JP2010109290A - Method of manufacturing semiconductor device, and semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a polysilicon semiconductor thin film on which laser activation is uniformly performed without increasing process steps while contamination at laser activation is prevented. <P>SOLUTION: The method of manufacturing the semiconductor device includes a step of forming a polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 on a substrate 10, a step of forming a mask 23 on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 (21p) for forming a channel region 13c, a source side diffusion region 13s, and a drain side diffusion region 13d in the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 (21p), a step of forming a source side diffusion region 13s and a drain side diffusion region 13d in the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 (21p) by ion implantation 24 from the upper side of the mask 23, a step of removing the mask 23, a step of forming a silicon thin film 25 on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 (21p) with the mask 23 removed therefrom, and a step of activating the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 (21p) by irradiating a laser 26 from the upper side of the silicon thin film 25. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing method and a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device manufacturing method capable of easily performing uniform and efficient laser activation processing, and a semiconductor device manufactured by the method. .

  Thin film transistors (TFTs) are used as driving elements for liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and organic EL displays. There are various types of thin film transistors, but a typical example is a top gate / top contact type polysilicon semiconductor thin film transistor in which a channel region, a source side diffusion region and a drain side diffusion region are formed of a polysilicon semiconductor thin film. it can.

  Conventionally, in a method for manufacturing a polysilicon semiconductor thin film transistor, first, a patterned polysilicon semiconductor thin film is formed on a substrate, a gate insulating film is formed thereon, and a patterned gate is formed on the gate insulating film. An electrode is formed. Next, ion implantation is performed using the gate electrode as a mask to form a source side diffusion region and a drain side diffusion region in the polysilicon semiconductor thin film. Next, thermal annealing activation or laser activation is performed to recover damage to the silicon thin film caused by ion implantation (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

  In the above-described conventional manufacturing method, thermal annealing activation requires a temperature of 600 ° C. to 1000 ° C., so that a polysilicon semiconductor thin film transistor cannot be manufactured using a non-heat-resistant substrate, and a recent liquid crystal display In addition, there is a problem that a non-heat resistant base material often used in organic EL displays cannot be applied. Therefore, laser activation is preferably performed as an activation means that is not significantly affected by the presence or absence of heat resistance of the substrate.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-176653 JP-A-9-213630 JP-A-11-307777

  (1) Laser activation is a means for activating a polysilicon semiconductor thin film by irradiating a laser beam from above the gate insulating film. The laser light interferes in the gate insulating film and irradiates the polysilicon semiconductor thin film. There is a problem that the generated energy becomes unstable and the activation becomes uneven.

  (2) For such non-uniform activation, there is a method of activating by directly irradiating a polysilicon semiconductor thin film with a laser, but in that case, it is dosed to the source side diffusion region and the drain side diffusion region. An element (for example, phosphorus) volatilizes from the surface of the polysilicon semiconductor thin film when the laser is activated, adheres to the surface of the polysilicon semiconductor thin film in the channel region, and further enters the inside to contaminate the surface of the polysilicon semiconductor thin film in the channel region. There is a problem.

  In Example 2 and FIG. 4 of Patent Document 1, after a silicon oxide film is formed as a protective film on an amorphous silicon film, crystallization by thermal annealing, patterning of the silicon film after crystallization, After sequentially performing the doping, the mask and the silicon oxide film are removed to expose the surface of the semiconductor region, and then a gate insulating film having a predetermined pattern is formed, and a gate electrode and source / drain electrodes are formed to form a thin film transistor. An example of manufacturing is described. In this method, the silicon oxide film acts to prevent the semiconductor region from being contaminated by a doping element to the tapered portion. However, since this embodiment is also a means for activating the semiconductor region by irradiating laser light from above the gate insulating film, as in (1) above, the laser light interferes in the gate insulating film and irradiates the semiconductor region. There is a problem that the generated energy becomes unstable and the activation becomes uneven.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and the object thereof is to uniformly perform laser activation of a polysilicon semiconductor thin film without increasing the number of steps, and at the time of laser activation. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a polysilicon semiconductor thin film in which contamination is prevented, and a semiconductor device obtained by the method.

  A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present invention for solving the above-described problems includes a step of forming a polysilicon semiconductor thin film on a substrate, and a channel region, a source side diffusion region, and a drain side diffusion region on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film. Forming a mask on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film; forming a source side diffusion region and a drain side diffusion region in the polysilicon semiconductor thin film by ion implantation from above the mask; and Removing the mask, forming a silicon thin film on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film from which the mask has been removed, and activating the polysilicon semiconductor thin film by irradiating a laser from above the silicon thin film. It is characterized by including.

  According to this invention, after removing the mask for ion implantation, a silicon thin film is formed on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film, and the polysilicon semiconductor thin film is activated by irradiating a laser from above the silicon thin film. As in problem (1), the laser beam does not interfere in the gate insulating film and activation is not uniform. Moreover, since the silicon thin film is provided on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film at the time of laser activation, the element dosed to the diffusion region does not volatilize as in the above problem (2), and the surface of the polysilicon semiconductor thin film is not volatilized. Contamination can be prevented. As a result, according to this method, a semiconductor device having a polysilicon semiconductor thin film capable of uniformly performing laser activation of the polysilicon semiconductor thin film without increasing the number of steps and preventing contamination at the time of laser activation. Can be manufactured.

