US20200106000A1 - Magnetoresistance device and method for forming the same - Google Patents
Magnetoresistance device and method for forming the same Download PDFInfo
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- US20200106000A1 US20200106000A1 US16/175,854 US201816175854A US2020106000A1 US 20200106000 A1 US20200106000 A1 US 20200106000A1 US 201816175854 A US201816175854 A US 201816175854A US 2020106000 A1 US2020106000 A1 US 2020106000A1
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- H10N—ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10N50/00—Galvanomagnetic devices
- H10N50/80—Constructional details
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10B—ELECTRONIC MEMORY DEVICES
- H10B61/00—Magnetic memory devices, e.g. magnetoresistive RAM [MRAM] devices
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10N—ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10N50/00—Galvanomagnetic devices
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10N—ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10N50/00—Galvanomagnetic devices
- H10N50/10—Magnetoresistive devices
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10N—ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10N50/00—Galvanomagnetic devices
- H10N50/80—Constructional details
- H10N50/85—Magnetic active materials
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- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11C—STATIC STORES
- G11C11/00—Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor
- G11C11/02—Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor using magnetic elements
- G11C11/16—Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor using magnetic elements using elements in which the storage effect is based on magnetic spin effect
- G11C11/161—Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor using magnetic elements using elements in which the storage effect is based on magnetic spin effect details concerning the memory cell structure, e.g. the layers of the ferromagnetic memory cell
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- G—PHYSICS
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- G11C—STATIC STORES
- G11C2211/00—Indexing scheme relating to digital stores characterized by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor
- G11C2211/56—Indexing scheme relating to G11C11/56 and sub-groups for features not covered by these groups
- G11C2211/561—Multilevel memory cell aspects
- G11C2211/5615—Multilevel magnetic memory cell using non-magnetic non-conducting interlayer, e.g. MTJ
Definitions
- the present invention generally related to a magnetoresistance device and method for forming the same, and more particularly related to a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) and method for forming the same.
- MRAM magnetoresistive random access memory
- MRAM magnetoresistive random access memory
- SRAMs SRAMs
- non-volatile feature and low power consumption comparable to flash
- high integrity and durability comparable to DRAM.
- the process for forming a MRAM device may be conveniently incorporated into existing semiconductor manufacturing processes.
- a MRAM device stores data by using a magnetoresistance element called magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), which typically comprises two ferromagnetic layers separated by a thin insulating layer and is sandwiched between a top electrode and a bottom electrode.
- MTJ magnetic tunnel junction
- the tunneling process of the electrons is electron spin dependent, which means that the magnitude of the tunneling current across the MTJ is a function of the relative magnetic polarities of the two ferromagnetic layers.
- TMR tunneling magnetoresistance
- the MTJ of a MRAM usually has one of the two ferromagnetic layers being pinned (fixed) to a particular magnetic polarity, while the magnetic polarity of the other ferromagnetic layer may be changed by an external magnetic field. If the two ferromagnetic layers have the same magnetization direction, the electrons are more likely to tunnel through the insulating layer, resulting in a larger tunneling current and MTJ is considered in a low-resistance state. If the two ferromagnetic layers have opposite magnetization directions, the electrons are less likely to tunnel through the insulating layer, resulting in a smaller tunneling current and the MTJ is considered in a high-resistance state.
- the two different resistance states of the MTJ are used to represent data “0” or “1”, respectively.
- inline misalignment or critical dimension (CD) variation would cause an insufficient contacting area between the bottom electrode of the magnetoresistance element and an underlying interconnecting structure, resulting in a high series resistance that may obstruct the MRAM to function properly.
- misalignment or CD variation may also increase the risk of exposing the underlying interconnecting structure to the MTJ etching process and cause tool contamination. Therefore, there is still a need in the field to provide a novel MRAM device and method for forming the same that have a larger process window and is able to prevent the aforesaid problems.
- the present invention is directed to provide a magnetoresistance device and method for forming the same which may overcome the aforesaid technical problems of existing MRAM.
- a magnetoresistance device comprises a bottom electrode, a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) disposed on the bottom electrode, a top electrode disposed on the magnetic tunneling junction, a first spacer disposed on the magnetic tunneling junction and covering a sidewall of the top electrode, and a second spacer disposed on the first spacer and conformally covering along a sidewall of the first spacer, a sidewall of the magnetic tunneling junction and a sidewall of the bottom electrode.
- MTJ magnetic tunneling junction
- a method for forming a magnetoresistance device comprises the following steps. First, a first dielectric layer is provided. A bottom electrode layer is formed on a top surface of the first dielectric layer. A magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) material layer is formed on the bottom electrode layer. A top electrode is then formed on the magnetic tunneling junction material layer, and a first spacer material layer is formed conformally covering the top electrode and the magnetic tunneling junction material layer exposed from the top electrode.
- MTJ magnetic tunneling junction
- a first etching process is performed to etch the first spacer material layer, the magnetic tunneling junction material layer and the bottom electrode layer until exposing the first dielectric layer, thereby forming a bottom electrode, a magnetic tunneling junction and a first spacer on the magnetic tunneling junction and covering a sidewall of the top electrode.
- a second spacer material layer is formed conformally covering the first spacer, the magnetic tunneling junction, the bottom electrode and an exposed portion of the first dielectric layer.
- a second etching process is performed to etch the second spacer to form a second spacer covering on a sidewall of the first spacer, a sidewall of the magnetic tunneling junction and a sidewall of the bottom electrode.
- the MTJ and the bottom electrode of the magnetoresistance device are formed by using the top electrode and the first spacer on the sidewall of the top electrode as an etching mask.
- the bottom electrode may be formed with a width larger than the width of the top electrode to ensure that the underlying interconnecting structure electrically coupled to the MTJ may be completely covered by the bottom electrode without any additional photomask and patterning process.
- the width of the bottom electrode may be conveniently adjusted by adjusting the thickness of the first spacer to compensate the misalignment or CD variation when forming the top electrode, ensuring that the underlying interconnecting structure is completely covered. A largest contacting area between the bottom electrode and the underlying interconnecting structure and a smaller series resistance may be guaranteed. The exposure of the underlying interconnecting structure to the etching process for forming the MTJ and the bottom electrode is also prevented.
- FIG. 1 to FIG. 10 are schematic diagrams illustrating the steps of forming a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- MRAM magnetoresistive random access memory
- a substrate 10 having a cell region 14 and a peripheral region 16 defined thereon is provided.
- the substrate 10 may be a silicon substrate, a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, or Group III-V semiconductor substrate, but not limited thereto.
- the substrate 10 may have semiconductor structures (not shown), such as transistors, capacitors, resistors, inductors, or interconnecting structures, formed therein. For the sake of simplicity, the above-mentioned semiconductor structures are not illustrated in the drawings.
- An interlayer dielectric layer 100 is disposed on the substrate 10 .
- the interlayer dielectric layer 100 may comprise dielectric material such as silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, silicon nitride, or low-k dielectric materials such as fluorinated silica glass (FSG), silicon oxycarbide (SiCOH), spin on glass, porous low-k dielectric material or organic dielectric polymers, or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto.
- Bottom interconnecting structures 102 may be formed in the interlayer dielectric layer 100 in the cell region 14 and in the peripheral region 16 .
- the bottom interconnecting structures 102 may be metal interconnecting structures comprising metal, such as tungsten, copper, aluminum, or other suitable low-resistance metals.
- the bottom interconnecting structures 102 comprise copper.
- an interlayer dielectric layer 200 is formed on the interlayer dielectric layer 100 .
- the interlayer dielectric layer 200 may have a multi-layered structure, including an etching stop layer 202 and a first dielectric layer 204 on the etching stop layer 202 .
- the etching stop layer 202 may comprise silicon nitride (SiN), silicon carbon nitride (SiCN) or silicon oxynitride (SiON), or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto.
- the first dielectric layer 204 may comprise dielectric material such as such as silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, silicon nitride, or low-k dielectric materials, including fluorinated silica glass (FSG), silicon oxycarbide (SiCOH), spin on glass, porous low-k dielectric material or organic dielectric polymers, or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto.
- a pattern process such as a photolithography-etching process may be carried out to define a contact opening 206 in the interlayer dielectric layer 200 in the cell region 14 , which penetrates through the etching stop layer 202 and the first dielectric layer 204 and exposes a top surface of the underlying bottom interconnecting structure 102 .
- a barrier layer 210 is formed on the interlayer dielectric layer 200 and conformally covers the sidewalls of the contact opening 206 and the exposed top surface of the bottom interconnecting structure 102 .
- a conductive material 212 is then formed on the barrier layer 210 and completely fills the contact opening 206 . After removing unnecessary barrier layer 210 and conductive material 212 outside the contact opening 206 by, for example, performing a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process, the remaining barrier layer 210 and the conductive material 212 filling in the contact opening 206 become the contact plug 208 .
- CMP chemical mechanical polishing
- the barrier layer 210 may be single layered or multiple-layered and may comprise titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta), titanium nitride (TiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto.
- the conductive material 212 may comprise metal such as tungsten, copper or aluminum or other suitable low-resistance metals, but not limited thereto.
- the conductive material 212 comprise copper.
- the contact plug 208 is to electrically connect the bottom interconnecting structures 102 and the bottom electrode 322 (shown in FIG. 6 ) of the magnetoresistive device.
- the contact plug 208 exposed form the interlayer dielectric layer 200 may have a width W.
- the conductive material 212 of the contact plug 208 may be slightly over-polished during the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process to form a recessed top surface 214 .
- CMP chemical mechanical polishing
- the recessed top surface 214 of the contact plug 208 may provide a larger contacting area for the bottom electrode 322 to reduce the contacting resistance and also forms a more secured joining between the contact plug 208 and the bottom electrode 322 .
- a bottom electrode layer 302 , a pinning layer 306 , a pinned layer 308 , a tunneling layer 310 , a free layer 312 , a cap layer 314 and a top electrode layer 316 are successively formed on the interlayer dielectric layer 200 .
- the bottom electrode layer 302 and the top electrode layer 316 may comprise a same or different conductive material such as titanium, tantalum, titanium nitride, tantalum nitride or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto.
- the cap layer 314 may comprise a metal or a metal oxide such as aluminum (Al), magnesium (Mg), tantalum (Ta), ruthenium (Ru), tungsten dioxide (WO 2 ), NiO, MgO, Al2O3, Ta2O5, MoO2, TiO2, GdO, or MnO, or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto.
- the pinning layer 306 is disposed on the bottom electrode layer 302 and may comprise anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) material such as PtMn, IrMn, PtIr or the like.
