WO2017184315A1 - Method of forming pairs of three-gate non-volatile flash memory cells using two polysilicon deposition steps - Google Patents
Method of forming pairs of three-gate non-volatile flash memory cells using two polysilicon deposition steps Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2017184315A1 WO2017184315A1 PCT/US2017/025263 US2017025263W WO2017184315A1 WO 2017184315 A1 WO2017184315 A1 WO 2017184315A1 US 2017025263 W US2017025263 W US 2017025263W WO 2017184315 A1 WO2017184315 A1 WO 2017184315A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- polysilicon
- insulation
- blocks
- forming
- layer
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L28/00—Passive two-terminal components without a potential-jump or surface barrier for integrated circuits; Details thereof; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a non- volatile flash memory cell which has a word line (WL) gate, a floating gate, and an erase gate.
- WL word line
- floating gate floating gate
- erase gate erase gate
- a simplified method for forming a pair of non- volatile memory cells includes forming a first insulation layer on a semiconductor substrate, forming a first polysilicon layer on the first insulation layer in a first polysilicon deposition process, forming a pair of spaced apart insulation blocks on the first polysilicon layer, each of the insulation blocks having first sides facing toward each other and second sides facing away from each other, removing portions of the first polysilicon layer while maintaining portions of the first polysilicon layer disposed underneath the pair of insulation blocks and between the pair of insulation blocks, forming a pair of spaced apart insulation spacers adjacent the first sides and over a portion of the first polysilicon layer disposed between the pair of insulation blocks, removing a portion of the first polysilicon layer disposed between the insulation spacers while maintaining a pair of polysilicon blocks of the first polysilicon layer each disposed under one of the pair of insulation blocks and one of the pair of insulation spacers, forming a source region in the substrate and between the pair of insulation blocks, removing the pair of insulation space
- a simplified method of forming a pair of non- volatile memory cells includes forming a first insulation layer on a semiconductor substrate, forming a first polysilicon layer on the first insulation layer in a first polysilicon deposition process, forming a pair of spaced apart insulation blocks on the first polysilicon layer, each of the insulation blocks having first sides facing toward each other and second sides facing away from each other, removing portions of the first polysilicon layer while maintaining a pair of polysilicon blocks of the first polysilicon layer each disposed under one of the pair of insulation blocks, forming insulation spacers adjacent the first and second sides, removing the insulation spacers adjacent the first sides, forming a source region in the substrate and between the pair of insulation blocks, forming a layer of insulation material that at least extends along the first sides and along the insulation spacers adjacent the second sides, forming a second polysilicon layer over the substrate and the pair of insulation blocks in a second polysilicon deposition process, removing portions of the second polysilicon layer while maintaining a first polysilicon
- a simplified method of forming a pair of non- volatile memory cells includes forming a first insulation layer on a semiconductor substrate, forming a first polysilicon layer on the first insulation layer in a first polysilicon deposition process, forming a pair of spaced apart insulation blocks on the first polysilicon layer, each of the insulation blocks having first sides facing toward each other and second sides facing away from each other, forming insulation spacers adjacent the first and second sides, reducing a width of the insulation spacers adjacent the first sides, removing portions of the first polysilicon layer while maintaining a pair of polysilicon blocks of the first polysilicon layer each disposed under one of the pair of insulation blocks and the insulation spacers adjacent the first and second sides of the one insulation block, forming a source region in the substrate and between the pair of insulation blocks, removing the insulation spacers to expose end portions of each of the pair of polysilicon blocks of the first polysilicon layer, forming a layer of insulation material that at least extends along the exposed end portions of each of the pair of polysilisilicon layer
- a simplified method of forming a pair of non- volatile memory cells includes forming a first insulation layer on a semiconductor substrate, forming a first polysilicon layer on the first insulation layer in a first polysilicon deposition process, forming an insulation block on the first polysilicon layer having opposing first and second sides, forming a first insulation spacer on the first polysilicon layer and adjacent the first side and a second insulation spacer on the first polysilicon layer and adjacent the second side, removing portions of the first polysilicon layer while maintaining a polysilicon block of the first polysilicon layer disposed under the insulation block and first and second insulation spacers, removing the insulation block, removing a portion of the first polysilicon layer disposed between the first and second insulation spacers to form a first polysilicon block of the first polysilicon layer disposed under the first insulation spacer and a second polysilicon block of the first polysilicon layer disposed under the second insulation spacer, forming a source region in the substrate and between the first and second insulation spacers,
- Figures 1A-1I are cross sectional views illustrating steps in forming a pair of memory cells of the present invention.
- Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of another alternate embodiment for forming a pair of memory cells of the present invention.
- Figures 3A-3D are cross sectional views illustrating steps in another alternate embodiment for forming a pair of memory cells of the present invention.
- Figures 4A-4D are cross sectional views illustrating steps in another alternate embodiment for forming a pair of memory cells of the present invention.
- Figures 5A-5C are cross sectional views illustrating steps in another alternate embodiment for forming a pair of memory cells of the present invention.
- Figure 6 is a cross sectional view of another alternate embodiment for forming a pair of memory cells of the present invention.
- Figure 7 is a cross sectional view of another alternate embodiment for forming a pair of memory cells of the present invention.
- the present invention is a method of making pairs of memory cells with a reduced numbers of processing steps (e.g. only two polysilicon deposition steps).
- FIGs 1A-1I there are shown cross-sectional views of the steps in the process to make pairs of memory cells (while only the formation of a single pair of memory cells are shown in the figures, it should be understood that an array of such memory cell pairs are formed concurrently).
- the process begins by forming a layer of silicon dioxide (oxide) 12 on a substrate 10 of P type single crystalline silicon.
- the oxide layer 12 can be 80-100A thick.
- a layer 14 of polysilicon (or amorphous silicon) is formed on the layer 12 of silicon dioxide.
- Poly layer 14 can be 200- 300A thick.
- Oxide layer 16 can be 20-50A thick, and nitride layer 18 can be about 500A thick.
- Photoresist material (not shown) is coated on the structure, and a masking step is performed exposing selected portions of the photoresist material.
- the photoresist is developed such that portions of the photoresist are removed.
- the structure is etched. Specifically, nitride and oxide layers 18 and 16 are anisotropically etched (using poly layer 14 as an etch stop), leaving pairs of nitride blocks 18 as shown in Fig. IB (after the photoresist is removed).
- the space between nitride blocks 18 is termed herein the “inner region,” and the spaces outside of the pair of nitride blocks are termed herein the “outer regions.”
- Photoresist material is again coated on the structure, and is patterned using masking and develop steps, to cover the inner region. An anisotropic poly etch is then used to remove those portions of poly layer 14 in the outer regions, as shown in Fig. 1C (after the photoresist is removed).
- Oxide spacers 20 are then formed on the sides of the structure. Formation of spacers is well known in the art, and involves the deposition of a material over the contour of a structure, followed by an anisotropic etch process, whereby the material is removed from horizontal surfaces of the structure, while the material remains largely intact on vertically oriented surfaces of the structure (with a rounded upper surface). The resultant structure is shown in Fig. ID. A poly etch is then used to remove the exposed portion of poly layer 14 in the inner region. An implant process (e.g. implantation and anneal) is then performed to form source region 22 in the substrate in the inner region. The resulting structure is shown in Fig. IE.
- Photoresist is formed on the structure and removed from the inner region, and an oxide etch is used to remove the oxide spacers 20 in the inner region and the oxide layer 12 over the source region.
- a tunnel oxide layer 24 is then formed over the structure (e.g. by high temperature oxide HTO), including the exposed portions of poly layer 14 in the inner region, as shown in Fig. IF.
