A manufacturable shallow trench isolation process for sub-0.2 um DRAM technologies

A highly manufacturable and defect-free shallow trench isolation (STI) process is demonstrated by using 64M DRAM as a sensitive monitor. In the STI flow, a special sequence of extra anneal (1100C) after corner oxidation (i.e., liner oxide) and an RTA (1000C) anneal after HDP CVD oxide deposition can result in a significantly higher yield in 64M DRAM by effectively reducing silicon stress related substrate defects.