US 8,071,451 B2 · Method of doping semiconductors

Abstract

A method of doping a semiconductor body is provided herein. In one embodiment, a semiconductor body is exposed to an activated hydrogen gas for a predetermined time period and temperature. The activated hydrogen gas that is configured to react with a surface of a semiconductor body. The activated hydrogen gas breaks existing bonds in the substrate (e.g., silicon-silicon bonds), thereby forming a reactive layer comprising weakened (e.g., silicon-hydrogen (Si—H) bonds, silanol (Si—OH) bonds) and/or dangling bonds (e.g., dangling silicon bonds). The dangling bonds, in addition to the easily broken weakened bonds, comprise reactive sites that extend into one or more surfaces of the semiconductor body. A reactant (e.g., n-type dopant, p-type dopant) may then be introduced to contact the reactive layer of the semiconductor body. The reactant chemically bonds to reactive sites comprised within the reactive layer, thereby resulting in a doped layer within the semiconductor body comprising the reactant.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A method of doping a semiconductor body, comprising:

exposing the semiconductor body to an activated hydrogen gas for a predetermined time, wherein the activated hydrogen gas reacts with one or more surfaces of the semiconductor body to form a reactive layer comprised within the one or more surfaces, and wherein the semiconductor body comprises a silicon, germanium, or silicon-germanium substrate, wherein the reactive layer comprises dangling bonds comprising one or more of:
dangling silicon bonds, silicon hydrogen (Si—H) bonds, silanol (Si—OH) bonds, germanium hydrogen (Ge—H) bonds, and germanol (Ge—OH) bonds;
exposing the semiconductor body to an ultraviolet illumination source or a plasma after exposing the semiconductor body to the activated hydrogen gas, wherein the ultraviolet illumination source or the plasma are configured to change a density of one or more of Si—H, Si—OH, Ge—H, and Ge—OH bonds;
and
exposing the semiconductor body to a reactant comprising an n-type or p-type dopant species, wherein the reactant is configured to chemically react with the dangling bonds within the reactive layer to form a doped layer.

2 more elements

A method of forming a multi-gate semiconductor device, comprising:

selectively masking a silicon, germanium or silicon-germanium substrate to expose a doping region of the multi-gate semiconductor device;
exposing the exposed doping region of the substrate to an activated hydrogen gas for a predetermined time, wherein the activated hydrogen gas reacts with one or more surfaces of the substrate to form a reactive layer comprising dangling silicon bonds, dangling germanium bonds, silicon hydrogen (Si—H) bonds, silanol (Si—OH) bonds, germanium hydrogen (Ge—H) bonds, or germanol (Ge—OH) bonds, the reactive layer comprised within the one or more surfaces;
exposing the substrate to an ultraviolet illumination source or a plasma after exposing the substrate to the activated hydrogen gas, wherein the ultraviolet illumination source or the plasma are configured to change a density of Si—H, Si—OH, Ge—H or Ge—OH bonds;
exposing the exposed doping region of the substrate to a reactant, wherein the reactant is configured to chemically react with the reactive layer to form a doped layer comprising one or more elements of the reactant;
forming a gate layer extending above the one or more surfaces of the substrate;
and
forming a gate oxide layer configured between the gate layer and the reactive layer.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method of doping semiconductors

Life of this patent

Method of doping semiconductors

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims13