Cypress Semiconductor Corporation

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd (corporation)

Feng Dai

Lap Chan

Chan-Lon Yang

Roger J Bettman

Mira Ben-Tzur

Ivan Petrov Ivanov

Gorley L Lau

Bartosz Banachowicz

Fuad Badrieh

Peter Hing

Pang Choong Hau

In one embodiment, an electrically conductive trench in an integrated circuit allows for the formation of capacitors between the trench and other portions of the integrated circuit. For example, a capacitor may be formed between the trench and an electrically conductive line. Among other advantages, the capacitor provides a relatively large capacitance while occupying a relatively small area.

Trench-based capacitor for integrated circuits

In one embodiment, a via structure includes a liner, a barrier layer over the liner, and an aluminum layer over the barrier layer. The barrier layer helps minimize reaction between the aluminum layer and the liner, thus helping minimize void formation in the via. The liner and the barrier layer may be deposited in-situ by ionized metal plasma (IMP) physical vapor deposition (PVD). In one embodiment, the liner comprises titanium, while the barrier layer comprises titanium nitride.

Aluminum-filled via structure with barrier layer

A new method of forming shallow trench isolations without using CMP is described. A plurality of isolation trenches are etched through an etch stop layer into the semiconductor substrate leaving narrow and wide active areas between the trenches. An oxide layer is deposited over the etch stop layer and within the trenches using a high density plasma chemical vapor deposition process (HDP-CVD) having a deposition component and a sputtering component wherein after the oxide layer fills the trenches, the deposition component is discontinued while continuing the sputtering component until the oxide layer is at a desired depth. In one method, the oxide layer overlying the etch stop layer in the wide active areas is etched away. The etch stop layer and oxide layer residues are removed to complete planarized STI regions. In another method, a second etch stop layer is deposited over the oxide layer using a HDP-CVD process whereby the second etch stop layer is sputtered away over the oxide layer overlying the first etch stop layer in the narrow active areas and whereby the second etch stop layer remains in the wide active areas. The second etch stop layer over the oxide layer in the wide active areas is etched away. The oxide layer overlying the first etch stop layer in the narrow and wide active areas is etched away. The first and second etch stop layers are removed to complete STI regions.

Method to achieve STI planarization

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Feng Dai