Granted Patent B2

US 12,272,750 · App. 18/330,604 · Granted Apr 8, 2025

Inventors: Kuo-Chang Chiang (Hsinchu, TW); Hung-Chang Sun (Kaohsiung, TW); Sheng-Chih Lai (Hsinchu, TW); TsuChing Yang (Taipei, TW); Yu-Wei Jiang (Taipei, TW)

Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

H01L29/78391G11C5/063G11C11/223H01L29/40111H01L29/516H01L29/7869

Abstract

Claims (44)

1. A method, comprising:

patterning a first trench extending through a first conductive line;

depositing a ferroelectric (FE) material along sidewalls and a bottom surface of the first trench;

depositing an oxide semiconductor (OS) layer over the FE material, the OS layer extending along the sidewalls and the bottom surface of the first trench, depositing the OS layer comprises:

depositing a first region of the OS layer over the FE material, the first region having a first concentration of an element comprised by a semiconductor material of the OS layer;

depositing a second region of the OS layer over the first region of the OS layer, the second region having a second concentration of the element of the semiconductor material that is less than the first concentration of the element of the semiconductor material; and

depositing a third region of the OS layer over the second region of the OS layer, the third region having a third concentration of the element of the semiconductor material, the third concentration is less than the second concentration.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the element of the semiconductor material is indium.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

removing a portion of the OS layer along the bottom surface of the first trench; and

filling remaining portions of the first trench with a first dielectric material.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

patterning a second trench in the first dielectric material;

filling the second trench with a second dielectric material;

patterning a third trench and a fourth trench in the second dielectric material; and

filling the third trench and the fourth trench with a conductive material to form a second conductive line and a third conductive line.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the first trench extends through a multi-layer stack, the multi-layer stack comprises a plurality of stacked conductive lines, the plurality of stacked conductive lines comprises the first conductive line.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first region of the OS layer forms a physical interface with the second region of the OS layer, and wherein the second region of the OS layer forms a physical interface with the third region of the OS layer.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the element of the semiconductor material has a gradient distribution that extends through the first region, the second region, and the third region of the OS layer.

8. A method, comprising:

patterning a trench extending through a multi-layer stack, the multi-layer stack comprising a plurality of conductive lines, wherein adjacent conductive lines of the plurality of conductive lines are separated by a dielectric;

depositing a ferroelectric (FE) material along sidewalls of the trench;

depositing an oxide semiconductor (OS) layer in the trench and over the FE material, wherein depositing the OS layer comprises:

depositing a first region of the OS layer over the FE material, the first region having a first concentration of indium;

depositing a second region of the OS layer over the first region of the OS layer, the second region having a second concentration of the indium; and

depositing a third region of the OS layer over the second region of the OS layer, the third region having a third concentration of the indium, wherein the second concentration is greater than the third concentration and less than the first concentration.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising depositing a first dielectric material over the OS layer.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

etching a second trench extending through the first dielectric material, the OS layer, and the FE material;

filling the second trench with a second dielectric material; and

forming a source line and a bit line each extending through the first dielectric material, the OS layer, and the FE material, wherein the second dielectric material insulates the source line from the bit line.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the OS layer comprises In x Ga y Zn z MO, wherein M is Ti, Al, Ag, Si, or Sn, and x, y, and z are each a number between 0 and 1.

12. The method of claim 8 , further comprising annealing the OS layer.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein annealing the OS layer comprises annealing the OS layer at a temperature in a range of 300° C. to 450° C.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first region of the OS layer shares a physical interface with the second region of the OS layer, and the second region of the OS layer shares a physical interface with the third region of the OS layer.

15. The method of claim 8 , wherein the OS layer is free of any internal interfaces.

16. A method, comprising:

patterning a first trench extending through a first conductive line;

depositing a ferroelectric (FE) material along sidewalls and a bottom surface of the first trench; and

depositing an oxide semiconductor (OS) layer over the FE material, the OS layer extending along the sidewalls and the bottom surface of the first trench, wherein the OS layer has a gradient concentration of indium that decreases in a direction away from the FE material.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein depositing the OS layer comprising controlling a supply and flow of an indium precursor to achieve the gradient concentration of the indium.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the OS layer comprises a metal alloy, the metal alloy comprising indium, gallium, zinc, and oxygen.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the metal alloy further comprises Ti, Al, Ag, Si, or Sn.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the OS layer is free of any internal interfaces.

Continuity (3)

References Cited (122)