Semiconductor devices having metal layers as barrier layers on upper or lower electrodes of capacitors

• US 6,590,251 B2
• Filed: 07/23/2001
• Issued: 07/08/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Jeon, In-sang, Lim, Hyun-seok, Chae, Yung-sook, Choi, Gil-heyun, Kang, Sang-bom
• Primary Examiner(s): Elms, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): SMITH, BRADLEY
• Application Number:
  US09/911,313
• Publication Number:
  US 20020000598A1
• Time in Patent Office: 715 Days
• Field of Search: 257/750, 257/301, 257/761, 257/763, 257/765, 257/771, 257/310
• US Class Current: 257/310
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/34 Nitrides C23C16/303 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45529 specially adapted for making a layer stack of alternating different compositions or gradient compositions
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45531 specially adapted for making ternary or higher compositions
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/28562 Selective deposition
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76843 formed in openings in a dielectric
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76846 Layer combinations
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76856 by treatment in plasmas or gaseous environments, e.g. nitriding a refractory metal liner
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/7687 Thin films associated with contacts of capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 28/75 comprising two or more layers, e.g. comprising a barrier layer and a metal layer

Abstract

Semiconductor films include insulating films including contact holes in semiconductor substrates, capacitors comprising lower electrodes formed on conductive material films in the contact holes, high dielectric films formed on the lower electrodes and upper electrodes formed on the high dielectric films, and barrier metal layers positioned between conductive materials in the contact holes and the lower electrodes, the barrier metal layers including metal layers formed in A-B-N structures in which a plurality of atomic layers are stacked by alternatively depositing reactive metal (A), an amorphous combination element (B) for preventing crystallization of the reactive metal (A) and nitrogen (N). The composition ratios of the barrier metal layers are determined by the number of depositions of the atomic layers.

Claims

1. A semiconductor device comprising:

an insulating film including a contact hole in a semiconductor substrate;

a conductive material film in the contact hole on the semiconductor substrate;

a capacitor comprising a lower electrode on the conductive material film in the contact hole, a high dielectric film on the lower electrode and an upper electrode on the high dielectric film; and

a barrier metal layer between the conductive material film in the contact hole and the lower electrode, the barrier metal layer comprising an A-B-N structure of a layer of reactive metal (A) that is on a layer of an amorphous combination element (B) for preventing crystallization of the reactive metal (A) and nitrogen (N), and that is on a layer of nitrogen (N).

2. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the reactive metal (A) is one selected from the group consisting of titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), molybdenum (Mo) and niobium (Nb).

3. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the amorphous combination element (B) for preventing crystallization of the reactive metal (A) and the nitrogen (N) is one selected from the group consisting of aluminum (Al), silicon (Si) and boron (B).

4. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the electrical conductivity and resistance of the barrier metal layer is determined by the number of injection pulses of an atomic layer of an amorphous combination element to the total number of injection pulses used for the barrier metal layer.

5. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the specific resistance of the barrier metal layer increases as the content of Al increases relative to the content of Ti in the barrier metal layer.

6. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the content of Al with respect to the reactive metal is 10-35% when the barrier metal layer is formed of TiAlN.

7. The semiconductor device of claim 1, further comprising an oxygen diffusion preventing layer on the metal layer, wherein the barrier metal layer may be formed of a multiple metal layer comprising a plurality of metal layers and a plurality of oxygen diffusion preventing layers.

8. The semiconductor device of claim 7, further comprising a material layer containing oxygen on the oxygen diffusion preventing layer.

9. A semiconductor device having a capacitor comprising a lower electrode on a predetermined material film on a semiconductor substrate, a high dielectric film on the lower electrode and an upper electrode on the high dielectric film, wherein the lower electrode is an A-B-N structure of a layer of reactive metal (A) that is on a layer of an amorphous combination element (B) for preventing crystallization of the reactive metal (A) and nitrogen (N), and that is on a layer of nitrogen(N).

10. The semiconductor device of claim 9, wherein the reactive metal (A) is one selected from the group consisting of titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), molybdenum (Mo) and niobium (Nb).

11. The semiconductor device of claim 9, wherein the amorphous combination element (B) for preventing crystallization of the reactive metal (A) and the nitrogen (N) is silicon (Si) or boron (B).

12. The semiconductor device of claim 9, wherein the amorphous combination element (B) for preventing crystallization of the reactive metal (A) and the nitrogen (N) is aluminum (Al).

13. The semiconductor device of claim 9, wherein the electrical conductivity and resistance of the lower electrode is determined by the ratio of the number of depositions of an atomic layer of the amorphous combination element to the total number of depositions used for the lower electrode.