Patent Abstract:
A semiconductor device according to one embodiment includes: a semiconductor substrate; a first impurity diffusion suppression layer formed on the semiconductor substrate for suppressing diffusion of a channel impurity; an impurity channel layer formed on the first impurity diffusion suppression layer and containing the channel impurity; a second impurity diffusion suppression layer formed on the impurity channel layer for suppressing diffusion of the channel impurity; a channel layer formed on the second impurity diffusion suppression layer; a gate insulating film formed on the channel layer; and a gate electrode formed on the gate insulating film.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-338047, filed on Dec. 27, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Enhancement of carrier (electron and hole) mobility is an important factor for high performance of a transistor. Since an impurity present in a channel causes deterioration of the carrier mobility, it is necessary to form a channel region while preventing impurity diffusion into a surface of a silicon substrate. It is thus well known that a channel structure having a steep impurity concentration gradient is desirable to improve transistor characteristics. 
     Accordingly, there is a method in which a channel structure having a steep impurity concentration gradient is formed by forming a non-doped silicon epitaxial layer after forming an impurity channel layer by ion implantation. 
     In this structure, an impurity in the impurity channel layer is diffused from the impurity channel layer into the non-doped silicon epitaxial layer, which causes that a channel profile is moderated. Therefore, since a SiC layer suppresses the diffusion of the impurity (e.g., disclosed in JP-A-2000-77654), it is suggested that, after forming an impurity channel layer by ion implantation, an SiC layer is epitaxially grown on the impurity channel layer and a non-doped silicon epitaxial layer is formed thereon (e.g., disclosed in a non-patent literary document of T. Ernst et al. “2003 Symposium on VLSI Technology Digest of Technical Papers” pp. 51-52). 
     However, in this structure, there is a problem in that junction capacitance and junction leakage are increased since an impurity diffuses downwards from the impurity channel layer and an impurity concentration at an interface between a well region and a high concentration diffusion layer region and an interface between a channel region and the high concentration diffusion layer region is increased. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     A semiconductor device according to one embodiment includes: a semiconductor substrate; a first impurity diffusion suppression layer formed on the semiconductor substrate for suppressing diffusion of a channel impurity; an impurity channel layer formed on the first impurity diffusion suppression layer and containing the channel impurity; a second impurity diffusion suppression layer formed on the impurity channel layer for suppressing diffusion of the channel impurity; a channel layer formed on the second impurity diffusion suppression layer; a gate insulating film formed on the channel layer; and a gate electrode formed on the gate insulating film. 
     A semiconductor device according to another embodiment includes: a semiconductor substrate having an nMOS region and a pMOS region; a lower impurity diffusion suppression layer formed on the semiconductor substrate in the nMOS region for suppressing diffusion of a p-type channel impurity; a first impurity channel layer formed on the lower impurity diffusion suppression layer and containing the p-type channel impurity; a second impurity channel layer formed on the semiconductor substrate in the pMOS region and containing an n-type channel impurity; an upper impurity diffusion suppression layer formed on the first impurity channel layer and comprising a crystal that suppresses diffusion of the p-type channel impurity; a first channel layer formed on the upper impurity diffusion suppression layer; a second channel layer formed on the second impurity channel layer and comprising the crystal; and gate electrodes each formed on the first and second channel layers via gate insulating films. 
