Abstract:
A hard mask spacer structure includes a first spacer on a device layer, the first spacer defining a plurality of hole patterns and at least an asteriated hole pattern between the hole patterns; and a second spacer on the first spacer and inlaid into the asteriated hole pattern, thereby rounding the asteriated hole pattern.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to semiconductor technology and, more particularly, to self-aligned contact hole patterning and a hard mask spacer structure used during the self-aligned contact hole patterning. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    As the pattern density increases and the feature size during printing of DRAM arrays becomes continuously smaller, the dimension of a contact hole or plug connecting component-to-component or layer-to-layer as well as the alignment margin for the device shrink. 
         [0005]    In order to reduce the size of a contact hole formed through a photolithography process and to increase the alignment exactitude, a self-aligned contact is used. The self-aligned contact process may increase the alignment margin and reduce the contact resistance. 
         [0006]    However, the prior art self-aligned method for patterning densely packed contact holes has shortcomings. For example, different contact hole profiles may occur, which may result in critical dimension (CD) control issue. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    In one aspect, the present invention provides a hard mask spacer structure. The hard mask spacer structure includes a first spacer on a device layer, the first spacer defining a plurality of hole patterns and at least an asteriated hole pattern between the hole patterns; and a second spacer on the first spacer and inlaid into the asteriated hole pattern, thereby rounding the asteriated hole pattern. 
         [0008]    These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate some of the embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain their principles. In the drawings: 
           [0010]      FIGS. 1-7  are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams showing a self-aligned method for patterning densely packed contact holes in a DRAM array in accordance with one embodiment of this invention; 
           [0011]      FIGS. 8-12  are top views of the elements shown in  FIGS. 3-7 ; 
           [0012]      FIGS. 13-15  are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams showing a self-aligned method for patterning densely packed contact holes in a DRAM array in accordance with another embodiment of this invention; and 
           [0013]      FIGS. 16-18  are top views of the elements shown in  FIGS. 13-15 . 
       
    
    
       [0014]    It should be noted that all the figures are diagrammatic. Relative dimensions and proportions of parts of the drawings have been shown exaggerated or reduced in size, for the sake of clarity and convenience in the drawings. The same reference signs are generally used to refer to corresponding or similar features in modified and different embodiments. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific examples in which the embodiments may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice them, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural, logical and electrical changes may be made without departing from the described embodiments. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the included embodiments are defined by the appended claims. 
         [0016]      FIGS. 1-7  are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams showing a self-aligned method for patterning densely packed contact holes in a DRAM array in accordance with one embodiment of this invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , a film stack  110  comprising, for example, a carbon layer  112 , a dielectric anti-reflection coating (DARC) layer  114 , and a hard mask layer  116 , is formed on a substrate  100 . The substrate  100  may be a device layer or a semiconductor substrate such as a silicon substrate or the like. According to the embodiment, the carbon layer  112  may be an amorphous carbon layer or any advanced patterning film. The DRAC layer  114  may be a silicon oxy-nitride or any suitable material layer. The hard mask layer  116  may comprise polysilicon or silicon nitride, but not limited thereto. As shown in  FIG. 2 , a plurality of photoresist pillars  118  with a pitch of, for example, 120 nm, are formed on the hard mask layer  116 . 
         [0017]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , a dry etching process is then carried out to etch the hard mask layer  116  that is not covered by the photoresist pillars  118  to thereby form a plurality of hard mask pillars  116 . Thereafter, the photoresist pillars  118  are stripped.  FIG. 7  shows the top view of the hard mask pillars  116  and the exposed DARC layer  114 . For the sake of simplicity, only four hard mask pillars  116  are shown. It is to be understood that in other embodiments, the steps shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  may be skipped, and the hard mask pillars  116  may be replaced with photoresist pillars. 
