KR19990062507A - Method of forming isolation film for semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of isolating a semiconductor device suitable for improving device isolation characteristics by forming the lower surface of the device isolation film to have an ellipse using an inert ion when forming the isolation film between the devices, the pattern of the antioxidant film on the semiconductor substrate Forming a trench by etching the substrate using a pattern of the anti-oxidation film as a mask, implanting impurity ions that promote an oxidation rate into a lower surface of the trench, and performing a thermal oxidation process To form a field oxide film in the trench.

Description

Method of forming isolation film for semiconductor device

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to a method for forming an isolation film of a semiconductor device suitable for electrical isolation between micro devices.

In general, one of the most widely used methods of electrical isolation between devices is the selective oxidation process (LOCOS).

However, this LOCOS process is rarely used in the process of 0.2㎛ less than the design criteria.

In general, device isolation methods include a conventional LOCOS method, a NIDE (Nitride Sidewall LOCOS) method, and a trench isolation method.

Hereinafter, an isolation layer forming method of a semiconductor device according to the related art will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1A to 1F are cross-sectional views illustrating a conventional NSL (Nitride sidewall LOCOS) method.

First, the NSL method is similar to the conventional LOCOS method described above, except that the substrate is etched to a predetermined depth and a sidewall is formed before the field oxide film is formed.

That is, after the initial oxide film 12 is grown on the semiconductor substrate 11 as shown in FIG. 1A, the first silicon nitride film 13 is deposited on the initial oxide film 12.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 1B, the active mask 14 is used to define a field region that serves as an electrical insulation between the active region where the device is actually formed and the device.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 1C, the first silicon nitride layer 13 is selectively removed by an etching process using the active mask 14.

And using the first silicon nitride film 13 as a mask to perform ion implantation for adjusting a threshold voltage (V _T).

Next, as shown in FIG. 1D, a second silicon nitride film 15 is deposited on the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 11 including the first silicon nitride film 13.

As shown in FIG. 1E, when the second silicon nitride layer 15 is etched by using an etch back process, sidewalls 15a are formed on both side surfaces of the first silicon nitride layer 13.

Subsequently, the trench 16 is formed by etching the surface of the semiconductor substrate 11 to a predetermined depth by an etching process using the sidewalls 15a as a mask, and then heat-treating in a high-temperature furnace as shown in FIG. 1F. By selectively growing the field oxide film 17, the conventional NSL process is completed.

2A to 2E are cross-sectional views illustrating a trench isolation method according to the related art.

As shown in FIG. 2A, an initial oxide film 22 is grown on the semiconductor substrate 21, and a silicon nitride film 23 is amplified on the initial oxide film 22.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the silicon nitride film 23 and the initial oxide film 22 are selectively removed by an etching process using an active mask (not shown) to selectively expose the semiconductor substrate 21.

Thereafter, as illustrated in FIG. 2C, a trench 24 is formed by etching the surface of the exposed semiconductor substrate 21 to a predetermined depth by an etching process using the silicon nitride layer 23 as a mask.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2D, an insulating film 25 is deposited on the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 21 including the trench 24.

When the unnecessary oxide layer 25 is removed by the CMP process to form the field oxide layer 25a, the trench isolation process according to the prior art is completed.

However, the method of forming a separator of the conventional semiconductor device as described above has the following problems.

First, when the conventional LOCOS process is used, the thickness of the field oxide film becomes thinner (thinning phenomenon) when the width of the isolation region between devices is less than 1 μm, and when the thickness is less than 0.5 μm, the thinning phenomenon becomes serious. It is not applicable to micro devices due to the reduction of the active area due to the bird's beak.

Second, the NSL method is advantageous in the buzz-big side, but when the semiconductor substrate is etched to form the field oxide film, the lower portion of the field oxide film is not rounded and a sharp portion is formed.

Therefore, the stress is increased in the sharp portion and eventually the leakage current increases to act as a factor that adversely affects the device characteristics.

In addition, the thinning phenomenon of the field oxide film also occurs, so that the amount of oxide film growth from the surface of the substrate to the inside is insufficient, resulting in unstable isolation characteristics.

Third, when trench isolation is used, device isolation characteristics can be improved in comparison with LOCOS, but it is difficult to form trenches and fill insulating films in trenches.

In addition, as the CMP process is applied, fine particles are generated, and the process becomes complicated, thereby increasing TAT (Turn Around Time) and COST.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a method for isolating semiconductor devices suitable for implementing highly integrated semiconductor devices by improving isolation characteristics between devices.

1A to 1F are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of Nitride Sidewall LOCOS according to the related art.

2A through 2E are cross-sectional views illustrating a trench isolation method according to the related art.

3A to 3H are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of forming a semiconductor device isolation film according to the present invention.

