Device fabrication
AssigneeAT&T Bell Laboratories
InventorsAnatoly Feygenson, Henryk Temkin, Yuh-Lin Wang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Expedient fabrication of fine-featured integrated circuits entails aperture pattern delineation to produce a masking layer atop a semiconductor body followed by insertion within a controlled atmosphere chamber within which device-functional layered material is epitaxially grown within apertures. Critical, device-consequential properties of epitaxial material is assured by removal of a thin surface layer of material revealed during delineation. Such removal, sufficient to eliminate meaningful contamination and/or crystalline damage introduced during delineation, is of sufficiently small quantity as to be accommodated within the chamber. Under most circumstances, the controlled atmosphere is at reduced pressure as required for e.g. MOMBE epitaxial growth.
Claims21
Process for fabrication of integrated circuit, designed in accordance with design rule of 1 .mu.m or smaller, such process at least including a sequence of process steps performed on a body comprising a substrate of device-functional material supporting a first layer, such process entailing aperture pattern delineation of the first layer to expose patterned material underlying such layer, followed by epitaxial growth within a controlled atmosphere of a second layer substantially of the pattern as so delineated, said second layer including device-functional material,
- CHARACTERIZED in that pattern delineation comprises a first process step carried out outside of such controlled atmosphere during which delineation reveals an initial patterned surface, and in that the body in fabrication is next introduced into such controlled atmosphere in which an additional process step is carried out wherein surface material including material revealed by initial patterning is removed to a depth necessary and for the sole purpose of revealing a final growth surface, such revealed surface now evidencing a degree of crystallographic damage, and/or contamination less than that resulting from initial delineation and wherein depth of material removed in the additional process step is sufficiently small as to have minimal device operation consequence.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.