Vertical NAND device with low capacitance and silicided word lines

[0001] The present invention relates generally to the field of semiconductor devices and specifically to three dimensional vertical NAND strings and other three dimensional devices and methods of making thereof.

[0002] Three dimensional vertical NAND strings are disclosed in an article by T. Endoh, et. al., titled “Novel Ultra High Density Memory With A Stacked-Surrounding Gate Transistor (S-SGT) Structured Cell”, IEDM Proc. (2001) 33-36. However, this NAND string provides only one bit per cell. Furthermore, the active regions of the NAND string is formed by a relatively difficult and time consuming process involving repeated formation of sidewall spacers and etching of a portion of the substrate, which results in a roughly conical active region shape.

[0003] An embodiment relates to a three dimensional memory device including a substrate and a semiconductor channel. At least one end portion of the semiconductor channel extends substantially perpendicular to a major surface of the substrate. The device also includes at least one charge storage region located adjacent to semiconductor channel and a plurality of control gate electrodes having a strip shape extending substantially parallel to the major surface of the substrate. The plurality of control gate electrodes include at least a first control gate electrode located in a first device level and a second control gate electrode located in a second device level located over the major surface of the substrate and below the first device level. Each of the plurality of control gate electrodes includes a first edge surface which is substantially free of silicide, the first edge surface facing the semiconductor channel and the at least one charge storage region and a silicide located on remaining surfaces of the control gate electrode.

[0004] Another embodiment relates to a method of making a three dimensional memory device. The method includes providing a plurality of columns extending substantially perpendicular to a major surface of the substrate in which each column includes a core with a semiconductor channel, a first shell with a tunnel dielectric, a second shell with a charge storage material and a third shell with a blocking dielectric. Each column is surrounded by a stack of alternating layers of a first material and a second material over the major surface of the substrate. The first material includes a Group IV semiconductor control gate material. The second material includes a sacrificial material and the stack comprises at least one trench separating a first column from a second column. The method also includes removing the layers of sacrificial material to form air gaps between the layers of semiconductor control gate material and forming a silicide on surfaces of the layers of semiconductor control gate material exposed by removal of the sacrificial material.

[0015] Embodiments include monolithic three dimensional NAND strings and methods of making three dimensional NAND strings. In an embodiment, the NAND string may be formed with a single vertical channel. In one aspect, the vertical channel has a solid, rod shape. In this aspect, the entire channel comprises a semiconductor material. In another aspect, the vertical channel has a hollow cylinder shape. In this aspect, the vertical channel includes a non-semiconductor core surrounded by a semiconductor channel shell. The core may be unfilled or filled with an insulating material, such as silicon oxide or silicon nitride. Alternatively, the NAND string may have a U shape (also known as a “pipe” shape) with two vertical channel wing portions connected with a horizontal channel connecting the wing portions. In one aspect, the U shaped or pipe shaped channel may be solid, as in the solid rod shaped vertical channel NAND. In another aspect, the U shaped or pipe shaped channel may be hollow cylinder shaped, as in the hollow cylinder pipe shaped vertical channel NAND. The U-shaped pipe channel may be filled or unfilled. Separate front side and back side methods for fabricating both single vertical channel and U shaped channel NAND strings are taught in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/827,947, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for teaching of the separate front and back side processing methods. Combination front side and back side methods for fabricating both single vertical channel and U shaped channel NAND strings are taught in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/083,775, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for teaching combination front side and back side processing methods.

[0016] Vertical channel, Bit Cost Scalable (BiCS) NAND memory and U-shaped (i.e., “pipe-shaped”) BiCS (p-BiCS) were developed for ultra high density storage devices. However, earlier BiCS and p-BiCS 3D NAND architectures suffer from relatively high control gate/word line resistances and capacitances. These resistances and capacitances reduce cell efficiency and increase the power consumption of the memory device.

[0017] The inventors have discovered that modification of the BiCS and p-BiCS processes allows improved silicidation of the control gates/word lines. The silicidation of the control gates/word lines lowers the resistance of the control gates/word lines, resulting in a decrease in device power consumption and providing an increase in cell efficiency. Additional modification of the BiCS and p-BiCS processes to include air gaps between control gates/word lines in adjacent device levels (i.e., air gaps between vertically separated control gates) lowers the capacitance between the control gates/word lines. This also results in a decrease in device power consumption and increases the cell efficiency.

