Patent Document

BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The present disclosure generally relates to various geometries for gate all-around transistor devices built on a silicon substrate and, in particular, to transistors that are suitable for low-power applications. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     Conventional integrated circuits incorporate planar field effect transistors (FETs) in which current flows through a semiconducting channel between a source and a drain, in response to a voltage applied to a control gate. The semiconductor industry strives to obey Moore&#39;s law, which holds that each successive generation of integrated circuit devices shrinks to half its size and operates twice as fast. As device dimensions have shrunk below 100 nm, however, conventional silicon device geometries and materials have experienced difficulty maintaining switching speeds without incurring failures such as, for example, leaking current from the device into the semiconductor substrate. Several new technologies have emerged that allowed chip designers to continue shrinking gate lengths to 45 nm, 22 nm, and then as low as 14 nm. One particularly radical technology change entailed re-designing the structure of the FET from a planar device to a three-dimensional device in which the semiconducting channel was replaced by a fin that extends out from the plane of the substrate. In such a device, commonly referred to as a FinFET, the control gate wraps around three sides of the fin so as to influence current flow from three surfaces instead of one. The improved control achieved with a 3-D design results in faster switching performance and reduced current leakage. Building taller devices has also permitted increasing the device density within the same footprint that had previously been occupied by a planar FET. Examples of FinFET devices are described in further detail in U.S. Pat. No. 8,759,874 and U.S. Patent Application Publication US2014/0175554, assigned to the same assignee as the present patent application. 
     The FinFET concept was further extended by developing a gate-all-around FET, or GAA FET, in which the gate fully wraps around the channel for maximum control of the current flow therein. In the GAA FET, the channel can take the form of a cylindrical nanowire that is isolated from the substrate, in contrast to the peninsular fin. In the GAA FET the cylindrical nanowire is surrounded by the gate oxide, and then by the gate. Existing GAA FETs are oriented horizontally, such that the nanowire extends in a direction that is substantially parallel to the surface of the semiconductor substrate. GAA FETs are described in, for example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0341596 to Chang et al., of IBM, and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/312,418, assigned to the same assignee as the present patent application. 
     As integrated circuits shrink with each technology generation, more power is needed to drive a larger number of transistors housed in a smaller volume. To prevent chips from overheating, and to conserve battery power, each generation of transistors is designed to operate at a lower voltage and to dissipate less power. In a conventional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) field effect transistor, the source and drain are doped to have a same polarity, e.g., both positive, in a P-FET, or both negative, in an N-FET. When the gate voltage applied to the transistor, V G , exceeds a threshold voltage, V T , the device turns on and current flows through the channel. When the gate voltage applied to the transistor is below the threshold voltage, the drain current, I D , ideally is zero and the device is off. However, in reality, in the sub-threshold regime, there exists a small leakage current that is highly sensitive to the applied voltage. Over time, the leakage current drains charge from the power supply, e.g., a mobile phone battery or a computer battery, thus necessitating more frequent recharging. A change in gate voltage that is needed to reduce the sub-threshold leakage current by a factor of 10 is called the sub-threshold swing. It is desirable for the sub-threshold swing to be as small as possible. It is understood by those skilled in the art that MOSFETs have reached their lower limit of sub-threshold swing at 60 mV/decade. Thus, a different type of device is needed to further decrease the sub-threshold swing. 
     Tunneling field effect transistors (TFETs) are considered promising alternatives to conventional CMOS devices for use in future integrated circuits having low-voltage, low-power applications. Unlike a MOSFET, the source and drain of a TFET are doped to have opposite polarity. During operation of the TFET, charge carriers tunnel through a potential barrier rather than being energized to surmount the potential barrier, as occurs in a MOSFET. Because switching via tunneling requires less energy, TFETs are particularly useful in low-power applications such as mobile devices, for which battery lifetime is of utmost importance. Another reason TFETs provide enhanced switching performance for low-voltage operation is that TFETs have substantially smaller values of sub-threshold swing than MOSFETs. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     A vertical TFET provides low-power, high-speed switching performance for transistors having critical dimensions below 7 nm. In one embodiment, the vertical TFET is implemented in silicon, using a gate-all-around (GAA) device architecture. The vertical GAA TFET is a linear, or 1-D, device in the form of a nanowire oriented transverse to planar front and back surfaces of the silicon substrate. The nanowire includes a lower drain region, a channel, and an upper source region, which are grown epitaxially from the doped well. The channel region is made of intrinsic silicon, while the source and drain regions are doped in-situ. An annular gate surrounds the channel region, capacitively controlling current flow through the channel from all sides. The source is electrically accessible via a front side contact, while the drain is accessed via a backside contact that provides low contact resistance and also serves as a heat sink. 
