US 7695756 B2
A tool for manufacturing molecular electronic devices having a coating unit contained in a controlled ambient environment. The coating unit is coupled to a source of active device molecules in solution. The coating unit is configured to apply a selected quantity of the solution to a surface of a substrate and the process tool processes the coated substrate in conditions that cause the active device molecules to attach to active areas of the substrate.
1. A method, comprising:
forming a layer of storage molecules on a working electrode, wherein the working electrode is built on top of and electrically coupled to an electrode of a transistor in a partially processed semiconductor wafer that includes a plurality of transistors with respective electrodes;
attaching some of the storage molecules to the working electrode;
removing unattached storage molecules; and
applying an electrolyte to the working electrode over the attached storage molecules.
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The present invention relates, in general, to the subject matter of co-pending patent application Ser. No. 10/766,304 entitled: “Molecular Memory Arrays and Devices” assigned to Zettacore, Inc., 2000 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite 10000, Denver, Colo. 80222, assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by this reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to processing methods for memory devices, such as dynamic random access memory. In particular, this invention relates to processing methods that leverage tools and techniques available in the semiconductor industry for the production of molecular memory cells, molecular memory arrays, and electronic devices including molecular memory.
2. Relevant Background
Conventional CPUs, memory devices and data communication mechanisms are mass produced as solid state electronic devices. Although sometimes referred to as “semiconductor devices”, solid state electronic devices rely on electrical behavior of solid materials including metals, semiconductors, and insulators. The techniques and equipment for producing solid state devices have improved dramatically over time to enable the production of devices such as switches, capacitors, resistors, and interconnections with sub-micron scale features at higher yields and lower cost.
Advances in semiconductor processing and device design have resulted in memory devices, for example, that implement hundreds of megabits of storage on a single integrated circuit. Such devices include volatile memory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and static random access memory (SRAM), and non-volatile memory such as electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), Flash RAM, ferroelectric DRAM, and the like. Memory manufacturing processes continue to push the limits of fine-geometry patterning and machining technology.
However, physical limitations on the materials and tools used to manufacture solid state electronic devices will not always support making smaller and smaller devices. Even where smaller geometries can be implemented, device performance may suffer. For example, memory devices with smaller storage capacitors require more frequent refreshing so that the power and time consumed by refresh processes limit overall device performance and can also increase soft error rates. Moreover, the capital and intellectual investment required to continue improving materials, processes and tools so that smaller geometry components can be manufactured is a burden on future development in the solid state manufacturing industries. As a result, alternative technologies for manufacturing computing devices and particularly memory devices are being considered.
Another problem facing memory designers trying to increase information density (e.g., the amount of information that can be stored in a given area of the memory chip) is that each memory cell of a conventional solid state capacitor can only store one bit of information. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have processes for manufacturing memory devices with improved information storage density achieved by having a memory cell that can reliably store a plurality of discrete states.
One area of investigation includes molecular devices that implement some or all components of an electronic device or system with molecular scale structures and components. These molecular scale structures and components exhibit molecular rather than solid state behavior, which can provide enhanced performance in many instances. Moreover, because molecules retain their essential properties down to the individual molecule level, molecular-scale components and device structure can be scaled (or shrunk) as future processing tools and technology are developed.
The approach of using molecules in electronic devices such as switches, capacitors, conductors and the like, depends on the development of attachment chemistries and processes to achieve high yield at reasonable throughputs and costs. Because current technology relies on physical patterning of device structures, chemical approaches to electronic device manufacture have not been used in production environments. To be certain, existing processes in the semiconductor industry rely heavily on a variety of chemical processes, however, these chemical processes are used to deposit, etch, shape, clean and modify materials that make up the devices. The chemicals themselves are rarely left on the finished device, except as contaminants, and are not used to form active device structures.
