Abstract:
A semiconductor device includes a thyristor designed to reduce or eliminate manufacturing and operational difficulties commonly experienced in the formation and operation of NDR devices. According to one example embodiment of the present invention, the semiconductor substrate is trenched adjacent a doped or dopable substrate region, which is formed to include at least two vertically-adjacent thyristor regions of different polarity. A capacitively-coupled control port for the thyristor is coupled to at least one of the thyristor regions. The trench also includes a dielectric material for electrically insulating the vertically-adjacent thyristor regions. The thyristor is electrically connected to other circuitry in the device, such as a transistor, and used to form a device, such as a memory cell.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to semiconductor devices and, more specifically, to semiconductor devices including thyristor-based devices. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The semiconductor industry has recently experienced technological advances that have permitted dramatic increases in integrated circuit density and complexity, and equally dramatic decreases in power consumption and package sizes. Present semiconductor technology now permits single-die microprocessors with many millions of transistors, operating at speeds of hundreds of millions of instructions per second to be packaged in relatively small, air-cooled semiconductor device packages. The improvements in such devices has led to a dramatic increase in their use in a variety of applications. As the use of these devices has become more prevalent, the demand for reliable and affordable semiconductor devices has increased. Accordingly, the need to manufacture such devices in an efficient and reliable manner has become increasingly important. 
     An important part in the circuit design, construction, and manufacture of semiconductor devices concerns circuitry such as semiconductor memories and other circuitry used to store digital information. Conventional random access memory devices include a variety of circuits, such as SRAM and DRAM circuits. The construction and formation of such memory circuitry typically involves forming at least one storage element and circuitry designed to access the stored information. 
     There are a number of semiconductor memories in wide spread use. Two such semiconductor memories are SRAM and DRAM. DRAM is very common due to its high density (e.g., high density has benefits including low price). DRAM cell size is typically between 6 and 8 F 2 , where F is the minimum feature size. However, DRAM is relatively slow compared to microprocessor speeds (typical DRAM access times are ˜50 nSec) and requires refresh. SRAM is another common semiconductor memory. SRAM is much faster than DRAM (SRAM access times can be less than or equal to about 5 nSec) and do not require refresh. SRAM cells are typically made using 4 transistors and 2 resistors or 6 transistors, which results in much lower density and is typically about 60-100 F 2 . 
     A novel type of NDR-based SRAM has been recently introduced that can potentially provide the speed of conventional SRAM at the density of DRAM in a CMOS compatible process. This new SRAM cell uses a thin capacitively-coupled NDR device and more specifically a thin capacitively-coupled thyristor to form a bistable element for the SRAM cell. For more information about this type of NDR device, reference may be made to: “A Novel Thigh Density, Low Voltage SRAM Cell With A Vertical NDR Device,” VLSI Technology Technical Digest, June, 1998; “A Novel Thyristor-based SRAM Cell (T-RAM) for High-Speed, Low-Voltage, Giga-Scale Memories,” International Electron Device Meeting Technical Digest 1999, and “A Semiconductor Capacitively-Coupled NDR Device And Its Applications For High-Speed High-Density Memories And Power Switches,” PCT Int&#39;l Publication No. WO 99/63598, corresponding to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/092,449, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,161 issued May 18, 2001. 
     While the thin-capacitively-coupled-thyristor type device is effective in overcoming many previously unresolved problems for memory applications, an important consideration is designing the body of the thyristor sufficiently thin so that the capacitive coupling between the control port and the underlying thyristor base region can substantially modulate the potential of this base region and result in an outflow of this base region&#39;s minority carriers (versus MOSFET operation where channel inversion results from an inflow of minority carriers). 
     The above-mentioned and other difficulties associated with the formation of vertical thyristor-based devices present challenges to the manufacture and implementation of such devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention is directed to overcoming the above-mentioned challenges and others related to thyristor-based memory devices, such as the devices discussed above. The present invention is exemplified in a number of implementations and applications, some of which are summarized below. 
     One aspect of the present invention is directed to a semiconductor device including a thyristor designed to reduce or eliminate manufacturing and operational difficulties commonly experienced in the formation and operation of NDR devices. According to one example embodiment, the semiconductor substrate is trenched adjacent a doped or dopable substrate region, which is formed to included at least two vertically-adjacent thyristor regions of different polarity. A capacitively-coupled control port for the thyristor is coupled to at least one of the thyristor regions. The trench also includes a dielectric material for electrically insulating the vertically-adjacent thyristor regions. 
