Multi-silicide structure for a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same

Abstract

A semiconductor device includes a multi-silicide structure comprising at least two conformal silicide layers. The multi-silicide structure may include a first conformal silicide layer on a source/drain, a second conformal silicide layer on the first conformal silicide layer, and a capping layer over the second conformal silicide layer. The semiconductor device includes a contact structure on the multi-silicide structure. The semiconductor device includes a dielectric material around the contact structure. In some implementations, a controller may determine etch process parameters to be used by an etch tool to perform an iteration of an atomic layer etch (ALE) process on the semiconductor device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 determining, by a controller, adjusted etch process parameters to be used by an etch tool to perform an iteration of an atomic layer etch (ALE) process on a semiconductor device,
 wherein the adjusted etch process parameters are determined using an analysis model trained to determine the adjusted etch process parameters based on target etch characteristics for an etch resulting from the iteration of the ALE process; and 
   providing, by the controller, the adjusted etch process parameters to the etch tool to permit the etch tool to perform the iteration of the ALE process on the semiconductor device according to the adjusted etch process parameters.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the adjusted etch process parameters comprises:
 generating predicted etch characteristics based on trial adjusted etch process parameters, the predicted etch characteristics being generated by providing the trial adjusted etch process parameters as an input to the analysis model;   determining whether the predicted etch characteristics match the target etch characteristics; and   determining the adjusted etch process parameters based on whether the predicted etch characteristics match the target etch characteristics.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the iteration of the ALE process is a first iteration, and the method further comprises:
 determining actual etch characteristics associated with the iteration of the ALE process after the iteration of the ALE process is performed according to the adjusted etch process parameters; and   updating the analysis model based on the actual etch characteristics, a result of updating the analysis model being an updated analysis model,
 wherein the updated analysis model is to be used to determine other adjusted etch process parameters to be used by the etch tool to perform a second iteration of the ALE process. 
   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first iteration of the ALE process and the second iteration of the ALE process are a first cycle of the ALE process and a second cycle of the ALE process, respectively. 
     
     
         5 . A method, comprising:
 determining, by a controller, adjusted etch process parameters to be used by an etch tool to perform an iteration of an etch process on a semiconductor device,
 wherein the adjusted etch process parameters identify process parameters to be utilized for the iteration of the etch process and is based on current etch process parameters and target etch characteristics, and 
 wherein the adjusted etch process parameters correspond to one or more conditions or one or more parameters of the iteration of the etch process that are modifiable, changeable, or adjustable; and 
   providing, by the controller, the adjusted etch process parameters to the etch tool to permit the etch tool to perform the iteration of the etch process on the semiconductor device according to the adjusted etch process parameters.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the adjusted etch process parameters are determined using an analysis model. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the target etch characteristics include one or more of:
 a target etch depth after the iteration of the etch process,   a target etch depth at one or more intermediate stages or one or more phases of the iteration of the etch process,   a target etch area or a target etch size of the iteration of the etch process,   a target etch uniformity of the iteration of the etch process, or   a target for another characteristic of the etch process resulting from of the iteration of the etch process.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the current etch process parameters include one or more current parameters or one or more current conditions of processing equipment associated with performing the etch process. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more current parameters or the one or more conditions of the processing equipment comprise:
 a current age of an ampoule to be utilized in the iteration of the etch process,   a type of a material that will be utilized in the iteration of the etch process,   a phase of the material that will be utilized in the iteration of the etch process, or   a length of a plumbing fixture to be used to carry a fluid or the material into an etch chamber of the etch tool.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the current etch process parameters relate to the semiconductor device to be etched in the iteration of the etch process. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the current etch process parameters comprise:
 an effective exposed plain area of the semiconductor device,   an exposed effective plain area crystal orientation of the semiconductor device,   an exposed effective plain area roughness index of the semiconductor device,   an exposed effective sidewall area of the semiconductor device,   an exposed effective side wall tilt angle of the semiconductor device, or   a wafer rotation or a tilt parameter associated with the semiconductor device.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein determining the adjusted etch process parameters comprises:
 generating predicted etch characteristics based on trial adjusted etch process parameters.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein generating the predicted etch characteristics comprises:
 providing the trial adjusted etch process parameters as an input to an analysis model; and   receiving the predicted etch characteristics as an output of the analysis model.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein generating the predicted etch characteristics further comprises:
 determining whether the predicted etch characteristics match the target etch characteristics.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein generating the predicted etch characteristics further comprises:
 modifying the trial adjusted etch process parameters to obtain modified trial adjusted etch process parameters;   providing the modified trial adjusted etch process parameters as an input to the analysis model; and   receiving modified predicted etch characteristics as the output of the analysis model.   
     
     
         16 . A method, comprising:
 determining, by a controller and using an analysis model, a first set of adjusted etch process parameters to be used by an etch tool to perform an iteration of an etch process on one or more semiconductor devices;   providing, by the controller, the first set of adjusted etch process parameters to the etch tool to permit the etch tool to perform the iteration of the etch process on the one or more semiconductor devices according to the first set of adjusted etch process parameters;   determining, by the controller, actual etch characteristics associated with the iteration of the etch process;   updating, by the controller and based on the actual etch characteristics, the analysis model to obtain an updated analysis model; and   determining, by the controller and using the updated analysis model, a second set of adjusted etch process parameters to be used by the etch tool to perform an upcoming iteration of the etch process on the one or more semiconductor devices.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the actual etch characteristics are determined to include characteristics of the etch process as actually performed by the etch tool according to the adjusted etch process parameters. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein determining the actual etch characteristics comprises:
 receiving the actual etch characteristics.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein updating the analysis model comprises:
 training the analysis model based on the actual etch characteristics and the first set of adjusted etch process parameters.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the first set of adjusted etch process parameters are determined to be used by the etch tool to perform the iteration of the etch process on a first semiconductor device of the one or more semiconductor devices, and wherein the second set of adjusted etch process parameters are determined to be used by the etch tool to perform the upcoming iteration of the etch process on a second semiconductor device of the one or more semiconductor devices.