- a thick layer 26 of polysilicon is formed over the structure (see Fig. 1G), followed by a poly etch (e.g. CMP using nitride 18 as an etch stop), leaving a poly block 26a in the inner region and poly blocks 26b in the outer regions, as shown in Fig. 1H.
- An optional poly etch could be used to reduce the height of poly blocks 26a and 26b (i.e. below the tops of nitride blocks 18).
- Photoresist is formed on the structure and patterned to leave portions of poly blocks 26b exposed, followed by a poly etch to remove exposed portions of poly blocks 26 (i.e. to define the outside edges of poly blocks 26b).
- An implant is then performed to form drain regions 30 in the substrate adjacent the outside edges of poly blocks 26b.
- Salicide 28 is then formed on the exposed upper surfaces of poly blocks 26a and 26b (for improved conductivity).
- the final structure is shown in Fig. II, and includes a pair of memory cells.
- Each memory cell includes a source region 22, a drain region 30, a channel region 32 in the substrate between the source and drain regions, a floating gate 14 disposed over and insulated from a first portion of the channel region 32, a word line gate 26b disposed over and insulated from a second portion of the channel region 32, and an erase gate 26a disposed over and insulated from the source region 22.
- the erase gate 26a has a first portion that is laterally adjacent to the floating gate 14 and a second portion that extends up and over a portion of the floating gate 14.
- the above described manufacturing method has several advantages. First, only two poly depositions are used to form all three gates (floating 14, erase 26a and word line 26b).
- the floating gate 14 has a sharp tip or edge 14a facing a notch 27 in the erase gate 26a for improved erase efficiency.
- the floating gate 14 is relatively thin, while the nitride block 18 above the floating gate 14 is relatively thick and acts as a reliable hard mask and serves as a poly CMP stop layer.
- FIGS 2-7 there are shown cross-sectional views of alternate embodiments of the process to make pairs of memory cells (while only the formation of one memory cell is shown in these figures, it should be understood that a mirror memory cell is concurrently formed on the other side of the source region as part of a pair of memory cells, and that an array of such memory cell pairs are formed concurrently).
- FIG. 2 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the process of Figs. 1A-1I, wherein the spacer 42 formed over floating gate 14 in the inner region is left remaining before the formation of erase gate 50a (i.e., no inner region oxide etch), to simplify the fabrication process.
- FIGs. 3A-3D illustrate yet another alternate embodiment of the process of Figs. 1A-1I, wherein the process begins with the same processing steps described above and illustrated in Fig. 1A.
- a poly etch is used to remove the poly layer 14 in both the inner and outer regions as shown in Fig. 3A.
- an additional oxide layer 60 is formed on nitride blocks 18.
- Insulation spacers 62 e.g. composite, formed of both oxide and nitride, or just oxide are formed along the sides of nitride block 18 and poly layer 14, as shown in Fig. 3B.
- Photoresist 64 is formed on the structure, and removed from the inner region.
- the exposed ON or oxide spacer 62 is removed by nitride/oxide etch.
- An implant process is then used to form source region 66, as shown in Fig. 3C.
- an oxide layer 68 is formed over the structure.
- a poly deposition, CMP and poly etch are then performed to form the erase gate 70a and word line gate 70b.
- An implant is then used to form drain 72.
- the final structure is shown in Fig. 3D. With this embodiment, the spacing between the erase gate 70a and the floating gate 14 and nitride block 18 is dictated solely by oxide layer 68.
- FIGs. 4A-4D illustrate yet another alternate embodiment of the process of Figs. 1A-1I, wherein the process begins with the same processing steps described above and illustrated in Fig. 1A.
- Spacers 74 of insulation material e.g. oxide
- Photo resist 76 is formed on the structure, and selectively removed from the outer regions.
- a poly etch is used to remove the exposed portions of poly layer 14.
- a WLVT implantation is used to implant the substrate in the outer regions, as illustrated in Fig. 4A.