  According to a preferred aspect of the method for manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention, after the activation step, the step of islanding the polysilicon semiconductor thin film without selectively removing the silicon thin film, the island-formed polysilicon semiconductor thin film, and Forming a gate insulating film so as to cover the silicon thin film; forming a gate electrode on the gate insulating film; and forming a source electrode and a drain electrode respectively connected to the source side diffusion region and the drain side diffusion region And a step of including.

  In a preferred aspect of the method for manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention, the mask is configured to be a resist for shielding an implanted element during the ion implantation.

  In order to solve the above problems, a semiconductor device of the present invention includes a base material, a polysilicon semiconductor thin film formed on the base material and having a channel region, a source side diffusion region and a drain side diffusion region, and the polysilicon. A silicon thin film formed on the semiconductor thin film; a gate insulating film formed to cover the polysilicon semiconductor thin film and the silicon thin film; a gate electrode formed on the gate insulating film; and the source-side diffusion region And at least a source electrode and a drain electrode connected to the drain side diffusion region, respectively.

  The present invention is a semiconductor device manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention. According to the present invention, since the silicon thin film formed on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film acts as a contamination preventing film that prevents the contamination of the channel region that has conventionally occurred at the time of laser activation in the manufacturing process, As in 2), the element dosed to the diffusion region does not volatilize and pollute the surface of the polysilicon semiconductor thin film, and as a result, a semiconductor device having good semiconductor characteristics can be provided.

  A preferred aspect of the semiconductor device of the present invention is configured such that the interface on the gate insulating film side of the channel region is not contaminated with an ion implantation element contained in the source side diffusion region and the drain side diffusion region. .

  According to the present invention, since the silicon thin film surface is prevented from being contaminated by the silicon thin film acting as a contamination preventing film, the channel region is an ion implantation element contained in the source side diffusion region and the drain side diffusion region. A semiconductor device which is not contaminated and has good semiconductor characteristics can be provided.

  According to the method for manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention, the activation of the laser light does not interfere in the gate insulating film and the activation becomes nonuniform, and the element dosed in the diffusion region is prevented from being volatilized. Contamination of the semiconductor thin film surface can be prevented. As a result, a semiconductor device having a polysilicon semiconductor thin film in which the laser activation of the polysilicon semiconductor thin film can be uniformly performed without increasing the number of processes and contamination during the laser activation is prevented can be manufactured.

  According to the semiconductor device of the present invention, volatilization of the ion implantation element dosed to the diffusion region does not occur. As a result, the channel region can prevent contamination by the ion-implanted element contained in the source-side diffusion region and the drain-side diffusion region, and a semiconductor device with good semiconductor characteristics can be provided. The obtained semiconductor device can be preferably used as a drive element or a circuit element of a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

  Hereinafter, a semiconductor device manufacturing method and a semiconductor device obtained by the method of the present invention will be described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the form of the drawings or the following embodiments.

[Method for Manufacturing Semiconductor Device]
1 and 2 are schematic process diagrams showing an example of a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of the obtained semiconductor device.

(Semiconductor device)
As shown in FIGS. 2 (L) and 3, the semiconductor device 1 obtained by the manufacturing method of the present invention has a polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 (channel region 13c, source-side diffusion region 13s and drain) from the substrate 10 side. A side diffusion region 13d), a silicon thin film 25 formed on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13, a gate insulating film 14g formed so as to cover the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 and the silicon thin film 25, and a gate insulating film 14g This is a top gate type thin film transistor substrate (TFT substrate) having at least a gate electrode 15g formed thereon and a source electrode 15s and a drain electrode 15d connected to the source side diffusion region 13s and the drain side diffusion region 13d, respectively.

  More specifically, the semiconductor device 1 shown in FIG. 3 is a TFT substrate having a top gate / top contact structure, and includes a base material 10, an undercoat film 11 provided on the base material 10 as necessary, and an undercoat film. Polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 (source side diffusion region 13s, channel region 13c and drain side diffusion region 13d) provided on coat film 11, silicon thin film 25 provided on polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13, and polysilicon semiconductor On the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13, a gate insulating film 14 g mainly provided above the channel region 13 c with the silicon thin film 25 interposed therebetween and a contact hole between the gate insulating film 14 g. An insulating film 14 provided; a gate electrode 15g provided on the gate insulating film 14g; and a contact hole To the source electrode 15s and the drain electrode 15d provided, and a protective layer 18 provided so as to cover the whole.

  In such a semiconductor device 1, the interface on the gate insulating film 14g side of the channel region 13c is not substantially contaminated by the ion implantation element contained in the source side diffusion region 13s and the drain side diffusion region 13d.

(Manufacturing process)
The manufacturing method of the semiconductor device 1 of the present invention includes at least a step of forming the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 on the base material 1, and a channel region 13c, a source side diffusion region 13s, and a drain side diffusion region 13d on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13. Forming a mask 23 on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13, and ion implantation 24 from above the mask 23 to form a source side diffusion region 13 s and a drain side diffusion region 13 s in the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13. A step of removing the mask 23, a step of forming the silicon thin film 25 on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 from which the mask 23 has been removed, and a laser irradiation 26 from above the silicon thin film 25 to irradiate the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13. Activating the process.