     A method of fabricating a semiconductor device according to another embodiment includes: forming a lower impurity diffusion suppression layer on an nMOS region of a semiconductor substrate for suppressing diffusion of a p-type channel impurity; forming a first impurity channel layer on the lower impurity diffusion suppression layer, the first impurity channel layer containing the p-type channel impurity; forming a second impurity channel layer on a pMOS region of the semiconductor substrate, the second impurity channel layer containing an n-type channel impurity; simultaneously epitaxially growing first and second SiGe crystals on the first and second impurity channel layers, the first and second SiGe crystals suppressing diffusion of the p-type channel impurity; simultaneously epitaxially growing first and second Si crystals on the first and second SiGe crystals; diffusing Ge in the second SiGe crystal into the second Si crystal by heat treatment for forming a third SiGe crystal comprising the Ge-diffused second Si crystal and the second SiGe crystal; and forming gate electrodes each on the first Si crystal and third SiGe crystal via gate insulating films. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a cross sectional view showing a semiconductor device in a first embodiment; 
         FIGS. 2A to 2E  are cross sectional views schematically showing a portion of a method of fabricating the semiconductor device in the first embodiment; 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  are graphs showing impurity concentrations in the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view showing a semiconductor device in a second embodiment; and 
         FIGS. 5A to 5E  are cross sectional views schematically showing a portion of a method of fabricating the semiconductor device in the second embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     First to third embodiments will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompany drawings. 
     First Embodiment 
       FIG. 1  is a cross sectional view in a channel length direction showing a semiconductor device in a first embodiment. 
     An element isolation portion  2  having a depth of 200-350 nm is formed on a p-type or n-type silicon substrate  1 . A p-type well region (not shown) is formed in an active element portion that is a region on the silicon substrate  1  divided by the element isolation portion  2 . In case that the p-type well region is formed by implanting B ion into the silicon substrate  1 , a typical implantation condition of B ion for forming the p-type well region is about 260 keV of acceleration voltage and 2×10 13  cm −2  of dosage. 
     A SiC layer as a first impurity diffusion suppression layer  3  is provided 5-20 nm in thickness in a nMOS region on the silicon substrate  1 , and a B-doped or In-doped Si layer as an impurity channel layer  5  are formed 10-30 nm in thickness on the SiC layer  3 . 
     A SiC layer as a second impurity diffusion suppression layer  4  is provided 5-20 nm in thickness on the impurity channel layer  5  and a non-doped silicon epitaxial layer  6  is formed 5-20 nm in thickness on the second impurity diffusion suppression layer  4 . By forming the SiC layers as the first impurity diffusion suppression layer  3  and the second impurity diffusion suppression layer  4  so that a carbon atom concentration is 1×10 17  cm −3  or more, it is possible to effectively suppress diffusion of an impurity such as B or In, etc., from the impurity channel layer  5  into the silicon substrate  1  and the silicon epitaxial layer  6 . And then, a shallow diffusion layer  9  and a deep diffusion layer  11  are formed spanning any of the silicon epitaxial layer  6 , the first impurity diffusion suppression layer  3 , the second impurity diffusion suppression layer  4 , the impurity channel layer  5  and the silicon substrate  1 , or plural layers thereof. 
     A gate electrode  8  is formed on the silicon epitaxial layer  6  via a gate insulating film  7  and a gate sidewall film  10  is formed on a side surface of a laminate structure composed of the gate insulating film  7  and the gate electrode  8 . Then, a silicide layer  12  is formed on the gate electrode  8  and the silicon epitaxial layer  6 . 
     Besides a silicon dioxide film, a silicon oxynitride film or a silicon nitride film, etc., the gate insulating film  7  is formed of, e.g., a hafnium silicon oxynitride film (HfSiON) or a hafnium silicate film (HfSiO), etc., having a permittivity higher than that of the silicon dioxide film or the silicon oxynitride film, or a laminated structure thereof. The gate electrode  8  is composed of, e.g., a conductor such as polysilicon, etc., or a metal electrode such as tungsten (W) or titanium nitride (TiN), etc. The silicide layer  12  may be formed of, e.g., Ni-silicide, Co-silicide, Er-silicide, Pt-silicide or Pd-silicide, etc. 
       FIGS. 2A to 2E  are cross sectional views showing processes for forming the semiconductor device in the first embodiment. 
     Firstly, the element isolation portion  2  is formed on a main surface of the silicon substrate  1  using, e.g., a hard mask such as SiN, etc. 
