IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,745,422
Granted Patent B2
US 12,745,422 · App. 17/809,030 · Granted Sep 22, 2026

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof

Inventors: Chia-Ling Chung (Hsinchu, TW); Chun-Chih Cheng (Changhua, TW); Ying-Liang Chuang (Hsinchu, TW); Ming-Hsi Yeh (Hsinchu, TW); Kuo-Bin Huang (Hsinchu, TW)
Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.
H10D30/6735H10D64/01316H10D64/017H10D64/666H10D84/0137H10D84/038H10P14/44H10W20/056H10W20/077H10W20/081H10W20/42
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,745,422
App. No.
17/809,030
Granted
Sep 22, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Disclosed is a semiconductor device and semiconductor fabrication method. A semiconductor device includes: a substrate having a metal gate, gate spacers on sides of the metal gate, an etch stop layer (ESL), and interlayer dielectric (ILD) material over a source/drain region; a tungsten (W) cap formed from W material deposited over the metal gate and between the gate spacers; and a via gate (VG) formed above the W cap. A semiconductor fabrication method includes: receiving a substrate having a metal gate, gate spacers on sides of the metal gate, an etch stop layer (ESL), and interlayer dielectric (ILD) material over a source/drain region; depositing tungsten (W) material over the substrate; removing unwanted W material to form a W cap; and forming a via gate (VG) on the W cap.

Claims (41)

1 . A method comprising:

receiving a substrate having a metal gate, gate spacers on sides of the metal gate, interlayer dielectric (ILD) material over a plurality of source/drain regions, and an etch stop layer (ESL) extending above the gate spacers and disposed between the gate spacers and the ILD material;

depositing tungsten (W) material over the substrate above the metal gate, over a surface of the gate spacers, and along a sidewall of the ESL;

removing a first portion of the W material from the sidewall of the ESL and over the surface of the gate spacers via first wet etching operations using a first solution;

removing, from the sidewall of the ESL and over the surface of the gate spacers, W material remaining after removing the first portion of the W material via second wet etching operations using a second solution that is different from the first solution to form a W cap over the metal gate;

forming openings in the ILD material over the plurality of source/drain regions;

filling conductive material in the openings contacting the plurality of source/drain regions to form source/drain contacts;

forming a contact etch stop layer (CESL) over the plurality of source/drain regions and the W cap;

forming an ILD layer over the CESL;

forming contact via openings in the CESL and the ILD layer; and

forming a via gate (VG) on the W cap through a contact via opening.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein depositing tungsten (W) material over the substrate comprises depositing W material using physical vapor deposition operations at a pressure of about 150 to about 250 mT.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the first portion of the W material from the sidewall of the ESL and over the surface of the gate spacers comprises removing the first portion of the W material via wet etching operations using an ammonium solution.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein removing the first portion of the W material comprises removing the first portion of the W material via wet etching operations using NH 4 OH at a concentration of 1:1 to approximately 1:50 at about 50° to about 70° C.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the W material remaining after removing the first portion of the W material comprises removing W material from the sidewall of the ESL and over the surface of the gate spacers via wet etching operations using an ozone solution.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the W material remaining after removing the first portion of the W material comprises removing the W material from the sidewall of the ESL and over the surface of the gate spacers via wet etching operations using DIO 3 with a concentration of 5 to 100 ppm at room temperature.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the W material remaining after removing the first portion of the W material comprises removing the W material from the sidewall of the ESL and over the surface of the gate spacers via wet etching operations using a mixture comprising an ozone solution and hydrochloric acid.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the mixture comprises DIO 3 with a concentration of 5 to 100 ppm at room temperature and HCl with a concentration of 1:1 to approximately 1:50 at about 25° to about 50° C.

9 . A method comprising:

receiving a substrate having a metal gate, gate spacers on sides of the metal gate, interlayer dielectric (ILD) material over a plurality of source/drain regions, and an etch stop layer (ESL) extending above the gate spacers and disposed between the gate spacers and the ILD material;

depositing tungsten (W) material over the substrate above the metal gate, over a surface of the gate spacers, and along a sidewall of the ESL;

removing a first portion of the W material from the sidewall of the ESL and over the surface of the gate spacers using an ammonium solution;

removing, from the sidewall of the ESL and over the surface of the gate spacers, W material remaining after removing the first portion of the W material via wet etching operations using an ozone solution to form a W cap; and

forming a via gate (VG) contact on the W cap through a contact etch stop layer (CESL) and an ILD layer formed over the W cap.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein removing the W material remaining after removing the first portion of the W material comprises removing the W material from the sidewall of the ESL and over the surface of the gate spacers via wet etching operations using a mixture comprising the ozone solution and hydrochloric acid mixed in water.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the mixture comprises DIO 3 with a concentration of 5 to 100 ppm at room temperature and HCl with a concentration of 1:1 to approximately 1:50 at about 25° to about 50° C.

12 . A method comprising:

receiving a substrate having a metal gate, gate spacers on sides of the metal gate, interlayer dielectric (ILD) material over a plurality of source/drain regions, and an etch stop layer (ESL) extending above the gate spacers and disposed between the gate spacers and the ILD material;

depositing tungsten (W) material over the substrate above the metal gate, over a surface of the gate spacers, and along a sidewall of the ESL;

removing a first portion of the W material from the sidewall of the ESL and over the surface of the gate spacers via 1st wet etching operations;

removing, from the sidewall of the ESL and over the surface of the gate spacers, W material remaining after removing the first portion of the W material via 2nd wet etching operations to form a W cap over the metal gate;

forming a contact via opening in an ILD layer and a contact etch stop layer (CESL) over the W cap; and

forming a via gate (VG) on the W cap through the contact via opening.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein removing the first portion of the W material from the sidewall of the ESL and the surface of the gate spacers via the 1st wet etching operations comprises removing the first portion of the W material using an ammonium solution.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein removing the first portion of the W material from the sidewall of the ESL and the surface of the gate spacers via the 1st wet etching operations comprises removing the first portion of the W material using NH 4 OH at a concentration of 1:1 to approximately 1:50 at about 50° to about 70° C.

15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein removing the W material remaining after removing the first portion of the W material via the 2nd wet etching operations comprises removing the W material using an ozone solution.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein removing the W material remaining after removing the first portion of the W material via the 2nd wet etching operations comprises removing the W material using DIO 3 with a concentration of 5 to 100 ppm at room temperature.

17 . The method of claim 12 , wherein removing the W material remaining after removing the first portion of the W material via the 2nd wet etching operations comprises removing the W material using a mixture comprising an ozone solution and hydrochloric acid.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein removing the W material remaining after removing the first portion of the W material via the 2nd wet etching operations comprises removing the W material using a mixture comprising DIO 3 with a concentration of 5 to 100 ppm at room temperature and HCl with a concentration of 1:1 to approximately 1:50 at about 25° to about 50° C.

19 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the metal gate comprises a metal gate for a gate-all-around (GAA) device.

20 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the W cap is formed over the metal gate with a thickness in a range of about 2 nanometers to about 10 nanometers without residue above the gate spacers.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 27, 2022
From: CHUNG, CHIA-LING; CHENG, CHUN-CHIH; CHUANG, YING-LIANG; YEH, MING-HSI; HUANG, KUO-BIN
To: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.
Reel/Frame 060316/0498 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230420543A1 · Dec 28, 2023
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