Structure and method for preventing uv radiation damage in a memory cell and improving contact cd control

Abstract

According to one exemplary embodiment, a structure comprises a substrate. The structure further comprises at least one memory cell situated on the substrate. The at least one memory cell may be, for example, a SONOS flash memory cell. The structure further comprises an interlayer dielectric layer situated over at least one memory cell and over the substrate. The structure further comprises a first antireflective coating layer situated over the interlayer dielectric layer. According to this exemplary embodiment, the structure further comprises a second antireflective coating layer situated directly over the first anti reflective coating layer. Either the first antireflective coating layer or second antireflective coating layer must be a silicon-rich layer. The first antireflective coating layer and the second antireflective coating may form a UV radiation blocking layer having a UV transparency less than approximately 1.0 percent, for example.