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:
Dec. 24, 2002
Filed:
Jan. 21, 2000
Stephen Downey, Orlando, FL (US);
Edward Harris, Orlando, FL (US);
Sailesh Merchant, Orlando, FL (US);
Agere Systems Inc., Allentwon, PA (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides a capacitor for use in a semiconductor device having a damascene interconnect structure, such as a dual damascene interconnect, formed over a substrate of a semiconductor wafer. In one particularly advantageous embodiment, the capacitor, comprises a first capacitor electrode, such as copper, comprised of a portion of the damascene interconnect structure, an insulator layer formed on the damascene interconnect structure wherein the insulator layer is a passivation layer, such as silicon nitride. The passivation layer may be an outermost or final passivation layer, or it may be an interlevel passivation layer. The capacitor further includes a second capacitor electrode comprised of a conductive layer, such as aluminum, that is formed on at least a portion of the insulator layer.