Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof

• US 8,884,287 B2
• Filed: 12/24/2013
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Sakata, Junichiro, Shimazu, Takashi, Ohara, Hiroki, Sasaki, Toshinari, Yamazaki, Shunpei
• Primary Examiner(s): Such, Matthew W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Harrison, Monica D
• Application Number:
  US14/139,892
• Publication Number:
  US 20140113687A1
• Time in Patent Office: 322 Days
• Field of Search: 257/43, 257/E29.296, 257/E21.461
• US Class Current: 257/43
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/086 of zinc, germanium, cadmium, indium, tin, thallium or bismuth
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02554 Oxides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02565 Oxide semiconducting materials not being Group 12/16 materials, e.g. ternary compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02573 Conductivity type
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02592 amorphous
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02631 Physical deposition at reduced pressure, e.g. MBE, sputtering, evaporation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1225 with semiconductor materials not belonging to the group IV of the periodic table, e.g. InGaZnO
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7869 having a semiconductor body comprising an oxide semiconductor material, e.g. zinc oxide, copper aluminium oxide, cadmium stannate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/78693 the semiconducting oxide being amorphous
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/78696 characterised by the structure of the channel, e.g. multichannel, transverse or longitudinal shape, length or width, doping structure, or the overlap or alignment between the channel and the gate, the source or the drain, or the contacting structure of the channel H01L29/78612 takes precedence; transistors having a drain offset region or a lightly doped drain [LDD] H01L29/78621
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0266 for a display module assembly

Abstract

A semiconductor device including a thin film transistor which includes an oxide semiconductor layer and has high electric characteristics and reliability. Film deposition is performed using an oxide semiconductor target containing an insulator (an insulating oxide, an insulating nitride, silicon oxynitride, aluminum oxynitride, or the like), typically SiO₂, so that the semiconductor device in which the Si-element concentration in the thickness direction of the oxide semiconductor layer has a gradient which increases in accordance with an increase in a distance from a gate electrode is realized.

Claims

1. A semiconductor device comprising:

a gate electrode over an insulating surface;

an insulating layer over the gate electrode;

a first oxide semiconductor layer over the insulating layer, the first oxide semiconductor layer containing indium and zinc;

a second oxide semiconductor layer over the first oxide semiconductor layer, the second oxide semiconductor layer containing indium, zinc, and silicon;

a channel protective layer over and in contact with the second oxide semiconductor layer; and

a source electrode and a drain electrode over the channel protective layer, the source electrode and the drain electrode being electrically connected to the second oxide semiconductor layer,

wherein a concentration of silicon in the second oxide semiconductor layer is larger than a concentration of silicon in the first oxide semiconductor layer, and

wherein crystallinity of the first oxide semiconductor layer is higher than crystallinity of the second oxide semiconductor layer.

2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first oxide semiconductor layer and the second oxide semiconductor layer contains gallium.

3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first oxide semiconductor layer and the second oxide semiconductor layer contains tin.

4. A mobile phone comprising the semiconductor device according to claim 1,

wherein the mobile phone comprises a display portion,

wherein the mobile phone is configured to operate by touching the display portion.

5. A semiconductor device comprising:

a gate electrode over an insulating surface;

an insulating layer over the gate electrode;

a first oxide semiconductor layer over the insulating layer, the first oxide semiconductor layer containing tin and zinc;

a second oxide semiconductor layer over the first oxide semiconductor layer, the second oxide semiconductor layer containing tin, zinc, and silicon;

a channel protective layer over and in contact with the second oxide semiconductor layer; and

a source electrode and a drain electrode over the channel protective layer, the source electrode and the drain electrode being electrically connected to the second oxide semiconductor layer,

wherein a concentration of silicon in the second oxide semiconductor layer is larger than a concentration of silicon in the first oxide semiconductor layer, and

wherein crystallinity of the first oxide semiconductor layer is higher than crystallinity of the second oxide semiconductor layer.

6. The semiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the first oxide semiconductor layer and the second oxide semiconductor layer contains gallium.

7. The semiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the first oxide semiconductor layer and the second oxide semiconductor layer contains tin.

8. A mobile phone comprising the semiconductor device according to claim 5,

wherein the mobile phone comprises a display portion,

wherein the mobile phone is configured to operate by touching the display portion.

9. A display device comprising:

an n-channel driving transistor comprising;

a gate electrode;

an insulating layer over the gate electrode;

a first oxide semiconductor layer over the insulating layer, the first oxide semiconductor layer containing zinc;

a second oxide semiconductor layer over the first oxide semiconductor layer, the second oxide semiconductor layer containing zinc and silicon;

a channel protective layer over and in contact with the second oxide semiconductor layer; and

a source electrode and a drain electrode over the channel protective layer, the source electrode and the drain electrode being electrically connected to the second oxide semiconductor layer;

a light-emitting element comprising;

a cathode;

a light-emitting layer over the cathode; and

an anode over the light-emitting layer,

wherein each of the first oxide semiconductor layer and the second oxide semiconductor layer contains at least one of indium and tin,

wherein a concentration of silicon in the second oxide semiconductor layer is larger than a concentration of silicon in the first oxide semiconductor layer,

wherein crystallinity of the first oxide semiconductor layer is higher than crystallinity of the second oxide semiconductor layer, and

wherein the cathode is electrically connected to one of the source electrode and the drain electrode.

10. The display device according to claim 9, wherein at least one of the first oxide semiconductor layer and the second oxide semiconductor layer contains gallium.

11. The display device according to claim 9, wherein at least one of the first oxide semiconductor layer and the second oxide semiconductor layer contains tin.

12. A mobile phone comprising the display device according to claim 9, wherein the mobile phone is configured to operate by touching a display portion including the display device.