JP3760688B2 - Method for manufacturing silicon carbide semiconductor device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor element made of silicon carbide (hereinafter referred to as SiC).
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, SiC has attracted attention as one of semiconductor materials that can replace silicon (hereinafter referred to as Si). Since SiC has a band gap of 3.25 eV in 4H-SiC, which is nearly three times larger than that of Si (1.12 eV), the upper limit temperature of operation can be increased. Also, the dielectric breakdown electric field strength is 3.0 MV / cm for 4H-SiC, which is about an order of magnitude larger than that of Si (0.25 MV / cm), so it works with the inverse of the cube of the dielectric breakdown electric field strength. On-resistance is reduced, and power loss in a steady state can be reduced. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity is 4H-SiC, which is 4.9 W / cmK, which is more than 3 times higher than that of Si (1.5 W / cmK). . Since the saturation drift speed is as high as 2 × 10 ⁷ cm / s, it is excellent in high-speed operation.
[0003]
For these reasons, SiC is expected to be applied to power semiconductor elements (hereinafter referred to as power devices), high-frequency devices, high-temperature operation devices, and the like. Currently, MOSFETs, pn diodes, Schottky diodes, and the like have been prototyped, and devices that exceed the characteristics of Si in terms of withstand voltage and on-resistance (= forward voltage / forward current when energized) are appearing one after another.
[0004]
The production of these elements requires a technique for controlling the conductivity type and carrier concentration in a selected region. The method includes a thermal diffusion method and an ion implantation method. Since the diffusion coefficient of impurities is very small in SiC, the thermal diffusion method widely used in Si semiconductor elements is difficult to apply to SiC. Therefore, an ion implantation method is usually used for SiC.
[0005]
As ion species to be implanted, nitrogen (hereinafter referred to as N) phosphorus (hereinafter referred to as P) is used for n-type, and aluminum (hereinafter referred to as Al) or boron (hereinafter referred to as P) for p-type. B)) is often used.
[0006]
FIGS. 3A to 3E are cross-sectional views in order of steps for explaining the steps of ion implantation and the subsequent process.
[0007]
After the epitaxial wafer having the epitaxial layer 2 grown on the underlayer 1 is pretreated with an organic solvent, acid, or the like, an oxide film 3 is formed [FIG. 3A].
[0008]
A photoresist 4 is applied and the oxide film 3 is patterned [FIG.
[0009]
B ions 5 are implanted [(c) in the figure]. A photoresist may be used as a mask for ion implantation. However, ion implantation is sometimes performed in an atmosphere of several hundred to 1000 ° C. in order to minimize crystal damage due to ion implantation. In that case, of course, the mask must be made of a material that can withstand that temperature.
[0010]
Before the high-temperature annealing after implantation, all of the photoresist, oxide film, etc. are removed so that the SiC surface is exposed [(d)]. This is to prevent a reaction with SiC and etching from occurring if a thermal oxide film or the like is deposited on the SiC during the subsequent high-temperature annealing. In particular, care must be taken because the ion-implanted region has crystal damage and the bonding force between the atoms is weak, so that the region is more easily etched than the other regions.
[0011]
Thereafter, high-temperature annealing for electrically activating the implanted impurities is performed [FIG. In order to completely activate the impurities, high temperatures of 1300 ° C. for N, 1500 ° C. for Al, and 1700 ° C. for B are required. Thus, although Al can lower the annealing temperature after ion implantation by about 100 to 200 ° C. than B, since the atomic weight is larger than B, the damage during ion implantation is large.
[0012]
At the time of high-temperature annealing, the SiC sample into which ions are implanted is placed in a polycrystalline SiC container. This is to prevent surface roughness by preventing sublimation of atoms near the surface at high temperatures.
[0013]
Thereafter, for example, in the case of a MOS element having an insulated gate structure, a thermal oxide film is formed. In the case of a Schottky diode, a Schottky electrode is formed.
[0014]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the case of an atom having a relatively small atomic weight such as B, there arises a problem that B atoms diffuse outward and inward during annealing at 1700 ° C. after ion implantation. In particular, when the ion implantation depth is shallow, B atoms escape from the surface into the vacuum due to outward diffusion.
[0015]
Further, there is a problem that surface roughness due to step bunching becomes severe in any of raising the annealing temperature, increasing the ion implantation dose, and implanting an ion implantation species having a large atomic weight.