- the pinned layer 308 and the free layer 312 respectively comprise a same or different ferromagnetic material such as Fe, Co, Ni, FeNi, FeCo, CoNi, FeB, FePt, FePd, CoFeB, or the like.
- the magnetic polarity of the pinned layer 308 is pinned (anti-ferromagnetic coupled) to a fixed orientation by the pinning layer 306 thereunder.
- the magnetic polarity of the free layer 312 may be changed by an external magnetic field.
- the tunneling layer 310 is sandwiched between the pinned layer 308 and the free layer 312 and may comprise insulating material such as MgO, Al 2 O 3 , NiO, GdO, Ta 2 O 5 , MoO 2 , TiO 2 , WO 2 , or the like.
- the pinning layer 306 , the pinned layer 308 , the tunneling layer 310 and the free layer 312 together form a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) material layer 304 between the top electrode layer 316 and the bottom electrode layer 302 and may respectively comprise single or multiple layers having a thickness ranges from several angstroms to dozens of nanometers.
- MTJ magnetic tunneling junction
- a patterning process may be performed to pattern the top electrode layer 316 into a top electrode 330 .
- the patterning process may include forming a patterned mask layer (not shown) comprising a designed pattern of the top electrode 330 on the top electrode layer 316 and then performing an etching process, such as an reactive ion etching (RIE) process, using the patterned mask layer as an etching mask to etch the top electrode layer 316 , thereby transferring the designed pattern to the electrode layer 316 to form the top electrode 330 .
- the cap layer 314 not covered by the top electrode 330 may also be removed when etching the top electrode layer 316 .
- a portion of the MTJ material layer 304 is therefore exposed.
- the top electrode 330 and the remaining cap layer 314 sandwiched between the top electrode 330 and the MTJ material layer 304 has vertically aligned sidewalls and a same width W 1 .
- a first spacer material layer 402 is formed on the substrate 10 and conformally covers the top surface and sidewall of the top electrode 330 , the sidewall of the cap layer 314 and the exposed portion of the MTJ material layer 304 .
- the first spacer material layer 402 may comprise insulating material, such as SiN, SiON, SiCN or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto.
- the first spacer material layer 402 may be single-layered or multiple-layered.
- a first etching process is carried out to etch the first spacer material layer 402 , the MTJ material layer 304 and the bottom electrode layer 302 , thereby forming a bottom electrode 332 , a MTJ 320 on the bottom electrode 322 and a first spacer 404 on the MTJ 320 , covering the sidewall of the top electrode 330 and a portion of the MTJ 320 adjacent to the sidewall of the top electrode 330 .
- the first spacer 404 may have a sidewall aligned with the sidewall of the MTJ 320 and does not cover the sidewall of the MTJ 320 and the sidewall of the bottom electrode.
- the first etching process may comprise performing an anisotropic etching process, such as an ion beam etching (IBE) process, by which the uppermost first spacer material layer 402 is first etched to form the first spacer 404 that is self-aligned to the sidewall of the top electrode 330 .
- IBE ion beam etching
- the first etching process may comprise performing multiple anisotropic etching processes successively.
- a reactive ion beam (RIE) process may be first performed to etch the first spacer material layer 402 to form the first spacer 404 , and then an ion beam etching (IBE) process is performed, using the top electrode 330 and the first spacer 404 as an etching mask to etch the underlying MTJ material layer 304 and the bottom electrode layer 302 to form the MTJ 320 and the bottom electrode 322 .
- RIE reactive ion beam
- IBE ion beam etching
- the first dielectric layer 204 exposed from the bottom electrode 322 may be over-etched to form a first recessed top surface 204 a that borders the top surface 204 ′ of the first dielectric layer 204 covered by the bottom electrode 322 and extends downwardly to be lower than the top surface 204 ′.
- the first recessed top surface 204 a and the sidewall of the bottom electrode 322 collectively form a continuous curved surface.
- the sidewall of the first spacer 440 , the sidewall of the MTJ 320 and the sidewall of the bottom electrode 322 may also forma continuous surface.
- the over-etched thickness (the height between the top surface 204 ′ and the horizontal portion of the first recessed top surface 204 a ) of the first dielectric layer 204 may range from 0 to 250 angstroms.
- a sufficient thickness of the first dielectric layer 204 is over-etched during the first etching process in order to provide a taper portion of the first recessed top surface 204 a which the second spacer 408 (shown in FIG. 8 ) may be formed self-aligned to.
- the width W 2 of the MTJ 320 and the bottom electrode 322 would be larger than the width W 1 of the top electrode 330 by approximately be the sum of the thickness T of the first spacer 404 on two sides of the top electrode 330 .
- the contact plug 208 may still be completely covered by the bottom. electrode 322 from being exposed to the first etching process.
- the width W 2 of the bottom electrode 322 may be flexibly adjusted by simply adjusting the thickness T of the first spacer 404 .
- a largest contacting area and smallest contact resistance between the bottom. electrode 322 and the contact plug 208 may also be ensured. Tool contamination due to exposure of the contact plug 208 during the first etching process may also be prevented.
- the bottom electrode 322 may have a saucer-plate-shaped cross-sectional profile, having a central portion 322 b overlapping vertically on the recessed top surface 214 of the contact plug 208 and an edge portion 322 a overlapping vertically on the top surface 204 ′ of the first dielectric layer 204 adjacent to the contact plug 208 .