  Specifically, after the activation step, the step of forming the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 into an island without selectively removing the silicon thin film 25 and the gate insulation so as to cover the islanded polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 and the silicon thin film 25 are performed. Forming a film 14g; forming a gate electrode 15g on the gate insulating film 14g; forming a source electrode 15s and a drain electrode 15d connected to the source-side diffusion region 13s and the drain-side diffusion region 13d, respectively; , Including.

  In the following, the semiconductor device 1 having the gate overlap structure shown in FIG. 3 will be described as an example in the order of the manufacturing steps shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. It is not limited to an example, You may change in the range which has the characteristic of this invention.

  First, the base material 10 is prepared. The base material 10 is an insulating material that forms a support substrate of the semiconductor device 1, and may be an organic substrate or an inorganic substrate. Examples of organic substrates include polyethersulfone (PES), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyamide, polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate, polyphenylene sulfide, polyether ether ketone, liquid crystal polymer, fluororesin, polycarbonate, and polynorbornene. An organic substrate made of resin, polysulfone, polyarylate, polyamideimide, polyetherimide, thermoplastic polyimide, or the like, or a composite substrate thereof can be given. Such an organic substrate may be rigid or may be a thin flexible film having a thickness of about 5 μm to 300 μm. The use of a flexible organic substrate (also referred to as a plastic substrate) can be applied to a film display or the like because the semiconductor device 1 can be a flexible substrate.

  In addition, the inorganic substrate also has insulating properties, and examples thereof include a glass substrate, a silicon substrate, and a ceramic substrate. The glass substrate may be a glass substrate for liquid crystal displays having a thickness of about 0.05 mm to 3.0 mm, or may be an inexpensive alkali-free glass substrate that is slightly inferior in heat resistance. .

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1A, an undercoat film 11 is formed on the prepared base material 10 as necessary. The undercoat film 11 is not an indispensable film. For example, (i) a film formed in a later step has (i) an adhesion film for improving the adhesion between the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 and the substrate 10. As a stress relaxation film that relieves stress, (iii) as a barrier film that prevents impurities in the base material 10 from entering the constituent layers of the semiconductor device 1, or (iv) after using a non-heat resistant substrate It can be provided as a heat buffer film against heat applied in the process. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide it when the adhesiveness is good, there is no influence of stress, the barrier property need not be considered, or the non-heat resistant substrate is not used.

  The undercoat film 11 may be provided on the entire surface of the substrate 10, but may be provided only in a necessary region according to its function and purpose. In the example shown in FIG. 1A, the undercoat film 11 is formed on the entire surface.

  The undercoat film 11 is selected from the group of chromium, titanium, aluminum, silicon, chromium oxide, titanium oxide, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and silicon oxynitride according to the purposes (i) to (iv) above. Formed of any material. For example, when used as an adhesion film, a metal-based inorganic film made of chromium, titanium, aluminum, silicon, or the like is preferably used. When used as a stress relaxation film or a thermal buffer film, chromium oxide, titanium oxide, oxide A compound film made of aluminum, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, or the like is preferably used. When used as a barrier film, a compound film made of silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, or the like is preferably used. These films may be provided as a single layer or two or more layers may be laminated depending on the function or purpose.

  The thickness when the undercoat film 11 is provided as an adhesion film varies slightly depending on the material constituting the film, but is preferably in the range of about 1 nm to 200 nm, preferably in the range of about 3 nm to 50 nm. More preferably, it is within. In the case where a metal-based inorganic film made of chromium, titanium, aluminum, or silicon is formed as the undercoat film 11, it is more preferably within a range of about 3 nm or more and 10 nm or less, such as chromium oxide, titanium oxide, In the case where a compound-based inorganic film made of aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, or aluminum oxynitride is formed as the undercoat film 11, it is within a range of about 5 nm to 50 nm. It is more preferable that On the other hand, the thickness when the undercoat film 11 is provided as a stress relaxation film, a barrier film, or a thermal buffer film varies slightly depending on the material of the film actually formed, but the thickness is usually 100 nm or more and 1000 nm or less. It is preferably within a range of about, and more preferably within a range of about 100 nm to 500 nm from the viewpoint of film formation time.