     Reliability of vertical TFET integrated circuits is enhanced by coupling the TFETs to electrostatic discharge (ESD) diodes. Both vertical and horizontal ESD diode configurations are described herein. ESD diodes provide protection for TFETs and other GAA transistors against high currents and voltages, especially in analog and I/O applications. 
     Fabrication of the vertical TFETs and ESD diodes as described herein is compatible with conventional CMOS manufacturing processes. Low-power operation allows the vertical TFET to provide a high current density, or “current per footprint” on a chip, compared with conventional planar transistors. The high current density allowed by these devices makes them good candidates for memory applications, e.g., for SRAM arrays. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify similar elements or acts. The sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. 
         FIG. 1  is a flow diagram showing steps in a method of fabricating a pair of n-type and p-type vertical GAA TFETs as illustrated in  FIGS. 2-12 , according to one embodiment described herein. 
         FIGS. 2-12  are cross-sectional views of the vertical GAA TFETs at successive steps during fabrication using the method shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 13-14  are cross-sectional views of alternative embodiments of completed n-type and p-type vertical GAA TFETs shown in  FIG. 12 , wherein each embodiment has a different contact configuration, as described herein. 
         FIG. 15  is a flow diagram showing steps in a method of fabricating a pair of vertical diodes as illustrated in  FIGS. 16-18 , according to a first embodiment as described herein. 
         FIGS. 16-18  are cross-sectional views of the pair of vertical diodes at successive steps during fabrication using the method shown in  FIG. 15 . 
         FIG. 19  is a cross-sectional view of a completed vertical diode, according to a second embodiment as described herein. 
         FIG. 20  is a flow diagram showing steps in an alternative method of fabricating vertical diodes and a horizontal diode, according to one embodiment described herein. 
         FIG. 21  is a cross-sectional view of a completed pair of vertical diodes and a horizontal diode fabricated using the method shown in  FIG. 20 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of the disclosed subject matter. However, the disclosed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and methods of semiconductor processing comprising embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein have not been described in detail to avoid obscuring the descriptions of other aspects of the present disclosure. 
     Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims that follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, such as “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open, inclusive sense, that is, as “including, but not limited to.” 
     Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same aspect. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more aspects of the present disclosure. 
     Reference throughout the specification to integrated circuits is generally intended to include integrated circuit components built on semiconducting substrates, whether or not the components are coupled together into a circuit or able to be interconnected. Throughout the specification, the term “layer” is used in its broadest sense to include a thin film, a cap, or the like and one layer may be composed of multiple sub-layers. Throughout the specification, the terms “N-well” and “N-well region” are used synonymously in reference to negatively-doped regions of a semiconductor. Likewise, the terms “P-well” and “P-well region” are also used synonymously in reference to positively-doped regions of a semiconductor. 
     Reference throughout the specification to conventional thin film deposition techniques for depositing silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, metals, or similar materials include such processes as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), plasma vapor deposition (PVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), electroplating, electro-less plating, and the like. Specific embodiments are described herein with reference to examples of such processes. However, the present disclosure and the reference to certain deposition techniques should not be limited to those described. For example, in some circumstances, a description that references CVD may alternatively be done using PVD, or a description that specifies electroplating may alternatively be accomplished using electro-less plating. Furthermore, reference to conventional techniques of thin film formation may include growing a film in-situ. For example, in some embodiments, controlled growth of an oxide to a desired thickness can be achieved by exposing a silicon surface to oxygen gas or to moisture in a heated chamber. 
     Reference throughout the specification to conventional photolithography techniques, known in the art of semiconductor fabrication for patterning various thin films, includes a spin-expose-develop process sequence typically followed by an etch process. Alternatively or additionally, photoresist can also be used to pattern a hard mask (e.g., a silicon nitride hard mask), which, in turn, can be used to pattern an underlying film. 
