US6844203B2
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Gate oxides, and methods of forming
Assignee: Micron Technology Inc
•
Filing: 2001-08-30
•
Granted: 2005-01-18
•
Expires: 2021-08-30
Abstract
Abstract A gate oxide and method of fabricating a gate oxide that produces a more reliable and thinner equivalent oxide thickness than conventional SiO 2 gate oxides are provided. Also shown is a gate oxide with a conduction band offset of 2 eV or greater. Gate oxides formed from elements such as yttrium and gadolinium are thermodynamically stable such that the gate oxides formed will have minimal reactions with a silicon substrate or other structures during any later high temperature processing stages. The process shown is performed at lower temperatures than the prior art, which further inhibits reactions with the silicon substrate or other structures. Using a thermal evaporation technique to deposit the layer to be oxidized, the underlying substrate surface smoothness is preserved, thus providing improved and more consistent electrical properties in the resulting gate oxide.
Inventors
- 👤 Kie Y. Ahn
- 👤 Leonard Forbes
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 00:43
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10P; H10P14/00; H10P14/60; H10P14/63; H10P14/6302; H10P14/6304; H10P14/6314; H10D; H10D64/00; H10D64/01; H10D64/013; H10D64/01302; H10D64/01332; H10D64/01336; H10D64/01342; H10D64/01346; H10D64/60; H10D64/66; H10D64/68; H10D64/691; H10P14/6322; H10P14/69; H10P14/692; H10P14/6938; H10P14/6939; H10P14/6319; H10P14/69396; H10P14/69397
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 41
Claim 1
Independent Claim
76 words
A method of forming a gate oxide on a transistor body region, comprising: electron beam evaporation depositing a metal layer on the body region, the metal being chosen from a group consisting of the group IIIB elements and the rare earth series of the periodic table; and oxidizing the metal layer to form a metal oxide layer on the body region, wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing using a krypton (Kr)/oxygen (O2) mixed plasma process.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
76 words
A method of forming a gate oxide on a transistor body region, comprising: electron beam evaporation depositing a metal layer on the body region, the metal being chosen from a group consisting of the group IIIB elements and the rare earth series of the periodic table; and oxidizing the metal layer to form a metal oxide layer on the body region, wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing using a krypton (Kr)/oxygen (O2) mixed plasma process.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes depositing a metal layer, the metal layer being chosen from a group consisting of yttrium and gadolinium.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 2 , wherein electron beam evaporation depositing the metal layer includes electron beam evaporation of a 99.9999% pure metal target material.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes evaporation depositing at a substrate temperature of approximately 150-400° C.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing at a temperature of approximately 400° C.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing with atomic oxygen.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
66 words
A method of forming a gate oxide on a transistor body region, comprising: evaporation depositing a metal layer on the body region, the metal being chosen from a group consisting of the group IIIB elements and the rare earth series of the periodic table; and oxidizing the metal layer using a krypton(Kr)/oxygen (O2) mixed plasma process to form a metal oxide layer on the body region.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
66 words
A method of forming a gate oxide on a transistor body region, comprising: evaporation depositing a metal layer on the body region, the metal being chosen from a group consisting of the group IIIB elements and the rare earth series of the periodic table; and oxidizing the metal layer using a krypton(Kr)/oxygen (O2) mixed plasma process to form a metal oxide layer on the body region.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 7 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes depositing a metal layer, the metal layer being chosen from a group consisting of yttrium and gadolinium.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 7 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes evaporation depositing by electron beam evaporation.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 9 , wherein electron beam evaporation depositing the metal layer includes electron beam evaporation of a 99.9999% pure metal target material.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 7 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes evaporation depositing at a substrate temperature of approximately 150-400° C.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
93 words
A method of forming a transistor, comprising: forming first and second source/drain regions; forming a body region between the first and second source/drain regions; evaporation depositing a metal layer on the body region, the metal being chosen from a group consisting of the group IIIB elements and the rare earth series of the periodic table; oxidizing the metal layer to form a metal oxide layer on the body region, wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing using a krypton (Kr)/oxygen (O2) mixed plasma process; and coupling a gate to the metal oxide layer.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
93 words
A method of forming a transistor, comprising: forming first and second source/drain regions; forming a body region between the first and second source/drain regions; evaporation depositing a metal layer on the body region, the metal being chosen from a group consisting of the group IIIB elements and the rare earth series of the periodic table; oxidizing the metal layer to form a metal oxide layer on the body region, wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing using a krypton (Kr)/oxygen (O2) mixed plasma process; and coupling a gate to the metal oxide layer.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes depositing a metal layer, the metal layer being chosen from a group consisting of yttrium and gadolinium.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes evaporation depositing by electron beam evaporation.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 14 , wherein electron beam evaporation depositing the metal layer includes electron beam evaporation of a 99.9999% pure metal target material.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes evaporation depositing at a substrate temperature of approximately 150-400° C.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing at a temperature of approximately 400° C.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing with atomic oxygen.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
159 words
A method of forming a memory array, comprising: forming a number of access transistors, including: forming first and second source/drain regions; forming a body region between the first and second source/drain regions; evaporation depositing a metal layer on the body region, the metal being chosen from a group consisting of the group IIIB elements and the rare earth series of the periodic table; oxidizing the metal layer to form a metal oxide layer on the body region, wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing using a krypton (Kr)/oxygen (O2) mixed plasma process; coupling a gate to the metal oxide layer; forming a number of wordlines coupled to a number of the gates of the number of access transistors; forming a number of sourcelines coupled to a number of the first source/drain regions of the number of access transistors; and forming a number of bitlines coupled to a number of the second source/drain regions of the number of access transistors.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
