Integrated circuit comprising a substrate equipped with a trap-rich region, and fabricating process

Abstract

An integrated circuit includes a substrate having at least one first domain and at least one second domain that is different from the at least one first domain. A trap-rich region is provided in the substrate at the locations of the at least one second domain only. Locations of the at least one first domain do not include the trap-rich region.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit, comprising: a substrate which includes at least one first domain and at least one second domain that is different from said at least one first domain, wherein the substrate contains a trap-rich region that is present in locations of said at least one second domain and is not present in locations of said at least one first domain, and wherein the substrate is a silicon-on-insulator substrate including, in said at least one first domain, a semiconductor film, a first portion of a carrier substrate and a buried insulating layer located between said first portion of the carrier substrate and the semiconductor film, and including, in said second domain, a second portion of the carrier substrate, said second portion surmounted by said trap-rich region, wherein the semiconductor film and said buried insulating layer do not extend into said at least one second domain.

2. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein said at least one first domain contains at least one non-radiofrequency component and said at least one second domain contains at least one radiofrequency component.

3. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the silicon-on-insulator substrate is a fully depleted silicon-on-insulator substrate, the semiconductor film including a fully depleted semiconductor material.

4. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein said trap-rich region comprises at least one stack including a polycrystalline semiconductor layer, and an interface zone that is located between a subjacent portion of the silicon-on-insulator substrate and the polycrystalline semiconductor layer, said interface zone having a different structure from the crystal structure of said polycrystalline semiconductor layer, and from the crystal structure of the subjacent portion of the silicon-on-insulator substrate.

5. The integrated circuit according to claim 4, wherein said at least one polycrystalline semiconductor layer has a thickness comprised between 0.5 and 3 μm.

6. The integrated circuit according to claim 4, wherein the subjacent portion of the silicon-on-insulator substrate is said second portion of the carrier substrate.

7. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the carrier substrate comprises a high-resistivity substrate.

8. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein said trap-rich region comprises at least one stack including a polycrystalline semiconductor layer, and an interface zone that is located between a subjacent portion of the silicon-on-insulator substrate and the polycrystalline semiconductor layer.

9. The integrated circuit according to claim 8, wherein a crystal structure of said interface zone is different from a crystal structure of said polycrystalline semiconductor layer.

10. The integrated circuit according to claim 8, wherein a crystal structure of said interface zone is different from a crystal structure of the subjacent portion of the silicon-on-insulator substrate.

11. The integrated circuit according to claim 8, wherein the subjacent portion of the silicon-on-insulator substrate forms said second portion of the silicon-on-insulator substrate.

12. The integrated circuit according to claim 8, wherein the semiconductor film including a fully depleted semiconductor.

13. The integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein said at least one second domain contains at least one radiofrequency component, said at least one radiofrequency component comprising an inductor separated from an upper surface of the trap-rich region by an insulating layer.

14. The integrated circuit according to claim 13, wherein said insulating layer is a premetal dielectric layer, and wherein said inductor is formed in a first metallization level over said premetal dielectric layer.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent on examining the detailed description of embodiments and methods of implementation, which are in no way limiting, and the appended drawings, in which:

(2) FIGS. 1 to 6 schematically illustrate one method of implementation of a process and one embodiment of an integrated circuit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(3) Of course, to facilitate comprehension, the various elements shown in the figures, and in particular the layers composing the silicon-on-insulator substrate have been shown schematically, and the proportions of these various elements may be different from their actual real-life proportions.

(4) FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate.

(5) The SOI substrate comprises, as is conventionally the case, a semiconductor film 30 that is located above a buried insulating layer 20 (generally of silicon oxide), which is commonly referred to as a BOX (acronym standing for “Buried OXide”), that itself is located above a carrier substrate 10.

(6) In this example, the substrate is in particular an FD-SOI substrate, although the illustrated embodiment may be applied to any type of SOI substrate.

(7) For an FD-SOI substrate, the material forming the semiconductor film, typically silicon, is fully depleted. In this respect, the material has an intrinsic doping density typically of about 10.sup.15 dopant atoms per cm.sup.3. The thickness of the semiconductor film 30 may be comprised between 5 and 6 nm, and the thickness of the insulating layer 20 may be approximately 25 nm.