     In a more particular example embodiment of the present invention, the thyristor is a thin capacitively coupled thyristor as characterized previously. The thin-capactively-coupled-thyristor-type device includes at least two contiguously adjacent portions of opposite doping and is electrically isolated from other circuitry in the device by the trench. A control port is capacitively coupled to one or more of the contiguously adjacent portions, and in one particular implementation, is formed in the trench. The control port can be further isolated from selected regions of the thyristor via an insulative material formed in the trench, and in one implementation the trench includes an oxide spacer at a bottom portion of the trench. 
     Other aspects of the present invention are directed to the location of the control port. In a more specific approach, the above example embodiment further involves forming the control port in the trench so that the control port is capacitively coupled to at least one of the vertically-adjacent regions. In one implementation, the control port is capacitively coupled to only one of the vertically-adjacent regions and is adapted to control the operation of the thyristor. 
     The above summary of the present invention is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the present invention. Other aspects include methods for using and for manufacturing such a thyristor and to memory arrangements employing the above-characterized thyristor construction. The figures and detailed description that follow more particularly exemplify these embodiments. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention may be more completely understood in consideration of the detailed description of various embodiments of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a thyristor-based semiconductor device, according to an example embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a thyristor-based semiconductor device, according to another example embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 shows a step in the formation of a thyristor-based semiconductor device, according to another example embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 shows another step in the formation of the thyristor-based semiconductor device shown in FIG. 3, according to another example embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 shows another step in the formation of the thyristor-based semiconductor device shown in FIG. 4, according to another example embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 shows another step in the formation of the thyristor-based semiconductor device shown in FIG. 5, according to another example embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 shows another step in the formation of the thyristor-based semiconductor device shown in FIG. 6, according to another example embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a thyristor-based semiconductor device, according to another example embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 9 is a thyristor-based semiconductor device, according to another example embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 10A shows a step in the formation of a thyristor-based semiconductor device, according to another example embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 10B shows another step in the formation of the thyristor-based semiconductor device shown in FIG. 10A, according to another example embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 10C shows another step in the formation of the thyristor-based semiconductor device shown in FIG. 10B, according to another example embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 11A is a memory array having a split word line, according to an example embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 11B is a memory array having a separate word line, according to another example embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 12 is a semiconductor device having a pass gate formed coupled to a thyristor and vertically aligned with the thyristor, according to another example embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 13 is a semiconductor device having a pass gate formed coupled to a thyristor and vertically aligned with the thyristor, according to another example embodiment of the present invention. 
     While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not necessarily to limit the invention to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention is believed to be applicable to a variety of different types of semiconductor devices, and has been found to be particularly suited for devices using thyristor-based devices, such as memory cells, and for enhancing the ability to form such devices in a semiconductor substrate. While the present invention is not necessarily limited to such devices, various aspects of the invention may be appreciated through a discussion of various examples using this context. 
     According to an example embodiment of the present invention, a thyristor-based semiconductor device, such as a memory cell, is manufactured in a manner that includes forming a trench in the device that electrically isolates a vertical thyristor. A trench is formed in the device using conventional methods, such as by patterning a mask over semiconductor substrate (e.g., bulk silicon) and subsequently etching the trench at a portion of the substrate that is exposed via the patterned mask. An electrically insulative material is formed in the trench, and a portion of the device adjacent the trench is implanted to form the body of a thyristor. In one particular implementation, the portions of the device implanted includes a portion surrounded by the trench. The body of the thyristor is formed having adjacent portions, at least one of which is disposed vertically adjacent another one of the contiguous regions. The thyristor can be formed in a variety of spatial orientations, can he implemented with conventional CMOS fabrication methods, and is particularly applicable as a thin capacitively coupled thyristor, as characterized previously. A control port, such as a gate, is capacitively coupled to one of the contiguous regions of the thyristor and adapted to control the operation of the thyristor, for example, by effecting the switching of the thyristor between a blocking state and a conducting state. A reference voltage is coupled to another one of the contiguous regions. In one particular implementation, the gate is formed in the trench, and in another implementation the gate is formed surrounding a contiguous portion of the thyristor. The isolation trench addresses challenges including those discussed in the background hereinabove, including the need to electrically isolate the thyristor from surrounding circuitry while maintaining the ability to manufacture devices near the thyristor. 
