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:
May. 02, 2000
Filed:
Apr. 21, 1998
Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation, Hsinchu, TW;
Abstract
A silicon dioxide layer and a silicon nitride layer are formed on the wafer. Subsequently, a plurality of shallow trenches are generated in the wafer. A HDP-CVD oxide having protruding portions is refilled into the trenches and formed on the silicon nitride layer for isolation. A wet etch is performed to etch the HDP-CVD oxide layer such that the corners of the silicon nitride layer formed on the active area will be exposed. A cap silicon nitride layer is then conformally formed on the surface of the oxide layer. Then, a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process is used to remove the top of the cap silicon nitride layer, thereby exposing the residual protruding portions of the oxide layer. The residual protruding portions of the oxide layer are next removed. Then, the silicon nitride layer and the cap silicon nitride layer are both removed by conventional methods. Finally, the pad oxide is removed.