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:
Nov. 19, 2002
Filed:
Jun. 11, 2001
Sailesh Chittipeddi, Allentown, PA (US);
Charles Walter Pearce, Emmaus, PA (US);
Agere Systems, Inc., Allentown, PA (US);
Abstract
An insulating structure includes a first silicon nitride layer, a tantalum pentoxide layer formed above the first silicon nitride (SiN ) layer, and a second silicon nitride layer formed above the tantalum pentoxide (Ta O ) layer. The SiN cladding layers prevent diffusion of the tantalum during heating. A high dielectric constant is provided. The thermal stability of the insulating structure is improved. The insulating structure may be included in a capacitor or a shallow trench isolation structure. An exemplary capacitor is formed with a substrate, a lower electrode, the three-layer Si N /Ta O /Si N structure and an upper electrode. The lower electrode may include a TiN layer formed over an aluminum layer, or a TiN layer formed over a polysilicon layer, or a polysilicon layer having an oxide barrier layer formed on it. The upper electrode may be a TiN layer or a polysilicon layer. An exemplary shallow trench isolation structure includes the Si N /Ta O /Si N structure as a liner on the sides and bottom of a shallow trench in the surface of a substrate. The shallow trench is filled with an oxide, such as TEOS. A variety of methods may be used for fabricating devices that include the Si N /Ta O /Si N structure.