High shrinkage stress silicon nitride (SiN) layer for NFET improvement
First Claim
1. A method of forming a semiconductor structure, the method comprising:
- providing a substrate;
forming a stressed layer overlying the substrate for applying tensile stress to a channel region of an n-type field effect transistor (FET), wherein forming the stressed layer comprises,spin-on deposition of a dielectric material on the substrate,heating the dielectric material to form a dielectric film, andcuring the dielectric film to shrink the dielectric film thereby forming the stressed layer.
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Abstract
A method (and semiconductor device) of forming a high shrinkage stressed silicon nitride layer for use as a contact etch stop layer (CESL) or capping layer in a stress management technique (SMT) provides increased tensile stress to a channel of an nFET device to enhance carrier mobility. A spin-on polysilazane-based dielectric material is applied to a semiconductor substrate and baked to form a film layer. The film layer is cured to remove hydrogen from the film which causes shrinkage in the film when it recrystallizes into silicon nitride. The resulting silicon nitride stressed layer introduces an increased level of tensile stress to the transistor channel region.
79 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of forming a semiconductor structure, the method comprising:
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providing a substrate; forming a stressed layer overlying the substrate for applying tensile stress to a channel region of an n-type field effect transistor (FET), wherein forming the stressed layer comprises, spin-on deposition of a dielectric material on the substrate, heating the dielectric material to form a dielectric film, and curing the dielectric film to shrink the dielectric film thereby forming the stressed layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A semiconductor substrate having one or more field effect transistors (FETs), the substrate comprising:
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a first n-type FET having a source region, a drain region and a gate structure; and a stressed film overlying the source region, the drain region and the gate structure, the stressed film imparting a tensile stress of at least about 1.7 Gpa within a channel region extending between the source region and the drain region. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of forming a stressed layer for generating tensile stress within a channel region of a field-effect transistor (FET) in a semiconductor structure, the method comprising:
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spinning on a dielectric material over a gate structure, a source region and a drain region of a FET; heating the dielectric material to form a dielectric film, and curing the dielectric film to shrink the dielectric film thereby forming the stressed layer. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification