Patent attributes
A silicon island structure and a method of fabricating same are disclosed. The method includes: forming multiple first trenches in a silicon substrate; forming second trenches by partially filling some of the first trenches with an insulating material; depositing a protective layer over the silicon substrate and over the second trenches; removing the protective layer over bottoms of the second trenches and the insulating material under the second trenches, thereby exposing sidewalls of some first trenches; oxidizing portions of the silicon substrate between the exposed sidewalls of the first trenches to form an oxide layer; removing the protective layer covering sidewalls of the second trenches; and filling the second trenches with an isolating material to form isolations, wherein portions of the silicon substrate between the isolations define silicon islands. This method enables the formation of silicon islands at desired locations with reduced process complexity and cost.