As such, equipment vendors and tool development engineers have not designed process tools to apply efficient attachment chemistries that can be used in molecular electronic device manufacture. Molecular scale components require repeatable processes that are able to attach desired chemical species to substrates, other device structures, and each other. Robust processes for forming molecular structures enable new types of components such as electrochemical cells to be implemented with semiconductor devices.
While it is desirable for molecular manufacturing techniques to be compatible with existing semiconductor industry processes and to use existing semiconductor industry tools, molecular device structures are sensitive to many variables and conditions that do not trouble semiconductor processes. For example, water is present throughout most semiconductor manufacturing processes as a cleaning fluid and in the form of ambient humidity. However, water can have destructive effects on some molecular processes as water molecules interfere with the attachment chemistry or destroy the active molecules. Similarly, thin native oxide layers and ultra-low contaminant levels are tolerable in semiconductor processes because the bulk effects of these aberrant features are minimal in comparison to the overall device function. In contrast, when devices are manufactured with molecular-scale features, these molecular-scale defects can become significant.
In view of the above, it is apparent that a need exists for processes for manufacturing molecular memory cells, molecular memory arrays, and electronic devices including molecular memory. Further, there is a need for molecular memory devices that can be manufactured using techniques that are compatible with existing semiconductor manufacturing practices so that semiconductor devices and interconnections can be manufactured monolithically with molecular memory devices.
Briefly stated, an embodiment of the present invention comprises a tool for manufacturing molecular electronic devices having a coating unit contained in a controlled ambient environment. The coating unit is coupled to a source of active device molecules in solution or in a gaseous or solid form as well. The coating unit is configured to apply a selected quantity of the solution to a surface of a substrate and the process tool processes the coated substrate in conditions that cause the active device molecules to attach to active areas of the substrate.
Additional novel features are set forth in the description that follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following specification or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The features and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities, combinations, and methods particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
The present invention generally relates to processes for manufacturing molecular electronic devices and techniques for adapting existing semiconductor manufacturing tools and processes for compatibility with molecular electronics fabrication. The semiconductor industry has made a significant investment in design and improvement of manufacturing tools. These tools and associated processing techniques are designed to fabricate electronic devices including discrete devices, integrated circuits, and system-on-chip type devices based on the bulk material properties of metals, ceramics, glasses and semiconductors that are used for conventional devices. Hence, they are not suitable in many cases for the demands of molecular device fabrication. Although it is contemplated that special purpose tools and techniques will evolve over the coming decades for use with molecular device fabrication, there is a significant benefit in adapting current technology in a manner that enables existing tools to be used to reliably fabricate molecular devices.
The present invention is described particularly with respect to molecular memory devices that implement charge storage using molecular storage devices. Memory devices have been manufactured and demonstrate many of the useful features of the present invention. However, the teachings of the present invention are readily applied to a wide variety of molecular electronic devices including molecular switches, molecular logic, molecular data processors, and the like. Accordingly, it is contemplated that one can readily adapt the specific teachings and examples to the manufacture of a wide variety of devices in which some or all of the device components include molecular-scale structures.
Working electrode 103 may comprise, for example, aluminum, gold, silver, tungsten or other available conductor, and while preferably a metal, may also comprise a semi-metal such as titanium nitride or also polysilicon. Working electrode 103 is preferably formed at the same time as other structures such as bond pads and interconnects for an integrated circuit. Processes and materials for forming plugs 101 and electrodes 103 are widely available in the semiconductor processing industry. In many integrated circuit processes, metal pads will be coated with insulating layer 105 which serves to protect and/or passivate working electrode 103. Insulating layer 105 may be implemented as a deposited oxide, silicon nitride, or the like. Layer 105 is patterned to expose a portion of working electrode 103, which may, in certain processes, be performed in the same operation used to expose portions of bonding pads of the integrated circuit. The exposed portion of working electrode 103 defines an “active area” for the attachment of storage molecules. It is contemplated that the present invention can be manufactured up through the formation and patterning of oxide 105 using industry standard process flows.
