semiconductor substrate  10  between the gate electrodes  16 . These junction regions  20  function as lightly doped drain (LDD) regions in a MOS transistor. A cobalt (Co) layer  22  is then deposited to a predetermined thickness on the semiconductor substrate  10 .  
           [0005]    As shown in FIG. 1B, the semiconductor substrate  10  is rapidly thermal-processed (hereinafter, “RTP”) at low temperature, e.g., 450˜470° C. The cobalt layer  22  reacts with the gate electrodes  16  and the junction regions  20  below the cobalt layer  22  to form an amorphous cobalt silicide layer (CoxSiy)  24 . Thereafter, a portion of the cobalt layer  22  that does not react with the gate electrodes  16  and the junction regions  20  is removed.  
           [0006]    As shown in FIG. 1C, a capping layer  26  is formed on the amorphous cobalt silicide layer  24  prior to performing a second RTP on the semiconductor substrate at high temperature. The capping layer  26  prevents the amorphous cobalt suicide layer  24  from being scattered and encroaching adjacent regions of the gate electrodes  16  and the junction regions  20  during the second RTP, when the amorphous cobalt silicide layer  24  is crystallized. Preferably, the capping layer is formed of a material that has stable characteristics at high temperature so as to prevent movement of the amorphous cobalt silicide  24 , and can be used as an etch stopper during a subsequent process of forming contact holes.  
           [0007]    Typically, a silicon oxynitride layer (SiON) is used as the capping layer  26  because it has stable characteristics at high temperature and excellent etching selectivity with respect to a silicon oxide interlevel insulating layer. In addition, the silicon oxynitride layer  26  can be formed by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), which is performed at 350-450° C., so as to minimize temperature-related effects on the amorphous cobalt silicide layer  24  positioned below the silicon oxynitride layer  26 . Also, the silicon oxynitride layer  26  can be formed to about 400-600 Å thickness.  
           [0008]    Referring to FIG. 1D, the second RTP is performed on the semiconductor substrate  10 , including the silicon oxynitride capping layer  26 , at high temperature, e.g., 830-880° C. As a result, the phase of the amorphous cobalt silicide layer  24  is changed into a crystalline cobalt silicide layer (CoSi2)  28  having low resistance.  
           [0009]    As shown in FIG. 1E, an interlevel insulating layer  30  is formed on the capping layer  26 . A predetermined portion of the interlevel insulating layer  30  is etched to expose predetermined portions of the gate electrodes  16  and the junction regions  20 . The exposed capping layer  26  is selectively etched to form contact holes H.  
           [0010]    The above conventional method of fabricating integrated circuit devices may have some problems. For instance, the silicon oxynitride capping layer  26  is typically deposited at low temperature in order to minimize temperature-related effects on the amorphous cobalt silicide layer. However, since such a silicon oxynitride layer may have poor step coverage, it may be very difficult to deposit evenly on a semiconductor substrate having a high aspect ratio. This is especially true when the silicon oxynitride layer is formed on a surface having an extreme step, as the silicon oxynitride layer may be rent in the extreme step region.  
           [0011]    In the event that the silicon oxynitride layer is not properly deposited, it may not function as an etch stopper when the contact holes H are formed, as shown in FIG. 2. Also, portions of the junction regions  20 , as well as the cobalt silicide layer  28 , may be hollowed out, which is called ‘pitting’. When the pitting occurs at the junction regions  20 , junction leakage may occur, thus deteriorating the integrated circuit device. Here, “P” denotes a region in which the pitting occurs.  
           [0012]    The capping layer  26  can be formed of a silicon oxynitride layer made by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), which can have excellent step coverage. However, during the LPCVD, the silicon oxynitride layer is typically formed at high temperature, e.g., above 650° C., which would change the characteristics of the amorphous cobalt silicide layer. For this reason, it may be difficult to control the resistance in the cobalt silicide layer.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0013]    According to embodiments of the present invention, a method of fabricating an integrated circuit device comprises forming a refractory metal layer on a silicon-containing substrate, processing the refractory metal layer to form an amorphous metal silicide layer, and depositing an insulating material on the amorphous metal silicide layer. The insulating material is deposited at a temperature that maintains at least a portion of the amorphous metal silicide layer in an amorphous state, to form a capping structure that contains the amorphous metal silicide layer. The method further includes crystallizing the contained amorphous metal silicide layer, and forming an etching stop layer on the capping structure.  
           [0014]    In some embodiments of the present invention, the refractory metal layer may comprise cobalt, nickel, titanium, tungsten, and/or tantalum. Depositing of the insulating material may be preceded by removing a portion of the refractory metal layer.  
           [0015]    In further embodiments of the present invention, the refractory metal layer may be thermally processed. The amorphous metal silicide layer may be crystallized using thermal processing.  