     In a more particular example embodiment of the present invention, the thyristor is formed as part of a memory cell that uses either an NMOSFET or a PMOSFET as an access transistor, or pass gate, to the thyristor. A source/drain region of the access transistor is electrically connected to an emitter region (e.g., anode or cathode) of the body of the thyristor. The pass gate may, for example, also include vertical portions as does the thyristor. The emitter region to which the pass transistor is connected may have a different doping type than the pass transistor source/drain region. In a more specific example embodiment of the present invention using a transistor as a pass gate, an isolation trench is formed adjacent the pass gate and a gate for the transistor is formed in the trench, such as using methods described herein to form a control port for the thyristor. 
     In another particular implementation, an insulative portion is formed in the trench and is configured and arranged to prevent the control port from coupling to more than one contiguous region of the thyristor. In this manner, it is possible to couple either a lower or upper contiguous region, or to independently couple two contiguous regions in opposite electrical directions using two control ports. In a more particular implementation, the insulative portion includes a spacer formed at the bottom of the trench prior to the formation of the control port in the trench for the thyristor. 
     The Figures show thyristor-based semiconductor devices being formed having adjacent trench isolation, according to various example embodiments of the present invention. Certain ones of the figures use reference numbers similar to numbers used in previously described figures, and not necessarily with repeated description thereof. 
     Beginning with FIG. 1, a nitride mask  110  is deposited over a semiconductor material  105  including bulk silicon, and a photo mask is patterned over the nitride mask. The nitride mask is etched in a manner that leaves at least two open portions  112  and  114  over the semiconductor material  105 . The nitride mask is then removed at the open portions and exposing the semiconductor material thereunder. Trenches are etched in the semiconductor material at the exposed material, and an oxide liner may be formed in the trenches. The depth of the trench is selected to achieve electrical insulation from other circuitry in the device, and in one particular implementation is about 0.5 microns. In addition, the trenches can be formned having different depths, such as for use in an existing process without significantly changing the isolation of the existing logic when the existing trench isolation is too shallow for thyristor isolation. 
     After the trenches are etched, a region  138  of the substrate  105  at a lower end of a thyristor pillar  130  is implanted with a dopant to form an emitter region of the thyristor. Oxide material  120  and  122  is deposited in the trenches and planarized using a process such as chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP). The planarized oxide is then patterned with a photo mask and a portion of the oxide in the trench under open portion  112  is etched to form an open area for a poly gate for the thyristor. A gate dielectric  142  is formed in portion of the gate open area adjacent the thyristor pillar, and polysilicon gate material  140  is deposited in the gate open area. Additional oxide is then formed over the polysilicon gate, and the nitride is stripped off the device. Additional thyristor regions are then formed, including base regions  136  and  134  and emitter region  132 , which are electrically insulated by the oxide  120  and  122 . 
     FIG. 2 shows a semiconductor device  200  having a gate  240  formed in a portion of the trench  112 , according to another example embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the gate is formed in an open area that is near one sidewall of the trench, the sidewall being adjacent a portion where a thyristor is to be formed. FIGS. 3-7 show a thyristor-based device being formed using similar steps. 
     Beginning with FIG. 3, thyristor devices are formed at stacks  330 ,  332  and  334 , according to a more particular example embodiment of the present invention. A nitride mask is used to form openings  312 ,  314 ,  316  and  318  in substrate  105  in the device, and oxide liners  313 ,  315 ,  317  and  319  are formed on sidewalls and bottoms of the openings. Dopant  322 ,  324 ,  326  and  328  is then implanted via the bottom of each of the openings to be used in forming an emitter region of subsequently formed thyristors. Oxide  412 ,  414 ,  416  and  418  is deposited in each opening and a photo resist  410  is then patterned over the device in FIG.  4 . Openings  413 ,  417  and  419  are formed in the oxide. As shown in FIG. 5, gate oxides  511 ,  515  and  517  are formed on the sidewalls of the thyristor pillars  330 ,  332  and  334  and polysilicon gates  512 ,  516  and  518  are formed therein and electrically coupled to base regions of the adjacent thyristors. 