[0018] As used herein, the term “control gate” and “word line” refer to the same electrically conductive entity. A control gate may be considered a portion of a word line located adjacent to and controlling one NAND cell in an array of NAND cells. A word line controls plural NAND cells in the array. Thus, the word line may be considered to be a portion of the electrically conductive entity which connects the control gates. However, it should be understood that the word line and its control gate portions may be formed during the same step and may comprise the same one or more electrically conductive layers as will be described below.

[0019] FIGS. 1A-1F illustrate a method of making a three dimensional memory device (e.g., vertical NAND string) according to an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, a substrate 100 is provided with a stack of alternating layers of a first material layer 102 and a second material layer 104 formed over the major surface 100a of the substrate 100.

[0020] The substrate 100 can be any semiconducting substrate known in the art, such as monocrystalline silicon, IV-IV compounds such as silicon-germanium or silicon-germanium-carbon, III-V compounds, II-VI compounds, epitaxial layers over such substrates, or any other semiconducting or non-semiconducting material, such as silicon oxide, glass, plastic, metal or ceramic substrate. The substrate 100 may include integrated circuits fabricated thereon, such as driver circuits for a memory device.

[0021] Layers 102 and 104 may be deposited over the substrate 100 by any suitable deposition method, such as sputtering, CVD, PECVD, MBE, etc. Preferably, the first material layer 102 is suitable for use as a control gate. Suitable materials include, but are not limited to, heavily doped Group IV semiconductors, such as silicon (e.g., polysilicon), silicon germanium, silicon carbide, etc. The semiconductor may be p-type or n-type doped and have a doping concentration between 10¹⁷ cm⁻³ and 10²¹ cm ⁻³.

[0022] The second material layer 104 includes a sacrificial material. Any sacrificial material that may be selectively etched compared to the first material may be used. For example, if the first material layer 102 is p-doped polysilicon, the sacrificial materials 104 may be intrinsic polysilicon (i.e., doping below 10¹⁶ cm ⁻³). Alternatively, the second material layer 104 may comprise a metal or an insulating material (e.g., silicon oxide, silicon nitride, etc.) that may be selectively etched with respect to the first mater layer 102. The stack may be covered with a top layer of insulating material 106, such as silicon oxide or silicon nitride.

[0023] After deposition of the layers 102 and 104, the stack may be etched to form memory holes 108 and slit trenches 110. The slit trenches 110 may be filled with a sacrificial material 110A, such as silicon nitride or another material which can be selectively etched compared to materials of layer 102 and 104, while the memory cells are formed in the memory holes 108. For example, the slit trenches 110 may be formed first using lithography and etching, then the trenches 110 may be filled with the sacrificial material 110A, followed by formation of the memory holes 108 using another lithography and etching step.

[0024] In an embodiment, the memory cells 150 (e.g., vertical NAND strings) may be formed with a series of conformal deposition steps of the memory film and channel column portions 151 of the memory cells 150 in the memory holes 108, as shown in FIG. 1B. Conformal deposition techniques include, but are not limited to, atomic layer deposition (ALD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

[0025] For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a layer of blocking dielectric 112 may first be conformally deposited in the memory holes 108. Next, a layer of charge storage material 114 may be conformally deposited on the layer of blocking dielectric 112 in the memory holes 108. A layer of tunnel dielectric 116 may then be conformally deposited on the charge storage material 114 in the memory holes 108. The central portion of the memory hole 108 may then be filled with a semiconductor channel material 118, such as polysilicon.

[0026] The channel 118 material may comprise lightly doped p-type or n-type (i.e., doping below 10¹⁷ cm⁻³) semiconductor material (e.g., polysilicon). An n-channel device is preferred since it is easily connected with n+ junctions (i.e., source and drain n+ doped regions having a doping concentration between 10¹⁷ cm⁻³ and 10²¹ cm⁻³ located at the opposite ends of each channel). However, a p-channel device may also be used. Other semiconductor materials (e.g., SiGe, SiC, Ge, III-V, II-VI, etc.) may also be used.

