Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing a semiconductor device
10249584 · 2019-04-02
Assignee
Inventors
- Takeshi Morita (Chiba, JP)
- Shinjiro Kato (Chiba, JP)
- Masaru Akino (Chiba, JP)
- Yukihiro Imura (Chiba, JP)
Cpc classification
H01L2224/05638
ELECTRICITY
H01L2924/00014
ELECTRICITY
H01L2924/00014
ELECTRICITY
H01L2224/05567
ELECTRICITY
H01L2224/0345
ELECTRICITY
H01L2224/05638
ELECTRICITY
H01L2224/05008
ELECTRICITY
H01L2224/03011
ELECTRICITY
H01L23/564
ELECTRICITY
International classification
Abstract
A semiconductor device includes: a substrate; a wiring formed above the substrate; a titanium nitride film formed on the wiring; an oxide film formed on the titanium nitride film; a silicon nitride film formed on the oxide film; and a pad portion exposing the wiring, and formed at a place where a first opening portion formed in the silicon nitride film and a second opening portion formed in the titanium nitride film overlap with each other in plan view, and being inside a third opening portion formed in the oxide film in plan view, wherein the silicon nitride film is formed on top of and in contact with the titanium nitride film inside the third opening portion in plan view.
Claims
1. A semiconductor device, comprising: a substrate; a wiring formed above the substrate; a titanium nitride film formed on the wiring; an oxide film formed on the titanium nitride film; a silicon nitride film formed on the oxide film; and a pad portion exposing the wiring, and formed within a region where a first opening portion formed in the silicon nitride film and a second opening portion formed in the titanium nitride film overlap with each other in a plan view, and being inside a third opening portion formed in the oxide film in the plan view, the silicon nitride film being formed on top of and in partial contact with the titanium nitride film inside the third opening portion in the plan view.
2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein a shortest lateral distance between the overlap of the first opening portion and the second opening portion in the plan view and an inner wall of the third opening portion is from 0.8 m to 9.0 m.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
(10) The inventors of the present invention have acquired the following findings as a result of extensive research.
(11) The inventors of the present invention have examined the corrosion of the titanium nitride film caused by a long-term reliability test (THB) that involves bias application under a high-temperature and high-humidity environment in a semiconductor device of the related art which includes an anti-reflection film made of titanium nitride.
(12) The examination has revealed that a surface of the titanium nitride film which opposes the oxide film in the vicinity of the opening portion for exposing the pad portion is particularly liable to corrode when the titanium nitride film and an oxide film are formed on a wiring in the stated order, and a pad portion which exposes the wiring is formed at a place where a third opening portion formed in the oxide film and a second opening portion formed in the titanium nitride film overlap with each other in plan view.
(13) It is presumed that the corrosion in the surface of the titanium nitride film which opposes the oxide film is accelerated by the generation of titanium oxide as a result of reaction between titanium atoms in the titanium nitride film and moisture infiltrating through the oxide film from the opening portion for exposing the pad portion because the generation of titanium oxide lowers the adhesion of the opposing surface, thereby allowing more moisture to infiltrate in the opposing surface.
(14) In view of this, the inventors of the present invention have made a further study on the titanium nitride film as an anti-reflection film, the oxide film formed on the titanium nitride film, and the silicon nitride film formed as a protection film on the oxide film, while paying attention to planar arrangement around the pad portion. A positional relation effective against the corrosion has been found as a result, in which the pad portion is formed inside the third opening portion formed in the oxide film in plan view, and the silicon nitride film is formed on top of and in contact with the titanium nitride film inside the third opening portion in plan view. In this positional relation, the first opening portion formed in the silicon nitride film and the second opening portion formed in the titanium nitride film have the same size and are positioned in overlapping places, thereby defining the perimeter of the pad portion, and the oxide film is placed apart from the pad portion. It may therefore be said that the third opening portion formed in the oxide film is outside the first opening portion and the second opening portion.
