IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,309,998
Granted Patent B2
US 12,309,998 · App. 17/949,580 · Granted May 20, 2025

Semiconductor structure and method for manufacturing semiconductor structure

Inventors: Deyuan Xiao (Hefei, CN); Yi Jiang (Hefei, CN); Guangsu Shao (Hefei, CN); Xingsong Su (Hefei, CN); Yunsong Qiu (Hefei, CN)
Assignee: CHANGXIN MEMORY TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
H10B12/05H10B12/315H10B12/482H10B12/488
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,309,998
App. No.
17/949,580
Granted
May 20, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A semiconductor structure and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure are provided. The method for manufacturing the semiconductor structure includes: a substrate is provided: a plurality of semiconductor channels arrayed in a first direction and a second direction are formed on the substrate: a plurality of bit lines extending in the first direction are formed, in which the bit lines is located in the substrate: and a plurality of word lines extending in the second direction are formed, in which two word lines adjacent to each other in the first direction are spaced apart from each other in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the substrate: and a sidewall conductive layer is formed, in which the sidewall conductive layer is located above one of the two word lines adjacent to each other, and is arranged in the same layer as the other of the two word lines.

Claims (58)

1. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure, comprising:

providing a substrate;

forming a plurality of semiconductor channels arrayed in a first direction and a second direction on the substrate;

forming a plurality of bit lines extending in the first direction, wherein the plurality of bit lines are located in the substrate, and each of the plurality of bit lines is electrically connected to a first plurality of semiconductor channels arranged in the first direction;

forming a plurality of word lines extending in the second direction, wherein each of the plurality of word lines wraps a part of a side surface of each of a second plurality of semiconductor channels arranged in the second direction, and two word lines adjacent to each other in the first direction are spaced apart from each other in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the substrate; and

forming a sidewall conductive layer, wherein the sidewall conductive layer is located above one of the two word lines adjacent to each other, and the sidewall conductive layer is arranged in the same layer as the other of the two word lines adjacent to each other.

2. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure of claim 1 ,

wherein the plurality of semiconductor charnels comprise a plurality of columns of first channel groups and a plurality of columns of second channel groups;

wherein each column of the first channel groups comprises a plurality of first semiconductor channels arranged in the second direction, each column of the second channel groups comprises a plurality of second semiconductor channels arranged in the second direction, and the plurality of columns of first channel groups and the plurality of columns of second channel groups are alternately arranged in the first direction;

wherein the plurality of word lines comprise a plurality of first word lines extending in the second direction and a plurality of second word lines extending in the second direction:

wherein each of the plurality of first word lines wraps a part of a side surface of each of the plurality of first semiconductor channels in a corresponding column of first channel groups among the plurality of columns of first channel groups, each of the plurality of second word lines wraps a part of a side surface of each of the plurality of second semiconductor channels in a corresponding column of second channel groups among the plurality of columns of second channel groups, and a distance between a bottom surface of each of the plurality of second word lines and the surface of the substrate is greater than a distance between a bottom surface of each of the plurality of first word lines and the surface of the substrate:

wherein forming the plurality of word lines comprises:

forming the plurality of first word lines, and forming the plurality of second word lines.

3. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure of claim 2 , wherein forming the plurality of first word lines comprises:

forming first trenches, wherein each of the first trenches exposes the part of the side surface of each of the plurality of first semiconductor channels in one column;

forming first initial word lines, wherein the first initial word lines fully fill the first trenches; and

etching back the first initial word lines, wherein retaining parts of the first initial word lines serve as the plurality of first word lines.

4. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure of claim 3 , wherein forming the first trenches comprises:

forming a first sidewall layer, wherein the first sidewall layer covers sidewalls, which are spaced apart from each other in the first direction, of the plurality of semiconductor channels;

forming a mask layer, wherein the mask layer covers the plurality of second semiconductor channels and the first sidewall layer located on the sidewalls of the plurality of second semiconductor channels; and

patterning the first sidewall layer with the mask layer as a mask to form the first trenches.

5. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of second word lines and the sidewall conductive layer are simultaneously formed, wherein forming the plurality of second word lines and the sidewall conductive layer comprises:

forming a first capping layer, wherein the first capping layer is located on top surfaces of the plurality of first word lines;

forming a first isolation layer, wherein the first isolation layer is located between adjacent semiconductor channels, and a top surface of the first isolation layer is higher than the top surfaces of the plurality of first word lines;

forming a second sidewall layer, wherein the second sidewall layer covers a sidewall of the first capping layer and sidewalls of the plurality of second semiconductor channels:

forming a second isolation layer, wherein the second isolation layer is located on the top surface of the first isolation layer, one sidewall of the second isolation layer is in contact with the second sidewall layer covering the sidewall of the first capping layer, and the other sidewall of the second isolation layer is in contact with the second sidewall layer located on the sidewalls of the plurality of second semiconductor channels:

etching back the second sidewall layer to form second trenches; and

forming the plurality of second word lines and the sidewall conductive layer, wherein the plurality of second word lines and the sidewall conductive layer are located in different second trenches.

6. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure of claim 2 , wherein after the plurality of second word lines are formed, the method further comprises:

forming a second capping layer, wherein the second capping layer is located on top surfaces of the plurality of second word lines.

7. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure of claim 1 , wherein one word line, which is close to the surface of the substrate, of the two word lines adjacent to each other in the first direction is defined as a lower word line, and the other word line, which is away from the surface of the substrate, of the two word lines adjacent to each other is defined as an upper word line;

wherein a bottom surface of the upper word line is located on a side, away from the surface of the substrate, of a top surface of the lower word line;

wherein in a process of forming the plurality of word lines, a distance between the top surface of the lower word line and the bottom surface of the upper word line is controlled to be greater than or equal to 3 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm.

8. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of semiconductor channels comprises a first doped region, a channel region and a second doped region which are sequentially arranged, the first doped region is electrically connected to one of the plurality of bit lines, and doping type of the first doped region, doping type of the channel region and doping type of the second doped region are the same.

9. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure of claim 1 , wherein forming the plurality of semiconductor channels arrayed in the first direction and the second direction on the substrate comprises:

patterning the substrate to form a plurality of initial semiconductor channels spaced apart from each other in the second direction; and

patterning the plurality of initial semiconductor channels to form the plurality of semiconductor channels spaced apart from each other in each of the first direction and the second direction.

10. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor structure of claim 1 , wherein a material of each of the plurality of semiconductor channels is silicon, wherein the plurality of bit lines are formed by a silicide process.

11. A semiconductor structure, comprising:

a substrate as well as a plurality of semiconductor channels arrayed in a first direction and a second direction and formed on the substrate:

a plurality of bit lines extending in the first direction, wherein the plurality of bit lines are located in the substrate, and each of the plurality of bit lines is electrically connected to a first plurality of semiconductor channels arranged in the first direction:

a plurality of word lines extending in the second direction, wherein each of the plurality of word lines wraps a part of a side surface of each of a second plurality of semiconductor channels arranged in the second direction, wherein two word lines adjacent to each other in the first direction are spaced apart from each other in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the substrate; and

a sidewall conductive layer, wherein the sidewall conductive layer is located above one of the two word lines adjacent to each other, and the sidewall conductive layer is arranged in the same layer as the other of the two word lines adjacent to each other.

12. The semiconductor structure of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of semiconductor channels comprise:

a plurality of columns of first channel groups and a plurality of columns of second channel groups, wherein each column of the first channel groups comprises a plurality of first semiconductor channels arranged in the second direction, each column of the second channel groups comprises a plurality of second semiconductor channels arranged in the second direction, and the plurality of columns of first channel groups and the plurality of columns of second channel groups are alternately arranged in the first direction:

wherein the plurality of word lines comprise:

a plurality of first word lines extending in the second direction, wherein each of the plurality of first word lines wraps a part of a side surface of each of the plurality of first semiconductor channels in a corresponding column of first channel groups among the plurality of columns of first channel groups; and

a plurality of second word lines extending in the second direction, wherein each of the plurality of second word lines wraps a part of a side surface of each of the plurality of second semiconductor channels in a corresponding column of second channel groups among the plurality of columns of second channel groups, and a distance between a bottom surface of each of the plurality of second word lines and the surface of the substrate is greater than a distance between a bottom surface of each of the plurality of first word lines and the surface of the substrate.

13. The semiconductor structure of claim 12 , wherein the bottom surfaces of the plurality of first word lines are flush with each other, top surfaces of the plurality of first word lines are flush with each other, and wherein the bottom surfaces of the plurality of second word lines are flush with each other, and top surfaces of the plurality of second word lines are flush with each other.

14. The semiconductor structure of claim 12 , wherein the materials of the plurality of first word lines are the same, and the materials of the plurality of second word lines are the same.

15. The semiconductor structure of claim 12 , wherein materials of the plurality of first word lines are different from materials of the plurality of second word lines.

16. The semiconductor structure of claim 12 , further comprising:

a first capping layer and a second capping layer, wherein the first capping layer is located on top surfaces of the plurality of first word lines, and the second capping layer is located on top surfaces of the plurality of second word lines, wherein the sidewall conductive layer is arranged in the same layer as the plurality of second word lines and is located on a side surface of the first capping layer, and a material of the sidewall conductive layer is the same as a conductive material of the plurality of second word lines.

17. The semiconductor structure of claim 16 , further comprising:

a first isolation layer and a second isolation layer, wherein the first isolation layer is located between the plurality of first word lines and the plurality of second word lines adjacent to each other, and a top surface of the first isolation layer is higher than the top surfaces of the plurality of first word lines, wherein the second isolation layer is located on the top surface of the first isolation layer, and is located on side surfaces of the plurality of second word lines and a side surface of the second capping layer.

18. The semiconductor structure of claim 11 , wherein one word line, which is close to the surface of the substrate, of the two word lines adjacent to each other in the first direction is defined as a lower word line, and the other word line, which is away from the surface of the substrate, of the two word lines adjacent to each other is defined as an upper word line; and wherein a bottom surface of the upper word line is located on a side, away from the surface of the substrate, of a top surface of the lower word line.

19. The semiconductor structure of claim 18 , wherein in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate, a distance between the top surface of the lower word line and the bottom surface of the upper word line is greater than or equal to 3 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm.

20. The semiconductor structure of claim 11 , wherein in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate, dimensions of the plurality of word lines are the same.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 21, 2022
From: XIAO, DEYUAN; JIANG, YI; SHAO, GUANGSU; SU, XINGSONG; QIU, YUNSONG
To: CHANGXIN MEMORY TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 061168/0925 →
Priority Claims (1)
CN 202210557400.7 · May 20, 2022 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation PCTCN2022096424 · May 31, 2022
Related Publication 20230020173A1 · Jan 19, 2023
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