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:
Jun. 27, 2000
Filed:
Dec. 30, 1997
Applicant:
Inventors:
Calvin Gabriel, Cupertino, CA (US);
Ian Robert Harvey, Livermore, CA (US);
Linda Leard, San Jose, CA (US);
Assignee:
VLSI Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H01L / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
438710 ; 438706 ; 438711 ; 438712 ; 438724 ;
Abstract
An isolation structure on an integrated circuit is formed using a shallow trench isolation process. A layer of buffer oxide is formed on a substrate. A layer of nitride is formed on the layer of buffer oxide. The layer of nitride and the layer of buffer oxide are patterned to form a trench area. The substrate including the trench area is subjected to a plasma comprising H.sub.2 O vapor, and a gaseous fluorocarbon or a fluorinated hydrocarbon gas to clean impurities on the trench area. The substrate is etched to form a trench within the trench area.