4A through 4F are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of forming a semiconductor device isolation film in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

30,40: semiconductor substrate 37,47: field oxide film

32a, 43a: Antioxidation pattern 34,44: Trench

35: thermal oxide film 36,46: impurity layer

The isolation layer forming method of a semiconductor device according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a step of forming a pattern of an antioxidant film on a semiconductor substrate, and etching the substrate using a pattern of the antioxidant film as a mask to form a trench And a step of implanting impurity ions which accelerate the oxidation rate into the lower surface of the trench, and performing a thermal oxidation process to form a field oxide film in the trench.

Hereinafter, a method of forming an isolation layer of a semiconductor device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3A through 3H are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of forming an isolation layer of a semiconductor device in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the first insulating layer 31 is formed on the semiconductor substrate 30, and the second insulating layer 32 and the third insulating layer 33 are formed on the first insulating layer 31. Form in turn.

In this case, the material of the first and third insulating layers 31 and 33 is a silicon oxide film, the material of the second insulating layer 32 is a silicon nitride film, and the second insulating layer 32 is a mask layer for masking an active region. The third insulating layer 33 is used to adjust the etching selectivity with the second insulating layer 32 when forming the nitride film sidewalls in a subsequent process.

Subsequently, the device isolation region is defined by applying and patterning photoresist PR3 on the third insulating layer 33.

Usually, by performing many steps for forming an element on a silicon substrate, the structure of the silicon crystal is determined in accordance with the crystal direction.

For example, when the crystal direction of the silicon crystal is 111, the surface density of the atom is higher than in the other directions, the silicon tension is greater than in the other direction, and the crystal direction of the silicon in the 111 direction is higher than in the other direction. The oxidation rate is faster.

In a MOS device, a silicon substrate in 100 directions is usually used.

As shown in FIG. 3B, an oxidation process of masking the active region by sequentially etching the third, second, and first insulating layers 33, 32, and 31 is performed by an etching process using the patterned photoresist PR3 as a mask. The prevention pattern 32a and the pad oxide film 31a are formed.

The active region of the substrate is masked by the antioxidant pattern 32a, and the side portions of the antioxidant pattern 32a are exposed.

As illustrated in FIG. 3C, a fourth insulating layer (not shown) made of a silicon nitride film (not shown) is deposited on the anti-oxidation pattern 32a including the exposed substrate 30 by chemical vapor deposition and etched back. Sidewalls 33a made of a silicon nitride film are formed on the side surfaces of the pad oxide film 31a and the antioxidant pattern 32a.

At this time, during the etch back of the fourth insulating layer for forming the sidewall 33a, the third insulating layer 33, which is a silicon oxide film, is covered on the second insulating layer 32. It is not etched.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3D, the substrate is anisotropically etched by an etching process using the sidewall 33a as a mask to form a trench 34 having a bottom surface in a 100 direction and a side surface in a 111 direction.

At this time, the etching depth of the substrate 30 is adjusted to a depth of about half of the thickness of the field oxide film to be formed.

At this time, the plane of silicon in the 111) direction is denser than the plane in the 100 direction, and the etching rate is lower.

When wet etching the substrate, 23 wt% of KOH and 13 wt% of CH ₃ CHOH CH ₃ are used as an etchant.

When etching using such an etchant, the etching rate is greater than 100 in the 111 direction.

In case of dry etching, double plasma etching device is used.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3E, a thermal oxide film 35 is grown on both side surfaces and a bottom surface of the trench 34 in an oxidizing atmosphere.

At this time, the side surface and the bottom surface of the trench 34 have different directions, and thus the growth rate of the oxide layer 35 on the side surface is faster than the bottom surface.

Therefore, the thickness of the thermal oxide film 35 on the side surface grows thicker than the thickness of the thermal oxide film 35 on the bottom surface.

In terms of oxide growth rate, since the lower surface of the trench 34 is 100 directions and the side surface is 111 direction, the oxide film growth rate at a lower temperature is approximately 67% larger than that of the lower surface.

Thus, the grown thermal oxide film has a larger slope in the 111 direction than at the surface in the 100 direction.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3F, an impurity layer 36 doped with high concentration is formed by implanting impurity ions, such as inert ions (F) or germanium (Ge) ions, which promote the oxidation rate of the lower surface.

At this time, some impurities are also doped in the side surface of the trench 34 (not shown).

Here, the inclination angle at the side surface in the 111 direction has an inclination of 55 ° with respect to the trench lower surface in the 100 direction.

During the oxidation process, the upper end of the inclined side wall gradually moves to the lower side of the adjacent side wall.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3G, the thermal oxide film 35 in the trench 34 is removed.

The process of removing the thermal oxide film 35 can be easily removed by a wet etching process using an etchant having an etch selectivity with the sidewall 33a, the silicon substrate 30, and the pad oxide film 31a.

As shown in FIG. 3H, a field oxide film 37 having a thickness of 200 to 1000 nm is grown by thermal growth for 2 to 4 hours at a temperature of 900 to 1100 ° C. in an oxidizing atmosphere.

