Texas Instruments Corporation

Poornika Fernandes

Guruvayurappan Mathur

Luigi Colombo

Bhaskar Srinivasan

Haowen Bu

Abbas Ali

Scott William Jessen

David Matthew Curran

John Kenneth Arch

Paul Stulik

Shih Chang Chang

Ye Shao

Russell Duane Fields

Thomas Terrance Lynch

Scott Robert Summerfelt

Mark R Visokay

John Paul Campbell

Stephen Arlon Meisner

Shariq Arshad

Stephen Arion Meisner

Neil L Gardner

Sagnik Dey

Darrell R Krumme

Shih-Chang Chang

Joao Sergio Afonso

In some examples, an integrated circuit includes an isolation layer disposed on or over a semiconductor substrate. The integrated circuit also includes a first conductive plate located over the isolation layer and a composite dielectric layer located over the first conductive plate. The composite dielectric layer includes a first sublayer comprising a first chemical composition; a second sublayer comprising a second different chemical composition; and a third sublayer comprising a third chemical composition substantially similar to the first chemical composition. The integrated circuit further includes a second conductive plate located directly on the composite dielectric layer above the first conductive plate.

Integrated circuits including composite dielectric layer

In some examples, an integrated circuit comprises a substrate; a first metal layer and a second metal layer positioned above the substrate; a first composite dielectric layer located on the first metal layer, wherein the first composite dielectric layer comprises a first anti-reflective coating; a second composite dielectric layer positioned on the second metal layer, wherein the second composite dielectric layer comprises a second anti-reflective coating; and a capacitor metal layer disposed over the first composite dielectric layer.

Integrated circuits having dielectric layers including an anti-reflective coating

An integrated circuit (IC) including a semiconductor surface layer of a substrate including functional circuitry having circuit elements formed in the semiconductor surface layer configured together with a Metal-Insulator-Metal capacitor (MIM) capacitor on the semiconductor surface layer for realizing at least one circuit function. The MIM capacitor includes a multilevel bottom capacitor plate having an upper top surface, a lower top surface, and sidewall surfaces that connect the upper and lower top surfaces (e.g., a bottom plate layer on a three-dimensional (3D) layer or the bottom capacitor plate being a 3D bottom capacitor plate). At least one capacitor dielectric layer is on the bottom capacitor plate. A top capacitor plate is on the capacitor dielectric layer, and there are contacts through a pre-metal dielectric layer to contact the top capacitor plate and the bottom capacitor plate.

IC with 3D metal-insulator-metal capacitor

In a described example, an integrated circuit includes a capacitor first plate; a dielectric stack over the capacitor first plate comprising silicon nitride and silicon dioxide with a capacitance quadratic voltage coefficient less than 0.5 ppm/V; and a capacitor second plate over the dielectric stack.

Precision capacitor

In some examples, a method comprises: obtaining a substrate having at a metal interconnect layer deposited over the substrate; forming a first dielectric layer on the metal interconnect layer; forming a second dielectric layer on the first dielectric layer; forming a capacitor metal layer on the second dielectric layer; patterning and etching the capacitor metal layer and the second dielectric layer to the first dielectric layer to leave a portion of the capacitor metal layer and the second dielectric layer on the first dielectric layer; forming an anti-reflective coating to cover the portion of the capacitor metal layer and the second dielectric layer, and to cover the metal interconnect layer; and patterning the metal interconnect layer to form a first metal layer and a second metal layer.

Methods for etching metal interconnect layers

An integrated circuit (IC) includes a substrate and a first capacitor on the substrate. The first capacitor has a first width. A first dielectric layer is provided on a side of the first capacitor opposite the substrate. Further, a second capacitor is present on a side of the first dielectric layer opposite the first capacitor. The second capacitor has a second width that is smaller than the first width. The IC also has a second dielectric layer and a first metal layer. The second dielectric layer is on a side of the second capacitor opposite the first dielectric layer. The first metal layer is on a side of the second dielectric layer opposite the second capacitor.

Stacked capacitor

In a described example, a method for forming a capacitor includes: forming a capacitor first plate over a non-conductive substrate; flowing ammonia and nitrogen gas into a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) chamber containing the non-conductive substrate; stabilizing a pressure and a temperature in the PECVD chamber; turning on radio frequency high frequency (RF-HF) power to the PECVD chamber; pretreating the capacitor first plate for at least 60 seconds; depositing a capacitor dielectric on the capacitor first plate; and depositing a capacitor second plate on the capacitor dielectric.

An integrated circuit (IC) includes a second metal level located between first and third metal levels, a dielectric layer located over the metal levels, and first, second and third vias within the dielectric layer. The first via traverses the first dielectric layer from a surface of the dielectric layer to the first metal level and has a first diameter. The second via traverses the dielectric layer from the surface to the second metal level and has the first diameter. The third via traverses the dielectric layer from the surface to the third metal level and has a second diameter greater than the first diameter. In some implementations the first, second and third metal levels implement a capacitor.

IC with larger and smaller width contacts

An integrated circuit (IC) includes a semiconductor surface layer on a substrate including functional circuitry having circuit elements configured together with a metal-to-polysilicon capacitor on the semiconductor surface layer for realizing at least one circuit function. The metal-to-polysilicon capacitor includes a bottom plate including polysilicon, a capacitor dielectric including at least one capacitor dielectric layer on the bottom plate, a top plate on the capacitor dielectric, and contacts through a pre-metal dielectric layer that contact the top plate and contact the bottom plate. In lateral regions relative to the capacitor the capacitor dielectric layer has a thickness in a range between about 5% and about 50% of a thickness of the capacitor dielectric of the metal-to-polysilicon capacitor.

IC with top side capacitor having lateral regions with thinned capacitor dielectric

An integrated circuit (IC) includes a substrate having a semiconductor surface layer, at least one capacitor above the semiconductor surface layer including a bottom plate, a capacitor dielectric over the bottom plate, and a top plate over the capacitor dielectric, functional circuitry in the semiconductor surface layer includes a core region having transistors configured together with the capacitor for realizing at least one circuit function. Electrically conductive metal filled contacts are through the dielectric layer that contact the top plate, the bottom plate, and the core region, including a first filled contact hole having a first depth and a first width that reach the top capacitor plate, and second filled contact hole having a second depth and a second width that reach the core region. The second depth is deeper than the first depth, and the first width is at least ten (10) % larger than the second width.

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Murphy, TX, United States of America

Poornika Fernandes