[0027] The blocking dielectric 112 may comprise a silicon oxide layer deposited by conformal atomic layer deposition (ALD) or chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Other high-k dielectric materials, such as hafnium oxide, may be used instead or in addition to silicon oxide. Dielectric 112 may have a thickness of 6 to 20 nm. The charge storage region 114 may comprise a silicon nitride layer deposited by any suitable method, such as ALD, CVD, etc., and have a thickness of 2 to 20 nm. The tunnel dielectric 116 may comprise a relatively thin insulating layer (e.g., 4 to 10 nm thick) of silicon oxide or other suitable material, such as oxynitride, oxide and nitride multi layer stacks, or a high-k dielectric (e.g., hafnium oxide), deposited by any suitable method, such as ALD, CVD.

[0028] The result of the conformal depositions is formation of memory cell 150 columns 151 substantially perpendicular to the major surface of the substrate. Each memory cell column 151 includes a semiconductor channel core 118, a first shell of tunnel dielectric 116, a second shell of charge storage material 114 and a third shell of blocking dielectric 112. The blocking dielectric layer, the charge storage material (i.e., the charge trapping layer), and a tunnel dielectric layer extend substantially perpendicular to the major surface 110A of the substrate 100 between the semiconductor channel 118 and the plurality of control gate electrodes 102.

[0029] In an embodiment, a surface 102D of the control gate layer 102 directly, physically contacts the blocking dielectric layer 112, as shown in FIGS. 1F and 2.

[0030] In an alternative embodiment, the semiconductor channel core 118 may include an inner core of insulating material surrounded by a shell of semiconductor material. In an alternative configuration, the charge storage material 114 may be formed of a multilayer composite, such as an oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO) multilayer, and/or the blocking dielectric 112 may comprise a tri-layer ONO dielectric, such that the memory film comprises ONO (112)-N (114)-O (116).

[0031] As illustrated in FIG. 1C, the top layer of insulating material 106 may then be etched to expose openings 122 in a top layer of semiconducting material 124 to form upper select gates 123. In an embodiment, the memory cells 150 are configured with vertical pillar channels 118 and the upper select gates 123 are drain select gates. In this configuration, source select gates 125 are formed at the opposite (substrate) end of the vertical channel, as shown in FIG. 3A. Alternatively, the memory cells 150 are configured with U shaped channels 118 and the select gates include respective drain select gates and source select gates 123, 125 at the upper end of each respective wing portion 118A of the U shaped channel 118, as shown in FIG. 3B. The wing portions 118A are connected by the horizontal channel 118B located in or on the substrate 100.

[0032] In an embodiment, a support mask 126 may be deposited over the top layer of insulating material 106 after the openings 122 are formed. The support mask 126 provides support to the memory device after the layers of sacrificial materials 110A and 104 are removed. The support mask 126 may be made of any suitable material, such as an oxide or nitride hard mask material. As shown in FIG. 2, the mask 126 may be a mesh shaped mask which includes clear or open gap portions 126A surrounded by dark or solid cross bar mesh support portions 126B.

[0033] In the next step, as illustrated in FIG. 1E, the sacrificial material 110A in the slit trenches 110 may be removed. This removal may be accomplished by selectively etching (e.g., wet etching) the sacrificial material 110A in the trenches 110 through the gaps 126A in the mask 126 without etching the other materials or layers in the device. Removing the material 110A in the trenches 110 exposes the side edges of layers of sacrificial material 104 in the stack.

[0034] The layers of sacrificial material 104 may then be removed by selective etching (e.g., wet etching) through the slit trenches 110, as illustrated in FIG. 1F. This results in terraces of exposed control gate 102 material which are supported by the memory cell columns 151. The support mask 126 provides additional support to the memory cell columns 151. The control gates 102 are separated in the vertical direction by the air gaps 104A where the sacrificial material layers 104 were previously located and in the horizontal direction by the slit trenches 110.

