Local-oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) process using ceramic barrier layer

Claim 2

A local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) process for semiconductor manufacture comprising: depositing a low stress barrier layer of a ceramic material having a high ion stopping power on a silicon substrate; patterning and etching the barrier layer to define active areas on the substrate covered with the ceramic material with exposed areas of the substrate therebetween; growing a field oxide in the exposed areas by wet oxidation; implanting the active areas through the field oxide using ions of sufficient energy to penetrate the field oxide but not the barrier layer; and removing the ceramic layer.

Claim 3

The process as recited in claim 1 and wherein: the ceramic material is a titanate.

Claim 4

The process as recited in claim 1 and wherein: the ceramic material is a ferroelectric material.

Claim 5

The process as recited in claim 1 and wherein: the ceramic material is a glass.

Claim 6

The process as recited in claim 1 and wherein: the ceramic material is a carbide.

Claim 7

The process as recited in claim 1 and wherein: consisting of TiO 2 , TaO x , WO x , and ZrO x .

Claim 8

The process as recited in clair: 1 and wherein: the ceramic material is deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

Claim 9

The process as recited in clair: 1 and wherein: the ceramic material is deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

Claim 10

The process as recited in claim 1 and wherein: the ceramic material is removed by a wet etch.

Claim 11

The process as recited in claim 1 and wherein: the ceramic material is removed by a dry etch.

Claim 12

A local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) process for semiconductor manufacture comprising: depositing a barrier layer on a silicon substrate with the barrier layer formed of a ceramic material having a higher ion stopping power than silicon nitride and having a coefficient of thermal expansion that closely matches that of silicon such that it can be deposited with low stress; photopatterning and etching the ceramic barrier layer such that exposed areas are formed on the substrate for a field oxide and active areas on the substrate for active devices are covered with the ceramic barrier layer; growing the field oxide in the exposed areas by wet oxidation; implanting the active areas through the field oxide using ions of sufficient energy to penetrate the field oxide but not the ceramic barrier layer; and removing the ceramic barrier layer by etching.

Claim 13

A local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) process for semiconductor manufacture comprising: depositing a barrier layer on a silicon substrate with the barrier layer formed of a ceramic material having a higher ion stopping power than silicon nitride and having a coefficient of thermal expansion that closely matches that of silicon such that it can be deposited with low stress; photopatterning and etching the ceramic barrier layer such that exposed areas are formed on the substrate for a field oxide and active areas on the substrate for active devices are covered with the ceramic barrier layer; growing the field oxide in the exposed areas by wet oxidation; implanting the active areas through the field oxide using ions of sufficient energy to penetrate the field oxide but not the ceramic barrier layer; and removing the ceramic barrier layer by etching.

Claim 14

The process as recited in claim 10 and wherein: the ceramic material is selected from the group consisting of a metal oxide, a titanate, a carbide, a glass, or a ferroelectric.

Claim 15

The process as recited in claim 11 and wherein: the ceramic material has an ion stopping power approximately 3X that of silicon nitride.

Claim 16

The process as recited in claim 10 and wherein: the ceramic material is deposited by (CVD).

Claim 17

The process as recited in claim 10 and wherein: the ceramic material is deposited by sputtering.

Claim 18

The process as recited in claim 10 and wherein: the ceramic material is deposited to a thickness of between 500Å to 5000Å.

Claim 19

The process as recited in claim 10 and wherein: the field oxide is grown to a thickness of between 2000Å to 6000Å.