Texas Instruments Corporation

Steven Alan Lytle

Byron Lovell Williams

Satyavolu Srinivas Papa Rao

Alwin J Tsao

Hisashi Shichijo

Kenneth D Brennan

Darius Lammont Crenshaw

An integrated circuit and method includes self-aligned contacts. A gapfill dielectric layer fills spaces between sidewalls of adjacent MOS gates. The gapfill dielectric layer is planarized down to tops of gate structures. A contact pattern is formed that exposes an area for multiple self-aligned contacts. The area overlaps adjacent instances of the gate structures. The gapfill dielectric layer is removed from the area. A contact metal layer is formed in the areas where the gapfill dielectric material has been removed. The contact metal abuts the sidewalls along the height of the sidewalls. The contact metal is planarized down to the tops of the gate structures, forming the self-aligned contacts.

Self aligned active trench contact

A method of uniformly shrinking hole and space geometries by forming sidewalls of an ALD film deposited at low temperature on a photolithographic pattern.

Method for patterning sublithographic features

A method () of forming a MIM (metal insulator metal) capacitor is disclosed whereby adverse affects associated with copper diffusion are mitigated even as the capacitor is scaled down. A sidewall spacer () is formed against an edge () of a layer of bottom electrode/copper diffusion barrier material (), an edge () of a layer of capacitor dielectric material () and at least some of an edge () of a layer of top electrode material. The sidewall spacer () is dielectric or non-conductive and mitigates 'shorting' currents that can develop between the plates as a result of copper diffusion. Bottom electrode diffusion barrier material () mitigates copper diffusion and/or copper drift, thereby reducing the likelihood of premature device failure.

Growing community of inventors

McKinney, TX, United States of America

Steven Alan Lytle