     The nitride mask is then removed in FIG. 6, and P base thyristor portions  610 ,  620  and  630 , along with N base thyristor portions  612 ,  622  and  632  are formed using, for example, conventional dopant implantation methods described herein. The P base portions are each electrically connected with their corresponding N base and N+ emitter regions, and the N base portions are also electrically connected to their corresponding P+ emitter regions. P+ emitter regions  714 ,  724  and  734  are formed over the P base portions in FIG.  7 . Transistors  740  and  750  are then formed by first depositing a gate oxide  747  and  757 , and forming a polysilicon over the gate oxide. The polysilicon is then photolithographically masked and etched to form gate portions  746  and  756 , and the source/drain regions  742 ,  744  and  752  are implanted (N+ source/drain region  754  is also implanted and shown without remaining transistor portions). In a more particular implementation, gate portions  746  and  756  are formed in a single deposition step with the formation of gates  512  and  516 . Alternatively, the formation of the source/drain regions may include a lightly-doped drain (LDD) implant following the gate photo-etch, and subsequent formation of sidewall spacers on the gate. Once the sidewall spacers are in place, a second source/drain implant is effected to form heavily-doped portions adjacent the LDD portions. Local interconnects  760 ,  762  and  764  are then formed electrically coupling the P+ emitter portions of the thyristors and the N+ source/drain regions of the transistors. Contact  766  is formed in an oxide  710 , and a metal interconnect  768  is formed over the oxide and can be used to couple the circuitry to a variety of other circuitry. 
     FIG. 8 shows a thyristor-based semiconductor device having a split gate, according to another example embodiment of the present invention. The device is similar to the device shown in FIG. 7, with a difference including the use of gates on both sides of the thyristor. In this instance, thyristors  806  and  816  are formed having N+ emitter regions  808  and  818 , P base regions  810  and  820 , N base regions  812  and  822 , and P+ regions  814  and  824 . Gate portions  830  and  832  are formed in oxide trenches and adjacent thyristor  806 , and gates  834  and  836  are formed similarly adjacent thyristor  816 . In one implementation, the gates  834  and  836  are part of a contiguous gate region that surrounds the thyristor. In addition, FIG. 8 shows another alternate implementation wherein a shallow trench isolation (STI)  890  is used to isolate additional circuitry in the device from the thyristor. 
     FIG. 9 shows a thyristor-based semiconductor device having a P+ emitter region that acts as a portion of an interconnect to a transistor, according to another example embodiment of the present invention. The thyristor device is formed having N+ emitter regions  908  and  918 , P base regions  910  and  920  and N base regions  912  and  922 , for example, in a similar manner as described hereinabove. P+ emitter regions  962  and  964  are then formed over the N base regions and extending laterally to the N+ source/drain region of a transistor. A high conductivity material, such as salicide  972  and  974 , is formed to connect the p+ emitter and n+ source/drain to electrically couple the thyristor to the transistor. 
     The formation and filling of the trenches in each of the above and other example implementations can be accomplished in a variety of manners. FIGS. 10A-10C show the formation of gates in a substrate including a MOSFET  1080  and a thyristor  1070  (each shown without implant regions), according to another example embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 10A, a nitride layer is patterned over a substrate  1002  to form mask regions  1005 ,  1007  and  1009 , and trenches  1010  and  1020  are etched in the substrate. Oxide material is deposited and anisotropically etched to form spacers  1012 ,  1014 ,  1022  and  1024 , forming sidewall spacers in trench  1010  and filling trench  1020 . The bottom of the thyristor is then implanted with a dopant to form an emitter region, and the implant is optionally driven into the substrate via a subsequent process, such as annealing. The unfilled portion of the trenches is then filled with oxide, which may be planarized by using chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) or another planarization method, and the nitride is removed. Other implants are then effected, such as for source/drain or well regions of the MOSFET  1080 , base or emitter portions of the thyristor  1070 , or for other circuitry. 
     A photoresist  1030  is patterned over the device in FIG.  10 B and the oxide is etched to form openings  1040  and  1050 . Gate oxide  1042  and  1052  is then formed in the openings, and polysilicon gates  1044  and  1054  are formed adjacent the gate oxide in FIG.  10 C. In one particular implementation, gate oxide  1062  and gate  1064  for the MOSFET  1080  are formed with gate oxide  1042  and  1052 , and with gates  1044  and  1054 , respectively. 
     FIG. 11A shows an array of memory cells having a split (or folded) word line and including thyristor-based memory devices coupled to a transistor, according to another example embodiment of the present invention. Split word line  1120  is capacitively connected to a gate portion of CMOS transistors  1121 ,  1122 ,  1123 ,  1124 ,  1125 ,  1126 ,  1127  and  1128 . A source/drain portion of each of the transistors is electrically connected via local interconnect to either an anode or cathode portion of eight thyristors  1111 ,  1112 ,  1113 ,  1114 ,  1115 ,  1116 ,  1117  and  1118 , and each thyristor is electrically connected to a second word line  1110 . The second word line is electrically connected to a base portion of either an anode or cathode portion that is not coupled to the local interconnect. Each thyristor is formed adjacent a trench that is adapted to isolate the thyristor from other circuitry in the device. In one particular implementation, the memory cells include cells formed as shown in FIG. 8, with the word line  1120  being represented by gate portion  746 , and word line  1110  being represented by gate portions  830  and  832 . 
