Device Isolation Pattern With Varying Thickness For Fin-Type Transistors
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing demand for highly integrated semiconductor devices with smaller sizes and higher speeds poses challenges in photolithography processes, particularly in defining fine patterns and achieving efficient device isolation patterns for fin-type transistors.
Innovation Solution
A method involving multiple mask patterns and etching processes to form device isolation patterns with varying thicknesses, allowing for the creation of fin-type active patterns and gate structures with precise spacing and thickness, enabling efficient integration of semiconductor devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional photolithography processes are used to define fine patterns, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to reduced process margins
Solution Approach 1:
The device isolation pattern is segmented into multiple regions with different thicknesses (first region with first thickness, second region with second thickness). This segmentation allows each region to serve specific functions: the thicker first region provides robust isolation between adjacent fin-type active patterns, while the thinner second region enables precise spacing control. By dividing the isolation structure into functional segments, the patent achieves high manufacturing precision without requiring overly complex photolithography processes.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the device isolation pattern are given different local qualities through varying thicknesses. The first region has a greater thickness than the second region, creating local quality differences that optimize performance in specific areas. This local quality approach allows the thicker isolation regions to provide superior electrical isolation where needed, while thinner regions maintain precise dimensional control for spacing, thereby improving manufacturing precision without uniformly increasing process complexity.
2Reliability
If device isolation patterns with uniform thickness are used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but device performance deteriorates due to insufficient electrical isolation and spacing control
Solution Approach 1:
The device isolation pattern is divided into multiple segments with different thickness characteristics. The first region with greater thickness provides enhanced electrical isolation between adjacent fin-type active patterns, while the second region with lesser thickness maintains precise spacing. This segmentation strategy improves reliability by ensuring adequate electrical isolation where patterns are closely spaced, without requiring a uniformly complex isolation structure throughout the entire device.
Solution Approach 2:
The isolation pattern implements local quality by varying the thickness of different regions based on their specific functional requirements. Regions requiring strong electrical isolation have greater thickness, while regions requiring precise spacing have controlled thinner profiles. This localized optimization improves device reliability through better electrical isolation and spacing control, while avoiding the need for uniformly complex isolation patterns across the entire substrate.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple mask patterns and etching processes are used to form varying thickness isolation patterns, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity decreases due to increased process steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by forming the device isolation pattern with varying thicknesses before forming the fin-type active patterns. The mask patterns and etching processes create the differentiated thickness regions in advance, establishing the structural framework that guides subsequent processing steps. This preliminary formation of the isolation structure with precise thickness variations enables better control in later steps, improving manufacturing precision while organizing the complex process sequence in a logical, efficient manner.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the thickness dimension to achieve manufacturing precision without proportionally increasing process complexity. By varying the thickness of different isolation regions (creating a three-dimensional structure from two-dimensional mask patterns), the invention adds a dimensional degree of freedom that enables precise isolation and spacing control. This dimensional approach allows complex isolation patterns to be formed through controlled etching of the filling material, improving precision while managing process efficiency through systematic use of the vertical dimension.
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
This approach enables the manufacturing of highly integrated semiconductor devices with improved device isolation and reduced electrical resistance, addressing the limitations of existing technologies in achieving high-speed and compact semiconductor designs.
Implementation Method 1
the first mask pattern may be removed by a phosphoric acid strip process
Implementation Method 2
etching a substrate using a first mask pattern formed on the substrate to form a trench
Implementation Method 3
the second mask pattern may be removed by an ashing process and/or a strip process
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure provides semiconductor devices and methods of manufacturing the same. The method includes etching a substrate using a first mask pattern formed on the substrate to form a trench, forming a preliminary device isolation pattern filling the trench and including first and second regions having first thicknesses, forming a second mask pattern on the first region, etching an upper portion of the second region and a portion of the first mask pattern, which are exposed by the second mask pattern, to form a second region having a second thickness smaller than the first thickness, removing the first and second mask patterns, and etching upper portions of the first region and the second region having the second thickness to form a device isolation pattern defining preliminary fin-type active patterns. An electronic device including a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof are also disclosed.