  The undercoat film 11 can be formed by various methods such as a DC sputtering method, an RF magnetron sputtering method, and a plasma CVD method. In practice, a preferred method according to the material constituting the film is employed. Usually, a DC sputtering method, an RF magnetron sputtering method, or the like is preferably used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1B, a non-doped amorphous silicon film 21 a is formed on the undercoat film 11. The amorphous silicon film 21a can be formed by various methods such as an RF magnetron sputtering method and a CVD method. For example, when the amorphous silicon film 21a is formed by the RF magnetron sputtering method, for example, the film forming temperature is room temperature, the film forming pressure is 0.2 Pa, and the gas is argon with a thickness of 50 nm, for example. A film can be formed. Note that an amorphous silicon film can be formed by a CVD method. In this case, the film can be formed at a film forming temperature of about 25 ° C. However, since SiH ₄ is used as a source gas, the film is formed. Later, a dehydrogenation treatment at about 450 ° C. (about 1 hour in a vacuum) is required.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1C, annealing treatment such as laser irradiation 22 is performed to polycrystallize the amorphous silicon film 21a into a polysilicon film 21p. Annealing treatment such as laser irradiation 22 is a crystallization means for polycrystallizing the amorphous silicon film 21a into a polysilicon film 21p. The crystallization means by the laser irradiation 22 can be performed using various lasers such as a XeCl excimer laser and a CW (Continuous Wave) laser. For example, when performing the crystallization with the XeCl excimer laser with a wavelength of 308nm, as an example, pulse width: 30 nsec (FWHM (half width): full width at half-maximum ), energy density: 200~300mJ / cm ² Can be carried out at room temperature. Note that, here, an example in which the crystallization means by the laser irradiation 22 is preferably applied is shown, but a conventional annealing process for overall heating may be used.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1D, an ion implantation mask 23 is formed on the polysilicon film 21p. The ion implantation mask 23 can be formed by patterning after forming a resist on the polysilicon film 21p. The ion implantation mask 23 thus formed acts to shield the ions, and as a result, ions can be implanted only into the mask opening that becomes a predetermined region of the polysilicon film 21p.

  As such a resist, for example, various positive photoresists on the market are preferably used, and the resist is formed on the entire surface by means of a spinner or the like and dried and cured. Since this resist is used as the ion implantation mask 23, it is desirable that ions are not implanted into the underlying polysilicon semiconductor thin film at least at the portion where the resist is provided. The thickness of the resist functioning as the ion implantation mask 23 varies depending on the type of implantation element and the implantation voltage, but is preferably at least 500 nm or more. The upper limit of the thickness of the resist functioning as the ion implantation mask 23 is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 1500 nm or less from the viewpoint of pattern accuracy and the like.

  Conventionally, a silicon oxide film is formed on the polysilicon film 21p, a resist film is further formed on the silicon oxide film, and then the resist film is patterned to form an etching mask for the silicon oxide film, and then the silicon oxide film The patterned silicon oxide film was used as an ion implantation mask by removing the resist film after patterning. However, in the present invention, since a resist mask formed directly on the polysilicon film 21p is used as the ion implantation mask 23, man-hours can be reduced. The reason why the present invention can realize such process reduction is that ion implantation is performed with a resist mask (ion implantation mask 23), and a silicon thin film 25 described later is formed on the semiconductor thin film that acts as a contamination prevention film after removing the resist mask. This is because the silicon thin film 25 prevents volatilization of the ion implantation element because the ion implantation is performed in this state. Therefore, since the present invention and the conventional example differ in whether a resist mask is used as the ion implantation mask 23 (invention) or a silicon oxide film is used (conventional example), the silicon oxide film is patterned as the ion implantation mask 23. This eliminates the need for a conventional silicon oxide film deposition process, a silicon oxide film etching process, and a silicon oxide film peeling process that cover the channel region and suppress contamination by ion-implanted elements. is there.

  Further, when a silicon oxide film is used as an ion implantation mask as in the prior art, hydrofluoric acid is usually used to remove it, but the hydrofluoric acid passes through a defective portion of the polysilicon film 21p, and the undercoat film 11 is used. There is a problem that the phenomenon that the polysilicon film peels off due to erosion of the undercoat film 11 occurs stochastically. In addition, when dry etching is used to remove a conventional ion implantation mask made of a silicon oxide film, the polysilicon film 21p is also partially etched. In the present invention, since the resist is used as the ion implantation mask 23, the above problem can be eliminated.

  Conventionally known means can be applied to the formation of the resist pattern itself that functions as the ion implantation mask 23. As a specific example, a resist such as “OFPR800” manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd. is formed by spin coating or the like, and patterned by photolithography using a photomask to form the ion implantation mask 23. Can do.

After the ion implantation mask 23 is formed, ion implantation 24 is performed as shown in FIG. In the ion implantation 24, for example, phosphorus (P) is implanted at an implantation voltage of 10 keV and a room temperature at a dose of 5 × 10 ¹⁴ ions / cm ² to 2 × 10 ¹⁵ ions / cm ² . As an implantation element, other than phosphorus, boron, antimony, arsenic or the like, which can be ion-implanted into the polysilicon film 21p, may be arbitrarily selected and implanted. By such ion implantation, a source side diffusion region 13s and a drain side diffusion region 13d are formed in the polysilicon film 21p, and a channel region 13c is formed between both the films 13s and 13d.