     Next, as shown in  FIG. 2A , after forming a well region (not shown) in the active element portion divided by the element isolation portion  2  on the main surface of the silicon substrate  1 , a SiC layer as the first impurity diffusion suppression layer  3  is formed on the silicon substrate  1  by epitaxially growing a SiC crystal to a thickness of 5-20 nm. 
     Silicon is epitaxially grown by heating the silicon substrate  1  in a hydrogen atmosphere at a high temperature of 700° C. or more and supplying reaction gas such as SiH 4 , SiH 2 Cl 2 , SiHCl 3  or HCl, etc., on the silicon substrate  1  together with hydrogen, and the SiC layer  3  is formed by supplying the above-mentioned reaction gas mixed with SiH 3 CH 3 . It is possible to effectively suppress diffusion of an impurity from the impurity channel layer  5  into the silicon substrate  1  by forming the SiC layer  3  so that an atomic percentage (Atomic %) of carbon is 0.05-3.0%. 
     Next, as shown in  FIG. 2B , a B-doped or In-doped Si layer, that becomes the impurity channel layer  5 , is formed on the SiC layer  3  by epitaxially growing a Si crystal to a thickness of 10-30 nm. It is possible to form the B-doped Si layer  5  by mixing B 2 H 6  with the above-mentioned reaction gas and growing the silicon. After this, a SiC layer as the second impurity diffusion suppression layer  4  is formed on the Si layer  5  by epitaxially growing a SiC crystal. 
     Following this, as shown in  FIG. 2C , after a non-doped Si layer used as the silicon epitaxial layer  6 , which is a channel layer, is formed 5-20 nm in thickness, RTA (Rapid Thermal Annealing) is conducted for channel activation. 
     Next, as shown in  FIG. 2D , the gate insulating film  7  is formed about 0.5-6 nm in thickness on the silicon epitaxial layer  6  by a thermal oxidation method or a LPCVD (Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition) method. On the gate insulating film  7 , an about 50-200 nm thick gate electrode  8  is formed of, e.g., polysilicon or polysilicon germanium. After forming the gate electrode  8 , the gate electrode  8  and the gate insulating film  7  are patterned using a lithographic method and a reactive ion etching method, etc. 
     Next, the shallow diffusion layer  9  is formed by ion implantation. After conducting B ion implantation under the condition of, e.g., 20 keV of acceleration voltage and 1×10 13 -3×10 13  cm −2  of dosage (30-60 degrees of tilt) as a HALO implantation condition, an As ion is implanted under the condition of 1-5 keV of acceleration voltage and 5×10 14 -1.5×10 15  cm −2  of dosage, and then, the RTA is conducted for activation. 
     Following this, the deep diffusion layer  11  is formed by the ion implantation, after forming, e.g., a silicon nitride film as the gate sidewall film  10  on a sidewall of the gate electrode  8  and the gate insulating film  7  using the LPCVD method, etc. The forming condition of the deep diffusion layer  11  is, e.g., the As ion implantation at 5-25 keV of acceleration voltage and 1×10 5 -5×10 15  cm −2  of dosage for the n-type diffusion layer. 
     Next, as shown in  FIG. 2E , a Ni film is deposited on the silicon substrate  1  and the gate electrode  8  using, e.g., a sputtering method, and the silicon substrate  1  and the gate electrode  8  are silicided by the RTA, which results in that the silicide layer  12  is formed. After forming the silicide layer  12 , an unreacted Ni film is removed by etching using a mixed solution of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide water. 
     Note that, resistance may be further lowered by using a process in which a low-temperature RTA is conducted once at 250-400° C. followed by etching using the mixed solution of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide water, and then, the RTA is conducted once again at 400-500° C. for lowering sheet resistance, or by depositing a TiN film having electrical resistance lower than that of Ni silicide on the Ni film after Ni sputtering. 