(15) In a semiconductor device having this positional relation, the absence of the oxide film inside the third opening portion in plan view means that the titanium nitride film does not have the surface which opposes the oxide film and which is susceptible to corrosion, inside the third opening portion in plan view. In addition, the silicon nitride film, which has fine water resistance, is formed on top of and in contact with the titanium nitride film inside the third opening portion in plan view. Moisture can consequently be prevented from infiltrating in the surface of the titanium nitride film which opposes the oxide film from the opening portion for exposing the pad portion. The contact between the silicon nitride film and the top of the titanium nitride film also supplies nitrogen atoms from the silicon nitride film to the titanium nitride film, which causes reaction between dangling bonds of titanium atoms in the titanium nitride film and nitrogen atoms in the silicon nitride film. A dangling bond in a titanium atom tends to react with moisture infiltrating from the opening portion for exposing the pad, resulting in the generation of titanium oxide. In contrast, when a dangling bond in a titanium atom is occupied with a nitrogen atom as described above, moisture entering the titanium nitride film has a small chance of causing the generation of titanium oxide. As a result, corrosion is hardly caused on the titanium nitride film, and hence detachment at the boundary between the titanium nitride film and the silicon nitride film can be prevented, and the semiconductor device can be given high reliability.
(16) The inventors of the present invention have also found out that, when the pad portion which exposes the wiring is formed at a place where the first opening portion formed in the silicon nitride film and the second opening portion formed in the titanium nitride film overlap with each other in plan view, and is inside the third opening portion formed in the oxide film in plan view, and the silicon nitride film is formed on top of and in contact with the titanium nitride film inside the third opening portion in plan view, production of the semiconductor device is efficient for a reason given below.
(17) In the semiconductor device structured as this, the first opening portion to be formed in the silicon nitride film and the second opening portion to be formed in the titanium nitride film are formed continuously on an inner wall of the opening for exposing the pad portion. The first opening portion and the second opening portion can accordingly be formed by etching the silicon nitride film and the titanium nitride film successively with the use of the same mask. In addition, the same etching gas can be used to etch the silicon nitride film and the titanium nitride film. Efficient production of the semiconductor device is therefore accomplished by the successive etching method which uses the same etching gas and does not require switching the etching gas when the titanium nitride film is to be etched after the etching of the silicon nitride film.
(18) The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Some of the drawings referred to in the following description are enlarged views of characteristic portions, which are enlarged for convenience of making the characteristics of the present invention understood easier, and the ratios of the dimensions of components to one another and the like may differ from actuality. The materials, dimensions, and the like given in the following description are an example, and the present invention is not limited thereto. The present invention can be carried out in suitably varied modes without losing the effects of the present invention.
(19) [Semiconductor Device]
(20)
(21) A semiconductor device 10 of this embodiment includes a substrate 1, a wiring 6 which is formed above the substrate 1 with an interlayer insulating film 2 interposed between the two, a titanium nitride film 7 which is formed on the wiring 6 to serve as an anti-reflection film, an oxide film 3 which is formed on the titanium nitride film 7, and a silicon nitride film 4 which is formed on the oxide film 3 to serve as a protection film.
(22) As illustrated in
(23) The pad portion 8 in the semiconductor device 10 according to this embodiment is also positioned, in plan view, inside a third opening portion 93 formed in the oxide film 3 as illustrated in
(24) The silicon nitride film 4 in the semiconductor device 10 according to this embodiment is formed on top of and in contact with the titanium nitride film 71 inside the third opening portion 93 in plan view as illustrated in
(25) A substrate made of silicon or other known materials can be used as the substrate 1.
(26) The interlayer insulating film 2 can be a known insulating film, for example, a SiO.sub.2 film, or an oxide film having tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) (Si(OC.sub.2H.sub.5).sub.4) as a raw material.
(27) The oxide film 3 is a protection film, and is formed so as to cover the wiring 6 which has on a top surface thereof the titanium nitride film 7 serving as an anti-reflection film.
(28) A silicon oxide film is preferred as the oxide film 3. Specifically, a SiO.sub.2 film, an oxide film having TEOS as a raw material, or a similar film can be used.
(29) A preferred thickness of the oxide film 3 is from 2,000 to 8,000 , and a thickness of about 5,000 is even more preferred.