           [0016]    According to some aspects of the invention, the refractory metal layer comprises cobalt. The cobalt-containing refractory metal layer may be thermally processed at 450-470° C. for 25-35 seconds. The amorphous metal silicide layer may be crystallized by thermal processing at 830-880° C. for 40-50 seconds.  
           [0017]    In further embodiments of the present invention, depositing of the insulating material comprises plasma-enhanced chemical deposition of the insulating material. Also, the insulating material may comprise at least one of silicon oxynitride, silicon nitride, and silicon dioxide. The insulating material may be deposited to a thickness of about 50 to about 400 Å.  
           [0018]    In still further embodiments of the present invention, forming an etching stop layer comprises forming an etching stop layer by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition or by atomic layer deposition. The etching stop layer may comprise at least one of silicon nitride and silicon oxynitride. The etching stop layer may be formed to a thickness of about 150 to about 250 Å. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]    The present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:  
         [0020]    [0020]FIGS. 1A through 1E are cross-sectional views illustrating a conventional method of fabricating an integrated circuit device;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional integrated circuit device;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIGS. 3A through 3G are cross-sectional views of intermediate fabrication products illustrating operations for fabricating an integrated circuit device according to some embodiments of the present invention;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 4 is a graph showing the extent of junction leakage current occurring in an integrated circuit device having a buffer etch stopper according to some embodiments of the present invention; and  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an integrated circuit device according to further embodiments of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0025]    The present invention now will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. These embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete. In the drawings, the thickness of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity. It should also be understood that when a layer is referred to as being “on” another layer or substrate, it may be directly on the other layer or substrate, or intervening layers may also be present. The same reference numerals in different drawings represent the same elements, and thus their description will be omitted.  
         [0026]    Referring to FIG. 3A, an isolation layer  102  is formed in a semiconductor substrate  100  using, for example, a conventional technique. A gate insulating layer  104 , a doped poly-silicon layer  106 , and an anti-reflective layer  108  are sequentially deposited on the semiconductor substrate  100 . Here, the anti-relective layer  108  may comprise silicon oxynitride. Portions of the anti-relective layer  108 , the doped poly-silicon layer  106 , and the gate insulating layer  104  are patterned, thus defining a gate electrode  109 . A middle-temperature oxide layer  110  and an insulating layer  112  are sequentially deposited on the gate electrode  109 . The insulating layer  112  may comprise silicon oxynitride. The middle-temperature oxide layer  110  can improve the adhesive characteristics between the doped poly-silicon layer  106  and the insulating layer  112 . Low-concentration impurities, whose conductivity type is opposite to the impurity type of the semiconductor substrate  100 , are ion-implanted into both sides of the gate electrode  109 , between the steps of forming the gate electrode  109  and forming the middle-temperature oxide layer  110 .  
         [0027]    As shown in FIG. 3B, the insulating layer  112  and the middle-temperature oxide layer  110  are anisotropic-blanket etched to form gate spacers  110   a  and  112   a  along both sidewalls of the gate electrode  109  and the gate insulating layers  104 , thus forming gate electrode structures G. During the anisotropic blanket etching, the anti-reflective layer  108  is removed because it has similar etching selectivity to the insulating layer  112 . High-concentration impurities are ion-implanted into the semiconductor substrate  100  of both sides of the gate electrode structures G, thus forming junction regions  114  of a lightly-doped drain (LDD) type. As a result, MOS transistors are formed on the semiconductor substrate  100 . The surface of the semiconductor substrate  100  is cleansed or radio-frequency (RF) sputtered to remove native oxide or etching remnant remaining on the semiconductor substrate  100 . A refractory metal layer, such as a cobalt layer (Co)  116 , is deposited to a predetermined thickness on the semiconductor substrate  100 . The refractory metal layer may alternatively comprise nickel (Ni), titanium (Ti), tungsten (W), tantalum (Ta), or the like.  
         [0028]    As shown in FIG. 3C, the semiconductor substrate  100  on which the Co layer  116  is deposited is rapidly thermal-processed (RTP) at 450˜470° C., preferably, at 460° C., for about 25-35 seconds. As a result, the Co layer  116  reacts with the gate electrode structures G (doped poly silicon  106 ) and the junction regions  114 , thus forming an amorphous cobalt silicide layer (CoxSiy)  118  on the gate electrode structures G and the junction regions  114 . Portions of the Co layer  116  formed on the gate spacers  110   a  and  112   a  and the isolation layer  102  may be removed by conventional techniques.  
         [0029]    Cobalt silicide is typically formed by high-temperature thermal processing in order to have a low resistance. However, because the Co layer  116  reacts quickly at high temperature, it is difficult to control the thickness of the cobalt silicide layer. Therefore, to control the thickness of the cobalt silicide layer, an amorphous cobalt silicide layer  118  is formed at low temperature, and is then thermal-processed at high temperature to form a crystalline cobalt silicide layer.  