     Reference throughout the specification to conventional etching techniques known in the art of semiconductor fabrication for selective removal of polysilicon, silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, metals, photoresist, polyimide, or similar materials includes such processes as wet chemical etching, reactive ion (plasma) etching (RIE), washing, wet cleaning, pre-cleaning, spray cleaning, chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) and the like. Specific embodiments are described herein with reference to examples of such processes. However, the present disclosure and the reference to certain deposition techniques should not be limited to those described. In some instances, two such techniques may be interchangeable. For example, stripping photoresist may entail immersing a sample in a wet chemical bath or, alternatively, spraying wet chemicals directly onto the sample. 
     Specific embodiments are described herein with reference to vertical gate-all-around TFET devices that have been produced; however, the present disclosure and the reference to certain materials, dimensions, and the details and ordering of processing steps are exemplary and should not be limited to those shown. 
     Turning now to the figures,  FIG. 1  shows steps in a method  100  of fabricating a pair of vertical GAA TFETs  182   n,p , according to one embodiment. The completed GAA TFET devices produced by the method  100  are shown in  FIG. 12 . Alternative embodiments of the GAA TFET, formed by modifying the method  100 , are shown in  FIGS. 13-14 . Each vertical GAA TFET is in the form of an epitaxially grown pillar having a doped lower drain region, a central channel region made of intrinsic silicon, and an upper source region doped to have a polarity opposite that of the lower drain region. The central channel region extends between the source and drain regions. A gate structure surrounds the channel region so as to influence current flow between the source and drain regions in response to an applied voltage. Steps in the method  100  are further illustrated by  FIGS. 4-12 , and described below. 
     At  102 , an isolation region  132  is formed in a silicon substrate  130  to separate p-type and n-type devices that will subsequently be formed. The isolation region  132  includes a liner  134  made of, for example, silicon nitride, and a silicon dioxide core  136 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     At  104 , with reference to  FIG. 3 , a silicon substrate  130  having a &lt;111&gt; crystal orientation is doped to form an N-well  140  and a P-well  142  by ion implantation using a hard mask  138 , as is well known in the art. The exemplary hard mask  138  is made of silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) having a thickness in the range of about 10 nm-50 nm. The hard mask  138  is grown or deposited over the surface of the silicon substrate  130 , and is patterned with a first opening  139  to define the P-well  142 , for example. Positive dopants such as boron ions are implanted into the silicon substrate  130  through the first opening  139  and then annealed to drive in the dopants to a selected depth  144 . In one embodiment, the boron concentration is desirably within the range of about 1.0 E16 cm −3 -5.0 E20 cm −3 , targeted at 5.0 E19 cm −3 . Then the hard mask  138  is stripped, re-formed, and patterned with a second opening  146  for the N-well  140 . Negative dopants such as phosphorous ions or arsenic ions are then implanted into the silicon substrate  130  through the second opening  146 , followed by annealing to drive in the negative dopants to the selected depth  144 . In one embodiment, the n-dopant concentration is desirably within the range of about 1.0 E16 cm −3 -3.0 E20 cm −3 , targeted at 2.0 E19 cm −3 . The first and second openings  139  and  146 , respectively, can be the same size or different sizes, within a wide range of about 2 nm-200 nm. 
     At  106 , epitaxial drain regions  150   n  and  150   p  are formed by epitaxial growth from the N-well and P-well regions  140  and  142  as shown in  FIG. 4 , extending in a transverse orientation to the silicon substrate  130 . The hard mask  138  is stripped, re-formed, and re-patterned with a smaller opening  148   n , for example. The drain region  150   n  is then grown epitaxially from a top surface of the N-well  140 . The hard mask  138  is again stripped, re-formed, and re-patterned with a small opening  148   p . The drain region  150   p  is then grown epitaxially from a top surface of the P-well  142 . The drain regions  150   n  and  150   p  are grown to a height anywhere within the wide range of about 5 nm-500 nm, with doping occurring in-situ during the epitaxial growth. The order in which the n- and p-type structures are patterned and grown is exemplary as described above, and can be reversed. 