[0016]
Step bunching is the following phenomenon. For example, in an epitaxial layer grown on a base substrate tilted by about 8 degrees in the [11-20] direction from the (0001) plane of 4H—SiC (this angle is called an off angle), each atomic layer grows laterally. Therefore, the growth step at the end of each atomic layer is integrated under a certain condition, and the surface unevenness becomes intense.
[0017]
On the other hand, the thermal diffusion method requires fewer steps than ion implantation and can easily form a deep junction. However, as described above, the diffusion coefficient of impurities in SiC is very small. Therefore, in order to form a bond by the thermal diffusion method, it is necessary to raise the temperature to near 2000 ° C., and no suitable mask material that can withstand such a high temperature and that can be easily processed such as patterning has not been found. Few diffusion methods were performed.
[0018]
In view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a device having good characteristics by keeping the SiC surface after annealing clean and smooth.
[0019]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a silicon carbide semiconductor element in which a reverse conductivity type region is formed by doping impurities and then annealing on a surface layer of a silicon carbide crystal plate. After performing a basic doping and removing the mask, a diamond-like carbon film (hereinafter referred to as DLC film) or an organic film protective film is deposited on the surface and annealed, and after the annealing, the protective film is removed. .
[0020]
Doping methods may be either ion implantation or gas diffusion.
[0021]
At the time of high-temperature annealing, H atoms and O atoms in the DLC film and the organic film are desorbed to form a graphitized C thin film. The melting point of graphite is 3550 ° C., and it can sufficiently withstand the temperature of 2000 ° C. necessary for thermal diffusion. Therefore, evaporation from the surface of the injected B is suppressed to reduce the B concentration gradient, and as a result, outward diffusion can be prevented. Further, since surface Si and C atoms are bonded to atoms in the C layer, surface diffusion of the outermost surface atoms of the SiC wafer is suppressed and surface roughness is reduced.
[0022]
The protective film is removed by oxygen plasma.
[0023]
The C film is removed by a like C0, C0 ₂ by 0 ₂ plasma.
[0024]
[0025]
[0026]
[0027]
[0028]
[0029]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples.
[0030]
[Example 1]
1A to 1F are cross-sectional views in order of steps for explaining the first manufacturing method of the present invention.
[0031]
As the wafer, an epitaxial wafer was used in which an epitaxial layer 2 was grown on an n-type 4H—SiC underlayer 1 having a surface off by 8 ° from the (0001) Si surface. The carrier concentration of the underlayer 1 is 1 × 10 ¹⁸ / cm ³ , the carrier concentration of the epitaxial layer 2 is 1 × 10 ¹⁶ / cm ³ , and the thickness is 10 μm.
[0032]
First, an oxide film 3 having a thickness of 30 nm is formed on the wafer by pyrogenic oxidation at 1100 ° C. for 5 hours [FIG. 1A].
[0033]
Next, a photoresist 4 having a thickness of about 5 μm is applied by a spin coater. After the adhesion between the photoresist 4 and the thermal oxide film 3 is improved by baking at 100 ° C., the photoresist 4 is patterned by photolithography, and then the exposed portion of the thermal oxide film 3 is etched by buffered hydrofluoric acid. FIG. (B)].
[0034]
Thereafter, B ions 5 are implanted at room temperature [FIG. The acceleration voltage is 30, 60, 100 kV, and the total dose is 5 × 10 ¹³ cm ⁻² .
[0035]
After the ion implantation, the photoresist 4 is removed by O ₂ plasma ashing at a substrate temperature of 100 ° C. Further, the thermal oxide film 3 is completely removed with buffered hydrofluoric acid. Thereafter, a DLC film 6 having a thickness of about 100 nm is formed by an ECR-CVD method using methane (CH ₄ ) [(d)]. In order to prevent peeling from the SiC wafer when forming the DLC film, it is necessary to reduce the internal stress. For this purpose, it is better not to apply a negative bias to the substrate during film formation in the ECR-CVD method.
[0036]
Thereafter, annealing is performed at 1700 ° C. for 30 minutes in an Ar atmosphere to activate the implanted B atoms. As a result, an impurity region 7 having a depth of about 0.5 μm and a concentration of 1 × 10 ¹⁸ cm ⁻³ is formed [FIG. At this time, the SiC sample is placed in a polycrystalline SiC container.
