Multiple transistor types formed in a common epitaxial layer by differential out-diffusion from a doped underlayer

• US 8,629,016 B1
• Filed: 04/30/2012
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Original Assignee: SuVolta, Inc.
• Inventors: Ranade, Pushkar, Shifren, Lucian, Thompson, Scott E., Hoffmann, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Zandra
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATTON, PAUL E
• Application Number:
  US13/459,971
• Time in Patent Office: 624 Days
• Field of Search: 257/E21.633, 257/E21.335, 257/369, 257/192, 257/E21.409, 257/E29.055, 438/199, 438/289, 438/300, 438/514, 438/530
• US Class Current: 438/199
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/22 Diffusion of impurity materials, e.g. doping materials, electrode materials, into or out of a semiconductor body, or between semiconductor regions; Interactions between two or more impurities; Redistribution of impurities
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/28255 the insulator being formed after the semiconductor body, the semiconductor belonging to Group IV and not being elemental silicon, e.g. Ge, SiGe, SiGeC
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/823807 with a particular manufacturing method of the channel structures, e.g. channel implants, halo or pocket implants, or channel materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/823892 with a particular manufacturing method of the wells or tubs, e.g. twin tubs, high energy well implants, buried implanted layers for lateral isolation [BILLI]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/66477 with an insulated gate, i.e. MISFET
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/78 with field effect produced by an insulated gate H01L29/7725, H01L29/775, H01L29/778 take precedence

Abstract

Multiple transistor types are formed in a common epitaxial layer by differential out-diffusion from a doped underlayer. Differential out-diffusion affects the thickness of a FET channel, the doping concentration in the FET channel, and distance between the gate dielectric layer and the doped underlayer. Differential out-diffusion may be achieved by differentially applying a dopant migration suppressor such as carbon; differentially doping the underlayer with two or more dopants having the same conductivity type but different diffusivities; and/or differentially applying thermal energy.

Claims

1. A method of forming a plurality of transistor device types on an integrated circuit, the transistors having a gate disposed over a semiconductive channel, comprising:

doping selected portions of a wafer to form a first plurality of wells of a first conductivity type;

doping selected portions of the first plurality of wells to form a first plurality of screen layers of the first conductivity type, the screen layers being disposed closer to a surface of the wafer than the wells;

doping selected portions of the first plurality of screen layers to introduce diffusion-inhibiting dopant species;

growing a substantially undoped epitaxial layer over the screen layer to a defined thickness and uniformity;

out-diffusing dopants from the screen layer into the epitaxial layer to result in discrete threshold voltage devices by way of a thermal cycling process to result in defined degrees of out-diffusion of dopants that are differentiated by distance of dopant mitigation toward the gate; and

forming an anti-punchthrough layer between at least one of the first plurality of wells and at least one of the first plurality of screen layers that overlies the at least one of the first plurality of wells;

wherein the anti-punchthrough layer has a doping concentration greater than a doping concentration of the at least one well, and less than a doping concentration of the overlying screen layer.

2. A method of forming a plurality of transistor device types on an integrated circuit, the transistors having a gate disposed over a semiconductive channel, comprising:

doping selected portions of a wafer to form a first plurality of wells of a first conductivity type;

doping selected portions of the first plurality of wells to form a first plurality of screen layers of the first conductivity type, the screen layers being disposed closer to a surface of the wafer than the wells;

doping selected portions of the first plurality of screen layers to introduce diffusion-inhibiting dopant species;

growing a substantially undoped epitaxial layer over the screen layer to a defined thickness and uniformity; and

out-diffusing dopants from the screen layer into the epitaxial layer to result in discrete threshold voltage devices by way of a thermal cycling process to result in defined degrees of out-diffusion of dopants that are differentiated by distance of dopant migration toward the gate;

wherein differentially out-diffusing dopants forms at least a first channel region having a first thickness and a second channel region having a second thickness, and the first and second thicknesses are different.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first thickness is less than the second thickness, and the screen layer underlying the first channel region includes a greater concentration of dopants having a relatively high diffusivity than the screen layer underlying the second channel region.

