Texas Instruments Corporation

Martin G Albrecht

Scott Robert Summerfelt

Theodore Sidney Moise

K R Udayakumar

Sanjeev Aggarwal

Francis Gabriel Celii

Kezhakkedath Ramunni Udayakumar

Ted S Moise

Sarah Hartwig

William W Dostalik, Jr

Jeff L Large

The present invention provides a method for etching a substrate, a method for forming an integrated circuit, an integrated circuit formed using the method, and an integrated circuit. The method for etching a substrate includes, among other steps, providing a substratehaving an aluminum oxide etch stop layerlocated thereunder, and then etching an opening, in the substrateusing an etchant comprising carbon oxide, a fluorocarbon, an etch rate modulator, and an inert carrier gas, wherein a flow rate of the carbon oxide is greater than about 80 sccm and the etchant is selective to the aluminum oxide etch stop layer. The aluminum oxide etch stop layer may also be used in the back-end of advanced CMOS processes as a via etch stop layer.

Method for etching a substrate and a device formed using the method

Semiconductor devices and fabrication methods are disclosed, in which one or more low silicon-hydrogen SiN barriers are provided to inhibit hydrogen diffusion into ferroelectric capacitors and into transistor gate dielectric interface areas. The barriers may be used as etch stop layers in various levels of the semiconductor device structure above and/or below the level at which the ferroelectric capacitors are formed so as to reduce the hydrogen related degradation of the switched polarization properties of the ferroelectric capacitors and to reduce negative bias temperature instability in the device transistors.

Low silicon-hydrogen sin layer to inhibit hydrogen related degradation in semiconductor devices having ferroelectric components

Semiconductor devices and fabrication methods are presented, in which a hydrogen barrier is provided above a ferroelectric capacitor to prevent degradation of the ferroelectric material during back-end manufacturing processes employing hydrogen. The hydrogen barrier comprises silicon rich silicon oxide or amorphous silicon, which can be used in combination with an aluminum oxide layer to inhibit diffusion of process-related hydrogen into the ferroelectric capacitor layer.

Hydrogen barrier for protecting ferroelectric capacitors in a semiconductor device and methods for fabricating the same

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McKinney, TX, United States of America

Martin G Albrecht