IT-CCD and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

The present invention provides a power-thrifty IT-CCD having a charge transfer electrode area thinned for improving the light reception efficiency of a photoelectric conversion section and being capable of executing high-speed and high-sensitivity transfer without lowering withstand voltage between charge transfer electrodes. A first insulation film is formed on the surface of a silicon substrate, and inter-electrode insulation films made of silicon oxide films and charge transfer electrodes made of polycrystalline silicon films are formed on the surface of the first insulation film. The inter-electrode insulation films are formed from side walls of the polycrystalline silicon films.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . An IT-CCD comprising: 
 a plurality of charge transfer electrodes formed on an insulation film on a surface of a semiconductor substrate;    wherein the contiguous charge transfer electrodes are separated by an inter-electrode insulation film and are placed so that they are not superposed on each other, and    wherein the inter-electrode insulation film is an insulation film formed from a side wall of one of the contiguous charge transfer electrodes.    
     
     
         2 . The IT-CCD according to  claim 1 , 
 wherein spacing between the charge transfer electrodes formed by the inter-electrode insulation film is 0.1 μm or less.    
     
     
         3 . The IT-CCD according to  claim 1 , 
 wherein the charge transfer electrodes are formed so as to become the same surface as the upper end of the inter-electrode insulation film.    
     
     
         4 . The IT-CCD according to claims  1 , 
 wherein the charge transfer electrode contains a conductive film made of a silicon-based material.    
     
     
         5 . The IT-CCD according to  claim 4 , 
 wherein the charge transfer electrode is a multi-layer structure film of a silicon-based conductive film made of a silicon-based material and a conductive film containing metal formed on the silicon-based conductive film.    
     
     
         6 . The IT-CCD according to  claim 4 , 
 wherein the conductive film contains tungsten.    
     
     
         7 . A manufacturing method of an IT-CCD including a plurality of charge transfer electrodes formed on a first insulation film on a surface of a semiconductor substrate, said manufacturing method comprising the steps of: 
 first conductive film forming for forming a first conductive film which forms at least a part of the charge transfer electrode on the first insulation film;    etching stopper layer forming for forming an etching stopper layer made of a material having etching selectivity for a material forming the first conductive film on the first conductive film;    two-layer patterning for patterning the first conductive film and the etching stopper layer by photolithography to form a two-layer structure pattern of the first conductive film and the etching stopper layer;    second insulation film forming for forming a second insulation film on the whole substrate surface so as to cover the two-layer structure pattern;    side wall insulation film forming for anisotropic etching the second insulation film in a vertical direction so as to leave the second insulation film only on side walls of the two-layer structure pattern;    second conductive film forming for forming on the insulation film a second conductive film forming at least a part of the charge transfer electrode so as to cover the whole two-layer structure pattern until the surface becomes flat;    etching-back for etching back the second conductive film until the etching stopper layer is exposed; and    etching stopper layer removing for removing the etching stopper layer.    
     
     
         8 . The manufacturing method according to  claim 7 , 
 wherein said step of side wall insulation film forming includes a step of performing anisotropic etching with the first insulation film as an etching stopper.    
     
     
         9 . The manufacturing method according to  claim 7 , 
 wherein the first or second conductive film is a polycrystalline silicon film.    
     
     
         10 . The manufacturing method according to  claim 7 , 
 wherein said etching-back step is executed by CMP.    
     
     
         11 . The manufacturing method according to  claim 7 , 
 wherein the second insulation film is a silicon oxide film.    
     
     
         12 . The manufacturing method according to  claim 7 , further comprising the steps of: 
 etching for etching surfaces of the first and second conductive films to a position lower than the upper end of the side wall insulation film;    metal film forming for forming a metal film on the whole surface; and    flatting for etching back the metal film until the top face of the side wall insulation film is exposed and flatting the surface after the step of etching stopper layer removing.