In certain aspects, a semiconductor device includes a substrate, a first trench isolation in the substrate, a first doped region formed below the first trench isolation, a second doped region formed in the substrate, and a first gate structure formed adjacent to the second doped region. The first doped region is an ion implantation region, and a distance between the first doped region and the second doped region is equal to or more than 0.6 m.

The present disclosure describes a method that mitigates the formation of facets in source/drain silicon germanium (SiGe) epitaxial layers. The method includes forming an isolation region around a semiconductor layer and a gate structure partially over the semiconductor layer and the isolation region. Disposing first photoresist structures over the gate structure, a portion of the isolation region, and a portion of the semiconductor layer and doping, with germanium (Ge), exposed portions of the semiconductor layer and exposed portions of the isolation region to form Ge-doped regions that extend from the semiconductor layer to the isolation region. The method further includes disposing second photoresist structures over the isolation region and etching exposed Ge-doped regions in the semiconductor layer to form openings, where the openings include at least one common sidewall with the Ge-doped regions in the isolation region. Finally the method includes growing a SiGe epitaxial stack in the openings.

Integrated circuit transistor structures are disclosed that reduce n-type dopant diffusion, such as phosphorous or arsenic, from the source region and the drain region of a germanium n-MOS device into adjacent shallow trench isolation (STI) regions during fabrication. The n-MOS transistor device may include at least 75% germanium by atomic percentage. In an example embodiment, the STI is doped with an n-type impurity, in regions of the STI adjacent to the source and/or drain regions, to provide dopant diffusion reduction. In some embodiments, the STI region is doped with an n-type impurity including Phosphorous in a concentration between 1 and 10% by atomic percentage. In some embodiments, the thickness of the doped STI region may range between 10 and 100 nanometers.

A method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes forming a first shallow trench isolation structure in a first region of a substrate and second shallow trench isolation structures in a second region of the substrate. The method also includes forming a mask layer over the substrate, the first shallow trench isolation structure, and the second shallow trench isolation structures. The method further includes etching the mask layer and second shallow trench isolation structures in the second region sequentially to form a semiconductor protrusion between the second shallow trench isolation structures.

A semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. The semiconductor device includes a substrate and a first isolation structure. The substrate has a cell region and a peripheral region. The first isolation structure is disposed in the cell region of the substrate. The first isolation structure includes a first dielectric layer and a second dielectric layer. The second dielectric layer is spaced apart from the substrate by the first dielectric layer. The second dielectric layer is doped with an impurity.

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: performing a first etching operation to form a first trench in a semiconductor substrate; forming a doped region to on a first sidewall of the first trench; performing a second etching operation on the first trench to form a second trench in the semiconductor substrate; depositing a dielectric material in the first and second trenches to form an isolation structure, wherein the isolation structure defines a channel region of the semiconductor device from a top-view perspective; and depositing a dielectric layer on the semiconductor substrate over the doped region and the channel region.

A solid-state imaging element of an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a semiconductor substrate including a photoelectric conversion section for each pixel; a pixel transistor provided on one surface of the semiconductor substrate; and an element separation section provided in the semiconductor substrate and including a first element separation section and a second element separation section that have mutually different configurations, the element separation section defining an active region of the pixel transistor, in which the second element separation section has, on a side surface, a first semiconductor region and a second semiconductor region that have mutually different impurity concentrations in a depth direction of the second element separation section.

A semiconductor structure is disclosed. The semiconductor structure includes: a semiconductor substrate having a front surface and a back surface facing opposite to the front surface; a filling material extending from the front surface into the semiconductor substrate without penetrating through the semiconductor substrate, the filling material including an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion being in contact with the semiconductor substrate; and an epitaxial layer lined between the lower portion of the filling material and the semiconductor substrate. An associated manufacturing method is also disclosed.

A semiconductor structure includes a substrate of a first conductive type, a device region including an active element and covering a portion of the substrate, and a trench region including a trench structure and in direct contact with the device region and with the substrate. The trench structure includes a bottom-filling material, a top-filling material covering the bottom-filling material, and a shield spacer surrounding the bottom-filling material and the top-filling material. There is a discontinuous grain interface disposed between the bottom-filling material and the top-filling material.