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:
Feb. 18, 2003
Filed:
Mar. 13, 2002
Yves Morand, Grenoble, FR;
Yveline Gobil, Grenoble, FR;
Olivier Demolliens, St Egreve, FR;
Myriam Assous, Grenoble, FR;
Other;
Abstract
The invention relates to a process for making a copper connection with a copper connection element in an integrated circuit comprising a damascene structure, with the connection element being covered successively with an encapsulation layer and at least one layer of dielectric material with a very low dielectric constant. The process includes the steps of etching the layer of dielectric material until the encapsulation layer is reached in order to obtain a connection hole opposite the connection element. A protective layer is then formed on the walls of the connection hole, with the protective layer preventing contamination of the dielectric layer from diffusion of copper. The protective and encapsulation layers are then etched at the bottom of the connection hole in such a way as to reveal the connection element. The connection hole is then filled with copper.