       FIG. 3B  is a graph showing an impurity concentration at A-A′ line of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 3A  is a graph as a comparative example showing an impurity concentration in case that a SiC layer  3  is not formed. As shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , it was confirmed that an impurity concentration at an interface between the well region and the high concentration diffusion layer region and an interface between the channel region and the high concentration diffusion layer region is suppressed to be low by forming a SiC layer  3  compared with the case in which the SiC layer  3  is not formed. 
     According to the above embodiment, following effects can be obtained. Namely, by forming impurity diffusion suppression layers  3  and  4  composed of a SiC layer above and below the impurity channel layer  5 , it is possible to suppress impurity diffusion in a vertical direction from the impurity channel layer  5  and thus to form a channel structure with a steep impurity concentration profile. In detail, by adjusting the Impurity concentration of the silicon substrate  1  to be 1×10 17  cm −3  or less, it is possible to more effectively form a transistor of which junction capacitance and junction leakage are suppressed. 
     Second Embodiment 
       FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view in a channel length direction showing a semiconductor device in a second embodiment. 
     An element isolation portion  14  having a depth of 200-350 nm is formed on an n-type silicon substrate  13 . An n-type well region (not shown) as a pMOSFET forming region (hereinafter referred to as simply “a pMOS region”) and a p-type well region (not shown) as an nMOSFET forming region (hereinafter referred to as simply “an nMOS region”) are formed in the active element portion that is a region divided by the element isolation portions  14 . A typical ion implantation condition for forming the well region is about 500 keV of acceleration voltage and 3×10 13  cm −2  of dosage for an n-type well into which a P ion is implanted, and about 260 keV of acceleration voltage and 2×10 12  cm −3  of dosage for a p-type well into which a B ion is implanted. 
     A SiGe layer as a first impurity diffusion suppression layer  15  is provided 5-20 nm in thickness on the silicon substrate  13  in the nMOS region, and an impurity channel layer  17  is formed on the SiGe  15  layer. Meanwhile, the impurity channel layer  17  is formed on the silicon substrate  13  in the pMOS region. An As-doped Si layer in the pMOS region and a B-doped or In-doped Si layer in the nMOS region are each formed 10-30 nm in thickness as the impurity channel layer  17 . 
     A SiGe channel layer  19  is formed on the impurity channel layer  17  in the pMOS region. On the other hand, a SiGe layer as a second impurity diffusion suppression layer  16  is formed on the impurity channel layer  17  in the nMOS region, and a silicon epitaxial layer  18  formed of a non-doped Si crystal formed by an epitaxial growth method is formed on the SiGe layer  16 . Gate insulating films  20  are each formed on the SiGe channel layer  19  and the silicon epitaxial layer  18 . 
     By forming the SiGe layers as the first impurity diffusion suppression layer  15  and the second impurity diffusion suppression layer  16  so that a germanium atom concentration is 1×10 17  cm −3  or more, it is possible to effectively suppress diffusion of an impurity from the impurity channel layer  17  into the silicon substrate  13  and the silicon epitaxial layer  18 . And then, in the pMOS region, a shallow diffusion layer  22  and a deep diffusion layer  24  are formed spanning any of the SiGe channel layer  19 , the impurity channel layer  17  and the silicon substrate  13 , or plural layers thereof. In the nMOS region, a shallow diffusion layer  22  and a deep diffusion layer  24  are formed spanning any of the silicon epitaxial layer  18 , the first and second impurity diffusion suppression layers  15  and  16 , the impurity channel layer  17  and the silicon substrate  13 , or plural layers thereof. 
     Then, gate electrodes  21  are formed on the gate insulating films  20  in the pMOS region and the nMOS region, and gate sidewall films  23  are formed on side surfaces of laminate structures of the gate insulating film  20  and the gate electrode  21  in the pMOS region and the nMOS region. And then, silicide layers  25  are formed on the silicon epitaxial layer  18  and the gate electrode  21  in the nMOS region and on the SiGe channel layer  19  and the gate electrode  21  in the pMOS region. 
