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. 06, 2011
Filed:
Apr. 17, 2008
Greg Braeckelmann, Holzkirchen, DE;
Marius Orlowski, Meylan, FR;
Andreas Wild, Tempe, AZ (US);
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Austin, TX (US);
Abstract
A method of sealing an air gap in a layer of a semiconductor structure comprises providing a first layer of the semiconductor structure having at least one air gap for providing isolation between at least two conductive lines formed in the first layer. The at least one air gap extends into the first layer from a first surface of the first layer. The method further comprises forming a barrier layer of a barrier dielectric material over the first surface of the first layer and the at least one air gap. The barrier dielectric material is selected to have a dielectric constant less than 3.5 and to provide a barrier to prevent chemicals entering the at least one air gap. In another embodiment, the at least one air gap extends from a first surface of the first layer to at least a portion of side surfaces of the at least two conductive lines to expose at least a portion of the side surfaces, and a barrier layer of a barrier dielectric material is formed over the exposed portions of the side surfaces of each of the at least two conductive lines.