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US 11,961,734 B2Granted
Treatments to enhance material structures
AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.
InventorsSrinivas Gandikota, Yixiong Yang, Jacqueline Samantha Wrench, Yong Yang, Steven C. H. Hung
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Abstract
A method of forming a high-κ dielectric cap layer on a semiconductor structure formed on a substrate includes depositing the high-κ dielectric cap layer on the semiconductor structure, depositing a sacrificial silicon cap layer on the high-κ dielectric cap layer, performing a post cap anneal process to harden and densify the as-deposited high-κ dielectric cap layer, and removing the sacrificial silicon cap layer.
Claims10
A method of forming a metal gate structure, the method comprising:
- forming a semiconductor structure formed on a substrate, comprising:
- forming an interfacial layer on the substrate;
- depositing a high-k gate dielectric layer on the interfacial layer;
- depositing a high-K dielectric cap layer on the semiconductor structure;
- performing a metal cap anneal process to harden and densify the high-K dielectric cap layer in a nitrogen (N2) ambient;
- depositing a sacrificial silicon cap layer on and in contact with the high-K dielectric cap layer;
- performing a post cap anneal process layer in a nitrogen (N2) ambient to harden and densify the deposited high-K dielectric cap layer and the sacrificial silicon cap layer;
- removing the sacrificial silicon cap layer;
- and
- depositing a metal layer.
7 more elements
A method of forming a metal gate structure, the method comprising:
- forming a semiconductor structure formed on a substrate, comprising:
- forming an interfacial layer on the substrate;
- depositing a high-k gate dielectric layer on the interfacial layer;
- depositing a high-K dielectric cap layer on the semiconductor structure;
- performing a metal cap anneal process to harden and densify the high-K dielectric cap layer in a nitrogen (N2) ambient;
- depositing a sacrificial silicon cap layer on and in contact with the high-K dielectric cap layer;
- performing a post cap anneal process in a nitrogen (N2) ambient at a temperature of between 900° C. and 1000° C. to harden and densify the high-K dielectric cap layer and the sacrificial silicon cap layer;
- removing the sacrificial silicon cap layer;
- and
- depositing a metal layer.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.