EP1124262B1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Integrated circuit comprising a multilayer dielectric stack and method
Assignee: Sharp Corp
•
Filing: 2001-02-08
•
Granted: 2006-04-19
•
Expires: 2021-02-08
Abstract
No abstract record available.
Inventors
- 👤 Yanjun Ma
- 👤 Yoshi Ono
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 00:55
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10P; H10P10/00; H10D; H10D64/00; H10D64/01; H10D64/013; H10D64/01302; H10D64/01332; H10D64/01336; H10D64/0134; H10D30/00; H10D30/01; H10D30/021; H10D30/0223; H10D30/0225; H10D64/01342; H10D64/60; H10D64/66; H10D64/68; H10D64/681; H10D64/685; H10D64/01344; H10D64/691; H10D64/693
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
123 words
An integrated circuit (IC) structure (110) for an IC comprising a multilayer dielectric stack (116) comprising: a) a first dielectric layer (130) comprising a first dielectric material overlying a semiconductor substrate; b) a second dielectric layer (140) comprising a second dielectric material overlying the first dielectric layer; c) a third dielectric layer (150) comprising the first dielectric material overlying the first (130) and second (140) dielectric layers; and d) an electrode (118) overlying the dielectric stack (116), characterized in that the second dielectric layer (140) is between approximately 0.2 and 0.5 nm (2 and 5 angstroms) thick, the first dielectric material is either AlN or SiN, and is amorphous, and the second dielectric material is either of ZrO 2 or HfO 2 .
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
22 words
The integrated circuit structure as in claim 1, wherein the first dielectric layer (130) is less than 5 nm (50 angstroms) thick.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
25 words
The integrated circuit structure as in claim 1, wherein the first dielectric layer (130) is between approximately 0.2 and 0.5 nm (2 and 5 angstroms)thick.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
The integrated circuit structure as in claim 1, further comprising an oxidation barrier (170) interposed between the first dielectric layer (130) and the semiconductor substrate (112).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
The integrated circuit structure as in claim 4, wherein the oxidation barrier (170) is composed of material selected from the group consisting of silicon nitride and silicon oxynitride.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
The integrated circuit structure as in claim 1, wherein a plurality of alternating layers of the first dielectric material and the second dielectric material are interposed between the semiconductor substrate (112) and the electrode (118).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
The integrated circuit structure as in claim 6, wherein the plurality of alternating layers has a combined thickness of between approximately 2 and 20 nm (20 and 200) angstroms thick.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
127 words
A method of forming a dielectric stack (116) comprising the steps of: a) forming a first dielectric layer (130) on an upper surface of a semiconductor substrate; b) forming a second dielectric layer (140) on the first dielectric layer (130); and c) forming a third dielectric layer. (150) above the second dielectric layer (140), wherein the third dielectric layer (150) comprises the same dielectric material as the first dielectric material, characterized in that the second dielectric layer (140) is formed to between approximately 0.2 and 0.5 nm (2 and 5 angstroms) thick, the first dielectric material is selected from the group consisting of AIN and SiN, and is amorphous, and the second dielectric material is selected from the group consisting of ZrO 2 and HfO 2 .
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of annealing the semiconductor substrate at a temperature between approximately 400 and 900 degrees Celsius, whereby the dielectric stack is conditioned.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of depositing an electrode layer over the dielectric stack and the step of patterning the electrode layer and underlying dielectric stack to form a desired integrated circuit structure.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 8, wherein the steps of forming the first dielectric layer uses atomic layer deposition to deposit a layer of the first dielectric material.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 8, wherein the step of forming the second dielectric layer uses atomic layer deposition to deposit a layer of the second dielectric material.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 8, wherein the step of forming the first dielectric layer uses atomic layer deposition to deposit a first precursor of the first dielectric material.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of oxidizing the first precursor to form the first dielectric material.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 13, wherein the first precursor is deposited as a self-limiting monolayer.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 13, wherein the first precursor is selected from the group consisting of ZrCl 4 , Zr(iOPr) 4 and Zr(tmhd) 4 .
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 8, wherein the step of forming the first dielectric layer uses sputtering of a first target for a predetermined duration and the step of forming the second dielectric layer uses pulsed sputtering of a second target for a predetermined duration.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 17, wherein the duration of sputtering the first target and the second target is controlled by shutters.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 17, wherein sputtering is performed in an oxidizing atmosphere.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 8, wherein the step of forming the first dielectric layer uses evaporation of a first target material for a predetermined duration and the step of forming the second dielectric layer uses evaporation of a second target material for a predetermined duration.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 20, wherein the duration of evaporation of the first target and the second target is controlled by shutters.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
65 words
The integrated circuit structure as in claim 1, wherein the first dielectric layer (130) and the third dielectric layer (150) which are both interposing materials are amorphous layers, and the second dielectric layer (140) which is a high-k layer adjacent to the first (130) and third (150) dielectric layers is a layer having the formation of polycrystalline structures reduced or eliminated by the interposing materials.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.