Method for providing electrical connections to spaced conductive lines

• US 8,629,051 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2013
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Sandhu, Gurtej, Sills, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Coleman, William D
• Application Number:
  US13/751,781
• Publication Number:
  US 20130210230A1
• Time in Patent Office: 351 Days
• Field of Search: 438/610
• US Class Current: 438/610
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/28008 Making conductor-insulator-semiconductor electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/28035 the final conductor layer next to the insulator being silicon, e.g. polysilicon, with or without impurities H01L21/28105 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/28518 the conductive layers comprising silicides H01L21/28537 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/3081 characterised by their composition, e.g. multilayer masks, materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/32139 using masks
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76877 Filling of holes, grooves or trenches, e.g. vias, with conductive material
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76885 By forming conductive members before deposition of protective insulating material, e.g. pillars, studs
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76895 Local interconnects; Local pads, as exemplified by patent document EP0896365
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/823871 interconnection or wiring or contact manufacturing related aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/06138 being disposed in a single wiring level, i.e. planar layout
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/528 Geometry or layout of the interconnection structure H01L27/0207 takes precedence; algorithms G06F30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/5283 Cross-sectional geometry
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/12044 OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H10B 12/482 Bit lines
• CPC Class Codes: H10B 12/485 Bit line contacts
• CPC Class Codes: H10B 12/488 Word lines

Abstract

An integrated circuit and a method of formation provide a contact area formed at an angled end of at least one linearly extending conductive line. In an embodiment, conductive lines with contact landing pads are formed by patterning lines in a mask material, cutting at least one of the material lines to form an angle relative to the extending direction of the material lines, forming extensions from the angled end faces of the mask material, and patterning an underlying conductor by etching using said material lines and extension as a mask. In another embodiment, at least one conductive line is cut at an angle relative to the extending direction of the conductive line to produce an angled end face, and an electrical contact landing pad is formed in contact with the angled end face.

Claims

1. A method of fabricating an integrated circuit structure on a support structure, the method comprising:

forming a plurality of linearly extending polymer lines in a matrix phase material;

removing a portion of the matrix phase material;

cutting the polymer lines at an angle relative a linearly extending direction to form respective angled end faces at each of the polymer lines, the respective angled end faces being spaced in the linearly extending direction; and

forming an extension of each of the polymer lines at each respective angled end face.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the removing the portion of the matrix phase material includes exposing the portion of the matrix phase material to ultraviolet light and immersing the matrix phase material in a developer solution.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the polymer comprises polystyrene and the matrix phase material comprises polymethylmethacrylate.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the cutting is performed by using a remaining portion of the matrix phase material as an etch mask to cut the polymer lines at an angle.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the linearly extending polymer lines are parallel linearly extending polymer lines.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising staining the polymer with metal, and using the metal as a seed for growth of the respective extensions.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

removing a remaining portion of the matrix phase material; and

etching a conductive material provided below the linearly extending polymer lines and respective extensions using the linearly extending polymer lines and respective extensions as an etch mask to form conductive lines having respective electrical contact landing pad areas.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

removing a remaining portion of the matrix phase material;

etching a hard mask material provided below the linearly extending polymer lines and respective extensions using the linearly extending polymer lines and respective extensions as an etch mask; and

etching a conductive material provided below the hard mask material using the hard mask material as an etch mask.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing an etch-back on a remaining portion of the matrix phase material prior to the forming the respective extensions.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a photoresist above the matrix phase material as a cutting mask to cut the matrix phase material and the polymer at an angle relative the linearly extending direction.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein the developer solution is an acidic metal salt solution.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the conductive material comprises a gate oxide material, a polysilicon, a metal silicide, and an oxide top material.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising forming an insulating material over the conductive material.

14. The method of claim 7, further comprising forming an electrical connection to each of the respective electrical contact landing pad areas.

15. A method of fabricating an integrated circuit structure on a support structure, the method comprising:

forming a block-copolymer material comprising a first polymer and spaced material lines of a second polymer;

removing a first portion of the first polymer;

cutting the spaced material lines at an angle relative a linearly extending direction to form respective angled end faces at each of the material lines, the respective angled end faces having a length that is greater than a width of the respective material lines;

removing a second portion of the first polymer; and

cutting a material provided below the block-copolymer material using the spaced material lines and the respective angled end faces as an etch mask.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the material provided below the block-copolymer is a conductive material.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the material provided below the block-copolymer comprises a gate oxide, a polysilicon, a metal silicide, and an oxide top material.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the material provided below the block-copolymer is a hard mask material.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

removing the spaced material lines and respective angled end faces; and

forming an encapsulating insulating material over the material provided below the block-copolymer material.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising using the the hard mask material as an etch mask to cut a conductive material provided below the hard mask material.