METHOD FOR FABRICATING A 3-D INTEGRATED CIRCUIT USING A HARD MASK OF SILICON-OXYNITRIDE ON AMORPHOUS CARBON
First Claim
1. A method for fabricating a 3-D monolithic memory device, comprising:
- patterning a first silicon-oxynitride layer in a layered structure to provide a first patterned silicon-oxynitride layer, the layered structure includes a first amorphous carbon layer below the first silicon-oxynitride layer, and a first polycrystalline layer below the first amorphous carbon layer;
patterning the first amorphous carbon layer using the first patterned silicon-oxynitride layer to provide a first patterned amorphous carbon layer; and
patterning the first polycrystalline layer using the first patterned amorphous carbon layer to provide a first plurality of pillars which are diodes in a first level of the 3-D monolithic memory device.
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Abstract
A method for fabricating a 3-D monolithic memory device. Silicon-oxynitride (SixOyNz) on amorphous carbon is used an effective, easily removable hard mask with high selectivity to silicon, oxide, and tungsten. A silicon-oxynitride layer is etched using a photoresist layer, and the resulting etched SixOyNz layer is used to etch an amorphous carbon layer. Silicon, oxide, and/or tungsten layers are etched using the amorphous carbon layer. In one implementation, conductive rails of the 3-D monolithic memory device are formed by etching an oxide layer such as silicon dioxide (SiO2) using the patterned amorphous carbon layer as a hard mask. Memory cell diodes are formed as pillars in polysilicon between the conductive rails by etching a polysilicon layer using another patterned amorphous carbon layer as a hard mask. Additional levels of conductive rails and memory cell diodes are formed similarly to build the 3-D monolithic memory device.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for fabricating a 3-D monolithic memory device, comprising:
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patterning a first silicon-oxynitride layer in a layered structure to provide a first patterned silicon-oxynitride layer, the layered structure includes a first amorphous carbon layer below the first silicon-oxynitride layer, and a first polycrystalline layer below the first amorphous carbon layer; patterning the first amorphous carbon layer using the first patterned silicon-oxynitride layer to provide a first patterned amorphous carbon layer; and patterning the first polycrystalline layer using the first patterned amorphous carbon layer to provide a first plurality of pillars which are diodes in a first level of the 3-D monolithic memory device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for fabricating a 3-D monolithic memory device, comprising:
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in a layered structure, transferring a common pattern to a first silicon-oxynitride layer and a first amorphous carbon layer below the first silicon-oxynitride layer, to provide, together, first patterned silicon-oxynitride and amorphous carbon layers; and patterning a first oxide layer below the first amorphous carbon layer using the first patterned silicon-oxynitride and amorphous carbon layers together to provide a first patterned oxide layer. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. A method for fabricating a 3-D monolithic memory device, comprising:
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in a layered structure, transferring a common pattern to a first silicon-oxynitride layer and a first amorphous carbon layer below the first silicon-oxynitride layer, to provide, together, first patterned silicon-oxynitride and amorphous carbon layers; and patterning a first polycrystalline layer below the first amorphous carbon layer using the first patterned silicon-oxynitride and amorphous carbon layers together to provide a first patterned polycrystalline layer. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A method for fabricating a 3-D monolithic memory device, comprising:
forming multiple levels of diodes, one level after another, in a 3-D monolithic memory device, each level comprising a plurality of pillars formed in polycrystalline, the pillars are electrically coupled from above and below to conductive rails, each level of pillars is formed by patterning an associated polycrystalline layer using an associated hard mask, the associated hard mask is patterned using a silicon-oxynitride layer. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for fabricating a 3-D monolithic memory device, comprising:
forming multiple levels of diodes, one level after another, in a 3-D monolithic memory device, each level comprising a plurality of pillars formed in polycrystalline, the pillars are electrically coupled from above and below to conductive rails, each level of conductive rails is formed by patterning an associated oxide layer using an associated hard mask, the associated hard mask is patterned using a silicon-oxynitride layer. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
Specification