Devices and methods for radiation hardening integrated circuits using shallow trench isolation

A method of fabricating a radiation-hardened NMOS device using a shallow trench isolation process, comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a silicon substrate having a top surface, a P− layer extending from said top surface into the substrate, and a pad oxide layer on said top surface;
• (b) forming a masking layer on said top surface, wherein said forming step comprises depositing, patterning, and etching the masking layer to define at least one active region covered by said masking layer;
• (c) etching a trench in the substrate in an area not covered by said masking layer to define an area to be filled with a trench insulator material;
• (d) depositing a trench insulator material over the substrate;
• (e) planarizing the trench insulator material so that a top surface of said trench insulator is substantially coplanar with a top surface of the masking layer;
• (f) removing the masking layer and pad oxide from said at least one active region;
• (g) growing a gate oxide in the at least one active region;
• (h) depositing a polysilicon gate layer;
• (i) patterning and etching the polysilicon gate layer to form a gate crossing the active region in a width direction and having a length L in a length direction, said gate defining a channel having the same length L, wherein said patterning and etching further comprises removing the gate oxide from the active region not covered by the gate, thereby exposing the top surface of the substrate where the gate oxide has been removed;
• (j) patterning and implanting n-type source and drain regions with N+ doping, using a mask pattern wherein at least one segment of a border of the mask pattern that defines an n-type region comprising one or both of said source and drain regions is pulled back a nonzero distance into the active region, said pulled-back segment of the border defining a gap region comprising an area of the active region outside the n-type region that is contiguous with both the pulled-back segment of the border of the n-type region and the edge of the trench insulator;
• (k) forming a metal silicide layer on the exposed top surface of the substrate where the gate oxide has been removed while preventing the metal silicide layer from forming in the gap region;
• and
• (l) completing fabrication of the radiation-hardened NMOS device.