Semiconductor Contact Liner Structure for Low-Resistance Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
As semiconductor devices shrink in size, maintaining effective insulation and reducing contact resistance between conductive layers becomes increasingly challenging, as existing methods struggle to achieve optimal electrical isolation while minimizing resistance.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of an additional insulating liner layer in contact openings, with partial removal of its upper portion, allows for improved electrical isolation and reduced contact resistance by enabling more conductive material to be filled, thereby enhancing the separation between contacts and gate structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If device dimensions are decreased, then integration density is improved, but contact resistance increases and insulation becomes more difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The contact structure is segmented into multiple functional layers: a first conductive layer for electrical connection, an insulating layer for electrical isolation, and a second conductive layer for low-resistance contact. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function optimally, resolving the contradiction between miniaturization and maintaining reliable electrical characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The insulating layer acts as an intermediary between the first and second conductive layers, positioned at the interface where they meet. This intermediary structure enables both conductive layers to perform their functions simultaneously by providing electrical isolation while allowing physical contact, thus reducing contact resistance without compromising insulation in miniaturized devices.
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device includes a substrate provided with an electronic device, an interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer formed over the electronic device, a wiring pattern formed on the ILD layer and a contact formed in the ILD layer and physically and electrically connecting the wiring pattern to a conductive region of the electronic device. An insulating liner layer is provided on sidewalls of the contact between the contact and the ILD layer. A height of the insulating liner layer measured from a top of the conductive region of the electronic device is less than 90% of a height of the contact measured between the top of the conductive region and a level of an interface between the ILD layer and the wiring pattern.