The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 25, 2023
Filed:
May. 18, 2021
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Hsinchu, TW;
Yi-Sheng Lin, Hsinchu, TW;
Chi-Jen Liu, Hsinchu, TW;
Chi-Hsiang Shen, Hsinchu, TW;
Te-Ming Kung, Hsinchu, TW;
Chun-Wei Hsu, Hsinchu, TW;
Chia-Wei Ho, Hsinchu, TW;
Yang-Chun Cheng, Hsinchu, TW;
William Weilun Hong, Hsinchu, TW;
Liang-Guang Chen, Hsinchu, TW;
Kei-Wei Chen, Hsinchu, TW;
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Hsinchu, TW;
Abstract
The current disclosure describes techniques of protecting a metal interconnect structure from being damaged by subsequent chemical mechanical polishing processes used for forming other metal structures over the metal interconnect structure. The metal interconnect structure is receded to form a recess between the metal interconnect structure and the surrounding dielectric layer. A metal cap structure is formed within the recess. An upper portion of the dielectric layer is strained to include a tensile stress which expands the dielectric layer against the metal cap structure to reduce or eliminate a gap in the interface between the metal cap structure and the dielectric layer.