Oxide Semiconductor Layer Stack for Oxygen-Stable Low-Power Memory
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current semiconductor devices face challenges in achieving miniaturization, high integration, reliable electrical characteristics, long data retention, high-speed data writing, reduced power consumption, and design flexibility while maintaining stability and reliability.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor device structure is developed, featuring a specific layer configuration with insulators and conductors, including an oxide semiconductor with controlled oxygen permeability and atomic ratios, and a manufacturing method involving ALD and sputtering techniques to optimize the device's performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If oxide semiconductor layers are used to reduce leakage current and power consumption, then power consumption is reduced, but manufacturing complexity increases due to multiple insulator layers with different oxygen permeability requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into multiple insulator layers (first insulator, second insulator, third insulator) with different oxygen permeability characteristics. Each layer serves a specific function: the first insulator has low oxygen permeability to prevent oxygen loss, the second insulator has high oxygen permeability to supply oxygen, and the third insulator provides additional protection. This segmentation allows precise control of oxygen distribution to the oxide semiconductor, reducing leakage current while maintaining manageable manufacturing complexity through modular layer design.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the insulator structure are assigned different oxygen permeability properties tailored to local requirements. The first insulator layer adjacent to the oxide semiconductor has low oxygen permeability to stabilize the oxide layer, while the second insulator layer has high oxygen permeability to provide oxygen supply. This local differentiation of material properties optimizes the electrical characteristics and reduces power consumption without requiring complex manufacturing processes throughout the entire device.
2Reliability
If multiple insulator layers with different oxygen permeability are implemented, then reliability is improved through stable electrical characteristics, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The insulator system is divided into functionally distinct segments: the first insulator layer with low oxygen permeability provides oxygen barrier functionality, the second insulator layer with high oxygen permeability provides oxygen supply functionality, and the third insulator layer provides additional protection. This segmentation enables reliable electrical characteristics by precisely controlling oxygen distribution to the oxide semiconductor, while the modular nature of the segmented design keeps manufacturing complexity manageable through standardized layer fabrication processes.
Solution Approach 2:
Each insulator layer is assigned specific local quality characteristics - the first insulator has low oxygen permeability for stability, the second insulator has high oxygen permeability for oxygen supply, and the third insulator provides protective qualities. This local differentiation of material properties throughout the insulator stack enhances reliability by ensuring stable electrical characteristics at each interface, while the systematic arrangement maintains manufacturing feasibility.
3Use of energy by moving object
If oxide semiconductor is used to achieve low leakage current, then power consumption is reduced, but manufacturing precision requirements increase for controlling oxygen permeability
Solution Approach 1:
The oxygen control function is segmented across multiple insulator layers rather than requiring precise control of a single layer. The first insulator layer provides oxygen barrier function, the second insulator layer provides oxygen supply function, and the third insulator layer provides additional protection. This segmentation relaxes manufacturing precision requirements for individual layers, as each layer needs to fulfill only its specific oxygen permeability characteristic rather than achieving perfect oxygen control alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes parameter changes in oxygen permeability across different insulator layers to achieve the desired effect. By selecting materials with inherently different oxygen permeability parameters - low permeability for the first insulator, high permeability for the second insulator - the system achieves reliable oxygen control without requiring extremely precise manufacturing tolerances. The parameter differentiation is built into the material selection rather than relying solely on dimensional precision.
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 enables the creation of semiconductor devices with improved reliability, miniaturization, high integration, and reduced power consumption, while maintaining stable electrical characteristics and flexibility.
Implementation Method 1
an aluminum oxide insulating layer which supplies oxygen to the oxide semiconductor
Implementation Method 2
a first insulator, a fourth insulator, and a sixth insulator which have a lower oxygen permeability than the second insulator
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device with favorable reliability is provided.The semiconductor device includes a first insulator; a second insulator positioned over the first insulator; an oxide positioned over the second insulator; a first conductor and a second conductor positioned apart from each other over the oxide; a third insulator positioned over the oxide, the first conductor, and the second conductor; a third conductor positioned over the third insulator and at least partly overlapping with a region between the first conductor and the second conductor; a fourth insulator positioned to cover the oxide, the first conductor, the second conductor, the third insulator, and the third conductor; a fifth insulator positioned over the fourth insulator; and a sixth insulator positioned over the fifth insulator. An opening reaching the second insulator is formed in at least part of the fourth insulator; the fifth insulator is in contact with the second insulator through the opening; and the first insulator, the fourth insulator, and the sixth insulator have a lower oxygen permeability than the second insulator.