- the saucer-plate-shape of the bottom electrode 322 may further increase the contacting area between the bottom electrode 322 and the contact plug 208 and also forms a stronger interface between the bottom electrode 322 and the contact plug 208 .
- a second spacer material layer 406 is formed on the substrate 10 , conformally covering the top surface of the top electrode 330 , the sidewall of the first spacer 404 , the sidewall of the MTJ 320 , the sidewall of the bottom electrode 322 and the first recessed top surface 204 a of the first dielectric layer 204 .
- the second pacer material layer 406 may be made of an insulating material, such as SiN, SiON, SiC or SiCN, or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto.
- the first spacer material layer 402 and the second spacer material layer 406 may be made of a same insulating material, such as SiN.
- a second etching process such as a reactive ion etching (RIE) process is performed, using the top electrode 330 and the first spacer 404 as an etching mask to anisotropically etch the second spacer material layer 406 until exposing the first dielectric layer, thereby forming a second spacer 408 that is self-aligned to and conformally covers the sidewall of the first spacer 404 , the sidewall of the MTJ 320 and the sidewall of the bottom electrode 322 , and continuously covers the taper portion of the first recessed top surface 204 a of the first dielectric layer 204 .
- RIE reactive ion etching
- T first etching process he second spacer 408 may function as a passivation layer to protect the sidewall of the MTJ 320 from being damaged or contaminated during subsequent fabricating processes.
- the second spacer 408 may extend downwardly, continuously covering along the taper portion of the first recessed top surface 204 a . In this way, the passivation of the bottom corner of the MTJ 320 is better guaranteed.
- the first dielectric layer 204 exposed from the second spacer 408 is over-etched by the second etching process to form a second recessed top surface 204 b that borders the remaining portion (taper portion) of the first recessed top surface 204 a covered by the second spacer 408 and extends downwardly to a level lower than the first recessed top surface 204 a .
- the sidewall of the second spacer 408 and the second recessed top surface 204 b of the first dielectric layer 204 collectively form a continuous curved surface.
- the over-etched thickness of the first dielectric layer 204 during the second etching process has to be sufficient to ensure that the remaining second spacer material layer 406 in the peripheral region 16 is completely removed.
- the over-etched thickness of the first dielectric layer 204 during the second etching process may range from 0 to 100 angstroms.
- a second dielectric layer 504 is formed on the substrate 10 , completely covering the top electrode 330 , the second spacer 408 and the first dielectric layer 204 .
- a planarization process such as a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process may be performed to remove a portion of the second dielectric layer 504 until the top surface of the top electrode 330 is exposed and a planar top surface of the second dielectric layer 504 is obtained.
- the exposed top surface of the top electrode 330 is coplanar with the planar top surface of the second dielectric layer 504 .
- the top electrode 330 and the cap layer 314 are spaced apart from the second dielectric layer 504 by the first spacer 404 and the second spacer 408 .
- the MTJ 320 , the bottom electrode 322 and the remaining first recessed top surface 204 a of the first dielectric layer 204 covered by the second spacer 408 are spaced apart from the second dielectric layer 504 by the second spacer 408 .
- the second recessed top surface 204 b of the first dielectric layer 204 is in direct contact with the second dielectric layer 504 .
- a contact plug 508 and an interconnecting structure 510 may be formed in the first dielectric layer 204 and the second dielectric layer 504 and electrically coupled to the bottom interconnecting structures 102 in the peripheral region 16 .
- the contact plug 508 and the interconnecting structure 510 may be formed integrally and comprise a same material.
- a dual-damascene trench (not shown) is formed in the peripheral region 16 and penetrating through the second dielectric layer 504 , the first dielectric layer 204 and the etching stop layer 202 in the peripheral region 16 to exposes a top surface of the bottom interconnecting structure 102 in the peripheral region 16 .
- a conductive material 212 is then formed to completely fill the dual-damascene trench.
- a chemical mechanical polishing process may be performed to remove unnecessary barrier layer 210 and conductive material 212 outside the dual-damascene trench, and the barrier layer 210 and the conductive material 212 remaining in the dual-damascene trench become the contact plug 508 and the interconnecting structure 510 .
- the barrier layer 210 may be made of titanium, tantalum, titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto.
- the conductive material 212 may be made of tungsten, copper, aluminum or other suitable low-resistance metal, but not limited thereto. Preferably, the conductive material 212 comprise copper.
- another interlayer dielectric layer (not shown) may be formed on the substrate 10 and completely covering the second dielectric layer 504 , the top electrode 330 in the cell region 14 and the interconnecting structure 510 in the peripheral region 16 .
- Upper interconnecting structures (not shown) may be formed in the interlayer dielectric layer over the top electrode 330 and the interconnecting structure 510 to electrically connect to the top electrode 330 and the interconnecting structure 510 , respectively.
- the present invention provides an improved magnetoresistance device and the manufacturing method, which forms the MTJ and the bottom electrode by using the top electrode and the first spacer on sidewalls of the top electrode as an etching mask.
- the bottom electrode may have a larger width to be able to completely cover the underlying contact plug.
- a largest contacting area between the bottom electrode and the underlying contact plug may be achieved. The risk of exposing the contact plug to any etching process and tool contamination may also be reduced.
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Abstract
Description
- The present invention generally related to a magnetoresistance device and method for forming the same, and more particularly related to a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) and method for forming the same.
