Oxide Semiconductor Device Dehydration and Oxygen Doping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Oxygen vacancies in oxide semiconductors act as carrier sources, leading to unstable electric characteristics and reliability issues in semiconductor devices, particularly in the channel formation region of transistors, causing threshold voltage shifts.
Innovation Solution
A method involving dehydration or dehydrogenation treatments followed by oxygen doping of the base insulating layer to reduce hydrogen and water content, and subsequently supply oxygen to the oxide semiconductor layer, thereby reducing oxygen vacancies and stabilizing the electric characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a heat treatment is performed on the base insulating layer to remove water and hydrogen, then the water and hydrogen contents are reduced, but oxygen is eliminated together with water and hydrogen requiring subsequent oxygen doping
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs dehydration and dehydrogenation treatment on the base insulating layer before forming the oxide semiconductor layer. This preliminary removal of water and hydrogen prevents these impurities from entering the oxide semiconductor layer later, ensuring stable electric characteristics without needing subsequent oxygen doping of the oxide semiconductor itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The base insulating layer serves as an intermediary that is pre-treated to remove harmful substances (water and hydrogen). By treating the base insulating layer in advance, the patent prevents impurity contamination of the oxide semiconductor layer, achieving reliable electric characteristics without direct oxygen doping of the semiconductor material.
2Ease of manufacture
If oxygen doping treatment is performed on the base insulating layer before dehydration treatment, then hydrogen and hydroxyl groups are converted to water for easier removal, but the processing temperature can be lowered or processing time shortened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs oxygen doping treatment on the base insulating layer before dehydration treatment. This preliminary oxygen introduction converts hydrogen and hydroxyl groups into water molecules, which are easier to remove during the subsequent dehydration process. This sequence enables more effective impurity removal under milder processing conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful hydrogen and hydroxyl groups into water molecules through preliminary oxygen doping. Water is more easily removable than hydrogen or hydroxyl groups, transforming the removal difficulty from a problem into a solution. This conversion allows for more effective dehydration at lower temperatures or shorter times.
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 results in semiconductor devices with stable electric characteristics and high reliability by minimizing oxygen vacancies and threshold voltage shifts, ensuring consistent performance.
Implementation Method 1
a base insulating layer provided in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer is dehydrated or dehydrogenated by a heat treatment
Implementation Method 2
a base insulating layer provided in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer is dehydrated or dehydrogenated by a heat treatment
Implementation Method 3
an oxygen doping treatment is subsequently performed on the dehydrated or dehydrogenated base insulating layer
Implementation Method 4
By a heat treatment for the purpose of removing a hydrogen atom (hereinafter also referred to as a dehydration or dehydrogenation treatment), which is performed on the base insulating layer, the water and hydrogen contents of the base insulating layer can be reduced
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a semiconductor device including an oxide semiconductor which is capable of having stable electric characteristics and achieving high reliability, by a dehydration or dehydrogenation treatment performed on a base insulating layer provided in contact with an oxide semiconductor layer, the water and hydrogen contents of the base insulating layer can be decreased, and by an oxygen doping treatment subsequently performed, oxygen which can be eliminated together with the water and hydrogen is supplied to the base insulating layer. By formation of the oxide semiconductor layer in contact with the base insulating layer whose water and hydrogen contents are decreased and whose oxygen content is increased, oxygen can be supplied to the oxide semiconductor layer while entry of the water and hydrogen into the oxide semiconductor layer is suppressed.