Deep depleted channel MOSFET with minimized dopant fluctuation and diffusion levels

1. A method comprising:

forming a dummy gate, on a substrate, between a pair of spacers;

forming, in the substrate, a source and drain separated by a ground plane layer;

removing the dummy gate from the substrate, forming a cavity between the pair of spacers;

forming, after removal of the dummy gate, a channel layer on the substrate;

forming a high-k layer on the channel layer and on side surfaces of the cavity; and

forming a replacement gate in the cavity.

2. The method according to claim 1 , comprising:

forming a recess in the substrate above at least part of the ground plane layer, after removing the dummy gate; and

forming the channel layer in the recess.

3. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising forming the recess by a reactive-ion etch (RIE) or a selective wet etch.

4. The method according to claim 2 , comprising:

forming a halo layer in the recess prior to forming the channel layer, the halo layer separating the channel layer from the ground plane layer, the source, and the drain.

5. The method according to claim 4 , comprising epitaxially forming the halo layer of silicon (Si), silicon germanium (SiGe), or germanium (Ge) to a thickness of between 5 nanometers (nm) and 20 nm.

6. The method according to claim 1 , comprising forming the channel layer of multiple layers including a layer of intrinsic Si on a layer of intrinsic SiGe or instrinsic silicon carbon (Si:C).

7. The method according to claim 1 , comprising:

epitaxially forming the channel layer of intrinsic Si, intrinsic SiGe, or intrinsic Ge; and

forming, in the substrate, a depleted layer of SiGe, Si:C, silicon germanium tin (SiGeSn), germanium tin (GeSn), gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium arsenide (InAs), or indium phosphorus (InP).

8. The method according to claim 1 , comprising:

forming the channel layer of an element or compound consisting of one or more elements from groups III, IV, and V; and

forming, in the substrate, a depleted layer of a different material than the source, the drain, the substrate, or a combination thereof.

9. The method according to claim 1 , comprising:

providing the ground plane layer to a thickness of between 10 nm and 100 nm;

forming the channel layer to a thickness of between 3 nm and 30 nm; and

forming, in the substrate, a depleted layer to a thickness of between 3 nm and 30 nm.

10. A method comprising:

forming a dummy gate, on a substrate, between a pair of spacers;

forming, in the substrate, a source and drain separated by a ground plane layer having a thickness of between 10 nanometers (nm) and 100 nm;

forming, on the substrate, a depleted layer of silicon germanium (SiGe), silicon carbon (Si:C), silicon germanium tin (SiGeSn), germanium tin (GeSn), gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium arsenide (InAs), or indium phosphorus (InP) to a thickness of between 3 nm and 30 nm, the depleted layer being formed of a different material than the source, the drain, the substrate, or a combination thereof;

removing the dummy gate from the substrate, forming a cavity between the pair of spacers;

epitaxially growing, after removal of the dummy gate, a channel layer on the ground plane layer, of intrinsic silicon (Si), intrinsic SiGe, or intrinsic germanium (Ge) to a thickness of between 3 nm and 30 nm;

forming a high-k layer on the channel layer and on side surfaces of the cavity; and

forming a replacement gate in the cavity.

11. The method according to claim 10 , comprising:

etching a recess in the substrate above at least part of the ground plane layer by a reactive-ion etch (RIE) or a selective wet etch, after removal of the dummy gate; and

epitaxially growing the channel layer in the recess.

12. The method according to claim 10 , comprising:

epitaxially growing a halo layer of Si, SiGe, or Ge to a thickness of between 5 nm and 20 nm in the recess prior to epitaxially growing the channel layer, the halo layer separating the channel layer from the ground plane layer, the source, and the drain.