- A magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) is a kind of non-volatile memory that has drawn a lot of attention in this technology field recently regarding its potentials of incorporating advantages of other kinds of memories. For example, a MRAM device may have an operation speed comparable to SRAMs, the non-volatile feature and low power consumption comparable to flash, the high integrity and durability comparable to DRAM. More important, the process for forming a MRAM device may be conveniently incorporated into existing semiconductor manufacturing processes.
- Unlike conventional memories that store data by electric charge or current flow, a MRAM device stores data by using a magnetoresistance element called magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), which typically comprises two ferromagnetic layers separated by a thin insulating layer and is sandwiched between a top electrode and a bottom electrode. When the thickness of the insulating layer is sufficiently thin, quantum-mechanical tunneling of electrons may occur between the two ferromagnetic layers. The tunneling process of the electrons is electron spin dependent, which means that the magnitude of the tunneling current across the MTJ is a function of the relative magnetic polarities of the two ferromagnetic layers. The dependence of the tunneling current on the magnetization of the ferromagnetic layers is known as tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) effect. The MTJ of a MRAM usually has one of the two ferromagnetic layers being pinned (fixed) to a particular magnetic polarity, while the magnetic polarity of the other ferromagnetic layer may be changed by an external magnetic field. If the two ferromagnetic layers have the same magnetization direction, the electrons are more likely to tunnel through the insulating layer, resulting in a larger tunneling current and MTJ is considered in a low-resistance state. If the two ferromagnetic layers have opposite magnetization directions, the electrons are less likely to tunnel through the insulating layer, resulting in a smaller tunneling current and the MTJ is considered in a high-resistance state. The two different resistance states of the MTJ are used to represent data “0” or “1”, respectively.
- Currently, there are still many problems confronted when manufacturing a MRAM. For example, inline misalignment or critical dimension (CD) variation would cause an insufficient contacting area between the bottom electrode of the magnetoresistance element and an underlying interconnecting structure, resulting in a high series resistance that may obstruct the MRAM to function properly. Furthermore, misalignment or CD variation may also increase the risk of exposing the underlying interconnecting structure to the MTJ etching process and cause tool contamination. Therefore, there is still a need in the field to provide a novel MRAM device and method for forming the same that have a larger process window and is able to prevent the aforesaid problems.
- In light of the above, the present invention is directed to provide a magnetoresistance device and method for forming the same which may overcome the aforesaid technical problems of existing MRAM.
- According to one embodiment of the present invention, a magnetoresistance device is disclosed. The magnetoresistance device according to the present invention comprises a bottom electrode, a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) disposed on the bottom electrode, a top electrode disposed on the magnetic tunneling junction, a first spacer disposed on the magnetic tunneling junction and covering a sidewall of the top electrode, and a second spacer disposed on the first spacer and conformally covering along a sidewall of the first spacer, a sidewall of the magnetic tunneling junction and a sidewall of the bottom electrode.
- According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for forming a magnetoresistance device is disclosed, which comprises the following steps. First, a first dielectric layer is provided. A bottom electrode layer is formed on a top surface of the first dielectric layer. A magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) material layer is formed on the bottom electrode layer. A top electrode is then formed on the magnetic tunneling junction material layer, and a first spacer material layer is formed conformally covering the top electrode and the magnetic tunneling junction material layer exposed from the top electrode. Subsequently, a first etching process is performed to etch the first spacer material layer, the magnetic tunneling junction material layer and the bottom electrode layer until exposing the first dielectric layer, thereby forming a bottom electrode, a magnetic tunneling junction and a first spacer on the magnetic tunneling junction and covering a sidewall of the top electrode. Thereafter, a second spacer material layer is formed conformally covering the first spacer, the magnetic tunneling junction, the bottom electrode and an exposed portion of the first dielectric layer. Afterward, a second etching process is performed to etch the second spacer to form a second spacer covering on a sidewall of the first spacer, a sidewall of the magnetic tunneling junction and a sidewall of the bottom electrode.
- It is one feature of the present invention that after forming the top electrode, the MTJ and the bottom electrode of the magnetoresistance device are formed by using the top electrode and the first spacer on the sidewall of the top electrode as an etching mask. In this way, the bottom electrode may be formed with a width larger than the width of the top electrode to ensure that the underlying interconnecting structure electrically coupled to the MTJ may be completely covered by the bottom electrode without any additional photomask and patterning process. Furthermore, the width of the bottom electrode may be conveniently adjusted by adjusting the thickness of the first spacer to compensate the misalignment or CD variation when forming the top electrode, ensuring that the underlying interconnecting structure is completely covered. A largest contacting area between the bottom electrode and the underlying interconnecting structure and a smaller series resistance may be guaranteed. The exposure of the underlying interconnecting structure to the etching process for forming the MTJ and the bottom electrode is also prevented.
