Methods of forming resistive memory elements

• US 9,112,138 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2012
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Ramaswamy, D. V. Nirmal, Tang, Sanh D., Torsi, Alessandro, Balakrishnan, Muralikrishnan, Chen, Xiaonan, Zahurak, John K.
• Primary Examiner(s): NIKMANESH, SEAHVOSH J
• Application Number:
  US13/523,356
• Publication Number:
  US 20130334483A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,160 Days
• Field of Search: 257/2, 257/296, 257/E27.085, 427/569, 427/533, 438/240, 438/706, 438/104, 438/471, 438/474, 438/475, 438/758, 438/775
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 70/041 Modification of switching materials after formation, e.g. doping shaping H10N70/061
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 70/24 based on migration or redistribution of ionic species, e.g. anions, vacancies
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 70/826 adapted for essentially vertical current flow, e.g. sandwich or pillar type devices
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 70/841 Electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 70/883 Oxides or nitrides
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 70/8833 Binary metal oxides, e.g. TaOx

Abstract

A method of forming a resistive memory element comprises forming an oxide material over a first electrode. The oxide material is exposed to a plasma process to form a treated oxide material. A second electrode is formed on the treated oxide material. Additional methods of forming a resistive memory element, as well as related resistive memory elements, resistive memory cells, and resistive memory devices are also described.

Claims

1. A method of forming a resistive memory element, comprising:

forming an oxide material extending continuously over a first electrode;

exposing the oxide material to a decoupled plasma nitridation process to form a treated oxide material extending continuously over the first electrode, the treated oxide material comprising at least one of a hafnium oxy-nitride, a hafnium silicon oxy-nitride, a zirconium oxy-nitride, a zirconium silicon oxy-nitride, a titanium oxy-nitride, a titanium silicon oxy-nitride, a tantalum oxy-nitride, a tantalum silicon oxy-nitride, a niobium oxy-nitride, a niobium silicon oxy-nitride, a vanadium oxy-nitride, a vanadium silicon oxy-nitride, a tungsten oxy-nitride, a tungsten silicon oxy-nitride, a molybdenum oxy-nitride, a molybdenum silicon oxy-nitride, a chromium oxy-nitride, and a chromium silicon oxy-nitride; and

forming a second electrode on the treated oxide material.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a power applied during the decoupled plasma nitridation process is within a range of from about 200 watts to about 2500 watts.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a duration of the decoupled plasma nitridation process is within a range of from about 10 seconds to about 300 seconds.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein exposing the oxide material to a decoupled plasma nitridation process comprises nitriding the oxide material to a depth within a range of from about 1 Angstrom to about 50 Angstroms from an exposed surface of the oxide material.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein nitriding the oxide material to a depth within a range of from about 1 Angstrom to about 50 Angstroms from an exposed surface of the oxide material comprises varying a concentration of nitrogen throughout the depth.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein exposing the oxide material to a decoupled plasma nitridation process comprises exposing the oxide material to a plasma comprising nitrogen and at least one other element.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one other element comprises at least one dopant component.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein forming an oxide material extending continuously over a first electrode comprises forming at least one of silicon dioxide, a hafnium oxide, a hafnium silicon oxide, a zirconium oxide, a zirconium silicon oxide, a titanium oxide, a titanium silicon oxide, a tantalum oxide, a tantalum silicon oxide, a niobium oxide, a niobium silicon oxide, a vanadium oxide, a vanadium silicon oxide, a tungsten oxide, a tungsten silicon oxide, a molybdenum oxide, a molybdenum silicon oxide, a chromium oxide, and a chromium silicon oxide extending continuously on the first electrode.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein forming a second electrode on the treated oxide material comprises:

forming a reactive material on the treated oxide material; and

forming a capping material on the reactive material.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein forming a reactive material on the treated oxide material comprises forming titanium on the treated oxide material.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein forming an oxide material extending continuously over a first electrode comprises forming at least one of silicon dioxide, a hafnium oxide, a zirconium oxide, a titanium oxide, a tantalum oxide, a niobium oxide, a vanadium oxide, a tungsten oxide, a molybdenum oxide, and a chromium oxide to extend continuously over the first electrode.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein forming an oxide material extending continuously over a first electrode comprises forming at least one of a hafnium silicon oxide, a zirconium silicon oxide, a titanium silicon oxide, a tantalum silicon oxide, a niobium silicon oxide, a vanadium silicon oxide, a tungsten silicon oxide, a molybdenum silicon oxide, and a chromium silicon oxide to extend continuously over the first electrode.

13. A method of forming a resistive memory element, comprising:

forming a metal oxide material on a first electrode;

exposing the metal oxide material to a decoupled plasma nitridation process to break chemical bonds between oxygen atoms and metal atoms of the metal oxide material and form a metal oxy-nitride material; and

forming a reactive material on the metal oxy-nitride material to remove unbonded oxygen atoms from the metal oxy-nitride material and form an insulative oxygen-deficient region and an conductive oxygen-deficient region in the reactive material.

14. A method of forming a resistive memory element, comprising:

forming a metal oxide material over a first electrode, the metal oxide material comprising an oxide of at least one of chromium, cobalt, hafnium, molybdenum, tantalum, zirconium, lanthanum, manganese, calcium, praseodymium, europium, silicon, germanium, and aluminum;

exposing the metal oxide material to a decoupled plasma nitridation process to simultaneously damage and passivate the metal oxide material and form a treated metal oxide material; and

forming a second electrode over the treated metal oxide material without previously repairing at least some of the damage resulting from exposing the metal oxide material to the plasma nitridation process.

15. A method of forming a resistive memory element, comprising:

forming a hafnium silicon oxide material on a titanium nitride material;

exposing the hafnium silicon oxide material to a decoupled plasma nitridation process to form a hafnium silicon oxy-nitride material over the titanium nitride material;

forming a titanium material on the hafnium silicon oxy-nitride material without previously annealing the hafnium silicon oxy-nitride material; and

forming a tungsten nitride material on the titanium material.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein forming a hafnium silicon oxide material on a titanium nitride material comprises forming the hafnium silicon oxide material to comprise a ratio of hafnium atoms to silicon atoms in at least a portion of the hafnium silicon oxide material is within a range of from about 3:

1 to about 8;

1.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein exposing the hafnium silicon oxide material to a decoupled plasma nitridation process comprises applying a power during the decoupled plasma nitridation plasma process within a range of from about 800 watts to about 2000 watts.