초록 ▼

A shallow trench isolation (STI) structure has a top portion tapering in width from wide to narrow in a direction from a substrate surface, from a first width at a top of the first portion to a second width at a bottom of the first portion. The STI structure also includes a bottom portion below the

A shallow trench isolation (STI) structure has a top portion tapering in width from wide to narrow in a direction from a substrate surface, from a first width at a top of the first portion to a second width at a bottom of the first portion. The STI structure also includes a bottom portion below the top portion, which expands from the bottom of the top portion to a substantially widened lateral distance having a third width. The third width is, in general, substantially larger than the second width. The inventive STI structure can provide desired isolation characteristics with a significantly reduced aspect ratio, thus suitable for device isolations in advanced processing technology.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A semiconductor structure comprising: a semiconductor substrate;a trench located in said semiconductor substrate, wherein said trench has a first portion tapering in width from wide to narrow in a direction from a substrate surface, from a first width at a top of the first portion to a second wid

1. A semiconductor structure comprising: a semiconductor substrate;a trench located in said semiconductor substrate, wherein said trench has a first portion tapering in width from wide to narrow in a direction from a substrate surface, from a first width at a top of the first portion to a second width at a bottom of the first portion;a second portion of said trench below the first portion, wherein the second portion has a cavity that expands from the bottom of the first portion to a lateral distance having a third width, wherein the cavity has a diamond-shaped profile with a flat bottom and tapered sidewalls;a filler material in said trench, wherein said filler material is in direct contact with said semiconductor substrate; andwherein the third width is substantially larger than the second width. 2. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein the third width is substantially larger than the first width. 3. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein said semiconductor substrate comprises one of doped silicon, silicon germanium, gallium arsenide, compound semiconductor, multi-layers semiconductor, silicon on insulator (SOI), and any combination thereof. 4. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein said filler material comprises one of CVD silicon oxide, LPCVD silicon oxide, HDP silicon oxide, TEOS silicon oxide, APCVD oxide, undoped silicate glass, and any combination thereof. 5. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein the third width is from about 100 Å to about 3000 Å larger than the second width. 6. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein an aspect ratio of said trench is greater than 5:1. 7. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein the first width is smaller than 100 nm. 8. A semiconductor device comprising: a substrate having a first active region and a second active region;a trench isolation located in said substrate separating the first active region and the second active region;wherein said trench isolation has a first portion tapering in width from wide to narrow in a direction from a substrate surface, from a first width at a top of the first portion to a second width at a bottom of the first portion, the first width and the second width each extending from a first sidewall of the substrate to a second sidewall of the substrate, the first sidewall and the second sidewall each comprising a semiconductor material, the first portion having a uniform material from the first sidewall of the substrate to the second sidewall of the substrate; andwherein said trench isolation has a second portion below the first portion, the second portion having a widened shape that expands from the bottom of the first portion to a lateral distance having a third width, which is larger than the second width and is smaller than the first width. 9. The semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein said trench isolation is made from one or more materials comprising one of: CVD silicon oxide, LPCVD silicon oxide, HDP silicon oxide, TEOS silicon oxide, APCVD oxide, undoped silicate glass, and any combination thereof. 10. The semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein said substrate is a semiconductor substrate comprising one of: doped silicon, silicon germanium, gallium arsenide, compound semiconductor, multi-layers semiconductor, silicon on insulator (SOI), and any combination thereof. 11. The semiconductor device of claim 8 further comprising a P-well and an N-well, wherein the first active region is an N-type drain region of a planar NMOS located in the P-well, wherein the second active region is a P-type drain region of a planar PMOS located in the N-well. 12. The semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein the first and second active regions are source/drain regions of adjacent planar MOS transistors located in a common one of a P-well and an N-well. 13. The semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein the first and second active regions have a 3-D structure and are source/drain regions of MOS transistors having a FinFET configuration. 14. The semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein a depth of said trench isolation is in a range of from about 1100 Å to about 7000 Å. 15. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor substrate having a logic region and a memory cell region; a plurality of active regions located in said logic region and said memory cell region;a first plurality of isolations of a first type located in said logic region, separating adjacent ones of said plurality of active regions;a second plurality of isolations of a second type located in said memory cell region, separating adjacent other ones of said plurality of active regions;wherein each of the plurality of isolations of the first type has a trench shape; andwherein each of the plurality of isolations of the second type comprises a first portion tapering in width from wide to narrow in a direction from a surface of the semiconductor substrate, from a first width at a top of the first portion to a second width at a bottom of the first portion, and a second portion below the first portion and having a widened shape that expands from the bottom of the first portion to a lateral distance having a third width, the third width being larger than the second width. 16. The semiconductor device of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of isolations of the second type has a smaller aspect ratio than that of the first type, and the third width is substantially larger than the first width. 17. The semiconductor device of claim 15, wherein said memory cell region comprises one of: an SRAM cell region, a DRAM cell region, a flash memory cell region. 18. The semiconductor device of claim 15, wherein said semiconductor substrate further comprises: an analog region;a plurality of conductive regions formed in said analog region; anda third plurality of isolations of the second type located in said analog region, wherein one or more of said plurality of active regions are located in said analog region. 19. The semiconductor device of claim 18, wherein each of the isolations in said analog region has a third width substantially smaller than the first width.