LOCAL BURIED LAYER FORMING METHOD AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE HAVING SUCH A LAYER
The present invention discloses a method of forming a local buried layer ( 32 ) in a silicon substrate ( 10 ), comprising forming a plurality of trenches ( 12, 22 ) in the substrate, including a first trench ( 22 ) having a width preventing sealing of the first trench in a silicon migration anneal step and at least one further trench ( 12 ) connected to the first trench; exposing the substrate ( 10 ) to said anneal step, thereby converting the at least one further trench ( 12 ) by means of silicon migration into at least one tunnel ( 16 ) accessible via the first trench ( 22 ); and forming the local buried layer ( 32 ) by filling the at least one tunnel ( 16 ) with a material ( 26, 28, 46 ) via the first trench ( 22 ). Preferably, the method is used to form a semiconductor device having a local buried layer ( 32 ) comprising a doped epitaxial silicon plug ( 26 ), said plug and the first trench ( 22 ) being filled with a material ( 28 ) having a higher conductivity than the doped epitaxial silicon ( 26 ).
1 . A method of forming a local buried layer in a silicon substrate, comprising:
forming a plurality of trenches in the substrate, including a first trench having a width preventing sealing of the first trench in a silicon migration anneal step and at least one further trench connected to the first trench;
exposing the substrate to said anneal step, thereby converting the at least one further trench by means of silicon migration into at least one tunnel accessible via the first trench; and
forming the local buried layer by filling the at least one tunnel with a material via the first trench.
2 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the converting step comprises annealing the silicon substrate in a reduced pressure non-oxidizing atmosphere.
3 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein forming of the plurality of trenches comprises:
depositing a hard mask over the substrate;
patterning the hard mask;
exposing the substrate to a reactive ion etch; and
removing the hard mask from the substrate.
4 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the converting step comprises converting a plurality of trenches into a single tunnel.
5 . A method according to claim 1 , further comprising coating the first trench with at least one non-conformal material prior to forming the local buried layer.
6 . A method according to claim 5 , wherein the non-conformal material is a high-density plasma oxide.
7 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein forming the local buried layer comprises at least partially filling the at least one tunnel with a doped epitaxial silicon.
8 . A method according to claim 7 , further comprising filling the remaining space in the at least one tunnel and the first trench with a material having a higher conductivity than the doped epitaxial silicon.
9 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the first trench surrounds the other trenches of said plurality of trenches.
10 . A method according to claim 9 , wherein forming the local buried layer comprises filling the at least one tunnel and the first trench with an oxide.
11 . A semiconductor device comprising a substrate having a local buried layer, said layer having an end portion in contact with a filled trench, said filled trench having a width preventing sealing of the unfilled trench in a silicon migration anneal step.
12 . The semiconductor device according to claim 11 , wherein the local buried layer comprises at least one substantially tubular tunnel extending from the filled trench.
13 . The semiconductor device according to claim 11 , wherein the at least one tunnel comprises a plurality of partially merged tunnels.
14 . The semiconductor device according to claim 11 , wherein the local buried layer comprises a doped epitaxial silicon plug, said plug and the trench being filled with a material having a higher conductivity than the doped epitaxial silicon.
15 . The semiconductor device according to claim 14 , wherein the filled trench further comprises an insulating material surrounding the higher conductivity material.