[0035] After formation of the air gaps 104A, the exposed surfaces of the control gates 102 are silicided to form a silicide layer 128 on the exposed surfaces of the polysilicon control gates 102. The silicide layer 128 may be formed by conformally depositing a thin layer of metal, such as tungsten, cobalt, nickel or titanium, or a combination of two more of these metals, on the exposed control gate polysilicon material and heating the device to react the thin layer of metal with the control gate material. The metal layer may be formed through the gaps 126A in the mask 126 and through the trenches 110 and air gaps 104A. The silicide layer 128 is formed on the upper 102A and lower 102B surfaces of the exposed control gates 102 as well as on the exposed face 102C of the control gate 102 opposite the face 102D that contacts the charge storage region 112 of the memory device 150. The upper and lower surfaces 102A, 102B of the control gates 102 are positioned substantially parallel to the major surface 100A of the substrate 100, while edge surfaces or faces 102C, 102D of the control gate 102 are positioned substantially perpendicular to the major surface 100A of the substrate 100. The silicide layer 128 is also formed on the side wall of the select gates 123, 125 exposed in the trenches 122.

[0036] In the completed device, the each memory cell includes a source electrode 130 and a drain electrode 132. Methods of making the source electrode 130 and a drain electrode 132 are described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 12/827,947 and 13/083,775, hereby incorporated by reference. In a pillar channel configuration shown in FIG. 3A, the drain electrode 130 may be formed at that top of the vertical memory column 151 and the source electrode 132 may be formed in the substrate 100. In a U-shaped channel configuration shown in FIG. 3B, both the source and drain electrodes 132, 130 may be formed contacting the source and drain regions at the top of the wings 118A of the vertical memory column(s) 151.

[0037] As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, the control gates 102 in adjacent memory cells 150 in a device level may be connected to each other in a strip 134. The strips 134 connected to a given word line may be combed shaped and strips connected to adjacent word lines may be interdigitated as shown in FIG. 2. As noted above, the strips 134 and individual control gates 102 may be considered portions of the word line rather than discreet elements.

[0038] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the control gate strips 134 surround a single row of memory cell 150 pillars 151. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 4, each control gate 102 strip 134 may surround two rows of pillars 151 (i.e., wings 118A) of adjacent NAND strings (i.e., memory cells) 150.

[0039] In the U-shaped channel configuration of FIG. 3B, the horizontal channel portion 118B of the U-shaped channel 118 connects adjacent channel wing portions 118A under the slit trenches 110, as shown in FIGS. 3B and 4. Thus, the horizontal portion 118B of the U-shaped channel 118 extends substantially perpendicular to the elongation direction of the strips 134 of control gates 102. The drain select gates 123 of adjacent memory cells may be connected to each other via a source line while the source select gates 125 of adjacent memory cells may be connected to each other via a bit line (not shown). While the U-shaped NAND strings 150 are illustrated with the control gate strip 134 surrounding two rows of pillars 151 configuration of FIG. 4, it should be understood that the U-shaped NAND strings 150 may also be used with the control gate strip 134 surrounding one row of pillars 151 configuration of FIG. 2.

[0040] FIG. 4 illustrates three control gate strips 134A, 134B and 134C located in the same device level. Control gate strip 134B is located between strips 134A and 134C. Control gate strips 134A and 134C are electrically connected to the same word line WL, while control gate strip 134B is electrically connected to a different word line (not shown), such that strip 134B is interdigitated between strips 134A and 134C in the same device level. The strips 134A, 134B and 134C are separated from each other by air gap trenches 110. A first wing portion 118A of the semiconductor channel 118 of the NAND string 150 (shown by dashed lines) extends through and is surrounded by strip 134C (as well as other strips located above and below strip 134C, such as strip 134D shown in FIG. 1F). The second wing portion 118A of the semiconductor channel 118 extends through and is surrounded by strip 134B (as well as other strips located above and below strip 134B, such as strip 134E shown in FIG. 1F). The connecting portion 118B (shown in dashed lines) of the semiconductor channel 118 is located below the air gap trench 110 which separates the strips.

[0041] Although the foregoing refers to particular preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not so limited. It will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments and that such modifications are intended to be within the scope of the invention. All of the publications, patent applications and patents cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.