     FIG. 11B shows another array of memory cells having separate word lines  1130  and  1132  and including thyristor-based semiconductor devices, according to another example embodiment of the present invention. Word line  1130  is electrically connected to a gate portion of CMOS transistors  1121 ,  1122 ,  1123  and  1124 , and word line  1132  is electrically connected to a gate portion of CMOS transistors  1125 ,  1126 ,  1127  and  1128 . A source/drain region of each of the transistors is electrically connected via local interconnect to a thyristor. Either an anode or cathode end portion of each of thyristors  1111 ,  1112 ,  1113  and  1114  is electrically connected to word line  1140 , and an anode or cathode end portion of each of thyristors  1115 ,  1116 ,  1117  and  1118  is electrically connected to word line  1142 . Each thyristor is formed adjacent a trench that is adapted to isolate the thyristor from other circuitry in the device. In one particular implementation, the memory cells include cells formed as shown in FIGS. 3-7, with one of the word lines  1130  and  1132  being represented by gate portion  746 , and word lines  1140  and  1142  being represented by gate portions  512  and  516 . 
     FIG. 12 shows a semiconductor device  1200  having pass gates formed coupled to and vertically aligned with a thyristor, according to another example embodiment of the present invention. Thyristors  1211 ,  1221  and  1231  are formed having contiguous vertically adjacent base and emitter regions, such as those described hereinabove. Pass gates  1215 ,  1225  and  1235  are formed over the thyristors and vertically aligned therewith. Each of the vertically aligned thyristor and pass gate combinations  1210 ,  1220  and  1230  are electrically isolated by trenches  1240 ,  1242  and  1244 , and are connected to an interconnect  1250  via contacts  1252 ,  1254  and  1256 . 
     FIG. 13 is a semiconductor device  1300  having silicon on insulator (SOI) structure with a buried insulator  1305  and a thyristor  1310  electrically isolated using trenches  1340  and  1342 , according to another example embodiment of the present invention. The thyristor includes vertically adjacent regions that include a P+ emitter region  1312 , N-base  1314 , P-base  1316  and N+ emitter  1318 . Control ports  1341  and  1343  are capacitively coupled to the P-base region  1316 . The thyristor is coupled to a pass gate  1330  via a portion of the N+ emitter region  1318  that extends to an N+ source/drain region  1332  of the pass gate  1330 . Another source/drain region  1334  is coupled via a contact  1352  to a metal interconnect  1350  that can be coupled to other circuitry. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is directed to improving the stability of the above-described thyristor devices in the presence of high temperatures and various disturbances. In this context, the above-described thyristor devices are modified and/or enhanced as described in concurrently-filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/814,980, entitled “Stability In Thyristor-Based Memory Device,” now U.S. Pat. No. 6,462,359 issued Oct. 8, 2002 (No. TRAM.002PA), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The skilled artisan will appreciate that a shunt element, such a,s described in the concurrently-filed patent document, can be formed in the trench below the control port (e.g.,  140  of FIG. 1) and using similar manufacturing techniques used in forming the control port. In another embodiment, the shunt element can be formed in a second trench on the side of the vertically-adjacent thyristor regions (e.g.,  134 ,  136  of FIG. 1) opposite the side adjacent the control port. 
     The various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the invention. Based on the above discussion and illustrations, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that various modifications and changes may be made to the present invention without strictly following the exemplary embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein. Such changes may include, but are not necessarily limited to: altering the shapes, locations, and sizes of the illustrated thyristors; adding structures to the integrated circuit device; increasing the number of PN sections in the current-switching device; interchanging P and N regions in the device structures and/or using PMOSFETS rather than NMOSFETS; changing the thyristors from anode up to cathode up configuration; forming the bottom node (anode or cathode) with buried layers (which may or may not involve epitaxial semiconductor growth); and using poly emitters for either anode or cathode and/or local interconnect (e.g. combining local interconnect with part of the thyristor). Such modifications and changes do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the present invention that is set forth in the following claims.