     The gate insulating film  20  may be formed of, e.g., a silicon dioxide film, a silicon oxynitride film or a silicon nitride film, etc. The gate electrode  21  is composed of, e.g., a conductor such as polysilicon, etc., or a metal electrode such as tungsten (W) or titanium nitride (TiN), etc. The silicide layer  25  may be formed of, e.g., Ni-silicide, Co-silicide, Er-silicide, Pt-silicide or Pd-silicide, etc. 
       FIGS. 5A to 5E  are cross sectional views showing processes for forming the semiconductor device in the second embodiment. 
     Firstly, the element isolation portion  14  is formed on a main surface of the silicon substrate  13  by a known method using, e.g., a hard mask such as SiN, etc. 
     Next, as shown in  FIG. 5A , a p-type well (not shown) is formed in the nMOS region portions  14  and an n-type well (not shown) is formed in the pMOS region isolated from the nMOS region by the element isolation. Following this, a SiGe layer as the first impurity diffusion suppression layer  15  is formed in the nMOS region by epitaxially growing a SiGe crystal to a thickness of 5-20 nm. It is possible to effectively suppress diffusion of B or In atoms by forming the SiGe layer  15  so that an atomic percentage (Atomic %) of germanium is 1.0-30.0%. The epitaxial growth method is same as that of the first embodiment, hence, the explanation for the overlapped points is omitted in this embodiment. 
     Next, as shown in  FIG. 5B , an As-doped Si layer and a B-doped or In-doped Si layers are each formed 10-30 nm in thickness as the impurity channel layer  17  on the silicon substrate  13  in the pMOS region and on the first impurity diffusion suppression layer  15  in the nMOS region. After that, SiGe layers as the second impurity diffusion suppression layer  16  to suppress the diffusion of B or In, etc., are formed on the impurity channel layers  17  in the pMOS region and the nMOS region by epitaxially growing a SiGe crystal. 
     Following this, as shown in  FIG. 5C , non-doped Si layers used as the silicon epitaxial layer  18 , that is a channel layer, are each formed about 1-5 nm in thickness on the second impurity diffusion suppression layer  16  in the pMOS region and about 10-15 nm in thickness on the second impurity diffusion suppression layer  16  in the nMOS region. Although the SiGe layer can suppress diffusion of B or In in the impurity channel layer  17  in the nMOS region, the effect to suppress the diffusion of As in the impurity channel layer  17  in the pMOS region cannot be expected. However, by using the second impurity diffusion suppression layer  16  in the pMOS region as a channel layer of a pMOSFET, it is possible to improve characteristics of the pMOSFET and to simplify the processes. A process in which the second impurity diffusion suppression layer  16  in the pMOS region is used as a channel layer of a pMOSFET, is shown below. 
     Ge in the second impurity diffusion suppression layer  16  is diffused into the silicon epitaxial layer  18  by heat, etc., which is applied after forming the channel region. Since the silicon epitaxial layer  18  in the pMOS region is shallower than the silicon epitaxial layer  18  in the nMOS region, the entire silicon epitaxial layer  18  in the pMOS region becomes a SiGe layer due to the diffusion of the Ge from the second impurity diffusion suppression layer  16 , and the SiGe channel layer  19  composed of the second impurity diffusion suppression layer  16  and the Ge-diffused silicon epitaxial layer  18  is obtained. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5D , a surface of the silicon epitaxial layer  18  is oxidized by a thermal oxidation method or a radical oxidation method, which results in that the gate insulating film  20  is formed. 
     Following this, on the gate insulating films  20  in the pMOS region and the nMOS region, the about 50-200 nm thick gate electrodes  21  are each formed of, e.g., polysilicon or polysilicon germanium. After forming the gate electrodes  21 , the gate insulating films  20  and the gate electrodes  21  are patterned using a lithographic method or a reactive ion etching method, etc. 
