Cu Wiring with SiN Barrier for Large Displays
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Large-sized and high-definition display devices face issues with increased wiring resistance, leading to signal transmission delays, voltage drops, and decreased display quality, power consumption, and instability in semiconductor devices due to copper diffusion into semiconductor or silicon oxide.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor device structure incorporating a Cu conductive layer sandwiched between silicon nitride and silicon oxide insulating layers, with specific heat treatments to prevent copper diffusion and ensure stable operation, combined with an oxide semiconductor film for improved performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If copper is used to form low-resistance wiring layer, then wiring resistance is reduced, but copper diffuses into semiconductor or silicon oxide causing device instability and yield reduction
Solution Approach 1:
A barrier layer comprising silicon nitride or silicon oxynitride is introduced between the copper wiring layer and the semiconductor layer to prevent copper diffusion. This intermediary layer acts as a diffusion barrier, allowing the copper wiring to provide low resistance while preventing harmful copper atoms from migrating into the semiconductor or silicon oxide regions, thus resolving the contradiction between achieving low resistance and preventing device instability.
2Manufacturing precision
If screen size and definition are increased, then display quality is improved, but wiring resistance increases causing signal transmission delays and voltage drops
Solution Approach 1:
The wiring structure employs a composite material system combining copper (for low resistance) with silicon nitride barrier layer (for diffusion prevention). This composite approach enables the wiring to simultaneously achieve low resistance for long-distance signal transmission in large-sized, high-definition displays while preventing copper diffusion that would cause device failure, thus resolving the contradiction between improved display quality and maintained signal transmission stability.
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 solution effectively reduces wiring resistance, enhances display quality, and reduces power consumption while maintaining high-speed operation and reliability, suitable for large-sized and high-definition displays.
Implementation Method 1
A Cu conductive layer sandwiched between silicon nitride and silicon oxide insulating layers, with specific heat treatments to prevent copper diffusion
Implementation Method 2
with specific heat treatments to prevent copper diffusion and ensure stable operation
Data Source
AI summary
By using a conductive layer including Cu as a long lead wiring, increase in wiring resistance is suppressed. Further, the conductive layer including Cu is provided in such a manner that it does not overlap with the oxide semiconductor layer in which a channel region of a TFT is formed, and is surrounded by insulating layers including silicon nitride, whereby diffusion of Cu can be prevented; thus, a highly reliable semiconductor device can be manufactured. Specifically, a display device which is one embodiment of a semiconductor device can have high display quality and operate stably even when the size or definition thereof is increased.