     At  108 , nanowires  151   n  and  151   p  containing intrinsic silicon channels  152  and source regions  154   n  and  154   p , respectively, are grown epitaxially from the drain regions  150   n  and  150   p  to complete formation of the pillars. First, cylindrical channels  152  made of intrinsic silicon are grown to a height within the range of 2 nm-100 nm. Then, a source region  154   n  made of indium arsenide (InAs), an n-type material, is selectively grown from the intrinsic silicon channel  152  that overlies the P-well  142  while a source region  154   p  made of a boron-SiGe compound (BSi x Ge (1-x) ), a p-type material, is selectively grown from the intrinsic silicon channel  152  that overlies the N-well  140 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . The source regions  154   n  and  154   p  are each grown to a thickness within the range of about 5 nm-500 nm. The epitaxial nanowires  151   n  and  151   p , as grown, have widths  148   p  and  148   n , respectively. Next, the epitaxial nanowires  151   n  and  151   p  are trimmed to a target critical dimension (CD)  156 , as needed, as shown in  FIG. 5  using a plasma etching process. The CD  156  can be defined using a silicon nitride hard mask, for example. In one embodiment, epitaxial growth of the regions  150   n ,  150   p ,  152 ,  154   p , and  154   n  may occur inside patterned pillar-shaped holes formed in an insulating material, to provide support for the vertical nanowires  151   n  and  151   p . The insulating material can include one or more layers, and the pillar-shaped holes may further include liners. The pillar-shaped holes may be used to define CD boundaries for the vertical nanowires  151   n  and  151   p.    
     At  110 , the epitaxial nanowires  151   n  and  151   p  are encapsulated by spin-coating a thick layer of benzocyclobutene (BCB)  158  to cover the epitaxial nanowires, and then performing a chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) operation that stops on the InAs and BSi x Ge (1-x)  source regions  154   n  and  154   p , respectively. 
     At  112 , the BCB encapsulant  158  is etched back to reveal the epitaxial nanowires  151   n  and  151   p  and top portions of the drain regions  150   n  and  150   p , so that multi-layer gate structures  159  can be formed in contact with the exposed nanowires, as shown in  FIG. 6 , according to one embodiment. The multi-layer gate structures  159  include a dielectric sheath wrapped around the channel and a metal gate wrapped around the dielectric sheath. The etch-back process can be, for example, a plasma etch process that uses an O 2 —SF 6  chemistry. Once the epitaxial nanowires are exposed, a gate oxide  160  is conformally deposited. The gate oxide  160  is desirably a high dielectric constant, or high-k, material of thickness 1 nm-10 nm, such as HfO 2  or Al 2 O 3 , for example. Next, a work function material  162  of thickness 1 nm-20 nm is conformally deposited, followed by a gate metal  164  of thickness 10 nm-200 nm. The gate metal  164  and the work function material  162  can be, for example, copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), tungsten (W), platinum (Pt), gold (Au), titanium nitride (TiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium carbon (TiC), titanium-tungsten (TiW x ), or combinations thereof. Regions of the gate stack located between adjacent nanowires are then etched away as shown in  FIG. 7 , while regions of the gate stack outside the epitaxial nanowires remain to form gate contact landing pads  168 . 
     At  114 , the gate structures  159  are encapsulated. In one embodiment, encapsulation is accomplished by spin coating a second BCB layer  166 , followed by a CMP process that is targeted to stop when a selected BCB thickness has been reached, above the metal gate structures  159 . Alternatively, the planarization process can stop on the metal gate structures  159 . 
     At  116 , the second BCB layer  166  is etched back to reveal portions of the metal gate structures  159  covering the source regions  154   n ,  154   p  to a level in the range of about 1 nm-300 nm above the intrinsic silicon channel  152  to expose the gate metal  164 . Then, the gate metal  164  and the work function material  162  are etched away to reveal the gate oxide  160  covering the source regions, thus leaving behind completed gates  170  surrounding the intrinsic silicon channel regions. 
     At  118 , epitaxial nanowires  151   p,n  are encapsulated. In one embodiment, encapsulation is accomplished by spin coating a third BCB layer  172 , followed by a CMP process that is targeted to stop when a selected BCB thickness has been reached, above the gate structures  159 . 