     Next, the shallow diffusion layers  22  are each formed in the nMOS region and in the pMOS region by ion implantation. When the shallow diffusion layers  22  is an n-type diffusion layer, after conducting B ion implantation under the condition of, e.g., 20 keV of acceleration voltage and 1×10 13 -3×10 13  cm −2  of dosage (30-60 degrees of tilt) as a HALO implantation condition, an As ion is implanted under the condition of 1-5 keV of acceleration voltage and 5×10 14 -1.5×10 15  cm −2  of dosage. On the other hand, when the shallow diffusion layers  22  is a p-type diffusion layer, after conducting As ion implantation under the condition of, e.g., 40 keV of acceleration voltage and 1×10 13 -3×10 13  cm −2  of dosage (30-60 degrees of tilt) as a HALO implantation condition, a B ion is implanted under the condition of 1-3 keV of acceleration voltage and 5×10 14 -1.5×10 15  cm −2  of dosage, and then, the RTA is conducted for activation. 
     Note that, resistance may be further lowered by using a process in which a low-temperature RTA is conducted once at 250-400° C. followed by etching using the mixed solution of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide water, and then, the RTA is conducted once again at 400-500° C. for lowering sheet resistance, or by depositing a TiN film having electrical resistance lower than that of Ni silicide on the Ni film after Ni sputtering. 
     Following this, as shown in  FIG. 5E , as the gate sidewall film  23 , for example, silicon dioxide films are each formed on sidewalls of the gate electrode  21  and the gate insulating film  20  in the nMOS region and in the pMOS region using the LPCVD method, etc. After forming the gate sidewall film  23 , the deep diffusion layer  24  is formed by, e.g., a B ion implantation at 1-5 keV of acceleration voltage and 5×10 14 -5×10 15  cm −2  of dosage in the pMOS region, and by an As ion implantation at 5-25 keV of acceleration voltage and 1×10 15 -5×10 15  cm −2  of dosage in the nMOS region. 
     Next, Ni films are each deposited on the silicon substrate  13  and the gate electrode  21  in the nMOS region and in the pMOS region using, e.g., a sputtering method, and the silicon substrate  13  and the gate electrode  21  are silicided by the RTA, which results in that the silicide layer  25  is formed. After forming the silicide layer  25 , an unreacted Ni film is removed by etching using a mixed solution of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide water. 
     According to the above embodiment, following effects can be obtained. Namely, by forming impurity diffusion suppression layers composed of a SiGe layer above and below the impurity channel layer  17  in the nMOS region, it is possible to form a steep channel structure in which impurity diffusion in a vertical direction from the impurity channel layer is suppressed. In detail, by adjusting the impurity concentration of the silicon substrate  1  to be 1×10 17  cm −3  or less, it is possible to more effectively form a transistor of which junction capacitance and junction leakage are suppressed. In addition, it is possible to simplify the processes by simultaneously forming the impurity diffusion suppression layer in the nMOS region and a SiGe channel layer in the pMOS region. 
     Third Embodiment 
     Next, a method of fabricating a semiconductor device in the third embodiment will be explained. In this embodiment, when an impurity channel layer is formed, instead of an impurity doped epitaxial growth in the first or second embodiment, a method, in which a non-doped silicon epitaxial layer is grown and an impurity is introduced into the non-doped silicon epitaxial layer by the ion implantation, is used. Note that, RTA for activation is conducted after the ion implantation. Since the other fabrication processes and a material and a structure of the film are same as the first and second embodiment, the explanation for the overlapped points is omitted here. 
     When an impurity is introduced into the silicon epitaxial layer of the impurity channel layer by using the ion implantation in the embodiment, it is desirable to adjust an impurity ion range by controlling an acceleration energy so that the impurity ion reaches the impurity channel layer. 
     According to the above embodiment, following effects can be obtained. Namely, it is possible to form a steep channel structure similar to that of the first and second embodiments, in which the impurity diffusion in a downward direction from the impurity channel layer is suppressed. In detail, by adjusting the impurity concentration of the silicon substrate  1  to be 1×10 17  cm −3  or less, it is possible to more effectively form a transistor of which junction capacitance and junction leakage are suppressed.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7