International Business Machines Corporation

Karl W Barth

Kevin Shawn Petrarca

Shahab Siddiqui

Jeffrey P Gambino

Tom C Lee

Kaushik Arun Kumar

Ricardo Alves Donaton

Ramona Kei

Spyridon Galis

Stephen K Loh

Stephen M Lucarini

John Charles Petrus

Each of a first substrate and a second substrate includes a surface having a diffusion resistant dielectric material such as silicon nitride. Recessed regions are formed in the diffusion resistant dielectric material and filled with a bondable dielectric material. The patterns of the metal pads and bondable dielectric material portions in the first and second substrates can have a mirror symmetry. The first and second substrates are brought into physical contact and bonded employing contacts between metal pads and contacts between the bondable dielectric material portions. Through-substrate-via (TSV) structures are formed through bonded dielectric material portions. The interface between each pair of bonded dielectric material portions located around a TSV structure is encapsulated by two diffusion resistant dielectric material layers so that diffusion of metal at a bonding interface is contained within each pair of bonded dielectric material portions.

Hybrid bonding interface for 3-dimensional chip integration

A method of forming a programmable fuse structure includes forming at least one shallow trench isolation (STI) in a substrate, forming an e-fuse over the at least one STI and depositing an interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer over the e-fuse. Additionally, the method includes removing at least a portion of the at least one STI under the e-fuse to provide an air gap below a portion of the e-fuse and removing at least a portion of the ILD layer over the e-fuse to provide the air gap above the portion of the e-fuse.

Fuse link structures using film stress for programming and methods of manufacture

A method of forming a programmable fuse structure includes forming at least one shallow trench isolation (STI) in a substrate, fanning an e-fuse over the at least one STI and depositing an interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer over the e-fuse. Additionally, the method includes removing at least a portion of the at least one STI under the e-fuse to provide an air gap below a portion of the e-fuse and removing at least a portion of the ILD layer over the e-fuse to provide the air gap above the portion of the e-fuse.

A metal interconnect and an IC chip including the metal interconnect are disclosed. One embodiment of the method may include providing an integrated circuit (IC) chip up to and including a middle of line (MOL) layer, the MOL layer including a contact positioned within a first dielectric; recessing the first dielectric such that the contact extends beyond an upper surface of the first dielectric; forming a second dielectric over the first dielectric such that the second dielectric surrounds at least a portion of the contact, the second dielectric having a lower dielectric constant than the first dielectric; forming a planarizing layer over the second dielectric; forming an opening through the planarizing layer and into the second dielectric to the contact; and forming a metal in the opening to form the metal interconnect.

Metal interconnect and IC chip including metal interconnect

Methods of forming a metal interconnect and an IC chip including the metal interconnect are disclosed. One embodiment of the method may include providing an integrated circuit (IC) chip up to and including a middle of line (MOL) layer, the MOL layer including a contact positioned within a first dielectric; recessing the first dielectric such that the contact extends beyond an upper surface of the first dielectric; forming a second dielectric over the first dielectric such that the second dielectric surrounds at least a portion of the contact, the second dielectric having a lower dielectric constant than the first dielectric; forming a planarizing layer over the second dielectric; forming an opening through the planarizing layer and into the second dielectric to the contact; and forming a metal in the opening to form the metal interconnect.

Metal interconnect forming methods and IC chip including metal interconnect

A method for forming a dielectric cap layer over an interconnect layer formed by a back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) interconnect process, the interconnect process including: lithography, reactive ion etching (RIE), metal filling of BEOL conductors, and chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP), wherein a sacrificial material resides between conductors of the interconnect layer, and wherein the dielectric cap layer is made porous through an oxidation process.

Stress relaxation, selective nitride phase removal

A apparatus and method for determining minimum line widths of free standing structures built by a semiconductor (S/C) manufacturing process. Free standing structures are created in a semiconductor device and subjected to an aerosol process which is tuned and centered with respect to a critical line width for the free standing structures. The S/C manufacturing process is tuned responsive to failure of free standing structures of sub-critical line widths.

Growing community of inventors

Poughkeepsie, NY, United States of America

Karl W Barth