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:
Mar. 22, 2016
Filed:
Mar. 27, 2014
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Domingo A. Ferrer, Fishkill, NY (US);
Jim Shih-Chun Liang, Poughkeepsie, NY (US);
Joyeeta Nag, Wappingers Falls, NY (US);
Wei-tsu Tseng, Hopewell Junction, NY (US);
George S. Tulevski, Croton-on-Hudson, NY (US);
GLOBALFOUNDRIES INC., Grand Cayman, KY;
Abstract
The present invention relates generally to forming interconnects over contacts and more particularly, to a method and structure for filling interconnect trenches with a sacrificial filler material before removal of a hard mask layer to protect the liners of the contacts from damage during the removal process. A method is disclosed that may include: filling an opening in a dielectric layer above a contact and a contact liner with a sacrificial filler material, such that the contact liner is completely covered by the sacrificial filler material; removing a hard mask layer used to pattern and form the opening; and removing the sacrificial filler material from the opening selective to the dielectric layer, the contact liner, and the contact to form an interconnect trench.