         [0030]    As shown in FIG. 3D, a capping layer  120  is formed on the amorphous cobalt silicide layer  118  on the semiconductor substrate  100 . The capping layer  120  may be a silicon oxynitride layer (SiON) deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), a silicon nitride layer (SiN) deposited by PECVD, or a silicon oxide layer (SiO2) deposited by PECVD. It may be advantageous to use PECVD to deposit the capping layer  120 , because this process may be less likely to alter the characteristics of the amorphous cobalt silicide layer  118 . Thus, it is possible to reduce any effects on the amorphous cobalt silicide layer  118  if the capping layer  120  is formed by PECVD, at a temperature of about 350-450° C. Further, if the capping layer  120  comprises a silicon oxynitride layer or a silicon nitride layer, it can function as an etch stopper. The capping layer  120  may be formed to a thickness of about 50-400 Å.  
         [0031]    Referring to FIG. 3E, a second RTP is performed on the semiconductor substrate  100  at 830-880° C. for about 40-50 seconds. As a result, the amorphous cobalt silicide layer  118  is changed into a crystalline cobalt silicide layer (CoSi2)  122 . At this time, the capping layer  120  formed by PECVD, e.g., a silicon oxynitride layer, shields the amorphous cobalt silicide layer  118 , thus preventing the amorphous cobalt silicide layer  118  from being scattered to adjacent regions during the second high-temperature RTP process.  
         [0032]    As shown in FIG. 3F, a buffer etch stopper  124  is deposited on the capping layer  120 . The buffer etch stopper  124  can prevent pitting from occurring at a region where the capping layer  120  is not properly deposited. The buffer etch stopper  124  can be a silicon nitride layer (SiN) deposited by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), which has excellent step coverage, or a silicon oxynitride layer (SiON) deposited by LPCVD. Although a layer formed by LPCVD may have excellent step coverage, it typically is deposited at high temperature, e.g., 650-700° C. However, according to this embodiment of the present invention, the silicon nitride (or silicon oxynitride) buffer etch stopper  124  is formed after the cobalt silicide layer is crystallized, which can preserve the characteristics of the cobalt silicide layer. The buffer etch stopper  124  may be formed to a thickness of about 150-250 Å.  
         [0033]    As shown in FIG. 3G, an interlevel insulating layer  126  is deposited on the buffer etch stopper  124 . The interlevel insulating layer  126  may be a silicon oxide-based insulating layer, or other dielectric layer. In order to form contact holes that expose the gate electrode G or the junction regions  114 , portions of the interlevel insulating layer  126  are etched to expose the buffer etch stopper  124 . Then, the exposed buffer etch stopper  124  and capping layer  120  are etched to form contact holes H, using, for example, CF4, CHF3 or Ar gas. In the event that the capping layer  120  is a silicon nitride layer or silicon oxynitride layer, it is possible to remove the capping layer  120  together with the buffer etch stopper  124 . When the interlevel insulating layer is etched, pitting may be reduced, because the buffer etch stopper  124  is evenly formed on the resultant structure of the semiconductor substrate  100  by LPCVD.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 4 is a graph showing junction leakage currents in an integrated circuit device having a buffer etch stopper according to embodiments of the invention in comparison to an integrated circuit device without a buffer etch stopper. FIG. 4 illustrates that junction leakage current can be remarkably reduced in a capping layer comprising a silicon nitride buffer etch stopper formed by LPCVD on a silicon oxynitride layer formed by PECVD, compared to conventional capping layers consisting of a silicon oxynitride layer formed by PECVD or a silicon nitride layer formed by LPCVD.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an integrated circuit device according to further embodiments of the present invention. According to these embodiments, a process the same as that described above can be used up to formation of the crystalline silicide layer  122 . A silicon nitride (SIN) layer  200  maybe formed by atomic layer deposition (ALD) for use as a buffer etch stopper. Alternatively, the buffer etch stopper may be a silicon oxynitride (SiON) layer formed by ALD. In fact, many materials and methods for forming a buffer etch stopper may be selected. That is, a buffer etch stopper may be formed of any material having excellent step coverage and etching selectivity with respect to an interlevel insulating layer.  
         [0036]    As previously mentioned, a silicon oxynitride layer is deposited by PECVD at low temperature as a capping layer, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Then, a crystalline silicide layer is formed. Thereafter, for excellent step coverage, a silicon nitride layer (or a silicon oxynitride layer) is deposited on the capping layer by LPCVD or ALD as a buffer etch stopper. As a result, it is possible to prevent the encroachment of an amorphous cobalt suicide layer when forming a crystalline cobalt silicide layer, and further, it is possible to form contact holes without pitting, thereby reducing the occurrence of junction leakage currents.  
         [0037]    In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed typical embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims. Although the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that modifications of the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.