[0037]
After the annealing, the DLC film 6 is removed by O ₂ plasma ashing for about 4 minutes [(f) in the figure]. The ashing conditions are a power of 300 W, an O ₂ gas pressure of 50 Pa, and a substrate temperature of 100 ° C.
[0038]
When AFM (Atomic Force Microscope) observation of the surface which implemented said process was performed, surface roughness Ra was about 0.3 nm. This value means that the surface roughness is reduced to 1/10 compared to the surface roughness of 3 nm when annealing is performed without depositing the protective film.
[0039]
In addition, by the ion implantation and annealing under the same conditions, the peak concentration of B was reduced by 50% in the conventional process, whereas in the process according to the present invention, the reduction of the peak concentration by 20% could be suppressed. .
[0040]
That is, in the method of the present invention, it can be seen that a great effect was obtained in reducing the surface roughness and maintaining the concentration only by depositing the DLC film on the entire surface.
[0041]
Note that a DLC film may be formed by a sputtering method, or a photoresist may be used instead of the DLC film.
[ Reference example ]
2A to 2D are cross-sectional views in the order of steps for explaining the manufacturing method of the reference example .
[0042]
As in Example 1, a 4H—SiC wafer in which an epitaxial layer 2 was grown on an underlayer 1 was used.
[0043]
After applying a photoresist 4 having a thickness of about 5 μm on the epitaxial layer 2 by a spin coater, the photoresist 4 is patterned to expose a portion to be selectively doped [FIG. 2A].
[0044]
Next, in the heating process for performing selective doping, the photoresist 4 is carbonized and becomes a graphite film 8, which can be sufficiently applied as a mask during thermal diffusion [FIG.
[0045]
Impurity region 7 is formed by doping and diffusing for 1 hour at 2000 ° C. [FIG. For example, in the case of B, diborane [B ₂ H ₆ ] can be used as the doping gas 9. The carrier gas is Ar. The diffusion depth at this time is 5 μm. The surface impurity concentration was 1 × 10 ¹⁹ cm ⁻³ .
[0046]
The graphite film 9 is removed by O ₂ plasma ashing for 20 minutes [(d) in the figure].
[0047]
Also in this case, the surface roughness was 0.5 nm or less.
[0048]
In this method, the mask material may be an organic film, but if it is a photoresist, there is an advantage that processing for patterning is easy.
[0049]
As the doping gas 9, trimethylaluminum [Al (CH ₃ ) ₃ ] can be used in the case of Al, and the diffusion depth becomes about 1 μm by the same annealing.
[0050]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, selective doping using a mask is performed, and after removing the mask, a protective film such as a diamond-like carbon film or an organic film is deposited on the surface and annealing is performed. Thereafter, by removing the protective film with oxygen plasma or the like, the SiC surface can be kept clean and smooth, and a SiC semiconductor device having good characteristics can be manufactured.
[0051]
[0052]
Therefore, the present invention greatly contributes to the spread and development of silicon carbide semiconductor elements.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIGS. 1A to 1F are cross-sectional views in the order of manufacturing steps of a semiconductor device according to the first manufacturing method of the present invention. FIGS. 2A to 2D are cross-sectional views of a semiconductor device manufactured by a manufacturing method of a reference example . Cross-sectional views in the order of the manufacturing process [FIG. 3] (a) to (e) are cross-sectional views in the order of the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device according to the conventional manufacturing method.
1… Underlayer
2… Epitaxial layer
3… Thermal oxide film
4… Photoresist
5… B ion
6 DLC film
7… Impurity region
8… graphite film
9… doping gas

Claims (3)

In a method for manufacturing a silicon carbide semiconductor element in which an impurity region is formed by doping impurities and then annealing in a surface layer of a silicon carbide crystal plate, selective doping using a mask is performed, and the surface is removed after removing the mask. A method for producing a silicon carbide semiconductor device, comprising depositing a diamond-like carbon film or a protective film of an organic film on the substrate, annealing, and removing the protective film after annealing. 2. The method for manufacturing a silicon carbide semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein the doping method is an ion implantation method or a gas diffusion method. Method for manufacturing a silicon carbide semiconductor device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the protective film is removed by oxygen plasma.

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