  In the ion implantation according to the present invention, ions are directly implanted into the opening where the ion implantation mask 23 is not provided. Therefore, for example, a gate electrode formed on a gate insulating film on a polysilicon semiconductor thin film is conventionally used. As in the case of ion implantation as an ion implantation mask, the implanted ions do not remain in the gate insulating film, and the influence of ions remaining in the gate insulating film (for example, problems such as an increase in gate leakage current and dielectric breakdown) There is an advantage that there is no need to consider. Further, since the acceleration voltage can be kept low, the heat generation of the base material 10 is relatively small, and even when a non-heat resistant substrate such as a plastic substrate is used, the ion implantation can be completed in a relatively short time. is there.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1E, the ion implantation mask 23 is removed by wet etching or dry etching. In this step, prior to the removal of the ion implantation mask 23, the altered layer formed by ion implantation on the surface of the ion implantation mask 23 is decomposed and removed by plasma ashing, and then the remaining ion implantation mask 23 is removed. Remove. The “altered layer” is a portion where the surface of the resist mask 23 is chemically changed by ion implantation, and is a portion where wet etching is difficult. Actually, it has been confirmed that the deteriorated layer cannot be completely removed by wet etching using an acetone solution. The thickness of the altered layer is considered to be approximately the same as the ion implantation depth. Actually, the ion implantation species is phosphorus, the acceleration voltage is 10 keV, and the ion implantation amount is 5 × 10 ⁺¹⁴ cm ^−2. In the implantation, the ion implantation depth was about 70 nm in the simulation result, but the resist could be completely removed by performing wet etching after etching the ion implantation mask 23 by 80 nm or more by plasma ashing.

  The plasma ashing used here can be performed using a commercially available apparatus called a dry etcher under conditions of an oxygen gas flow rate: 50 sccm, applied power: 100 W, pressure: 3 Pa, and processing time: 2 minutes. Specifically, after the inside of the chamber is set to a predetermined gas atmosphere, a substrate in the process of fabricating the TFT element is placed on the cathode electrode plate, and a high frequency is generated by an RF oscillator between the cathode electrode plate and the opposing anode electrode plate. A device that generates plasma by applying a voltage is used. Although it is possible to remove all of the ion implantation mask 23 only by plasma ashing, the silicon layer 13c is damaged by exposure to plasma after all of the ion implantation mask 23 is removed. In addition, it is preferable to perform wet etching after the plasma ashing.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1F, a silicon thin film 25 is formed on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 composed of the channel region 13c, the source side diffusion region 13s, and the drain side diffusion region 13d. This silicon film 25 functions as a contamination preventing film for preventing the doping element contained in the source side diffusion region 13s and the drain side diffusion region 13d from contaminating the channel region 13c in the subsequent activation process.

  The thickness of the silicon thin film 25 is preferably 10 nm or more and 50 nm or less. By forming the silicon thin film 25 with a thickness within that range, the semiconductor characteristics can be made uniform and good. If the thickness is less than 10 nm, the doping element contained in the source-side diffusion region 13s and the drain-side diffusion region 13d may be volatilized in the atmosphere in the activation process described later. As a result, the volatilized doping element is channeled. The semiconductor region may be deteriorated by adsorbing or entering the region 13c and contaminating the channel region 13c. On the other hand, if the thickness exceeds 50 nm, the resistance between the source-side diffusion region 13s and the drain-side diffusion region 13d and the source electrode 15s and the drain electrode 15d connected to each of them will be increased in a later step. Good semiconductor characteristics may not be obtained. In consideration of the diffusion of the doping element at the time of activation, the preferred thickness of the silicon thin film 25 is about 10 nm to 50 nm.

  The silicon thin film 25 is preferably formed with the same composition as the amorphous silicon film 21a formed in FIG. For example, when the amorphous silicon film 21a shown in FIG. 1B is formed by sputtering, the silicon thin film 25 is formed under the same sputtering conditions using the same silicon target as that for forming the amorphous silicon film 21a. To do. Thus, by forming the film under the same conditions as the amorphous silicon film 21a, it is possible to simplify the film forming process such as not changing the target and setting conditions easily, and the semiconductor of the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 There is an effect that the characteristics are not deteriorated.

  For semiconductor characteristics, this silicon thin film 25 is formed on the drain-side diffusion region 13d and the source-side diffusion region 13s with a thickness in the above range, so that it is a contamination-preventing film during the subsequent activation process. This effect can be realized under a mode in which an increase in resistance between the diffusion regions 13s and 13d and the electrodes 15s and 15d is suppressed. As a result, preferable semiconductor characteristics can be maintained even if the silicon thin film 25 is formed on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (F), after forming the silicon thin film 25, a source side diffusion region 13s and a drain side diffusion region 13d (FIG. 1D) formed by ion implantation into the polysilicon film 21p. (See FIG. 2), the laser 26 is irradiated to activate both films 13s and 13d. In this activation process, the silicon film whose phase changed from amorphous silicon to polysilicon in the crystallization process in FIG. 1C is amorphous due to the disordered atomic structure due to the ion implantation in the ion implantation process in FIG. Since it changes to a phase, it is a step of recrystallizing the amorphous phase back to a polysilicon phase.

In the present invention, after removing the ion implantation mask 23 shown in FIGS. 1D and 1E, a silicon thin film 25 is formed on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film (FIG. 1F). A polysilicon semiconductor thin film is activated by irradiating a laser 26 from above 25 (FIG. 1F). For this reason, the conventional method of irradiating the laser after providing the gate insulating film on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film has been problematic as "laser light interferes in the gate insulating film and the activation becomes non-uniform". There is no problem. Specifically, this problem is caused when multiple reflections occur in the transparent film when the laser light is irradiated in a state where a film transparent to the laser light (for example, a gate insulating film SiO ₂ ) is formed on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film, The light penetrating through the transparent film depends on the film thickness and optical constant of the transparent film. For this reason, if there is a difference in the film thickness distribution in the substrate within the transparent film or the film thickness between the substrates, the intensity of the laser light incident on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film changes and the activation becomes non-uniform. is there. However, in the present invention, activation is performed with laser light in a state where there is no film transparent to the laser light, so activation is not uneven.