(30) The silicon nitride film 4 is provided as a protection film. The silicon nitride film 4 which has excellent water resistance is a favorable protection film.
(31) The silicon nitride film 4 is preferred to be high in nitrogen content in order to supply nitrogen atoms efficiently to the titanium nitride film 7 which is arranged so as to be in contact with the silicon nitride film 4. Specifically, preferred nitrogen content in the silicon nitride film is 1.2 times higher than the silicon content or more in atomic composition ratio. The nitrogen content in the silicon nitride film 4 can be measured by, for example, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).
(32) A preferred thickness of the silicon nitride film 4 is from 5,000 to 15,000 , and a thickness of about 10,000 is even more preferred.
(33) In the semiconductor device 10 of
(34) In the semiconductor device 10 of
(35) The wiring 6 is made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. Examples of the aluminum alloy used include an alloy of aluminum, silicon, and copper, an alloy of aluminum and copper, and an alloy of aluminum and silicon.
(36) A preferred thickness of the wiring 6 is from 3,000 to 30,000 , and a thickness of about 20,000 is even more preferred.
(37) The titanium nitride film 7 is an anti-reflection film and also serves as a wiring.
(38) A preferred thickness of the titanium nitride film 7 is from 250 to 800 , and a thickness of about 400 is even more preferred.
(39) In
(40) The pad portion 8 illustrated in
(41) The wiring 6 in which the pad portion 8 is formed has a width d2 as illustrated in
(42) The distance from the side surface 6a of the wiring 6 which forms the pad portion 8 and the perimeter of the pad portion 8 to the inner wall of the third opening portion 93 is d3 in plan view as illustrated in
(43) The shortest distance in plan view between the inner wall of the third opening portion 93 and an outer edge of the pad portion 8 (the outer edge is where the first opening portion 91 and the second opening portion 92 overlap with each other in plan view), in other words, the width of a part of the titanium nitride film 71 that is placed inside the third opening 93 in plan view, is d1 as illustrated in
(44) [Method of Manufacturing Semiconductor Device]
(45) A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present invention is described next by taking as an example a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device of
(46) To manufacture the semiconductor device 10 illustrated in
(47) Specifically, the interlayer insulating film 2 is formed on the substrate 1 as illustrated in
(48) The titanium nitride film 7 is formed next on the wiring 6 as illustrated in
(49) Next, the wiring 6 and the titanium nitride film 7 are patterned into a given shape as illustrated in
(50) The oxide film 3 is formed next on the wiring layer 5 which includes the wiring 6 and the titanium nitride film 7 so as to cover the wiring layer 5 as illustrated in
(51) The oxide film 3 is patterned next as illustrated in
(52) Etching gas used to etch the oxide film 3 can be, for example, a mixed gas containing CHF.sub.3, CF.sub.4, and Ar.
(53) Next, the silicon nitride film 4 is formed on the oxide film 3 and above the third opening portion 93 as illustrated in
(54) It is preferred to give the silicon nitride film 4 a high nitrogen content by forming the silicon nitride film 4 under a condition in which the flow rate of gas containing nitrogen (N.sub.2 or NH.sub.3) is set high in plasma CVD, in order to supply nitrogen atoms efficiently to the titanium nitride film 7 which is arranged so as to be in contact with the silicon nitride film 4.
(55) Next, a known photolithography method and a known etching method are used to etch the silicon nitride film 4 and the titanium nitride film 7 successively with the use of the same mask and the same etching gas. In this manner, the pad portion 8 which exposes the wiring 6 at the bottom through the silicon nitride film 4 and the titanium nitride film 7 is formed inside the third opening portion 93 in plan view as illustrated in
(56) Etching gas used to etch the silicon nitride film 4 and the titanium nitride film 7 can be CF.sub.4 gas, for example.
(57) In this embodiment, it is preferred to form the pad portion 8 in the pad portion forming step at a place where the shortest distance d1 in plan view between the inner wall of the third opening portion 93 and the outer edge of the pad portion 8 (the outer edge is where the first opening portion 91 formed in the silicon nitride film 4 and the second opening portion 92 formed in the titanium nitride film 7 overlap with each other in plan view) (in other words, the width of the part of the titanium nitride film 71 that is placed inside the third opening portion 93 in plan view) is from 0.8 m to 9.0 m. With the distance d1 set to from 0.8 m to 9.0 m, the resultant semiconductor device 10 is hardly affected in terms of downsizing and effectively prevents the corrosion of the titanium nitride film 7.