- photoresist 78 is formed on the structure, and selectively removed from the inner region.
- An oxide wet etch is performed to thin the exposed spacers 74 in the inner region (to independently control the eventual overlap of the erase gate and the floating gate).
- a poly etch is then performed to remove the exposed portions of poly layer 14 in the inner region.
- An implant process is then performed to form source region 80, as shown in Fig. 4B.
- an oxide etch is performed to remove spacers 74 and exposed portions of oxide layer 12.
- a thermal oxidation process is used to form oxide layer 82 on the exposed surfaces of poly layer 14 and substrate 10, as illustrated in Fig. 4C.
- a poly deposition and etch are used to form erase gate 84a and word line gate 84b, and an implant is used to form drain region 86, as illustrated in Fig. 4D.
- Both the erase gate 84a and word line gate 84b have a first portion laterally adjacent to the floating gate and a second portion extending up and over the floating gate, for enhanced erase efficiency and capacitive coupling.
- the amount of floating gate overlap by the erase gate relative to the word line gate is independently controlled and dictated by the oxide spacer thinning step.
- Figs. 5A-5C illustrate yet another alternate embodiment of the process of Figs. 2A-1I, wherein the process begins with the same processing steps described above and illustrated in Fig. 1A.
- the erase gate replaces nitride block 18 instead of being formed next to it.
- spacers 88 (optional) and 90 of insulation material e.g. oxide- nitride for spacers 88 which is optional, and oxide for spacers 90
- a poly etch is used to remove those portions of poly layer 14 not protected by nitride block 18 and spacers 88 and 90.
- Spacers 92 of insulation material e.g.
- oxide are then formed on the sides of the structure, including the exposed ends of poly layer, as illustrated in Fig. 5B.
- a nitride etch is used to remove nitride block 18 leaving a trench behind and exposing a portion of the poly layer 14 at the bottom of the trench.
- a poly etch is used to remove the exposed portion of poly layer 14.
- An implant process is used to form source region 93. Spacers 88 are removed or thinned, or spacer 90 is thinned without optional spacer 88, and oxide 94 is formed along the sidewalls of the trench left behind by the removal of nitride block 18.
- a poly deposition and etch are performed to form erase gate 96a and word line gates 96b.
- An implant process is then used to form drain regions 98. The resulting structure is shown in Fig. 5C.
- FIG. 6 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the process of Figs. 5A-5C, wherein before spacers 90 are formed, a poly slope etch is performed so that the upper surface of poly layer 14 slopes downwardly as it extends away from nitride block 18. This results in each floating gate having an upwardly sloping surface terminating in a sharper edge that faces the notch of the erase gate.
- Fig. 7 illustrates another alternate embodiment of the processes of Figs. 1-6, wherein the poly block that forms the word line gate is removed by poly etch, and replaced with an insulation layer of a high K material (i.e. having a dielectric constant K greater than that of oxide, such as Hf02, Zr02, Ti02, etc.), and a block of metal material.
- a high K material i.e. having a dielectric constant K greater than that of oxide, such as Hf02, Zr02, Ti02, etc.
- poly block 50b is removed by poly etch, and replaced with an insulation layer 56 of a high K material and a block 58 of metal material, as shown in Fig. 7.
- the word line gate 58 formed of metal greater gate conductivity can be achieved.
- poly block 26b in Fig. II poly block 70b in Fig. 3D
- poly block 84b in Fig. 4D poly block 96b in Figs. 5C and 6.
- nitride blocks 18 could instead be made of oxide or composite layers with oxide-nitride-oxide, or oxide-nitride.
- the insulator under the word line gates 26b, 50b, 70b, 84b, and 96b can be silicon oxide, or nitrogen treated oxide with NO, N20 anneal or DPN (decoupled plasma nitridation), and is not limited to these examples. Further, as is apparent from the claims and specification, not all method steps need be performed in the exact order illustrated or claimed, but rather in any order that allows the proper formation of the memory cell of the present invention. Lastly, single layers of material could be formed as multiple layers of such or similar materials, and vice versa.
