Surrounding Silicide Structures for Lower Epitaxial Contact Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The reduction in geometry size of semiconductor devices leads to increased resistance, posing a challenge for faster and more energy-efficient device design and manufacturing.
Innovation Solution
The formation of silicide structures surrounding epitaxial structures in semiconductor devices, which enhances contact area and reduces resistance by utilizing a larger contact area between the silicide and epitaxial structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If geometry size of semiconductor devices is reduced, then device integration density is improved, but resistance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from planar contact interfaces to three-dimensional surrounding contacts. Silicide structures are formed that wrap around and surround the epitaxial structures, creating contact interfaces in multiple spatial dimensions. This dimensional transformation increases the effective contact area without increasing the device footprint, thereby reducing resistance while maintaining miniaturization.
Solution Approach 2:
The silicide structures are positioned to surround and enclose the epitaxial structures, creating a nested configuration where one structure is contained within or around another. This nesting arrangement maximizes the contact interface area between different materials while maintaining a compact overall structure, addressing the resistance increase problem caused by geometry reduction.
2Reliability
If contact area between silicide and epitaxial structures is increased, then contact resistance decreases, but device geometry size increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of expanding the device footprint horizontally to increase contact area, the patent utilizes vertical and surrounding dimensions. The silicide structures wrap around the epitaxial structures, creating contact interfaces above, below, and on the sides. This vertical and three-dimensional contact approach increases effective contact area without proportionally increasing the device's planar geometry size.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact structure is segmented into multiple silicide regions that surround different portions of the epitaxial structures. Rather than a single large contact area, multiple smaller silicide contact regions are distributed around the epitaxial structures, collectively providing large total contact area while maintaining compact device dimensions.
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 implementation of silicide structures around epitaxial structures decreases contact resistance, thereby improving the performance of semiconductor devices.
Implementation Method 1
The silicide structures respectively surround the epitaxial structures, thereby decreasing contact resistance
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, a channel region, a gate structure, two epitaxial structures, and two silicide structures. The channel region is disposed on the semiconductor substrate. The gate structure is disposed on the semiconductor substrate and over the channel region. The epitaxial structures are connected at opposite ends of the channel region and are disposed opposite to each other relative to the gate structure. The silicide structures respectively surround the epitaxial structures. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device is also provided.