Trench isolation for integrated circuits

Abstract

A method of fabricating an integrated circuit with trenches, without parasitic edge transistors, for isolating FET transistors from each other without degrading the FETs operating characteristics by junction leakage, breakdown or shorting, when a metal silicide is used in the source/drain regions. A silicon wafer is formed with sidewalls on the sides of each area in which a groove is to be etched. In etching the silicon, the sidewalls define the lateral dimension of the trenches. After the trenches are etched, the sidewalls are removed and the trenched are filled with an insulating material using a high density plasma reactor, such as an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma reactor. This type of reactor simultaneously deposits and sputter etches so that silicon edges at the base of the now removed sidewalls become tapered at an angle of about 45.degree. during deposition. Thus, the profiles of the filled trenches all have tapered tops which reduces the possibility of parasitic edge transistors and any leakage or shorting.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.