- the term “adjacent” includes “directly adjacent” (no intermediate materials, elements or space disposed therebetween) and “indirectly adjacent” (intermediate materials, elements or space disposed there between), “mounted to” includes “directly mounted to” (no intermediate materials, elements or space disposed there between) and “indirectly mounted to” (intermediate materials, elements or spaced disposed there between), and “electrically coupled” includes “directly electrically coupled to” (no intermediate materials or elements there between that electrically connect the elements together) and “indirectly electrically coupled to” (intermediate materials or elements there between that electrically connect the elements together).
- forming an element "over a substrate” can include forming the element directly on the substrate with no intermediate materials/elements therebetween, as well as forming the element indirectly on the substrate with one or more intermediate materials/elements therebetween.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Semiconductor Memories (AREA)
- Non-Volatile Memory (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (6)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2018554740A JP6716716B2 (en) | 2016-04-20 | 2017-03-31 | Method of forming a pair of 3-gate non-volatile flash memory cells using two polysilicon deposition steps |
KR1020187032732A KR102125469B1 (en) | 2016-04-20 | 2017-03-31 | Method of Pairing 3-Gate Nonvolatile Flash Memory Cells Using Two Polysilicon Deposition Steps |
KR1020217005278A KR102237584B1 (en) | 2016-04-20 | 2017-03-31 | Method of forming pairs of three-gate non-volatile flash memory cells using two polysilicon deposition steps |
KR1020207017319A KR102221577B1 (en) | 2016-04-20 | 2017-03-31 | Method of forming pairs of three-gate non-volatile flash memory cells using two polysilicon deposition steps |
EP17786312.3A EP3446336A4 (en) | 2016-04-20 | 2017-03-31 | Method of forming pairs of three-gate non-volatile flash memory cells using two polysilicon deposition steps |
TW106112013A TWI641114B (en) | 2016-04-20 | 2017-04-11 | Method of forming pairs of three-gate non-volatile flash memory cells using two polysilicon deposition steps |
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
CN201610247666.6 | 2016-04-20 | ||
CN201610247666.6A CN107305892B (en) | 2016-04-20 | 2016-04-20 | Method of forming tri-gate non-volatile flash memory cell pairs using two polysilicon deposition steps |
US15/474,879 | 2017-03-30 | ||
US15/474,879 US10217850B2 (en) | 2016-04-20 | 2017-03-30 | Method of forming pairs of three-gate non-volatile flash memory cells using two polysilicon deposition steps |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2017184315A1 true WO2017184315A1 (en) | 2017-10-26 |
Family
ID=60116969
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2017/025263 WO2017184315A1 (en) | 2016-04-20 | 2017-03-31 | Method of forming pairs of three-gate non-volatile flash memory cells using two polysilicon deposition steps |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
WO (1) | WO2017184315A1 (en) |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US10418451B1 (en) | 2018-05-09 | 2019-09-17 | Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. | Split-gate flash memory cell with varying insulation gate oxides, and method of forming same |
CN112185815A (en) * | 2019-07-04 | 2021-01-05 | 硅存储技术公司 | Method of forming split gate flash memory cells with spacer defined floating gates and discretely formed polysilicon gates |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7315056B2 (en) | 2004-06-07 | 2008-01-01 | Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. | Semiconductor memory array of floating gate memory cells with program/erase and select gates |
US20140217489A1 (en) * | 2011-08-24 | 2014-08-07 | SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY. Inc. | A method of making a split gate non-volatile floating gate memory cell having a separate erase gate, and a memory cell made thereby |
US20150200278A1 (en) * | 2012-09-28 | 2015-07-16 | Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. | Method Of Making Split-Gate Memory Cell With Substrate Stressor Region |
US20170025427A1 (en) * | 2015-07-21 | 2017-01-26 | Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. | Non-volatile Split Gate Memory Cells With Integrated High K Metal Gate Logic Device And Metal-Free Erase Gate, And Method Of Making Same |
