Patent US8569818B2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US8569818B2
Active / In Force
US
⏱️ 6.0 years remaining
Blocking layers for leakage current reduction in DRAM devices
Assignee: Intermolecular Inc
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Filing: 2012-10-23
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Granted: 2013-10-29
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Expires: 2032-10-23
Abstract
Abstract A method for forming a DRAM MIM capacitor stack having low leakage current involves the use of a first electrode that serves as a template for promoting the high k phase of a subsequently deposited dielectric layer. The high k dielectric layer comprises a doped material that can be crystallized after a subsequent annealing treatment. An amorphous blocking is formed on the dielectric layer. The thickness of the blocking layer is chosen such that the blocking layer remains amorphous after a subsequent annealing treatment. A second electrode layer compatible with the blocking layer is formed on the blocking layer.
Inventors
- 👤 Sandra G. Malhotra
- 👤 Hanhong Chen
- 👤 Wim Y. Deweerd
- 👤 Hiroyuki Ode
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 00:25
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10D; H10D1/00; H10D1/60; H10D1/68; H10D1/692; H10B; H10B12/00; H10B12/01; H10B12/02; H10B12/03; H10B12/033
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
91 words
A semiconductor layer stack comprising: a first electrode layer formed on a substrate; a dielectric material formed on the first electrode layer, wherein the dielectric material comprises a dopant; a blocking layer formed on the dielectric material, wherein the blocking layer comprises one of Er 2 O 3 , Ga 2 O 3 , or Gd 2 O 3 , has the k value being between about 10 and about 45, and the band gap being greater than about 4.8 eV; and a second electrode layer formed on the blocking layer.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
91 words
A semiconductor layer stack comprising: a first electrode layer formed on a substrate; a dielectric material formed on the first electrode layer, wherein the dielectric material comprises a dopant; a blocking layer formed on the dielectric material, wherein the blocking layer comprises one of Er 2 O 3 , Ga 2 O 3 , or Gd 2 O 3 , has the k value being between about 10 and about 45, and the band gap being greater than about 4.8 eV; and a second electrode layer formed on the blocking layer.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
40 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 , wherein the first electrode layer comprises one of a metal, a metal alloy, a conductive metal oxide, a conductive metal silicide, a conductive metal carbide, a conductive metal nitride, or combinations thereof.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
41 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 2 wherein the first electrode layer is a conductive metal oxide comprising one of molybdenum oxide, tungsten oxide, ruthenium oxide, iron oxide, iridium oxide, chromium oxide, manganese oxide, tin oxide, cobalt oxide, or nickel oxide.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 3 wherein the conductive metal oxide comprises molybdenum oxide.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
71 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 wherein the dielectric material comprises one of Al 2 O 3 , BaSrTiO X (BST), HfO 2 , HfSiO X , Nb 2 O 5 , PbZrTiO X (PZT), SiO 2 , a bilayer of SiO 2 and Si X N Y , SiON, SrTiO 3 (STO), Ta 2 O 5 , TiO 2 , ZrO 2 , or doped versions of the same.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
46 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 5 wherein the dielectric material comprises TiO 2 , and wherein the dopant comprises one of Al, Ce, Co, Er, Ga, Gd, Ge, Hf, In, La, Lu, Mg, Mn, Nd, Pr, Sc, Si, Sn, Sr, Y, Zr, or combinations thereof.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
13 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 wherein the blocking layer is doped.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 wherein the blocking layer is thinner than the dielectric material.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 wherein the thickness of the blocking layer is less than about 2.0 nm.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
23 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 wherein the thickness of the blocking layer is between about 0.7 nm and about 1.5 nm.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
30 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 wherein the thickness of the blocking layer is less or equal to about 25% of the total dielectric thickness of the capacitor stack.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
35 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 wherein the second electrode layer comprises one of Co, CoN, Ir, MoN, MoO2, Ni, NiN, NiO, Pt, Pd, Ru, RuO 2 , TiN, VN, WN, or combinations thereof.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
25 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 wherein the first electrode layer is subjected to an annealing treatment before the formation of the dielectric material.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
39 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 wherein the first electrode layer, the dielectric material, and the blocking are subjected to an annealing treatment after the formation of the blocking and before the formation of the second electrode layer.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
37 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 wherein the first electrode layer, the dielectric material, the blocking layer, and the second electrode layer are subjected to an annealing treatment after the formation of the second electrode layer.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
26 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 wherein a barrier height between the blocking layer and the second electrode layer is greater than about 1.2 eV.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
17 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 wherein the blocking layer comprises Er 2 O 3 .
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
47 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 17 wherein the blocking layer further comprises a dopant, wherein the first electrode comprises MoO 2 , wherein the dielectric materials comprises TiO 2 , wherein the dopant of the dielectric materials comprises Al, and wherein the second electrode comprises platinum.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
17 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 wherein the blocking layer comprises Ga 2 O 3 .
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
17 words
The semiconductor layer stack of claim 1 wherein the blocking layer comprises Gd 2 O 3 .
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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