  Further, in the present invention, since the silicon thin film 25 is provided on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film, the element dosed to the source side diffusion region 13s and the drain side diffusion region 13d is not provided with the silicon thin film 25. Compared to the above, the amount of volatilization at the time of laser irradiation is small, and the degree to which the volatilized element contaminates the channel region 13c of the polysilicon semiconductor film is remarkably reduced. In the above, “not contaminated” and “substantially not contaminated” are synonymous. As described herein, “the volatilized element contaminates the channel region 13c of the polysilicon semiconductor film”. The channel region 13c of the polysilicon semiconductor film is not contaminated by at least the ion implantation element volatilized from the source side diffusion region 13s and the drain side diffusion region 13d.

  Even if the silicon thin film 25 is formed on the polysilicon film 21p in an amorphous phase, the silicon thin film 25 can be crystallized into a polysilicon phase in this activation process, and as a result, The silicon thin film 25 made of the polysilicon phase is formed on the silicon semiconductor thin film 13 made of the polysilicon phase, and the channel region 13c made of the polysilicon phase is less contaminated with a doping element such as phosphorus. On the top, a silicon thin film 25 having the same composition as that of the channel region 13c is formed in a polysilicon phase.

The laser 26 used in this activation step is a laser generally called, but an energy beam other than a laser may be used as long as activation can be realized. As the laser, the same XeCl excimer laser as that used in the crystallization step can be used. For example, the laser can be used under the conditions of a pulse width of 30 nsec (FWHM), an energy density of 100 to 325 mJ / cm ² , and room temperature. it can.

  After the above activation step, defect processing with oxygen plasma for reducing the defects of the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 may be usually performed. For example, the oxygen plasma treatment is performed under the conditions of RF 100 W, 1 Torr, and 150 ° C., and thereafter, the drying treatment is performed under the condition of 120 ° C.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2G, dry etching is performed to form islands. As the etching gas, SF ₆ or the like can be used. Note that the silicon thin film 25 formed on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 is not removed, and is islanded together with the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13 in such a manner that it remains on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (H), insulation is performed on the entire surface of the base material or a predetermined region so as to cover the source side diffusion region 13s, the channel region 13c, and the drain side diffusion region 13d. A film 14 is formed. A generally used insulating film can be used as the insulating film, but a silicon oxide film is usually preferable. A method for forming the insulating film 14 is, for example, using an RF magnetron sputtering apparatus, input power to an 8-inch SiO ₂ target: 1.0 kW (= 3 W / cm ² ), pressure: 1.0 Pa, gas: argon + O ₂ (50 %) Of silicon oxide having a thickness of about 100 nm is formed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2I, the insulating film 14 on the source side diffusion region 13s and the drain side diffusion region 13d is selectively etched using photolithography to form a contact hole 27. Next, as shown in FIG. For example, after a resist film is formed on the insulating film 14, the resist film is patterned by exposure and development by photolithography using a photomask, and then the insulating film 14 (for example, the contact hole forming portion exposed by the patterning (for example, The contact hole 27 is formed by removing the silicon oxide film) by wet etching using, for example, a 2% HF solution. Thereafter, the resist film used as an etching mask is removed by plasma ashing. Note that the plasma ashing method is a method of removing only a resist by using an oxygen gas in a plasma etching method. Thus, the gate insulating film 14g is formed on the channel region 13c of the polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13, and the insulating film 14 is formed so as to have the contact holes 27 and 27 on the source side diffusion region 13s and the drain side diffusion region 13d. To do.

  As a conventional example, after forming the gate insulating film shown in FIG. 2 (H), a gate electrode is formed in a predetermined pattern, and then ion implantation is performed, and then a laser activation process is performed to perform ion implantation. However, in the present invention, such ion implantation and laser activation are completed before the gate insulating film and the like are formed. Therefore, after the gate insulating film 14g and the contact holes 27 and 27 are formed. In FIG. 5, each electrode (the gate electrode 15g, the source electrode 15s, and the drain electrode 15d) is merely formed without performing any special treatment.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2J, a gate electrode 15g, a source electrode 15s, and a drain electrode 15d are formed. The gate electrode 15g is formed on the gate insulating film 14g, the source electrode 15s is formed so as to be connected to the source side diffusion region 13s exposed through the contact hole 27, and the drain electrode 15d is connected to the drain electrode 15d exposed through the contact hole 27. Formed to connect. Specifically, after depositing, for example, an aluminum (Al) film having a thickness of 200 nm on the entire surface after forming the gate insulating film 14g and the contact holes 27 and 27 in FIG. 2I, the resist pattern is formed by photolithography. After the formation, the aluminum film is patterned by wet etching to form the source electrode 15s, the drain electrode 15d, and the gate electrode 15g in a predetermined pattern.

