# US 12,112,990 B2 · Semiconductor device with cut metal gate and method of manufacture

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- Number: US 12,112,990 B2
- Document ID: US12112990B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/301,772
- Filed: 2023-04-17
- Published: 2023-08-10
- Granted: 2024-10-08
- Earliest claimed: 2020-02-11
- Assignees: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
- Applicants: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Yi-Chun Chen; Ya-Yi Tsai; I-Wei Yang; Ryan Chia-Jen Chen; Shu-Yuan Ku
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12112990B2

## CPC

- H10D 84/038: {using silicon technology, e.g. SiGe}
- H10D 84/0172: {Manufacturing their gate conductors}
- H10D 84/0188: {Manufacturing their isolation regions}
- H10D 84/0193: {the components including FinFETs}
- H10D 84/853: {comprising FinFETs}
- H10D: INORGANIC ELECTRIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

## Abstract

An anchored cut-metal gate (CMG) plug, a semiconductor device including the anchored CMG plug and methods of forming the semiconductor device are disclosed herein. The method includes performing a series of etching processes to form a trench through a metal gate electrode, through an isolation region, and into a semiconductor substrate. The trench cuts-through and separates the metal gate electrode into a first metal gate and a second metal gate and forms a recess in the semiconductor substrate. Once the trench has been formed, a dielectric plug material is deposited into the trench to form a CMG plug that is anchored within the recess of the semiconductor substrate and separates the first and second metal gates. As such, the anchored CMG plug provides high levels of resistance to reduce leakage current within the semiconductor device during operation and allowing for improved V-trigger performance of the semiconductor device.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A semiconductor device comprising:
a first fin and a second fin protruding from a semiconductor substrate, wherein the semiconductor substrate comprises a p-well and an n-well, the p-well being adjacent to the n-well;
an isolation region over the semiconductor substrate between the first fin and the second fin;
a first metal gate stack over the first fin and the isolation region;
a second metal gate stack over the second fin and the isolation region, wherein a longitudinal axis of the first metal gate stack is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the second metal gate stack; and
a gate plug between the first metal gate stack and the second metal gate stack, the gate plug extending through the isolation region and into the semiconductor substrate, wherein the gate plug is disposed between the p-well and the n-well, wherein a portion of the semiconductor substrate is in physical contact with a first sidewall of a first portion of the gate plug and a second sidewall of a second portion of the gate plug, and wherein the portion of the semiconductor substrate is disposed between the first sidewall and the second sidewall along a line parallel to a top surface of the semiconductor substrate.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first metal gate stack is a gate electrode of an n-type device, and wherein the second metal gate stack is a gate electrode of a p-type device.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the gate plug comprises silicon nitride or silicon carbon nitride.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein a depth that the gate plug extends into the semiconductor substrate is equal to or less than 40 nm.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the p-well and the n-well meet at an interface, and wherein the gate plug overlaps the interface.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1, further comprising an isolation layer over the first metal gate stack and the second metal gate stack, wherein the isolation layer is connected to the gate plug, and wherein the isolation layer has a same composition as the gate plug.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein a third portion of the gate plug covers a top surface of the portion of the semiconductor substrate between the first sidewall and the second sidewall.

### Claim 8

A semiconductor device comprising:
a first fin and a second fin extending from a semiconductor substrate;
a shallow trench isolation (STI) region around the first fin and the second fin;
a first source/drain region in the first fin;
a second source/drain region in the second fin;
an interlayer dielectric (ILD) over the STI region and around the first source/drain region and the second source/drain region;
a dielectric plug extending through the ILD and the STI region into the semiconductor substrate, wherein the dielectric plug has a width that decreases in a direction toward the semiconductor substrate; and
a source/drain contact electrically connected to the first source/drain region and the second source/drain region, wherein the source/drain contact overlies the dielectric plug.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein the first source/drain region is a source/drain region of an n-type device, and wherein the second source/drain region is a source/drain region of a p-type device.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein the dielectric plug extends into the semiconductor substrate by no more than 40 nm.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein the source/drain contact physically contacts a top surface of the dielectric plug.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein the semiconductor substrate comprises a p-n junction between a p-type region and an n-type region, and wherein the dielectric plug overlies the p-n junction.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein the dielectric plug comprises:
a first portion in the semiconductor substrate;
a second portion in the semiconductor substrate, wherein the semiconductor substrate extends between the first portion and the second portion; and
a third portion connecting the first portion to the second portion.

### Claim 14

A semiconductor device comprising:
a semiconductor substrate;
a shallow trench isolation (STI) region over the semiconductor substrate;
a first metal gate and a second metal gate over the STI region, wherein the first metal gate extends along a top surface and sidewalls of a first semiconductor fin, and wherein the second metal gate extends along a top surface and sidewalls of a second semiconductor fin; and
a dielectric plug separating the first metal gate from the second metal gate, wherein the dielectric plug extends along a top surface and sidewalls of a portion of the semiconductor substrate, and wherein a width of the dielectric plug continuously decreases in a direction towards a bottom surface of the semiconductor substrate.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The semiconductor device of claim 14, wherein the dielectric plug extends to an interface between a first doped region of the semiconductor substrate and a second doped region of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the first doped region is of an opposite type than the second doped region.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The semiconductor device of claim 14, further comprising:
a first source/drain region in the first semiconductor fin; and
a second source/drain region in the second semiconductor fin, wherein the dielectric plug extends between the first source/drain region and the second source/drain region.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The semiconductor device of claim 16, further comprising a source/drain contact structure electrically connected to the first source/drain region and the second source/drain region, wherein the source/drain contact structure directly contacts the dielectric plug.

### Claim 18 (depends on 14)

The semiconductor device of claim 14, wherein the source/drain contact structure directly contacts a top surface of the dielectric plug.

### Claim 19 (depends on 14)

The semiconductor device of claim 14, wherein a width of the dielectric plug decreases in a direction towards the semiconductor substrate.

### Claim 20 (depends on 14)

The semiconductor device of claim 14, wherein the dielectric plug comprises silicon nitride or silicon carbon nitride.