159 words
A method of forming a memory array, comprising: forming a number of access transistors, including: forming first and second source/drain regions; forming a body region between the first and second source/drain regions; evaporation depositing a metal layer on the body region, the metal being chosen from a group consisting of the group IIIB elements and the rare earth series of the periodic table; oxidizing the metal layer to form a metal oxide layer on the body region, wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing using a krypton (Kr)/oxygen (O2) mixed plasma process; coupling a gate to the metal oxide layer; forming a number of wordlines coupled to a number of the gates of the number of access transistors; forming a number of sourcelines coupled to a number of the first source/drain regions of the number of access transistors; and forming a number of bitlines coupled to a number of the second source/drain regions of the number of access transistors.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 19 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes depositing a metal layer, the metal layer being chosen from a group consisting of yttrium and gadolinium.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 19 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes evaporation depositing by electron beam evaporation.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 21 , wherein electron beam evaporation depositing the metal layer includes electron beam evaporation of a 99.9999% pure metal target material.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 19 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes evaporation depositing at a substrate temperature of approximately 150-400° C.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 19 , wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing at a temperature of approximately 400° C.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 19 , wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing with atomic oxygen.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
91 words
A transistor formed by the process, comprising: forming a body region coupled between a first source/drain region and a second source/drain region; evaporation depositing a metal layer on the body region, the metal being chosen from a group consisting of the group IIIB elements and the rare earth series of the periodic table; oxidizing the metal layer to form a metal oxide layer on the body region, wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing using a krypton (Kr)/oxygen (O2) mixed plasma process; and coupling a gate to the metal oxide layer.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
91 words
A transistor formed by the process, comprising: forming a body region coupled between a first source/drain region and a second source/drain region; evaporation depositing a metal layer on the body region, the metal being chosen from a group consisting of the group IIIB elements and the rare earth series of the periodic table; oxidizing the metal layer to form a metal oxide layer on the body region, wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing using a krypton (Kr)/oxygen (O2) mixed plasma process; and coupling a gate to the metal oxide layer.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
30 words
The transistor of claim 26 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes depositing a metal layer, the metal layer being chosen from a group consisting of yttrium and gadolinium.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
19 words
The transistor of claim 26 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes evaporation depositing by electron beam evaporation.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
180 words
A method of forming an information handling system, comprising: forming a processor; forming a memory array, including: forming a number of access transistors, including: forming first and second source/drain regions; forming a body region between the first and second source/drain regions; evaporation depositing a metal layer on the body region, the metal being chosen from a group consisting of the group IIIB elements and the rare earth series of the periodic table; oxidizing the metal layer to form a metal oxide layer on the body region, wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing using a krypton (Kr)/oxygen (O2) mixed plasma process; coupling a gate to the metal oxide layer; forming a number of wordlines coupled to a number of the gates of the number of access transistors; forming a number of sourcelines coupled to a number of the first source/drain regions of the number of access transistors; forming a number of bitlines coupled to a number of the second source/drain regions of the number of access transistors; and forming a system bus that couples the processor to the memory array.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
180 words
A method of forming an information handling system, comprising: forming a processor; forming a memory array, including: forming a number of access transistors, including: forming first and second source/drain regions; forming a body region between the first and second source/drain regions; evaporation depositing a metal layer on the body region, the metal being chosen from a group consisting of the group IIIB elements and the rare earth series of the periodic table; oxidizing the metal layer to form a metal oxide layer on the body region, wherein oxidizing the metal layer includes oxidizing using a krypton (Kr)/oxygen (O2) mixed plasma process; coupling a gate to the metal oxide layer; forming a number of wordlines coupled to a number of the gates of the number of access transistors; forming a number of sourcelines coupled to a number of the first source/drain regions of the number of access transistors; forming a number of bitlines coupled to a number of the second source/drain regions of the number of access transistors; and forming a system bus that couples the processor to the memory array.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 29 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes depositing a metal layer, the metal layer being chosen from a group consisting of yttrium and gadolinium.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 29 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes evaporation depositing by electron beam evaporation.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
85 words
A method of forming a transistor, comprising: forming first and second source/drain regions; forming a body region between the first and second source/drain regions; evaporation depositing a metal layer on the body region, the metal being chosen from a group consisting of the group IIIB elements and the rare earth series of the periodic table; oxidizing the metal layer using a krypton(Kr)/oxygen (O2) mixed plasma process to form a metal oxide layer on the body region; and coupling a gate to the metal oxide layer.
Claim 39
Independent Claim
85 words
A method of forming a transistor, comprising: forming first and second source/drain regions; forming a body region between the first and second source/drain regions; evaporation depositing a metal layer on the body region, the metal being chosen from a group consisting of the group IIIB elements and the rare earth series of the periodic table; oxidizing the metal layer using a krypton(Kr)/oxygen (O2) mixed plasma process to form a metal oxide layer on the body region; and coupling a gate to the metal oxide layer.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 32 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes depositing a metal layer, the metal layer being chosen from a group consisting of yttrium and gadolinium.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 32 , wherein evaporation depositing the metal layer includes evaporation depositing by electron beam evaporation.
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