Trench Gate Dielectric Thickness Variation for Leakage Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Highly integrated semiconductor devices face reliability challenges due to increased complexity, requiring enhanced electrical characteristics and methods to improve their performance while maintaining low operating voltage and high speed.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor device with a trench structure featuring a gate dielectric layer of varying thicknesses, including a first segment between the gate electrode and the trench, a second segment between the capping pattern and the trench with a thickness less than the first, and a third segment between the work function control pattern and the trench, which improves insulation and reduces gate-induced drain leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If high integration is implemented to achieve high operating speed and low consumption, then operating speed and energy efficiency are improved, but device reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The gate dielectric layer is designed with non-uniform thickness, featuring a first thickness in the first region and a second thickness in the second region. This local variation optimizes electrical characteristics in different areas, improving reliability without compromising overall device performance and speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The gate dielectric layer is divided into multiple segments with different thicknesses corresponding to different functional regions. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each region's electrical properties, enhancing device reliability while maintaining high integration benefits.
2Ease of manufacture
If the gate dielectric layer has uniform thickness, then fabrication is simple, but electrical characteristics and insulation performance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The gate dielectric layer implements local quality variation with different thicknesses in different regions. The first region has a first thickness and the second region has a second thickness, optimizing electrical characteristics for each region's specific functional requirements while maintaining fabrication feasibility.
3Reliability
If the capping pattern is expanded to improve insulation, then insulation performance is improved, but device area increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of expanding the capping pattern horizontally which would increase device area, the solution varies the gate dielectric layer thickness vertically in different regions. This dimensional approach achieves improved insulation performance through optimized dielectric properties rather than increased physical size.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are semiconductor devices and methods of fabricating the same. The semiconductor device comprises a substrate having a trench, a gate dielectric layer covering a surface of the trench, a gate electrode filling a lower portion of the trench, a capping pattern on the gate electrode in the trench, and a work function control pattern between the gate electrode and the capping pattern in the trench. The gate dielectric layer comprises a first segment having a first thickness between the gate electrode and the trench and a second segment having a second thickness between the capping pattern and the trench. The second thickness is less than the first thickness.