(8) The carrier substrate 10 may be made from any semiconductor, and in particular be based on single-crystal silicon.

(9) The carrier substrate 10 is here advantageously a high-resistivity semiconductor substrate, i.e. a relatively weakly doped substrate, and typically has a resistivity higher than 1 kohm.Math.cm. This type of substrate is in particular appreciated for the production of radiofrequency components.

(10) Of course, this does not exclude the possibility of using another type of substrate that is not of high resistivity.

(11) In FIG. 2, a hard-mask layer 40 has been deposited on the top side of the semiconductor film 30. This layer is in particular intended to protect the semiconductor film 30 and will also serve, as will be seen below, as an etch mask.

(12) This layer 40 may, for example, be made of silicon nitride, oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO) or any other suitable material.

(13) A photoresist layer 50 has been deposited on the top side of the hard-mask layer 40.

(14) As illustrated in FIG. 3, the integrated circuit that will be produced in and on the substrate 1 includes a plurality of domains.

(15) More precisely, a first domain D1 is intended to receive non-radiofrequency components whereas a second domain D2 is intended to receive radiofrequency components.

(16) Of course, each domain may be formed of one and the same zone or indeed of a plurality of separate zones.

(17) As illustrated in FIG. 3, the process continues, with a view to defining the extent of the domain D2, with a conventional step of photolithography, exposure and development of the resist layer 50 and then, using the remainder of the resist as an etch mask, with a conventional etch GR1, which is known per se, of the hard-mask layer 40.

(18) The upper surface of the buried insulating layer located above the portion 12 of the carrier substrate is then uncovered.

(19) The resist layer 50 is then removed.

(20) As illustrated in FIG. 4, conventional etching operations GR2, which are known per se, are then carried out to form a trench TR that extends as far as into the portion 12 of the carrier substrate 10 (i.e., completely through layers 20 and 30 and partially into substrate 10).

(21) The trench TR has a depth that is, for example, comprised between 0.5 and 2 μm.

(22) This trench TR represents the future location of a trap-rich region.

(23) Thus, this trap-rich region will be located only in the domain D2, which will advantageously contain radiofrequency components.

(24) This presence is advantageous because it allows the harmonic distortion and crosstalk that affects the radiofrequency components of the domain D2 of the substrate 1 to be limited.

(25) This presence does not affect the surface roughness of the semiconductor film 30 of the domain D2 of the FD-SOI substrate 1, because in the (radiofrequency) domain D2, the semiconductor film 30 is not present.

(26) In contrast, even though the semiconductor film 30 is present in the domain D1 of the substrate 1, its roughness is not impacted by the trap-rich region, because it is absent therefrom, this absence not adversely affecting correct operation of the non-radiofrequency components.

(27) As illustrated in FIG. 5, a polycrystalline semiconductor layer 60 is deposited on the upper side of the hard-mask layer 40 and on the wall of the trench TR, so as to fill the trench and form a trap-rich region CP.

(28) To avoid epitaxial growth of the polycrystalline semiconductor layer 60 on the subjacent single-crystal carrier substrate 12, it is advisable to form an interface zone ZI on the internal wall of the trench TR before the polycrystalline semiconductor layer 60 is deposited. This allows the polycrystalline semiconductor layer to be formed without epitaxial lattice matching and, therefore, the traps that lead to the formation of the trap-rich region to form.

(29) Various techniques may be employed to form the interface zone ZI. Thus it is possible to expose the wall of the trench TR to an environment containing oxidizing species.

(30) The effects of the oxidation create, in the internal wall (i.e., sidewalls and bottom) of the trench TR, a layer ZI of very small thickness of the order of one nanometer, which has a structure that is different from the crystal structure of the grains of the polycrystalline semiconductor 60 and from the subjacent single-crystal carrier substrate 12.