     At  120 , the third BCB layer  172  and the gate oxide  160  are etched back to a height  173  above a top surface of the gate metal  164 , to reveal the top 3 nm-300 nm of the InAs and BSi x Ge (1-x)  source regions  154   n,p , as shown in  FIGS. 9-12 . 
     At  122 , source regions  154   n,p  are encapsulated. In one embodiment, encapsulation is accomplished by spin coating a fourth BCB layer  174 , followed by a CMP process that is targeted to stop when a selected BCB thickness has been reached, above the gate structures  159 . Alternatively, an oxide deposited using a high density plasma (HDP) process can be used in place of the fourth BCB layer  174 . 
     At  124 , contacts are made to the source regions. In one embodiment, a dual damascene process is used to form front side source contacts  182  to the epitaxial nanowire and a metal interconnect layer, while backside contacts  184  are made to the epitaxial drain regions  150   n,p  via the implant-doped well regions. First, dual damascene trenches  176  are etched in the fourth BCB layer  174 , as well as contact holes surrounding the source regions  154   n,p , as shown in  FIG. 10 . Then the source regions  154   n,p  can be reacted with metal to form a silicide e.g., TiSi, NiSiPt, or a dual silicide such as Pt, Ir for the p-type source  154   p , or Er, Yb for the n-type source  154   n  prior to filling the trenches and contact holes using established methods familiar to those skilled in the art of damascene processing. The metal fill desirably includes a liner made of, for example, TiN or TiC. The metal is then planarized to stop on the fourth BCB layer, as shown in  FIG. 11 . Finally, metal contacts of thickness 5 nm-50 μm are made to the backside of the wafer to contact the N-well  140  and the P-well  142 , as shown in  FIG. 12 . 
       FIG. 13  shows a second embodiment of the vertical GAA TFET in which additional spacers are wrapped around the pillars between the gate structures  170  and the source and drain regions. A first spacer  185  is formed between the gate structures  170  and the source regions  154   n,p , and a second spacer  185  is formed between the gate structures  170  and the drain regions  140 ,  142 . The spacers  185 ,  186  can be made of SiN or SiC, for example. 
       FIG. 14  shows a third embodiment of the vertical GAA TFET that features etched source contacts  190  in place of dual damascene contacts  182 . The source contacts  190  differ from the dual damascene contacts  182  in that the source contacts  190  are formed by a subtractive etching process as opposed to forming and filling a trench, which is an additive process. Although either method can be used to form contacts to the source terminals of the GAA TFET, the front side source contacts  182  formed by the dual damascene process may offer lower contact resistance and a more flexible wire connection. 
       FIG. 15  shows steps in a method  200  of fabricating a vertical diode, according to one embodiment. The vertical diode can provide electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection for the vertical GAA TFET described above, to improve reliability. One advantage of the vertical diode is its small footprint, which is particularly useful in supporting GAA transistors used to form digital SRAM and DRAM arrays. The method  200  is further illustrated by  FIGS. 16-19 , and described below. The ESD diode fabrication process can be performed at the same time as formation of the vertical GAA TFET and therefore the same reference numerals are used in the following description of the ESD diode formation, wherever possible. 
     At  202 , the silicon substrate  130  is implanted with dopants through openings in an implant hard mask  138  on a top side or surface  129  of the substrate  130 . In one embodiment, the implant hard mask  138  is a 10 nm-50 nm thick layer of SiO 2 . An opening in the implant hard mask  138 , in the range of about 2 nm-200 nm can be patterned using an RIE process. Positive ions, such as boron, can then be implanted in the substrate to form a p-doped region, or P-well  142 , shown in  FIG. 16 , having a dopant concentration of 1.0 E16 cm −3 -1.0 E 20 cm −3 . The P-well  142  is formed between a first portion  130 - 1  of the substrate  130  and a second portion  130 - 2  of the substrate  130 . 
