Variable Width Floating Gate for Semiconductor Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
The development of highly integrated and high-speed semiconductor devices poses challenges in manufacturing, particularly in maintaining dopant concentration and preventing electrical shorts between adjacent floating gates, due to the limitations of existing semiconductor processing techniques.
Innovation Solution
The semiconductor device design includes a floating gate with a step-difference portion and a dielectric pattern, where the floating gate is doped with p-type dopants like boron and carbon, and a thermal treatment process is used to enhance dopant distribution, while a device isolation pattern is formed to prevent damage to the tunnel insulating layer and reduce the risk of electrical interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional semiconductor processing techniques are used for highly integrated devices, then manufacturing complexity increases, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to margin decrease in exposure process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the floating gate structure into multiple portions (first floating gate portion, second floating gate portion, third floating gate portion) with different widths. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized independently for its specific function, enabling high integration density while maintaining manufacturing precision through controlled dopant distribution in each segment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by creating floating gate portions with different widths at different locations. The first floating gate portion has a narrower width for high-density storage, while the second and third portions have wider widths for reliable dopant distribution and electrical isolation. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by optimizing each region for its specific requirement.
2Productivity
If floating gate width is reduced for higher integration, then integration density improves, but dopant concentration control deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The floating gate is segmented into multiple portions with different widths. The narrower first portion achieves high integration density, while the wider second and third portions ensure adequate dopant concentration through improved dopant distribution, thus resolving the contradiction between integration density and dopant control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the width parameter of the floating gate portions to optimize both integration density and dopant concentration. By varying the width across different portions, the patent achieves high integration in the main storage region while maintaining sufficient dopant concentration in the wider regions for reliable electrical characteristics.
3Speed
If floating gate dimensions are reduced for high-speed operation, then device speed improves, but electrical reliability deteriorates due to increased short risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the floating gate into multiple portions with different widths and introduces dielectric patterns between them. This segmentation provides electrical isolation that prevents shorts between adjacent floating gates, maintaining reliability even as the overall structure is optimized for high-speed operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The dielectric pattern acts as an intermediary between adjacent floating gate portions, providing electrical isolation and preventing short circuits. This intermediary structure enables high-speed operation with reduced dimensions while maintaining electrical reliability through effective isolation.
4Reliability
If device isolation pattern is added to prevent electrical interference, then electrical reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the device isolation pattern formation with the floating gate structure formation processes. The dielectric pattern is integrated into the overall device architecture, serving both as isolation structure and as part of the floating gate system, thereby improving reliability while minimizing the increase in device complexity.
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
This approach ensures improved electrical reliability and increased dopant concentration in the floating gate, reducing the risk of shorts and enhancing the manufacturing efficiency of highly integrated semiconductor devices.
Implementation Method 1
performing a thermal treatment process on the poly-silicon pattern exposed by the device isolation pattern under an atmosphere of a reaction gas including first dopants of a p-type and an etching material
Implementation Method 2
performing a thermal treatment process on the poly-silicon pattern exposed by the device isolation pattern under an atmosphere of a reaction gas including first dopants of a p-type
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device includes a substrate including an active region defined by a device isolation pattern and a floating gate on the active region. The floating gate includes an upper portion, a lower portion having a width greater than a width of the upper portion, and a step-difference portion between the upper portion and the lower portion. A dielectric pattern is on the floating gate, and a control gate is on the dielectric pattern. The lower portion of the floating gate has a height of about 4 nm or more.