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:
Sep. 21, 2004
Filed:
May. 30, 1997
Gregory C. Smith, Carrollton, TX (US);
STMicroelectronics, Inc., Carrollton, TX (US);
Abstract
The contact opening through an insulating layer is formed having a straight sidewall portion and a bowl shaped sidewall portion. The bowl shaped sidewall portion is near the top of the insulation layer to provide an enlarged diameter of the contact opening at the top relative to the bottom. A conductive material is then formed in the contact opening in electrical contact with a lower conductive layer. The conductive material forms a plug having an enlarged head, such as a nail head or a flat heat screw shape. The enlarged head protects the silicon and a barrier layer, if present, within the contact from being etched by any subsequent anisotropic etches. Thus, when an electrical interconnection layer such as aluminum is formed overlying the contact plug, the plug acts as an etch stop to prevent etching of a barrier layer of the barrier layer within the contact opening.