Tantalum lanthanide oxynitride films

• US 7,902,582 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2009
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Bhattacharyya, Arup, Ahn, Kie Y., Forbes, Leonard
• Primary Examiner(s): LEBENTRITT, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US12/470,121
• Publication Number:
  US 20090236650A1
• Time in Patent Office: 656 Days
• Field of Search: 257/306, 257/310, 257/411, 257/516, 257/532, 257E21001-E21002, 257274-278, 257/396, 257/654, 257/29.255, 257/342
• US Class Current: 257/306
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/20 on organic substrates
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/308 Oxynitrides
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/34 Nitrides C23C16/303 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/40 Oxides
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/405 of refractory metals or yttrium
• 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 21/02194 the material containing more than one metal element
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/022 the layer being a laminate, i.e. composed of sublayers, e.g. stacks of alternating high-k metal oxides adhesion layers or buffer layers H01L21/02304, H01L21/02362
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0228 deposition by cyclic CVD, e.g. ALD, ALE, pulsed CVD
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02326 into a nitride layer, e.g. changing SiN to SiON
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02332 into an oxide layer, e.g. changing SiO to SiON
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0234 treatment by exposure to a plasma
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/28202 in a nitrogen-containing ambient, e.g. nitride deposition, growth, oxynitridation, NH3 nitridation, N2O oxidation, thermal nitridation, RTN, plasma nitridation, RPN
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/3141 Deposition using atomic layer deposition techniques [ALD]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/3142 of nano-laminates, e.g. alternating layers of Al203-Hf02
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/31637 Deposition of Tantalum oxides, e.g. Ta2O5
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/518 the insulating material containing nitrogen, e.g. nitride, oxynitride, nitrogen-doped material
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00

Abstract

Electronic apparatus and methods of forming the electronic apparatus include a tantalum lanthanide oxynitride film on a substrate for use in a variety of electronic systems. The tantalum lanthanide oxynitride film may be structured as one or more monolayers. Metal electrodes may be disposed on a dielectric containing a tantalum lanthanide oxynitride film.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a substrate; and

a dielectric disposed on the substrate, the dielectric including a layer of TaLnON, the layer of TaLnON having a layered structure of one or more monolayers.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device includes a metal electrode disposed upon and contacting the dielectric layer.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the dielectric consists essentially of the TaLnON layer.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device includes contacts to couple the electronic device to other apparatus of a system.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the layer of TaLnON includes approximately 30 atomic % oxygen and nitrogen in a range from approximately 30 atomic % to 35 atomic %.

6. An electronic device comprising:

a substrate;

a first conductive layer disposed above the substrate;

a dielectric disposed on the first conductive layer, the dielectric including a layer of TaLnON, the layer of TaLnON having a layered structure of one or more monolayers; and

a second conductive layer disposed on the dielectric such that the dielectric is configured as a capacitor dielectric in a capacitor with the first and second conductive layers.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the dielectric includes one or more insulating layers in addition to the layer of TaLnON.

8. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein at least one of the first or second conductive layers comprises a metal layer.

9. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the capacitor is disposed in a radio frequency circuit.

10. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the capacitor is disposed in a mixed signal integrated circuit.

11. An electronic device comprising:

a substrate; and

a dielectric disposed, above the substrate, in a transistor, the dielectric including a layer of TaLnON, the layer of TaLnON having a layered structure of one or more monolayers.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the dielectric is disposed as a tunnel gate insulator on a channel between a source and a drain of the transistor.

13. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the transistor includes a self-aligned metal gate between non-carbon spacers, the self-aligned metal gate disposed on the dielectric.

14. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the transistor includes a metal substituted gate disposed on the dielectric.

15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the metal substituted gate includes at least one of gold, silver, an alloy of gold, an alloy of silver, copper, platinum, rhenium, ruthenium, rhodium, nickel, osmium, palladium, iridium, cobalt, or germanium, or combinations thereof.

16. An electronic device comprising:

a substrate; and

a dielectric disposed in a memory configured on the substrate, the dielectric including a layer of TaLnON, the layer of TaLnON having a layered structure of one or more monolayers.

17. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the dielectric is structured as a nanolaminate.

18. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the nanolaminate includes a silicon oxide layer to store charge in the memory configured as a flash memory device.

19. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the dielectric is disposed in a capacitor in a memory cell of the memory.

20. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein Ln is a lanthanide different from lanthanum.

21. An electronic device comprising:

a substrate;

a dielectric disposed on the substrate, the dielectric including a layer of TaLnON, the layer of TaLnON having a layered structure of one or more monolayers; and

a conductive layer disposed in contact with the dielectric, the conductive layer having a layered structure of one or more monolayers.

22. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the conductive layer includes at least one of aluminum, tungsten, molybdenum, gold, silver, gold alloy, silver alloy, copper, platinum, rhenium, ruthenium, rhodium, nickel, osmium, palladium, iridium, cobalt, germanium, or one or more metallic nitrides, or combinations thereof.

23. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the layer of TaLnON includes one or more dopants, the dopants selected from elements or compounds other than tantalum, lanthanide, oxygen, and nitrogen.

24. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the TaLnON is configured having more tantalum than lanthanide in the TaLnON.

25. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the layer of TaLnON includes approximately 30 atomic % oxygen and approximately 30 atomic % nitrogen.