A thin layer 107 of storage molecules is formed on the active area of working electrode 103 and becomes attached and electrically coupled thereto. Layer 107 may range in thickness from 1 to 100 nanometers in particular examples. While in some particular embodiments it may be desirable to implement layer 107 as a self assembling monolayer (SAM), it may also be formed by, for example, selective deposition or other suitable processes. The attachment site for the molecules may be lithographically defined by patterning layer 105 over the conductive material as indicated. As a representative example only, an extensive library of thiol-derivatized porphyrins (˜150 compounds) is available as potential storage molecules for attachment to gold electrodes suitable for use in layer 107. Presently, these compounds comprise five different architectures: (1) monomeric porphyrins with different types of tethers, (2) ferrocene-derivatized porphyrins, (3) wing-shaped trimeric porphyrins, (4) directly linked dimeric and trimeric porphyrins, and (5) triple-decker sandwich porphyrins. All of these porphyrinic architectures have been found to form excellent quality self-assembled monolayers (SAMs).
Once the molecules are attached, a thin (e.g., 50 to 200 nanometer) layer of conductive gel is applied to form electrolyte 109. Electrolyte 109 is the electrolyte for the oxidation-reduction cell. A metal layer 111 is deposited by evaporation, sputtering, or other deposition technique on to electrolyte layer 109. Metal layer 111 forms a reference electrode or counter electrode of the oxidation-reduction cell and, for example, may comprise any well-behaved electrochemical counter electrode material such as copper, silver, platinum and the like. Economics and semiconductor processes already developed will determine the metal of choice in a particular application.
The electrolyte 109, which may be a liquid, gel, or solid, should be chemically compatible with the storage molecules and other conductors and insulators used in the device. Electrolyte 109 enables the ionic transport of charge between the working and reference electrodes. For any given oxidation state and choice of storage molecules, the electrochemical cell exhibits a distinctive electrochemical potential called the open circuit potential (OCP) or equilibrium potential. A given molecular storage device will have two, three, four, or more distinctive OCPs depending on the particular storage molecules chosen. This offers the potential of manufacturing molecular electronic devices that processes data in multiple states rather than the binary processing familiar to solid state electronic devices. While some adjustment of the electronics will be required to compensate for the particular characteristics of the chosen storage molecule, however, the manufacturing advantages are clear.
One advantage of the stacked architecture shown in
Utilizing the systems, tools and methods of the present invention, the trench architecture shown in
Preferably the active device molecules are attached using self-assembling processes. Self-assembly generally refers to processes that match surface characteristics of a device substrate or structure with attachment properties of molecules. This is accomplished by manipulating the surface properties of the substrate and/or device structures so that the active device molecules will naturally tend to attach in a desired fashion. Self-assembly allows the molecules to attach selectively to a particular type of surface (for example, gold, silicon, various metals and oxides), which can avoid masking and patterning operations. Further, self assembly processes can encourage the active device molecules to pack tightly on that surface, and to align in a desired manner on the surface so that the molecules exhibit one or more desired behaviors.
An important advantage of self-assembling processes is that devices with molecular scale features and components can be manufactured using tools and equipment that is designed for much larger dimensions. Molecules can be applied using batch processes to an entire wafer by spin-coating, spraying, gas-phase coating, and/or dipping and will attach to only those surfaces for which they are designed. Unattached molecules are simply washed away from the other “inactive” surfaces. In this manner semiconductor tools for coating, etching and photo-patterning can be used to define larger structures than the molecular devices while self-assembling processes are used to define the molecular-scale features.
It is significant to note that a typical surface will present a relatively small number of potential attachment sites as compared to the total number of molecules at the surface within the active area 501. This means that an active area will likely comprise a much larger number of inactive molecules than active device molecules. Accordingly, all of the processes used in the attachment of active device molecules may be optimized to yield high attachment rates and low contamination. Contaminants include any species that interfere with attachment and/or have a non-beneficial behavior in the molecular electronic device.