- These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
-
FIG. 1 toFIG. 10 are schematic diagrams illustrating the steps of forming a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. - To provide a better understanding of the present invention to those of ordinary skill in the art, several exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be detailed as follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings using numbered elements to elaborate the contents and effects to be achieved. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments may be utilized and that structural, logical and electrical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
- Please refer to
FIG. 1 . First, asubstrate 10 having acell region 14 and aperipheral region 16 defined thereon is provided. Thesubstrate 10 may be a silicon substrate, a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, or Group III-V semiconductor substrate, but not limited thereto. Thesubstrate 10 may have semiconductor structures (not shown), such as transistors, capacitors, resistors, inductors, or interconnecting structures, formed therein. For the sake of simplicity, the above-mentioned semiconductor structures are not illustrated in the drawings. An interlayerdielectric layer 100 is disposed on thesubstrate 10. The interlayerdielectric layer 100 may comprise dielectric material such as silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, silicon nitride, or low-k dielectric materials such as fluorinated silica glass (FSG), silicon oxycarbide (SiCOH), spin on glass, porous low-k dielectric material or organic dielectric polymers, or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto.Bottom interconnecting structures 102 may be formed in the interlayerdielectric layer 100 in thecell region 14 and in theperipheral region 16. Thebottom interconnecting structures 102 may be metal interconnecting structures comprising metal, such as tungsten, copper, aluminum, or other suitable low-resistance metals. Preferably, thebottom interconnecting structures 102 comprise copper. Afterward, an interlayerdielectric layer 200 is formed on the interlayerdielectric layer 100. The interlayerdielectric layer 200 may have a multi-layered structure, including anetching stop layer 202 and a firstdielectric layer 204 on theetching stop layer 202. Theetching stop layer 202 may comprise silicon nitride (SiN), silicon carbon nitride (SiCN) or silicon oxynitride (SiON), or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto. The firstdielectric layer 204 may comprise dielectric material such as such as silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, silicon nitride, or low-k dielectric materials, including fluorinated silica glass (FSG), silicon oxycarbide (SiCOH), spin on glass, porous low-k dielectric material or organic dielectric polymers, or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto. Subsequently, a pattern process, such as a photolithography-etching process may be carried out to define acontact opening 206 in the interlayerdielectric layer 200 in thecell region 14, which penetrates through theetching stop layer 202 and the firstdielectric layer 204 and exposes a top surface of the underlyingbottom interconnecting structure 102. - Please refer to
FIG. 2 . Subsequently, abarrier layer 210 is formed on the interlayerdielectric layer 200 and conformally covers the sidewalls of thecontact opening 206 and the exposed top surface of thebottom interconnecting structure 102. Aconductive material 212 is then formed on thebarrier layer 210 and completely fills thecontact opening 206. After removingunnecessary barrier layer 210 andconductive material 212 outside thecontact opening 206 by, for example, performing a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process, theremaining barrier layer 210 and theconductive material 212 filling in thecontact opening 206 become thecontact plug 208. According to an embodiment, thebarrier layer 210 may be single layered or multiple-layered and may comprise titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta), titanium nitride (TiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto. Theconductive material 212 may comprise metal such as tungsten, copper or aluminum or other suitable low-resistance metals, but not limited thereto. Preferably, theconductive material 212 comprise copper. Thecontact plug 208 is to electrically connect the bottom interconnectingstructures 102 and the bottom electrode 322 (shown inFIG. 6 ) of the magnetoresistive device. Thecontact plug 208 exposed form theinterlayer dielectric layer 200 may have a width W. According to an embodiment, theconductive material 212 of thecontact plug 208 may be slightly over-polished during the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process to form a recessedtop surface 214. The recessedtop surface 214 of thecontact plug 208 may provide a larger contacting area for thebottom electrode 322 to reduce the contacting resistance and also forms a more secured joining between thecontact plug 208 and thebottom electrode 322. - Please refer to
FIG. 3 . After forming thecontact plug 208, abottom electrode layer 302, a pinninglayer 306, a pinnedlayer 308, atunneling layer 310, afree layer 312, acap layer 314 and atop electrode layer 316 are successively formed on theinterlayer dielectric layer 200. According to an embodiment, thebottom electrode layer 302 and thetop electrode layer 316 may comprise a same or different conductive material such as titanium, tantalum, titanium nitride, tantalum nitride or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto. Thecap layer 314 may comprise a metal or a metal oxide such as aluminum (Al), magnesium (Mg), tantalum (Ta), ruthenium (Ru), tungsten dioxide (WO2), NiO, MgO, Al2O3, Ta2O5, MoO2, TiO2, GdO, or MnO, or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto. The pinninglayer 306 is disposed on thebottom electrode layer 302 and may comprise anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) material such as PtMn, IrMn, PtIr or the like. The pinnedlayer 308 and thefree layer 312 respectively comprise a same or different ferromagnetic material such as Fe, Co, Ni, FeNi, FeCo, CoNi, FeB, FePt, FePd, CoFeB, or the like. The magnetic polarity of the pinnedlayer 308 is pinned (anti-ferromagnetic coupled) to a fixed orientation by the pinninglayer 306 thereunder. The magnetic polarity of thefree layer 312 may be changed by an external magnetic field. Thetunneling layer 310 is sandwiched between the pinnedlayer 308 and thefree layer 312 and may comprise insulating material such as MgO, Al2O3, NiO, GdO, Ta2O5, MoO2, TiO2, WO2, or the like. The pinninglayer 306, the pinnedlayer 308, thetunneling layer 310 and thefree layer 312 together form a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ)material layer 304 between thetop electrode layer 316 and thebottom electrode layer 302 and may respectively comprise single or multiple layers having a thickness ranges from several angstroms to dozens of nanometers. - Please refer to
