Stepped Gate Electrodes in Semiconductor Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in semiconductor devices is to enhance the degree of integration and reliability, particularly in vertical transistor structures, while maintaining efficient data processing capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor device design featuring a substrate with distinct regions, gate electrodes of varying lengths forming a stepped shape, etch-stop layers, and contact plugs to ensure stable formation of channel and separation regions, along with interlayer insulating layers, to improve integration and reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If gate electrodes are extended by different lengths to form a stepped pad region, then the degree of integration is improved, but the manufacturing precision becomes more difficult to control
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into a first region (cell region) and a second region (pad region) with gate electrodes of different lengths forming a stepped structure. This segmentation allows different functional requirements to be met in different regions while maintaining overall integration.
Solution Approach 2:
An etch-stop layer is introduced as an intermediary element disposed on the uppermost gate electrodes in the pad region. This layer acts as a reference boundary that enables precise formation of separation regions and contact plugs, solving the manufacturing precision problem caused by the stepped gate electrode structure.
2Reliability
If contact plugs are formed to connect to gate electrodes in the pad region, then the reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The etch-stop layer serves as a mediator that simplifies the formation of contact plugs by providing a clear etching boundary. This intermediary layer enables reliable electrical connection between the pad region and gate electrodes without requiring complex alignment processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The etch-stop layer is disposed on the gate electrodes before the formation of separation regions and contact plugs. This preliminary action establishes a reference structure that guides subsequent manufacturing steps, improving both reliability and process simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device includes a substrate having a first region and a second region, gate electrodes stacked in the first region and forming a pad region having a stepped shape extending by different lengths in the second region, interlayer insulating layers alternately stacked with the gate electrodes, channel structures passing through the gate electrodes in the first region and including a channel layer, separation regions passing through the gate electrodes in the first and second regions, an etch-stop layer disposed on uppermost gate electrodes, among the gate electrodes forming the pad region in the second region, not to overlap the first region and the separation regions, a cell region insulating layer covering the gate electrodes and the etch-stop layer, and contact plugs passing through the cell region insulating layer and the etch-stop layer in the second region and connected to the gate electrodes in the pad region.