The passivated surface in
The activated surface of
To inhibit deactivation of the activated surface, the atmosphere of the processing environment before during and after the chemical attachment processes is carefully controlled. Although a conventional photoresist or HMDS spin coating tool may be used to apply the active device molecule solution, the tool is modified to enclose the workpiece in what may be a low humidity environment that is substantially free of chemical species that would bond to attachment locations. These species include hydrogen, oxygen, most metal atoms, and water, although the particular species that must be filtered will vary in each application in a predictable manner based on the particular active device molecules and materials being used.
The configuration and arrangement of processing modules of the integrated tool in
The apparatus of
In the tool shown in
Transport mechanism 602 moves substrates between process modules as well as into and out of process modules. Coater 603 comprises a spin coating module in a particular implementation, although sprayers, vapor coaters, dipping and the like may be used in particular applications. In a particular implementation of the present invention, the coater 603 may be coupled to a supply 604 of a solution containing active device molecules, although other mechanisms such as vapor deposition can be used to dispense the active molecules. As stated previously, the coater 603 may be maintained in a low humidity, ultrapure environment maintained by air conditioning systems 605 and ambient gasses 606 to prevent contamination of the active area 501 although other equipment also lends itself to environmental control for etching operations, chemical vapor deposition processes and the like. It is desirable in many applications to provide fresh chemicals from supply 604 for each substrate being coated. This avoids depletion of the chemicals and lowers the risks of contamination associated with reusing chemicals.
Once coated, substrates are transported by transport mechanism 602 to a thermal process module 607. Thermal process module 607 provides heating and/or cooling using hot plates, convection heaters, microwave heaters, or other available thermal control system. The attachment reaction kinetics of self-assembly attachment processes are often affected by temperature such that the attachment efficiency is increased, process time reduced, and/or attachment quality improved by allowing the attachment processes to occur over a period of time at temperature. The temperature may be constant or may be varied over time according to a programmed profile to meet the needs of a particular application. By way of specific example, substrates may be maintained at 400 degrees Celsius for a period of two minutes when alcohol linked porphyrins are used as the active device molecules. Thermal processing also serves to drive off solvents that may be used in the solution carrying the active device molecules. Thermal processing module 607 may also cool substrates after processing at elevated temperatures before the substrates are transferred to a subsequent module.
Transfer mechanisms 602 transfer substrates from thermal processing 607 to rinse module 609. Rinse module 609 comprises a spin rinser in a particular implementation that sprays a rinsing solution from supply 611 onto the substrate surface while the substrate spins. The rinsing solution comprises, for example, solvents such as dimethyl formadide or acetonitride and the like. The rinsing solution is selected to remove active device molecules that did not attach, thereby leaving the active device areas 501 populated with active device molecules while clearing other device areas. After rinsing, substrates may be returned to thermal processing unit 607 for drying.
Optionally, one or more metrology modules 613 may be included to evaluate the quality of the attached active device molecules. Metrology module 613 may involve visual observation and qualification of processed substrates, or may include electrical characterization of processed substrates. As shown in
Processed substrates are removed from the processing tool via load module 601. Once the self-assembly chemistry is completed the substrates are less sensitive to contamination, however, it may be desirable to place substrates in an environmentally controlled carrier for transport to subsequent process locations.
The attachment process tool in
To complete a chemical cell, a gel-like electrolyte material is applied to the substrate surface over the attached active device molecules. A tool depicted in
Transfer mechanism 902 moves substrates from coater 903 to thermal processing module 907 which comprises, for example, hot plates, convection heating, microwave heating, or other suitable controlled thermal mechanisms for heating and/or cooling the substrates. Thermal processing is used to drive off solvents or carrier liquids to increase viscosity of the gel electrolyte. Thermal processing may also polymerize or partially polymerize the gel electrolyte to improve mechanical stability in certain applications. Thermal processing may be performed in the ambient atmosphere provided by ambient air conditioning 905, or alternatively provided by ambient process gasses supplied directly to thermal processing module 907. A typical thermal treatment cycle would involve soaking the substrates at 65 degrees Celsius for about one minute.