-
2017
- 2017-03-31 WO PCT/US2017/025263 patent/WO2017184315A1/en active Application Filing
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7315056B2 (en) | 2004-06-07 | 2008-01-01 | Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. | Semiconductor memory array of floating gate memory cells with program/erase and select gates |
US20140217489A1 (en) * | 2011-08-24 | 2014-08-07 | SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY. Inc. | A method of making a split gate non-volatile floating gate memory cell having a separate erase gate, and a memory cell made thereby |
US20150200278A1 (en) * | 2012-09-28 | 2015-07-16 | Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. | Method Of Making Split-Gate Memory Cell With Substrate Stressor Region |
US20170025427A1 (en) * | 2015-07-21 | 2017-01-26 | Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. | Non-volatile Split Gate Memory Cells With Integrated High K Metal Gate Logic Device And Metal-Free Erase Gate, And Method Of Making Same |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
See also references of EP3446336A4 |
Cited By (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US10418451B1 (en) | 2018-05-09 | 2019-09-17 | Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. | Split-gate flash memory cell with varying insulation gate oxides, and method of forming same |
WO2019217022A1 (en) * | 2018-05-09 | 2019-11-14 | Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. | Split-gate flash memory cell with varying insulation gate oxides, and method of forming same |
CN112185815A (en) * | 2019-07-04 | 2021-01-05 | 硅存储技术公司 | Method of forming split gate flash memory cells with spacer defined floating gates and discretely formed polysilicon gates |
WO2021002892A1 (en) * | 2019-07-04 | 2021-01-07 | Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. | Method of forming split-gate flash memory cell with spacer defined floating gate and discretely formed polysilicon gates |
US11404545B2 (en) | 2019-07-04 | 2022-08-02 | Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. | Method of forming split-gate flash memory cell with spacer defined floating gate and discretely formed polysilicon gates |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US11652162B2 (en) | Method of forming a three-gate non-volatile flash memory cell using two polysilicon deposition steps | |
EP3243219B1 (en) | Method of forming split gate non-volatile flash memory cell having metal-enhanced gates | |
CN108243625B (en) | Split-gate non-volatile flash memory cell with metal gate and method of making the same | |
CN107112355B (en) | Split gate non-volatile flash memory cell with metal gate and method of making same | |
JP6470419B2 (en) | Method for forming split gate memory cell array with low voltage logic device and high voltage logic device | |
EP3815149B1 (en) | Split-gate flash memory cell with varying insulation gate oxides, and method of forming same | |
JP6571759B2 (en) | Split gate flash memory cell with improved scaling due to enhanced lateral coupling between control gate and floating gate | |
EP3994731B1 (en) | Method of forming split-gate flash memory cell with spacer defined floating gate and discretely formed polysilicon gates | |
WO2017184315A1 (en) | Method of forming pairs of three-gate non-volatile flash memory cells using two polysilicon deposition steps | |
JP2006253311A (en) | Semiconductor device and its manufacturing method | |
JP2002299479A (en) | Method for forming self-aligned floating gate poly in active region of flash e2prom |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
ENP | Entry into the national phase |
Ref document number: 2018554740 Country of ref document: JP Kind code of ref document: A |
|
NENP | Non-entry into the national phase |
Ref country code: DE |
|
ENP | Entry into the national phase |
Ref document number: 20187032732 Country of ref document: KR Kind code of ref document: A |
|
WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 2017786312 Country of ref document: EP |
|
ENP | Entry into the national phase |
Ref document number: 2017786312 Country of ref document: EP Effective date: 20181120 |
|
121 | Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application |
Ref document number: 17786312 Country of ref document: EP Kind code of ref document: A1 |