(58) Through the steps described above, the semiconductor device 10 illustrated in
(59) In the semiconductor device 10 according to this embodiment, the pad portion 8 is formed at a place where the first opening portion 91 formed in the silicon nitride film 4 and the second opening portion 92 formed in the titanium nitride film 7 overlap with each other in plan view, and is inside the third opening portion 93 formed in the oxide film 3 in plan view, and the silicon nitride film 4 is formed on top of and in contact with the titanium nitride film 7 inside the third opening portion 93 in plan view. This makes the titanium nitride film 7 serving as an anti-reflection film resistant to corrosion, thereby giving high reliability to the semiconductor device 10.
(60) In addition, in the semiconductor device 10 according to this embodiment, the pad portion 8 is formed at a place where the first opening portion 91 formed in the silicon nitride film 4 and the second opening portion 92 formed in the titanium nitride film 7 overlap with each other in plan view, and is inside the third opening portion 93 formed in the oxide film 3 in plan view. The pad portion 8 made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy is therefore not in contact with the silicon nitride film 4. There is accordingly no chance for a drop in reliability of the semiconductor device 10 that is caused by a stress difference between the pad portion and the silicon nitride film as when the pad portion made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy and the silicon nitride film are in contact with each other.
(61) In the method of manufacturing the semiconductor device 10 according to this embodiment, the pad portion 8 exposing the wiring 6 at the bottom is formed by etching the silicon nitride film 4 and the titanium nitride film 7 successively with the use of the same mask and the same etching gas, and efficient production of the semiconductor device 10 is consequently accomplished.
(62) In contrast, with the technology described in Japanese Patent No. 5443827, the anti-reflection film made of titanium nitride is removed by etching after the first surface protection film formed from a silicon oxide film is patterned by etching in order to form the first opening portion. It is difficult to etch a silicon oxide film and a titanium nitride film with the use of the same etching gas. The trouble of switching the etching gas at the time when the titanium nitride film is etched therefore cannot be eliminated even by, for example, using the same mask to etch the silicon oxide film and the titanium nitride film, and an obstacle to the improvement of productivity of the semiconductor device 10 remains.
(63) The semiconductor device according to the present invention is not limited to the semiconductor device 10 of the embodiment described above.
(64) The description given above on the embodiment takes as an example a case in which the pad portion 8 in the semiconductor device 10 has a substantially square shape in plan view. However, the shape of the pad portion 8 in plan view is not particularly limited. The shape of the pad portion 8 in plan view may be a quadrangular shape, for example, a substantially rectangular shape, a substantially rhomboidal shape, or a substantially trapezoidal shape, or may be a substantially circular shape, or may be a polygonal shape, for example, a substantially triangular shape, a substantially pentagonal shape, or a substantially hexagonal shape.
(65) The description given above on the embodiment takes as an example a case in which the semiconductor device 10 has one wiring layer 5 including the wiring 6 and the titanium nitride film 7. In addition to the wiring layer described above, one or more wiring layers made of known materials may be included. When the semiconductor device 10 is provided with a plurality of wiring layers, it is preferred for the wiring layer 5 that includes the wiring 6 and the titanium nitride film 7 to be the topmost wiring layer.
(66) The semiconductor device according to the present invention may further include layers having various functions to suit its use.
(67) [Comparison]
(68) Now, effects of the present invention are further clarified from the description of example for comparison according to the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the following examples, and modifications can be made thereto as appropriate within the range not changing the gist of the present invention.
Example 1
(69) A semiconductor device of Example 1 illustrated in
(70) First, the interlayer insulating film 2 was formed from a SiO.sub.2 film on the substrate 1 made of silicon as illustrated in
(71) The titanium nitride film 7 having a thickness of 400 was formed next on the wiring 6 by reactive sputtering that used argon gas (Ar) and nitrogen gas (N.sub.2) (the anti-reflection film forming step).
