Motorola Corporation

Lucent Technologies Inc.

Kevin Yun-kang Wu

Pradip Kumar Roy

Yi Ma

Frank Kelsey Baker, Jr

Erwin J Prinz

Jeffrey D Ganger

Kenneth C Weng

Wei-Ming Chen

Der-Gao Lin

Christopher Sterling Lohn

Gregory M Yeric

In one embodiment, the reliability of an integrated circuit having a floating gate device (50), a high breakdown voltage transistor (52), and a low breakdown voltage transistor (54), which are electrically isolated from each other by a trench isolation region (12), is improved by using an oxidation resistant layer (24). The oxidation resistant layer (24) protects portions of the trench isolation region (12) when the gate dielectric layer (30) for the high breakdown voltage transistor (52) is formed, and when the gate dielectric layer (36) for the low breakdown voltage transistor (54) is formed. The oxidation resistant layer (24) minimizes etching of the field isolation region (12) so that thinning or recessing of the field isolation region (12) is minimized.

Method for forming an integrated circuit

A method of forming a stacked capacitor structure in a semiconductor device, having metal electrode plates. After depositing the bottom electrode layer (26) and the dielectric layer (28) of the capacitor, a rough patterning step is carried out to roughly pattern or shape the bottom electrode layer and the dielectric layer, and to expose the underlying interlayer dielectric (18). A top electrode layer (32) is then blanket deposited, and another, more precise etching step is carried out to form the final shape of the capacitor element, while leaving behind a portion of the top electrode layer on the interlayer dielectric, which forms a metal interconnect (36). In one embodiment, the electrode layers are comprised of materials having a conductivity greater than doped silicon (either poly or monocrystalline), such as a metal.

Method for forming a semiconductor device having a capacitor structure

A composite 3-layer gate dielectric is disclosed. The upper and lower layers have a concentration of nitrogen atoms, while the middle layer has very few nitrogen atoms. The presence of the nitrogen atoms in the top sublayers provides resistance to boron diffusion from the top conductive layer and plasma damage during polysilicon gate stack formation and the presence of nitrogen in the bottom sublayer near the silicon-dielectric interface improves wearout, endurance, resistance to current stress and electron traps.

Method of making a dielectric for an integrated circuit

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Kevin Yun-kang Wu