Optionally, metrology unit 913 may be used to physically, optically, or electronically characterize partially processed substrates while they remain in the protected environment of the electrolyte formation tool shown in
A robot arm 1005 transports carriers 1003 and lowers it into a temperature controlled inert tank 1007 filled with a solution of the molecules. The boat 1003 and wafers are then left in the tank for a predetermined length of time sufficient for the completion of the attachment chemical reactions. At that time, the robotic arm 1005 lifts the carrier 1003 and transfers the carrier 1003 to rinse tank 1009. Rinse tank 1009 is filled with solvent or other suitable reagent to facilitate the removal of molecules not attached to the surface. Typically, rinse tank 1009 can be agitated or stirred with bubbling inert gas or ultrasonic energy. After a suitable time, the robotic arm 1005 lifts up the boat again and transfers it to a final rinse tank 1011. Final rinse 1011 comprises a solvent or other suitable reagent rinse in the particular example and may be followed by air or nitrogen drying to reduce contamination.
Batch processing has some potential negative characteristics. First, from the contamination point of view, it is easy to contaminate the entire wafer load if unwanted chemicals or other contaminants are inadvertently introduced into any tank. Also, an environmental containment system that controls ambient atmosphere should be provided around all of the process stations and transport mechanism, which can be expensive to create and difficult to maintain as compared to single-substrate systems. Given the expected surface concentration of active charge sites, this contamination level would not have to be large. In addition, valuable and expensive chemicals may attach on the backside of the wafer as well as trapped on the boat or cassette. This can happen if for instance, the specific attachment tether is chemically active on the surface that wafer-processing leaves on the back side of wafers in the production run (oxides, nitrides etc) of materials that are used in current production line tools (quartz).
Very few molecules in solution actually wind up attached to the active area surface in a finished device. Consider that saturation coverage of even the smallest active device molecules currently being used for molecular device manufacturing occupy roughly 1×1014 molecules per square centimeter of surface area, and the fact that saturation concentration in solution is roughly 50 millimolar. In a particular example of a single wafer tool, assuming each substrate requires 5 ml of molecule solution, there is approximately 250 mg of molecule applied to an 8″ wafer. Yet 1×1014 molecules per square centimeter implies that nanograms of material are actually attached to the surface. Hence, a large quantity of potentially useful active device molecules are rinsed away in the subsequent cleaning steps.
In the batch tool case, the potential for waste is more dramatic. Assuming the same solubility of the solution, a typical 30 liter tank would contain approximately 1.5 kilograms of molecules. It would require many hundreds of thousands of wafers processed through this tank to even approach gram quantity of depletion, let alone kilograms. It is more likely that contamination in the tank would make the solution worthless before depleting this quantity of material.
Thus, it is valuable in both single-substrate and batch process tools to incorporate a method to recover the solution after molecular attachment to the surface and rework the solutions to make them usable for further processing on subsequent wafers. As part of this recycling effort, chemical purification methods to ensure high quality and non-competing chemical reactions to the surface of attachments have already been developed and are being scaled to required volumes for high scale manufacturing. Thus, a simple collection strategy on these tools, say effluent collection on the spinner single wafer tool or tank storage of used solution in the bulk process tools, can be used. The collected solutions are sent back to the laboratory for purification, re-dissolution of the molecules to the correct solution concentration, and quality assurance programs (purity, ionic strength, etc.) are used for process control and reproducibility considerations.
Although the invention has been described and illustrated with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example, and that numerous changes in the combination and arrangement of parts can be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as hereinafter claimed.
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