(72) Next, the wiring 6 and the titanium nitride film 7 were patterned as illustrated in
(73) The oxide film 3 having a thickness of 5,000 was formed next from a SiO.sub.2 film on the wiring layer 5 including the wiring 6 and the titanium nitride film 7 as illustrated in
(74) The oxide film 3 was then patterned with the use of photolithography and etching to form the third opening portion 93 which pierced the oxide film 3 and exposed the titanium nitride film 7 at the bottom as illustrated in
(75) A mixed gas containing CHF.sub.3, CF.sub.4, and Ar was used as etching gas to etch the oxide film 3.
(76) Next, the silicon nitride film 4 having a thickness of 10,000 was formed on the oxide film 3 and above the third opening portion 93 as illustrated in
(77) The silicon nitride film 4 was given a high nitrogen content by forming the silicon nitride film 4 under a condition in which the flow rate of gas containing nitrogen (N.sub.2 or NH.sub.3) is set high in plasma CVD.
(78) Next, the silicon nitride film 4 and the titanium nitride film 7 were etched successively with the use of the same mask and the same etching gas by photolithography and etching to form the pad portion 8 which exposed the wiring 6 at the bottom through the silicon nitride film 4 and the titanium nitride film 7, inside the third opening portion 93 in plan view as illustrated in
(79) Etching gas used to etch the silicon nitride film 4 and the titanium nitride film 7 was CF.sub.4 gas.
(80) Through the steps described above, the semiconductor device 10 of Example 1 illustrated in
(81) The distance d1 in plan view between the inner wall of the third opening portion 93 and the outer edge of the pad portion 8 in the obtained semiconductor device 10 of Example 1 was 1.0 m. The width d2 of the wiring 6 in which the pad portion 8 was formed was 100 m or more. The distance d3 in plan view from the inner wall of the third opening portion 93 to the side surface 6a of the wiring 6 which formed the pad portion 8 and the perimeter of the pad portion 8, was 9.0 m.
Comparative Example 1
(82) A semiconductor device 11 of Comparative Example 1 illustrated in
(83) In steps of manufacturing the semiconductor device 11 of Comparative Example 1, CF.sub.4 gas was used as etching gas to etch the silicon nitride film 4. The etching gas was then switched to a mixed gas containing CHF.sub.3, CF.sub.4, and Ar to etch the oxide film 3. Thereafter, the etching gas was switched to CF.sub.4 gas to etch the titanium nitride film 7.
(84) The pad portion 8 in the semiconductor device 11 of Comparative Example 1 is formed at a place where the first opening portion 91 formed in the silicon nitride film 4, the third opening portion 93 formed in the oxide film 3, and the second opening portion 92 formed in the titanium nitride film 7 overlap with one another in plan view.
(85) The thus obtained semiconductor devices 10 and 11 of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 were subjected to the following long-term reliability test (THB) involving bias application under a high-temperature and high-humidity environment, and were evaluated by criteria given below.
(86) Long-Term Reliability Test (THB)
(87) The semiconductor device 10 of Example 1 and the semiconductor device 11 of Comparative Example 1 were each packaged into a resin package to create twenty-two samples for each semiconductor device. A voltage was applied to each sample for 1,000 hours in an environment in which the temperature was 85 C. and the humidity was 85%. Each resin package was then opened, and a portion around the pad portion was observed with a microscope to conduct an appearance test by the following criteria.
(88) Criteria
(89) Appearance is fine: there is no corrosion, detachment, or discoloration in the pad portion or around the pad portion.
(90) Appearance is defective: corrosion, detachment, or discoloration is found in the pad portion or around the pad portion.
(91) After the long-term reliability test (THB), the number of defective appearance samples (the number of defective appearance samples/the total number of samples) was 0/22 in the semiconductor device of Example 1, and 3/22 in the semiconductor device of Comparative Example 1.
(92) It is clear from this result that corrosion of the titanium nitride film was prevented better in the semiconductor device 10 of Example 1 than in the semiconductor device 11 of Comparative Example 1.