         [0018]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , after the formation of the hard mask pillars  116 , an annual spacer (first spacer)  120  is formed around each of the hard mask pillars  116 . To form the spacer  120 , first, a layer of spacer material such as silicon oxide may be deposited in a blanket fashion. The layer of spacer material may be deposited by using atomic layer deposition (ALD) methods. After deposition, the layer of spacer material is etched by performing an anisotropic dry etching process, thereby revealing the top surface of each of the hard mask pillars  116 .  FIG. 8  shows the top view of the annual spacers  120  and the hard mask pillars  116 . The contiguous spacers  120  between four adjacent hard mask pillars  116  define a hole pattern  125  with an asteriated shape when viewed from above. 
         [0019]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , after the formation of the spacers  120 , the hard mask pillars  116  are selectively removed to form hole pattern  130 .  FIG. 9  shows that the critical dimension (CD) of each of the hole patterns  130  is slightly different from that of the hole pattern  125  surrounded by the hole patterns  130 . As previously mentioned, the hole pattern  125  has substantially an asteriated shape or star shape when viewed from above, while the surrounding hole patterns  130  have a profile that is rounder and smoother. This causes a CD control problem. 
         [0020]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , a second ALD process is carried out to deposit a conformal thin oxide layer (not shown) on the spacers  120  and on the DARC layer  114 . The conformal thin oxide layer doest not fill the hole patterns  125  and  130 . An anisotropic dry etching process is then performed to etch the conformal thin oxide layer. As shown in  FIG. 10 , by performing the second ALD and etching, the hole pattern  125  becomes rounder and smoother. After the second ALD and etching, a small part of the conformal thin oxide layer (second spacer)  140  may remain on the spacer  120 , which constitute a spacer pattern  220 . A small part of the conformal thin oxide layer  140  may be inlaid into the hole pattern  125  thereby forming a rounded hole pattern  125   a.    
         [0021]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , using the spacer pattern  220  as an etch hard mask, an anisotropic dry etching is performed to etch the DARC layer  114  and the carbon layer  112 , thereby transferring the hole patterns  130  and  125   a  into the carbon layer  112 . After removing the spacer pattern  220 , a hole pattern  230  corresponding to the hole pattern  130  and a hole pattern  250  corresponding to the hole pattern  125   a  are formed. 
         [0022]    Alternatively, the second ALD and etch step may be carried out before stripping the hard mask pillars.  FIGS. 13-15  are schematic, cross-sectional diagrams showing a self-aligned method for patterning densely packed contact holes in a DRAM array in accordance with another embodiment of this invention, wherein like numeral numbers designate like layers, regions or elements. As shown in  FIG. 13 , likewise, after the formation of the hard mask pillars  116 , an annual spacer  120  is formed around each of the hard mask pillars  116 .  FIG. 16  shows the top view of the annual spacers  120  and the hard mask pillars  116 . The contiguous spacers  120  between four adjacent hard mask pillars  116  define a hole pattern  125  with an asteriated shape when viewed from above. 
         [0023]    As shown in  FIG. 14  and  FIG. 17 , a second ALD process is carried out to deposit a conformal thin oxide layer (not shown) on the spacers  120 , the top surface of each of the hard mask pillars  116  and on the DARC layer  114 . The conformal thin oxide layer doest not fill the hole patterns  125 . An anisotropic dry etching process is then performed to etch the conformal thin oxide layer. As shown in  FIG. 17 , by performing the second ALD and etching, the hole pattern  125  becomes rounder and smoother. After the second ALD and etching, a small part of the conformal thin oxide layer  140  may remain on the spacer  120 , which constitute a spacer pattern  220 . A small part of the conformal thin oxide layer  140  may be inlaid into the hole pattern  125  thereby forming a rounded hole pattern  125   a . As shown in  FIG. 15  and  FIG. 18 , after the second ALD and etching process, the hard mask pillars are selectively removed to form hole pattern  130 . Subsequently, the hole pattern  130  and the hole pattern  125   a  may be transferred into the underlying carbon layer  112  as set forth in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0024]    Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.