Here, as in the above 3h, a process of performing a thermal oxidation process without removing the thermal oxide film 35 may be applied in addition to the process of growing a field oxide film from a silicon substrate after removing the thermal oxide film 35.

As in the present invention, since the sidewall 33a is present and the impurities that promote the oxidation rate are injected, the oxidation rate is slow at the side of the trench 34 near the sidewall, so that the field oxide film erodes into the active region. Effectively prevents the occurrence of buzz-big.

The rate of oxidation at the side of the trench is different from that at the bottom of the trench to prevent the occurrence of buzz-heads.

In this manner, after the field oxide film 37 is grown, the anti-oxidation pattern 32a and the pad oxide film 31a are removed to expose the active region.

Removal of the insulating layers can be easily removed by isotropic wet etching.

4A to 4F are cross-sectional views illustrating a second embodiment of the semiconductor device isolation method.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the first insulating layer 41 is formed on the semiconductor substrate 40, and the second insulating layer 42 and the third insulating layer 43 are formed on the first insulating layer 41. Form in turn.

At this time, the material of the first and third insulating layers 41 and 43 is a silicon oxide film, the material of the second insulating layer 42 is a silicon nitride film, and the second insulating layer 42 is a mask layer for masking an active region. The third insulating layer 43 is used to adjust the etching selectivity with the second insulating layer 42 when forming the nitride film sidewalls in a subsequent process.

Subsequently, the device isolation region is defined by applying and patterning photoresist PR4 on the third insulating layer 43.

As shown in FIG. 4B, an oxidation process of masking the active region is performed by sequentially etching the third, second, and first insulating layers 43, 42, and 41 by an etching process using the patterned photoresist PR4 as a mask. The prevention pattern 42a and the pad oxide film 41a are formed.

The active region of the substrate is masked by the antioxidant pattern 42a, and the side portions of the antioxidant pattern 42a are exposed.

As shown in FIG. 4C, a fourth insulating layer (not shown) made of a silicon nitride film (not shown) is deposited on the anti-oxidation pattern 32a including the exposed substrate 40 by chemical vapor deposition, and etched back. Sidewalls 43a made of a silicon nitride film are formed on the side surfaces of the pad oxide film 41a and the anti-oxidation pattern 42a.

At this time, during the etch back of the fourth insulating layer for forming the sidewall 43a, the third insulating layer 43, which is a silicon oxide film, is covered on the second insulating layer 42. It is not etched.

As shown in FIG. 4D, the substrate 40 is anisotropically etched to form a trench 44 having a horizontal bottom surface and a side surface perpendicular to the bottom surface.

At this time, the depth of the trench 44 is maintained at about half the depth of the required thickness of the field oxide film.

As shown in FIG. 4E, inert ions or germanium ions are implanted into the trench 44 with low energy. Therefore, a doped impurity layer 46 is formed at a high concentration directly below the lower surface of the trench 44.

The impurity layer 46 implanted in the lower surface promotes the growth rate of the oxide film during the thermal oxidation process.

As shown in FIG. 4F, the field oxide film 47 having a thickness of 200 to 1000 nm is grown by thermal growth for 2 to 4 hours at a temperature of 900 to 1100 ° C. in an oxidizing atmosphere.

As in the present invention, since the sidewall 43a is present and the impurities that promote the oxidation rate are injected, the oxidation rate is slow at the side of the trench 44 near the sidewall, so that the field oxide film is encroached into the active region. Effectively prevents the occurrence of buzz-big.

The rate of oxidation at the side of the trench is different from that at the bottom of the trench to prevent the occurrence of buzz-heads.

In this manner, after the field oxide film 47 is grown, the anti-oxidation pattern 43a and the pad underlayer film 41a are removed to expose the active region.

Removal of the insulating layers can be easily removed by isotropic wet etching.

As described above, the method of forming the semiconductor device isolation film of the present invention prevents non-uniform oxidation of the device isolation film, thereby improving the isolation characteristics between devices even in a fine device due to high integration.

Claims (4)

Forming a pattern of an antioxidant film on the semiconductor substrate, Etching the substrate by using the pattern of the antioxidant film as a mask to form a trench; Implanting impurity ions that promote an oxidation rate into a lower surface of the trench; And forming a field oxide film in said trench by performing a thermal oxidation process. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming an insulating film on a surface of the trench before the implanting the impurity ions. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming of the antioxidant layer pattern is performed. Forming an oxide film on the first nitride film and the first nitride film on the semiconductor substrate; Patterning the first nitride film and the oxide film; Forming a second nitride film on the nitride film, the oxide film, and the substrate; And anisotropically etching the second nitride film to form sidewall spacers formed of a second nitride film on a side surface of the first nitride film pattern. The method of claim 1, wherein the impurity ions are inert ions or germanium ions.