Pitcher-shaped active area for field effect transistor and method of forming same
First Claim
1. A method of forming a pitcher-shaped active area structure for a field effect transistor (FET), the method comprising the steps of:
- forming divots into top portions of side walls of at least two shallow trench insulator (STI) structures formed into a substrate and that isolate a FET and define an active area structure; and
migrating substrate material into at least portions of the divots, thereby forming a widened top portion of the active area structure with a larger width than a bottom portion of the active area structure.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improved pitcher-shaped active area for a field effect transistor that, for a given gate length, achieves an increase in transistor on-current, a decrease in transistor serial resistance, and a decrease in contact resistance. The pitcher-shaped active area structure includes at least two shallow trench insulator (STI) structures formed into a substrate that defines an active area structure, which includes a widened top portion with a larger width than a bottom portion. An improved fabrication method for forming the improved pitcher-shaped active area is also described that implements a step to form STI structure divots followed by a step to migrate substrate material into at least portions of the divots, thereby forming a widened top portion of the active area structure. The fabrication method of present invention forms the pitcher-shaped active area without the use of lithography, and therefore, is not limited by the smallest ground rules of lithography tooling.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of forming a pitcher-shaped active area structure for a field effect transistor (FET), the method comprising the steps of:
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forming divots into top portions of side walls of at least two shallow trench insulator (STI) structures formed into a substrate and that isolate a FET and define an active area structure; and
migrating substrate material into at least portions of the divots, thereby forming a widened top portion of the active area structure with a larger width than a bottom portion of the active area structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method of forming a pitcher-shaped active area structure for a field effect transistor (FET), the method comprising:
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implementing a wet etch to remove a pad oxide layer formed on a substrate and portions of an STI oxide fill and STI liner oxide that form top portions of sidewalls of at least two shallow trench insulator (STI) structures that isolate a FET and define an active area structure, thereby forming divots in the top portions of the sidewalls of the at least two STI structures; and
implementing a hydrogen annealing technique to migrate substrate material into at least portions of the divots, thereby forming a widened top portion of the active area structure with a larger width than a bottom portion of the active area structure. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A pitcher-shaped active area structure for a field effect transistor (FET) comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate; and
at least two shallow trench insulator (STI) structures formed into the substrate that isolate the FET and define an active area structure, the active area structure comprising;
a widened top portion; and
a bottom portion, wherein the widened top portion has a larger width than the bottom portion. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification