(Invited) Layer Transfer Technology for Stacked Multi-Channel Semiconductor-on-Insulator Platform
Authors: Chang Wen Hsin , Hong T.-Z. , Sung P.-J. , Irisawa Toshifumi , Ishii Hiroyuki , Lee Y.-J. , Maeda Tatsuro 
Published: July 2021

Continuous scaling of device dimension pushed Si channel to its physical limit, alternative high mobility channels such as (Si)Ge and (In)GaAs have been considered to replace Si to further enhance CMOS performance. In the meantime, ultrathin body (UTB) semiconductor-on-insulator is compulsory structure for improved gate control and immunity against short channel effects in the ultimately scaled high performance and low power dissipation CMOS. To realize stacked multi- channel semiconductor-on-insulator platform on current mainstream Si wafers, layer transfer technology [1-3] utilizing direct bonding and selective etching was developed to integrate (Si)Ge or (In)GaAs channels on Si, showing great potential for ultimate device structures with heterogeneous integration.

Figure 1(a) is the process flow for integrating InGaAs channel onto SiGe-on-insulator (SGOI) structure utilizing layer transfer technology [4]. It started with bottom SGOI pMOSFET fabrication. The SGOI structure was realized by 2-step Ge condensation technique, resulting in Ge content of 70%. After high k metal gate process, self-aligned Ni-SiGe alloy was formed as S/D metal. Subsequently, SiO2 interlayer was deposited by CVD, followed by CMP planarization. Then, InGaAs grown on InP was directly bonded onto SiO2 and InP substrates were selectively etched away. Finally, the top InGaAsOI nMOSFET fabrication and metal interconnection completed the CMOS fabrication. Fig. 1(b) shows the cross-sectional TEM images of fabricated InGaAs/SiGe channel stacked CMOS. Well aligned top and bottom devices are seen without any distinct defects.

Figures 2 is a schematic flow for fabricating Ge/Si double channel-on-insulator structure by low temperature hetero-layer bonding technology (LT-HBT). The technology starts with the preparation of donor wafers (Fig. 2(a)) for the top Ge channel layer and host wafers (Fig. 2(b)) for the bottom Si channel layer. For donor wafers, a 200-nm-thick Ge was epitaxially grown on SOI wafer by reduced pressure CVD. After CMP planarization, ALD SiO2 is deposited onto Ge. For host wafers, implantation and dopant activation were carried out, followed by chemical treatment for Si oxidation. After surface activation by room temperature chemical treatment (Fig. 2(c)), the direct wafer bonding of both SiO2 surface was performed at 200 °C in a press machine (Fig. 2(d)). Then, the Si substrate of the donor wafer was removed with deep RIE. At this time, the BOX layer of the donor wafer serves as an etch-stop layer. Subsequently, the BOX layer and thin Si layer of the donor wafer were removed selectively in HF and TMAH solution, respectively (Fig. 2(f)). To precise control the top Ge channel thickness, a series of low damage etching process was adapted to thin down Ge (Fig. 2(g)). The realized double channel structure is fully isolated with an insulating insertion layer,[5] which is very promising for realizing novel complementary FET (CFET) with minimum process steps. The cross-sectional TEM image of Ge/Si stacked channel of CFET after high k metal gate process is demonstrated in Fig. 2(h). Even more multiple stacks can be realized by using LT-HBT. A vertically stacked three-layer structure with 2 bottom Si layers and 1 top Ge layers is also demonstrated using SOI-based donor wafers in Fig. 3, indicating the highly integrated density channel structure is possible. The feasibility of layer transfer technology has been proved for multi-channel structure with high mobility channels for N2 node and beyond.

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by JST Japan-Taiwan Collaborative Research Program, Grant Number JPMJKB1902, Japan and the Ministry of Science and Technology under Grant Number MOST-109-2628-E-492-001-MY3, 109-2923-E-492-001-MY3, 107-2221-E-492-016-MY3.

References

[1] T. Maeda et al., Appl. Phys. Lett.
109, 262104 (2016). [2] W. H. Chang et al., Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process
70, 123 (2017). [3]W. H. Chang et al., IEEE Trans. Electron Device
64, 4615 (2017). [4] T. Irisawa et al., VLSI 146 (2014). [5] T. Z. Hong et al., IEDM (2020)

Figure 1