Semiconductor Device With Dielectric Barrier Layers
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Solution Overview
Problem
As semiconductor devices approach nanometer scales, the short channel effect and punch-through effect become significant, hindering further size reduction and integration, and existing methods to suppress these effects, such as forming pocket implant regions, are limited by thermal processes that lead to dopant diffusion and hinder integration.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a pair of dielectric barrier layers, comprising silicon oxide and silicon nitride, between the source and drain regions to lower the electric field and mitigate the short channel effect, while eliminating the need for lightly doped and pocket implant regions, thereby enhancing integration and reducing operational voltage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the channel length is reduced to suppress short channel effect, then device performance improves, but punch-through effect becomes more serious
Solution Approach 1:
A dielectric barrier layer is introduced as an intermediary structure between the source and drain regions. This barrier layer mediates the electric field distribution, preventing direct punch-through while maintaining short channel dimensions. The dielectric material acts as a physical and electrical intermediary that blocks harmful field lines without requiring additional doping regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the electrical parameters in the channel region by introducing a dielectric barrier that modifies the electric field distribution. This parameter change allows the channel length to remain short for high performance while the altered field distribution prevents punch-through effect, effectively decoupling these two conflicting requirements.
2Reliability
If pocket implant region is formed to suppress short channel effect, then device threshold voltage control improves, but dopant diffusion occurs during thermal processes
Solution Approach 1:
The dielectric barrier layer serves as an intermediary that provides threshold voltage control without requiring dopant implantation. By placing a dielectric material between source and drain, the invention achieves electrical control of the channel while avoiding the introduction of dopants that would diffuse during thermal processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical/chemical system of dopant implantation with an electrical field control mechanism using a dielectric barrier. Instead of using physical dopant atoms to control threshold voltage, the dielectric layer creates an electrical barrier that achieves the same control function without material diffusion.
3Reliability
If lightly doped region and pocket implant region are formed, then short channel effect is suppressed, but device size reduction is hampered and integration level cannot increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the lightly doped region and pocket implant region from the device structure. By taking out these additional regions, the device footprint is reduced, allowing for smaller device dimensions and higher integration density while maintaining short channel effect suppression through the dielectric barrier layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the function of short channel effect suppression directly into the existing source-drain structure by inserting a thin dielectric barrier layer, eliminating the need for separate lightly doped and pocket implant regions. This merging allows the device to achieve high reliability without the additional space requirements of traditional multi-region structures.
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 dielectric barrier layers effectively reduce the short channel effect, increase integration levels, and lower operating voltage by connecting the channel and source/drain regions through a gap between the gate structure and the barrier layers, making the technology applicable to nanometer scale devices.
Implementation Method 1
a dielectric barrier layer is disposed between the source region and the drain region to lower the electric field of the drain region and to mitigate the short channel effect
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device is provided. The semiconductor device has a gate structure, a source region, a drain region, and a pair of dielectric barrier layers. The gate structure is formed on a substrate. The source region and the drain region are formed in the substrate next to the gate structure, and a channel region is formed between the source region and the drain region underneath the gate structure. The pair of dielectric barrier layers is respectively formed in the substrate underneath the gate structure between the source region and the drain region. The dielectric barrier layers are used for reducing the drain induced barrier lowering effect in a nanometer scale device.