(31) This oxidation may be achieved via a controlled thermal oxidation of the rapid-thermal-oxidation (RTO) type, i.e. oxidation the rate of which is increased by heating the internal wall TR, typically to a temperature between 550° C. and 900° C., in the presence of an oxidizing atmosphere.

(32) It is also possible to achieve this oxidation by carrying out a wet chemical oxidizing treatment using any conventional processing method.

(33) Among the other possible ways of producing the interface zone ZI mention may be made of the ion implantation of non-doping species such as argon, germanium or any other heavy ion. Such an ion bombardment allows a large number of crystal defects to be created in the internal wall of the trench TR, or said internal wall to be at least partially amorphized, i.e. the crystalline arrangement at the surface of the grains to be broken, thereby allowing epitaxial growth during the deposition of the polycrystalline semiconductor 60 to be avoided.

(34) Thus, once the interface layer ZI has been produced, the polycrystalline semiconductor layer 60 may be deposited in the trench TR and on the hard-mask layer 40.

(35) The polycrystalline semiconductor layer CP may be deposited using a chemical-vapor-deposition technique, so as to form a layer the thickness of which is preferably comprised between 500 nanometers and 2000 nanometers or indeed more, 3000 nanometers for example.

(36) Optionally, after it has been deposited, the polycrystalline semiconductor layer 60 may undergo a heat treatment tailored to its thickness and to its nature, so as to stabilize its structure by recrystallizing it.

(37) Of course, other deposition techniques may be employed to form this layer, for example low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), or more generally any type of deposition technique known to allow polycrystalline semiconductor layers to be produced.

(38) A plurality of “polycrystalline-semiconductor-layer/interface-zone” stacks could be produced to form the trap-rich region CP.

(39) Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the polycrystalline semiconductor layer 60 is planarized, for example by chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). The hard-mask layer 40 is also removed.

(40) The steps used to form the integrated circuit are carried out on the whole of a semiconductor wafer. These steps are what are called “wafer scale” operations.

(41) Thus, it is possible, before the polycrystalline semiconductor layer 60 is planarized by chemical mechanical polishing, to partially etch the layer 60 in the domain D1 with the aim of removing the polycrystalline semiconductor layer 60 present in this domain.

(42) This method allows the need to subsequently carry out wafer-scale planarization of a very large area, which may lead to dips forming in certain locations, to be avoided.

(43) After the hard mask layer 40 has been removed, a sill remains between the upper portion of the semiconductor film 30 and the upper portion of the trap-rich region CP. It is possible to leave the sill as such or to remove the sill, preferably corresponding to the thickness of the hard-mask layer 40, locally.

(44) Next, as illustrated in FIG. 6, isolating regions ZIS, for example corresponding to shallow trench isolations, or to a local oxide (LOCOS for “LOCal Oxidation of Silicon”), are produced in the semiconductor film 13.

(45) Next, in a conventional way, non-radiofrequency components TRR, transistors for example, are produced in the domain D1, and, also, in a conventional way, radiofrequency components CR, inductors for example, are produced in the domain D2. These radiofrequency components are in practice separated from the trap-rich region by a dielectric region RD, which is generally thick. When these components are for example produced in the first metallization level of the integrated circuit, the region RD is the region known to those skilled in the art as the “PMD region” (PMD: PreMetal Dielectric).

(46) Next, the fabrication of the integrated circuit IC is completed with usual and conventional steps well known by those skilled in the art and which are not shown here for the sake of simplicity.

(47) As illustrated in FIG. 6, the integrated circuit IC here comprises the FD-SOI substrate 10, the first domain D1 and the second domain D2. The substrate contains a trap-rich region only in the second domain D2.

(48) The first domain D1 includes a semiconductor film 30 on which non-radiofrequency components TRR are present.

(49) The second domain D2 includes, apart from the trap-rich region CP, radiofrequency components CR formed on the top side of said trap-rich region CP. The trap-rich region CP is separated from the second portion 12 of the carrier substrate 10 by the interface zone ZI.

(50) The invention is not limited to these methods of implementation but encompasses any variant thereof. For example, although an SOI substrate has been described, the invention is applicable to a bulk substrate comprising a trap-rich region only in certain locations.