  Note that an electrode material for forming the gate electrode 15g is not particularly limited, and any of aluminum, tungsten, tantalum, and molybdenum, or an alloy or composite metal containing the metal can be preferably used. In addition, for the purpose of improving heat resistance, a metal material containing aluminum as a main raw material and added with other elements such as silicon exhibits the same effect and can be preferably used. The gate electrode 15g, the source electrode 15s, and the drain electrode 15d can be formed by other film formation processes such as sputtering.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (K), high-pressure steam treatment is performed as necessary. The high-pressure steam treatment is preferably performed after forming each electrode (gate electrode 15g, source electrode 15s, drain electrode 15d). The reason for this is that if it is performed immediately after the electrode material is formed on the entire surface (that is, before each electrode is etched), the electrode material is altered and etching is performed well, although it depends on the material of the electrode material. This is because there is a possibility that it will not be broken. The treatment conditions in the high-pressure steam treatment step are preferably performed in an atmosphere consisting of a temperature exceeding 100 ° C. and less than 300 ° C. and a pressure exceeding 1 atm (0.1 MPa) and not higher than the saturated vapor pressure. Under these treatment conditions, the pressure is particularly preferably 20 atm (2.0 MPa) or less.

  Such high-pressure steam treatment is particularly effective when the gate insulating film 14g is formed by sputtering. That is, the gate insulating film 14g made of silicon oxide can be formed at a temperature lower than 300 ° C. according to the film forming principle of the sputtering method, and impurities are hardly mixed in the sputtering method. For example, an inexpensive glass substrate having low heat resistance or A plastic substrate can be used. However, the gate insulating film 14g formed by the sputtering method is likely to deviate from the stoichiometric composition, and the defect density at the interface with the silicon semiconductor film 13 tends to be high. By applying the high-pressure steam treatment process in the present invention, The dangling bond of the gate insulating film made of silicon oxide can be terminated by the oxidation effect of water vapor, and the advantage that a particularly high modification effect (high mobility as a transistor and low interface state density of the gate insulating film) can be obtained. There is.

  Finally, as shown in FIG. 2L, a protective film 18 is formed so as to cover the entire element. A preferable example of the protective film 18 is a silicon oxide film. The protective film 18 is preferably formed with a thickness of about 20 nm by, for example, RF magnetron sputtering. Thus, the semiconductor device 1 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 can be manufactured.

  As described above, according to the method for manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention, after removing the ion implantation mask 23 shown in FIGS. 1D and 1E, the silicon thin film 25 is formed on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film. (FIG. 1 (F)), and adopting a method of activating the polysilicon semiconductor thin film by irradiating the laser 26 from above the silicon thin film 25, so that the laser light that has been a problem in the past is gate-insulated. There is no interference between the membranes and non-uniform activation. Further, since the silicon thin film is provided on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film at the time of laser activation, the element dosed to the diffusion region which has been a problem in the past is prevented from volatilizing and contaminating the channel region 13c. be able to. As a result, according to the manufacturing method of the present invention, it is possible to uniformly activate the polysilicon semiconductor thin film without increasing the number of steps and to have a polysilicon semiconductor thin film that prevents contamination at the time of laser activation. A semiconductor device can be manufactured. In the present invention having such effects, a semiconductor device can be manufactured at a low cost, and a semiconductor device having a good manufacturing yield and excellent characteristics can be obtained by uniform activation treatment. It can be preferably applied to an active matrix driving thin film transistor of a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples and Comparative Examples. In addition, this invention is not limited to a following example.

Example 1
A 0.7 mm-thick glass substrate (Corning 1737) is used as the base material 10, and a 300-nm-thick buffer film made of silicon oxide is used as the undercoat film 11 (from thermal damage during laser crystallization of the silicon film). A layer for protecting the glass substrate) was formed by, for example, sputtering, and a non-doped amorphous silicon film 21a having a thickness of 50 nm was formed thereon by sputtering. Thereafter, the entire surface was irradiated with laser light (XeCl excimer laser, 300 Hz oscillation, energy density 325 mJ / cm ^{2 on} the irradiated surface, laser pulse width 20 nsec) to change the polysilicon film 21p. A resist mask acting as an ion implantation mask 23 is formed on the polysilicon film 21p by photolithography, and then ion implantation is performed (P ions are implanted at an acceleration voltage of 10 keV, 5 × 10 ¹⁴ ions / cm ² ). The openings of the silicon film 21p were used as the source side diffusion region 13s and the drain side diffusion region 13d. Subsequently, the resist used as the ion implantation mask 23 was removed.

A silicon thin film 25 having a thickness of 10 nm is formed on the entire surface of the polysilicon film 21p after removing the resist mask under the same sputtering conditions as those for forming the non-doped amorphous silicon film (the target and the sputtering atmosphere are the same). did. From above the silicon thin film 25, an XeCl excimer laser was used to activate it by laser irradiation 26 under conditions of pulse width: 30 nsec (FWHM), energy density: 225 mJ / cm ² , and room temperature. This activation step is a step of recrystallizing the silicon film of the source side diffusion region 13s and the drain side diffusion region 13d, which has changed from the polysilicon phase to the amorphous silicon phase by ion implantation, into the polysilicon phase.