FIG. 4 . Following, a patterning process may be performed to pattern thetop electrode layer 316 into atop electrode 330. The patterning process may include forming a patterned mask layer (not shown) comprising a designed pattern of thetop electrode 330 on thetop electrode layer 316 and then performing an etching process, such as an reactive ion etching (RIE) process, using the patterned mask layer as an etching mask to etch thetop electrode layer 316, thereby transferring the designed pattern to theelectrode layer 316 to form thetop electrode 330. Thecap layer 314 not covered by thetop electrode 330 may also be removed when etching thetop electrode layer 316. A portion of theMTJ material layer 304 is therefore exposed. As shown inFIG. 4 , thetop electrode 330 and the remainingcap layer 314 sandwiched between thetop electrode 330 and theMTJ material layer 304 has vertically aligned sidewalls and a same width W1. - Please refer to
FIG. 5 . After forming thetop electrode 330, a firstspacer material layer 402 is formed on thesubstrate 10 and conformally covers the top surface and sidewall of thetop electrode 330, the sidewall of thecap layer 314 and the exposed portion of theMTJ material layer 304. According to an embodiment, the firstspacer material layer 402 may comprise insulating material, such as SiN, SiON, SiCN or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto. The firstspacer material layer 402 may be single-layered or multiple-layered. - Please refer to
FIG. 6 . After forming the firstspacer material layer 402, a first etching process is carried out to etch the firstspacer material layer 402, theMTJ material layer 304 and thebottom electrode layer 302, thereby forming a bottom electrode 332, aMTJ 320 on thebottom electrode 322 and afirst spacer 404 on theMTJ 320, covering the sidewall of thetop electrode 330 and a portion of theMTJ 320 adjacent to the sidewall of thetop electrode 330. Notably, thefirst spacer 404 may have a sidewall aligned with the sidewall of theMTJ 320 and does not cover the sidewall of theMTJ 320 and the sidewall of the bottom electrode. According to an embodiment, the first etching process may comprise performing an anisotropic etching process, such as an ion beam etching (IBE) process, by which the uppermost firstspacer material layer 402 is first etched to form thefirst spacer 404 that is self-aligned to the sidewall of thetop electrode 330. Continuously, using thetop electrode 330 and thefirst spacer 404 as the etching mask, the underlyingMTJ material layer 304 and thebottom electrode layer 302 are in-situ etched to form theMTJ 320 and thebottom electrode 322. However, in other embodiments, the first etching process may comprise performing multiple anisotropic etching processes successively. For example, a reactive ion beam (RIE) process may be first performed to etch the firstspacer material layer 402 to form thefirst spacer 404, and then an ion beam etching (IBE) process is performed, using thetop electrode 330 and thefirst spacer 404 as an etching mask to etch the underlyingMTJ material layer 304 and thebottom electrode layer 302 to form theMTJ 320 and thebottom electrode 322. - During the first etching process, the
first dielectric layer 204 exposed from thebottom electrode 322 may be over-etched to form a first recessedtop surface 204 a that borders thetop surface 204′ of thefirst dielectric layer 204 covered by thebottom electrode 322 and extends downwardly to be lower than thetop surface 204′. The first recessedtop surface 204 a and the sidewall of thebottom electrode 322 collectively form a continuous curved surface. Furthermore, the sidewall of the first spacer 440, the sidewall of theMTJ 320 and the sidewall of thebottom electrode 322 may also forma continuous surface. According to an embodiment, the over-etched thickness (the height between thetop surface 204′ and the horizontal portion of the first recessedtop surface 204 a) of thefirst dielectric layer 204 may range from 0 to 250 angstroms. Preferably, a sufficient thickness of thefirst dielectric layer 204 is over-etched during the first etching process in order to provide a taper portion of the first recessedtop surface 204 a which the second spacer 408 (shown inFIG. 8 ) may be formed self-aligned to. - It is one feature of the present invention that, as shown in
FIG. 6 , by using thetop electrode 330 and the first spacer 440 as the etching mask to define theMTJ 320 and thebottom electrode 322, the width W2 of theMTJ 320 and thebottom electrode 322 would be larger than the width W1 of thetop electrode 330 by approximately be the sum of the thickness T of thefirst spacer 404 on two sides of thetop electrode 330. In this way, advantageously, when inline misalignment or CD variation happens, thecontact plug 208 may still be completely covered by the bottom.electrode 322 from being exposed to the first etching process. Additionally, the width W2 of thebottom electrode 322 may be flexibly adjusted by simply adjusting the thickness T of thefirst spacer 404. A largest contacting area and smallest contact resistance between the bottom.electrode 322 and thecontact plug 208 may also be ensured. Tool contamination due to exposure of thecontact plug 208 during the first etching process may also be prevented. - It is another feature of the present invention that, as shown in
FIG. 6 , thebottom electrode 322 may have a saucer-plate-shaped cross-sectional profile, having acentral portion 322 b overlapping vertically on the recessedtop surface 214 of thecontact plug 208 and anedge portion 322 a overlapping vertically on thetop surface 204′ of thefirst dielectric layer 204 adjacent to thecontact plug 208. The saucer-plate-shape of thebottom electrode 322 may further increase the contacting area between thebottom electrode 322 and thecontact plug 208 and also forms a stronger interface between thebottom electrode 322 and thecontact plug 208. - Please refer to