4. A method of forming a plurality of transistor device types on an integrated circuit, the transistors having a gate disposed over a semiconductive channel, comprising:

doping selected portions of a wafer to form a first plurality of wells of a first conductivity type;

doping selected portions of the first plurality of wells to form a first plurality of screen layers of the first conductivity type, the screen layers being disposed closer to a surface of the wafer than the wells;

doping selected portions of the first plurality of screen layers to introduce diffusion-inhibiting dopant species;

growing a substantially undoped epitaxial layer over the screen layer to a defined thickness and uniformity;

out diffusing dopants from the screen layer into the epitaxial layer to result in discrete threshold voltage devices by way of a thermal cycling process to result in defined degrees of out-diffusion of dopants that are differentiated by distance of dopant migration toward the gate; and

forming a threshold voltage setting layer above the screen layer and below the surface of the epitaxial layer.

5. A method of forming a plurality of transistor device types on an integrated circuit, the transistors having a gate disposed over a semiconductive channel, comprising:

doping selected portions of a wafer to form a first plurality of wells of a first conductivity type;

doping selected portions of the first plurality of wells to form a first plurality of screen layers of the first conductivity type, the screen layers being disposed closer to a surface of the wafer than the wells;

doping selected portions of the first plurality of screen layers to introduce diffusion-inhibiting dopant species;

growing a substantially undoped epitaxial layer over the screen layer to a defined thickness and uniformity;

out-diffusing dopants from the screen layer into the epitaxial layer to result in discrete threshold voltage devices by way of a thermal cycling process to result in defined degrees of out-diffusion of dopants that are differentiated by distance of dopant migration toward the gate; and

performing a halo implant into predetermined portions of the epitaxial layer.

6. A method of making a System on Chip integrated circuit, comprising:

forming a plurality of transistor device types on a die; and

interconnecting predetermined ones of the plurality of transistor device types to form a plurality of circuit blocks;

wherein forming the plurality of transistor device types comprises;

forming transistor channel regions having different electrical characteristics by differentially out-diffusing dopants into a common epitaxial layer from an underlying screen layer, the screen layer having a plurality of compositionally different regions.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of compositionally different regions of the screen layer are provided with different amounts of material to reduce dopant migration into the epitaxial layer.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of compositionally different regions of the screen layer are provided with different amounts of a dopant of a first conductivity type.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein a first portion of the plurality of compositionally different regions of the screen layer are provided with a dopant of a first conductivity type and a first diffusivity, and a second portion of the plurality of compositionally different regions of the screen layer are provided with a dopant of a first conductivity type and a second diffusivity.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising forming shallow trench isolation structures subsequent to forming the epitaxial layer.

11. An integrated circuit, comprising:

a plurality of n-channel field effect transistors (NFETs) and a plurality of p-channel field effect transistors (PFETs) all having channel regions disposed in a commonly formed epitaxial layer;

a screen layer underlying the epitaxial layer, the screen layer having a plurality of regions with different doping profiles;

a first portion of the plurality of NFETs having a first set of electrical characteristics and a second portion of the plurality of NFETs having a second set of electrical characteristics that are different from the first set of electrical characteristics; and

a first portion of the plurality of PFETs having a third set of electrical characteristics and a second portion of the plurality of PFETs having a fourth set of electrical characteristics that are different from the third set of electrical characteristics;

wherein the difference between the first and second sets of electrical characteristics are related to the different doping profiles of the respective underlying regions of the screen layer, and the difference between the third and fourth sets of electrical characteristics are related to the different doping profiles of the respective underlying regions of the screen layer.

12. The integrated circuit of claim 11, wherein a first portion of the plurality of regions includes a higher concentration of dopants having a relatively high diffusivity than a second portion of the plurality of regions.

13. The integrated circuit of claim 12, wherein the channel regions overlying the first portion of the plurality of regions are thinner than the channel regions overlying the second portion of the plurality of regions.

14. The integrated circuit of claim 11, wherein a first portion of the plurality of regions includes a lower concentration of migration suppressing elements than a second portion of the plurality of regions.

15. The integrated circuit of claim 13, wherein the channel regions overlying the first portion of the plurality of regions are thinner than the channel regions overlying the second portion of the plurality of regions.