Taiwan semiconductor manufacturing company, ltd. (20240107736). Gate Isolation Structures simplified abstract

Gate Isolation Structures

Organization Name

taiwan semiconductor manufacturing company, ltd.

Inventor(s)

Chi-Wei Wu of Hsinchu City (TW)

Hsin-Che Chiang of Taipei City (TW)

Jeng-Ya Yeh of New Taipei City (TW)

Gate Isolation Structures - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 20240107736 titled 'Gate Isolation Structures

Simplified Explanation

The abstract describes an IC structure and a method of forming the same, including steps such as forming semiconductor fins, depositing dielectric layers, and planarizing to create a gate isolation structure.

• Forming semiconductor fins protruding from a substrate
• Depositing a high-k metal gate structure over the semiconductor fins
• Creating a trench to separate the gate structure
• Depositing a first dielectric layer in the trench
• Depositing a second dielectric layer with nitrogen over the first dielectric layer
• Planarizing the layers to form a gate isolation structure

Potential Applications

This technology could be applied in the manufacturing of advanced integrated circuits, particularly in the development of high-performance transistors.

Problems Solved

This innovation helps in improving the performance and efficiency of semiconductor devices by enhancing gate isolation and reducing leakage current.

Benefits

The benefits of this technology include increased device reliability, improved electrical properties, and enhanced overall performance of IC structures.

Potential Commercial Applications

Potential commercial applications of this technology include the production of cutting-edge electronic devices, such as smartphones, computers, and other consumer electronics.

Possible Prior Art

One possible prior art could be the use of similar dielectric layer deposition techniques in semiconductor manufacturing processes to improve device performance.

How does this technology compare to existing methods of gate isolation in semiconductor devices?

This technology offers improved gate isolation through the use of nitrogen-containing dielectric layers, but it would be beneficial to compare its performance and efficiency with other existing methods.

What impact could this innovation have on the overall cost of manufacturing semiconductor devices?

While the benefits of this technology are clear in terms of device performance, it would be interesting to explore how it could potentially affect the cost of production and overall manufacturing processes.

Original Abstract Submitted

an ic structure and a method of forming the same are provided. in an embodiment, an exemplary method of forming the ic structure forming a first semiconductor fin and a second semiconductor fin protruding from a substrate, forming a high-k metal gate (hkmg) structure over the first semiconductor fin and the second semiconductor fin, forming a trench to separate the hkmg structure into two portions, conformally depositing a first dielectric layer in the trench, depositing a second dielectric layer over the first dielectric layer to fill the trench, wherein the second dielectric layer includes nitrogen, and the first dielectric layer is free of nitrogen, and planarizing the first dielectric layer and second dielectric layer to form a gate isolation structure in the trench.