FIG. 7 . Subsequently, a secondspacer material layer 406 is formed on thesubstrate 10, conformally covering the top surface of thetop electrode 330, the sidewall of thefirst spacer 404, the sidewall of theMTJ 320, the sidewall of thebottom electrode 322 and the first recessedtop surface 204 a of thefirst dielectric layer 204. According to an embodiment, the secondpacer material layer 406 may be made of an insulating material, such as SiN, SiON, SiC or SiCN, or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto. The firstspacer material layer 402 and the secondspacer material layer 406 may be made of a same insulating material, such as SiN. - Please refer to
FIG. 8 . Afterward, a second etching process, such as a reactive ion etching (RIE) process is performed, using thetop electrode 330 and thefirst spacer 404 as an etching mask to anisotropically etch the secondspacer material layer 406 until exposing the first dielectric layer, thereby forming asecond spacer 408 that is self-aligned to and conformally covers the sidewall of thefirst spacer 404, the sidewall of theMTJ 320 and the sidewall of thebottom electrode 322, and continuously covers the taper portion of the first recessedtop surface 204 a of thefirst dielectric layer 204. T first etching process he second spacer 408 may function as a passivation layer to protect the sidewall of theMTJ 320 from being damaged or contaminated during subsequent fabricating processes. As previously illustrated, by forming a taper portion of the first recessedtop surface 204 a, thesecond spacer 408 may extend downwardly, continuously covering along the taper portion of the first recessedtop surface 204 a. In this way, the passivation of the bottom corner of theMTJ 320 is better guaranteed. - Notably, the
first dielectric layer 204 exposed from thesecond spacer 408 is over-etched by the second etching process to form a second recessedtop surface 204 b that borders the remaining portion (taper portion) of the first recessedtop surface 204 a covered by thesecond spacer 408 and extends downwardly to a level lower than the first recessedtop surface 204 a. Similarly, the sidewall of thesecond spacer 408 and the second recessedtop surface 204 b of thefirst dielectric layer 204 collectively form a continuous curved surface. The over-etched thickness of thefirst dielectric layer 204 during the second etching process has to be sufficient to ensure that the remaining secondspacer material layer 406 in theperipheral region 16 is completely removed. According to an embodiment, the over-etched thickness of thefirst dielectric layer 204 during the second etching process may range from 0 to 100 angstroms. - Please refer to
FIG. 9 . Following, asecond dielectric layer 504 is formed on thesubstrate 10, completely covering thetop electrode 330, thesecond spacer 408 and thefirst dielectric layer 204. A planarization process such as a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process may be performed to remove a portion of thesecond dielectric layer 504 until the top surface of thetop electrode 330 is exposed and a planar top surface of thesecond dielectric layer 504 is obtained. The exposed top surface of thetop electrode 330 is coplanar with the planar top surface of thesecond dielectric layer 504. As shown inFIG. 9 , thetop electrode 330 and thecap layer 314 are spaced apart from thesecond dielectric layer 504 by thefirst spacer 404 and thesecond spacer 408. TheMTJ 320, thebottom electrode 322 and the remaining first recessedtop surface 204 a of thefirst dielectric layer 204 covered by thesecond spacer 408 are spaced apart from thesecond dielectric layer 504 by thesecond spacer 408. The second recessedtop surface 204 b of thefirst dielectric layer 204 is in direct contact with thesecond dielectric layer 504. - Please refer to
FIG. 10 . Afterward, acontact plug 508 and an interconnectingstructure 510 may be formed in thefirst dielectric layer 204 and thesecond dielectric layer 504 and electrically coupled to the bottom interconnectingstructures 102 in theperipheral region 16. According to an embodiment, thecontact plug 508 and the interconnectingstructure 510 may be formed integrally and comprise a same material. For example, after planarizing thesecond dielectric layer 504, a dual-damascene trench (not shown) is formed in theperipheral region 16 and penetrating through thesecond dielectric layer 504, thefirst dielectric layer 204 and theetching stop layer 202 in theperipheral region 16 to exposes a top surface of thebottom interconnecting structure 102 in theperipheral region 16. After forming abarrier layer 210 conformally covering the sidewall of the dual-damascene trench and the exposed top surface of the bottom interconnectingstructures 102, aconductive material 212 is then formed to completely fill the dual-damascene trench. A chemical mechanical polishing process may be performed to removeunnecessary barrier layer 210 andconductive material 212 outside the dual-damascene trench, and thebarrier layer 210 and theconductive material 212 remaining in the dual-damascene trench become thecontact plug 508 and the interconnectingstructure 510. According to an embodiment, thebarrier layer 210 may be made of titanium, tantalum, titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, or a combination thereof, but not limited thereto. Theconductive material 212 may be made of tungsten, copper, aluminum or other suitable low-resistance metal, but not limited thereto. Preferably, theconductive material 212 comprise copper. Subsequently, another interlayer dielectric layer (not shown) may be formed on thesubstrate 10 and completely covering thesecond dielectric layer 504, thetop electrode 330 in thecell region 14 and the interconnectingstructure 510 in theperipheral region 16. Upper interconnecting structures (not shown) may be formed in the interlayer dielectric layer over thetop electrode 330 and the interconnectingstructure 510 to electrically connect to thetop electrode 330 and the interconnectingstructure 510, respectively. - Overall, the present invention provides an improved magnetoresistance device and the manufacturing method, which forms the MTJ and the bottom electrode by using the top electrode and the first spacer on sidewalls of the top electrode as an etching mask. In this way, without increasing the process complexity or additional photomasks, the bottom electrode may have a larger width to be able to completely cover the underlying contact plug. A largest contacting area between the bottom electrode and the underlying contact plug may be achieved. The risk of exposing the contact plug to any etching process and tool contamination may also be reduced.
- Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
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