Backside Pick-Up Region Layout for Cosmic Ray Leakage Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
As technology nodes improve, DRAM manufacturers face challenges in managing drift currents and reducing leakage caused by cosmic ray incidents, which are exacerbated by the long paths that currents must traverse in existing semiconductor device structures.
Innovation Solution
The semiconductor device structure incorporates a pick-up region on the backside surface of the substrate, which provides a low resistance path for drift currents to flow out, thereby reducing leakage and enhancing current transmission efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If drift currents traverse long paths in existing semiconductor device structures, then the device can maintain a simpler structure, but electrical leakage caused by cosmic ray incidents increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces a backside pick-up region on the opposite surface of the substrate from the front-side transistor structures. This dimensional change allows drift currents to be collected from the backside, providing a shorter escape path for cosmic ray-induced carriers and reducing leakage without complicating the front-side circuit architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The backside pick-up region acts as an intermediary structure that intercepts drift currents before they can traverse long paths through the substrate. By placing this intermediate collection region on the backside, the invention provides a dedicated pathway for current extraction that simplifies the overall current management while improving reliability.
2Loss of energy
If the path length for drift currents is reduced, then electrical leakage is reduced, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
By utilizing the backside surface of the substrate as a separate dimensional plane for pick-up region placement, the invention reduces current path length without adding lateral complexity to the front-side active devices. The vertical separation of transistor structures on the frontside and pick-up regions on the backside achieves path reduction while maintaining structural simplicity.
3Productivity
If a pick-up region is added to provide a short current path, then current transmission efficiency improves, but manufacturing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the current collection function into separate front-side transistor structures and back-side pick-up regions. This segmentation allows independent optimization and manufacturing of each region, with the pick-up regions being formed through separate doping and patterning steps that can be integrated into existing backside processing flows without disrupting front-side device fabrication.
Solution Approach 2:
The backside pick-up regions are formed in advance during substrate preparation or early processing stages, before front-side transistor fabrication. This preliminary action establishes the current collection infrastructure early, allowing subsequent processing steps to focus on device formation without needing to accommodate pick-up region integration, thereby simplifying the overall manufacturing sequence.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The implementation of the pick-up region significantly reduces electrical leakage caused by cosmic ray incidents by providing a shorter, more efficient path for drift currents, thereby improving the overall performance and reliability of semiconductor devices.
Implementation Method 1
The pick-up region is configured to provide a low resistance path to lead a drift current to flow out the semiconductor device structure through a backside surface
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device structure and method of manufacturing the same are provided. The semiconductor device structure includes a substrate, a first well region, a source/drain (S/D) feature, and a pick-up region. The substrate has a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The first well region abuts the second surface of the substrate and has a first conducive type. The S/D feature abuts the second surface of the substrate and has a second conductive type different from the first conductive type. The pick-up region abuts the first surface of the substrate and has the first conductive type.