Thereafter, the polysilicon film 21p is islanded by photolithography in a form in which the silicon thin film 25 is laminated (dry etching using SF ₆ gas), and then input power to an 8-inch SiO ₂ target so as to cover them: 1 A gate insulating film having a thickness of 100 nm made of a SiO ₂ film is formed by sputtering under the film forming conditions of 0.0 kW (= 3 W / cm ² ), pressure: 1.0 Pa, gas: argon + O ₂ (50%), and thereafter Then, a contact hole 27 is formed in the gate insulating film by photolithography (etching using hydrofluoric acid), and then an electrode layer made of aluminum having a thickness of 200 nm is formed by sputtering, and each electrode (gate electrode) is formed by photolithography. 15 g, a source electrode 15 s and a drain electrode 15 d) were formed. Thereafter, the entire substrate was subjected to high-pressure steam treatment at 5 atm (0.5 MPa) and 150 ° C. for 6 hours to produce the semiconductor device of Example 1.

(Comparative Example 1)
A semiconductor device of Comparative Example 1 was fabricated in the same manner as in Example 1 except that laser irradiation 26 was performed without providing the silicon thin film 25 on the polysilicon film 21p in Example 1.

(Evaluation)
The threshold voltages of the semiconductor devices of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 were measured. This threshold voltage was measured with a semiconductor analyzer. As a confirmation experiment, when the channel areas of the semiconductor devices of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 are set to 100%, a semiconductor device having a channel area of 50% and a semiconductor device having a channel area of 30% are manufactured. A comparative experiment was performed. As a result, the threshold voltage of the semiconductor device of Comparative Example 1 tended to decrease as the channel area was reduced from 100% to 50% and 30%. Although this tendency was slightly observed in the semiconductor device of Example 1, the magnitude of the decreasing tendency was significantly larger in the confirmation experiment result for Comparative Example 1 than in the confirmation experiment result in Example 1. It was.

  The reason for this is as follows. In Comparative Example 1 in which the silicon thin film that acts as a contamination prevention film is not provided and its confirmation experiment, the degree of contamination based on the volatilization of the doping element decreases as the distance from the source diffusion region and the drain diffusion region increases. As in the case where the channel area is 50% or 30%, when the channel region is small, the distance between each location in the channel and the source side diffusion region and the drain side diffusion region becomes small. Therefore, as a result, it is considered that the average contamination degree of the channel region increases as the channel area decreases. On the other hand, in the semiconductor device of Example 1 provided with the silicon thin film that acts as a contamination prevention film, the channel region is prevented from being contaminated more than the semiconductor device of Comparative Example 1, so that the threshold value is higher than that of Comparative Example 1. The voltage drop is significantly smaller. For this reason, the threshold voltage of the semiconductor device of Comparative Example 1 is reduced, the variation is large, and the reliability of the device is reduced.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process (the 1) of the semiconductor device of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process (the 2) of the semiconductor device of this invention. It is typical sectional drawing which shows an example of the semiconductor device of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Semiconductor device 10 Base material 11 Undercoat film 13 Polysilicon semiconductor thin film 13s Source side diffused region 13c Channel region 13d Drain side diffused region 14 Insulating film 14g Gate insulating film 15s Source electrode 15g Gate electrode 15d Drain electrode 18 Protective film 21a Amorphous silicon Film 21p Polysilicon film 22 Laser annealing 23 Ion implantation mask 24 Ion implantation 25 Silicon thin film 26 Laser 27 Contact hole 28 High-pressure steam treatment

Claims (5)

Forming a polysilicon semiconductor thin film on a substrate;
Forming a mask on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film in order to form a channel region, a source side diffusion region and a drain side diffusion region in the polysilicon semiconductor thin film;
Forming a source side diffusion region and a drain side diffusion region in the polysilicon semiconductor thin film by ion implantation from above the mask;
Removing the mask;
Forming a silicon thin film on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film from which the mask has been removed;
Irradiating a laser from above the silicon thin film to activate the polysilicon semiconductor thin film;
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: After the activation step,
Converting the polysilicon semiconductor thin film into an island without selectively removing the silicon thin film;
Forming a gate insulating film so as to cover the island-formed polysilicon semiconductor thin film and the silicon thin film;
Forming a gate electrode on the gate insulating film;
Forming a source electrode and a drain electrode respectively connected to the source side diffusion region and the drain side diffusion region;
The manufacturing method of the semiconductor device of Claim 1 containing this.   The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the mask is a resist for shielding an implanted element at the time of the ion implantation. A substrate;
A polysilicon semiconductor thin film having a channel region, a source side diffusion region and a drain side diffusion region formed on the substrate,
A silicon thin film formed on the polysilicon semiconductor thin film;
A gate insulating film formed so as to cover the polysilicon semiconductor thin film and the silicon thin film;
A gate electrode formed on the gate insulating film;
A semiconductor device comprising at least a source electrode and a drain electrode respectively connected to the source side diffusion region and the drain side diffusion region.   The semiconductor device according to claim 4, wherein an interface of the channel region on the gate insulating film side is not contaminated with an ion implantation element contained in the source side diffusion region and the drain side diffusion region.

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