     At  204 , an n-doped vertical nanowire  154  having a top end  157  and a bottom end  159 , shown in  FIG. 16 , is formed by epitaxial growth from a top side or surface  141  of the p-doped region  142 . In one embodiment, the vertical nanowire  154  is made of indium arsenide (InAs) having a diameter anywhere in the range of about 2 nm-200 nm and a height anywhere in the range of about 8 nm-800 nm. Growth of the vertical nanowire  154  can be performed in a metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) chamber using a trimethyl-indium (TMIn) source and a tertiarybutyl-arsine molar flow of 0.7 μMol/min-12.6 μMol/min, at a reactor pressure of 60 Torr, and a temperature between 400 C and 600 C. Negative doping of the vertical nanowire  154  can be achieved in-situ by injecting disilane gas (Si 2 H 6 ) during the epitaxial growth process at Si 2 H 6 /TMIn ratios of 10 −6 -10 −2 . The junction of the bottom end  159  of the n-doped vertical nanowire  154  and the top side or surface  141  of the p-doped region  142  form a p-n diode  182   n.    
     At  206 , the vertical nanowire  154  is encapsulated. In one embodiment, an encapsulant  174  is a layer of benzocyclobutene (BCB) that is spin-coated to cover the p-n diode  182   n , and a CMP process is then used to planarize the encapsulant  174  to a target thickness above the vertical nanowire  154 . 
     At  208 , a front side contact is formed to the vertical nanowire  154  using a dual damascene process similar to that shown in  FIGS. 10-11  and described above, in which a contact via and a metal line trench having a T-shaped profile are etched in the encapsulant  174 , and then the contact via and the metal line trench are filled with metal. The metal fill includes a liner or extension  178  such as TiN, Ti/TiN, Ta, or TaN that surrounds a top portion  155  of the vertical nanowire  154 , and a bulk metal  180  such as W, Al, Cu, or Au that has a bottom portion or region  181  and a top portion or region  183 . A silicidation process may be performed is formed at the contact surfaces of the vertical nanowire  154  to further reduce contact resistance as described above. The bulk metal is then planarized to stop on the BCB layer. 
     At  210 , a backside contact  184  is made on a bottom side or surface  131  of the substrate  130  to a bottom side or surface  143  of the P-well  142 , similar to those shown in  FIGS. 12-14  and described above. 
       FIG. 18  shows a pair of vertical diodes, including the p-n diode  182   n  described above, and a reciprocal p-n diode  182   p . Whereas the p-n diode  182   n  includes a P-well and an n-doped vertical nanowire, the p-n diode  182   p  includes an N-well and a p-doped vertical nanowire. The two diodes are separated by an isolation region  132  that can be formed in the usual way, prior to doping the silicon substrate  130 . The diodes  182   p  and  182   n  have separate backside contacts  184   p  and  184   n . Optional spacers  186  may be formed below the contact vias, prior to the encapsulation step  206 . The spacers  186  can be made of SiC or SiCNH, for example. 
       FIG. 19  shows an alternative contact  190  to the vertical p-n diode  182   n . The alternative contact  190  is formed by recessing the encapsulant  174  down to a level below the top of the vertical nanowire  154 , and then performing metallization using a subtractive process instead of a dual damascene process. The subtractive process entails conformally depositing a layer of metal and patterning and etching the metal, producing an inverted V-shaped profile. The alternative contact  190  is better suited to metal materials such as AlCu as opposed to Cu, which is difficult to etch. Following formation of the alternative contact  190 , a top ILD layer  192  is deposited and planarized to stop on the inverted V-shaped contact  190 . 
       FIG. 20  shows steps in a method  230  of fabricating an integrated horizontal p-n junction diode  222 , according to one embodiment shown in  FIG. 21 . 
     At  232 , the silicon substrate  130  is implanted with an N-well  140  as described above in step  104 . 
     At  234 , the silicon substrate  130  is implanted with a P-well  142  adjacent to the N-well  140  as described above in step  104 , except that the P-well  142  partially overlaps the N-well  140  at  224 . The overlap can be accomplished via mask alignment or by using a tilted implantation process. The horizontal p-n junction diode  222  thus formed is useful in protecting GAA transistors used in analog and I/O circuits that sustain high currents and voltages. 
     At  236 , an insulating layer is formed, for example, the BCB encapsulant  158 , using a process similar to the one described above in step  110 . 
     At  238 , front side damascene contacts are made to the N-well  140  and the P-well  142 , using a process similar to the one described above in step  124 , wherein the contacts have T-shaped profiles. 
     At  240 , the backside contact  184  is formed to the silicon substrate  130 . 
     It will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited except as by the appended claims. 
     These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure. 
     The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments.

Technology Category: h