Self-Aligned High Density and Size Adjustable Phase Change Memory
US-2020066337-A1 · Feb 27, 2020 · US
Structure and method to form phase change memory cell with self- align top electrode contact
US10833267B2 · US · B2
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Publication number | US-10833267-B2 |
| Application number | US-201816172643-A |
| Country | US |
| Kind code | B2 |
| Filing date | Oct 26, 2018 |
| Priority date | Oct 26, 2018 |
| Publication date | Nov 10, 2020 |
| Grant date | Nov 10, 2020 |
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Abstract
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A self-align metal contact for a phase control memory (PCM) element is provided that mitigates unwanted residual tantalum nitride (TaN) particles that would otherwise remain after patterning a TaN surface using an RIE process.
First claim
Opening claim text (preview).
What is claimed is: 1. A memory array comprising a plurality of phase change memory elements, wherein at least one of the plurality of phase change memory elements comprises: a bottom element coupled to a landing pad of the at least one of the plurality of phase change memory elements; a GeSbTe portion coupled to the bottom element, wherein the GeSbTe portion is fully formed within a via extending from and above the bottom element, and wherein the via is directly coated with a metal liner and extends through a layer of low-k dielectric material and through an NBLOK material; a top electrode metal coupled to the GeSbTe portion; an NBLOK capping layer extending at least partially over the layer of low-k dielectric material; another layer of low-k dielectric material extending at least partially over the NBLOK capping layer; and a self-aligned metal contact coupled to the top electrode metal and extending through the another layer of low-k dielectric material and through the NBLOK capping layer and penetrating into the top electrode metal. 2. The at least one of the plurality of phase change memory elements of claim 1 , wherein the bottom element is formed from a TaN material or a TiN material. 3. The at least one of the plurality of phase change memory elements of claim 2 , wherein the bottom element further comprises another NBLOK material to form a bi-layer in the bottom element. 4. The at least one of the plurality of phase change memory elements of claim 1 , wherein the top electrode metal is formed from a TaN material or a TiN material. 5. The at least one of the plurality of phase change memory elements of claim 1 , wherein the self-aligned metal contact is formed from one of copper (Cu) or tungsten (W). 6. The at least one of the plurality of phase change memory elements of claim 1 , wherein the top electrode metal is fully formed within the via. 7. The at least one of the plurality of phase change memory elements of claim 1 , wherein the NBLOK capping layer is above the GeSbTe portion in the via. 8. The at least one of the plurality of phase change memory elements of claim 1 , wherein the another layer of low-k dielectric material is above the GeSbTe portion in the via. 9. The at least one of the plurality of phase change memory elements of claim 8 , wherein the NBLOK capping layer is above the GeSbTe portion in the via. 10. The at least one of the plurality of phase change memory element of claim 1 , wherein the via is directly coated with a metal liner along sidewalls and a bottom surface of the via.
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Classifications
Electricity · mapped topic
- H01L45/1675Primary
Electricity · mapped topic
Electricity · mapped topic
Electricity · mapped topic
Electricity · mapped topic
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Frequently asked questions
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- What does patent US10833267B2 cover?
- A self-align metal contact for a phase control memory (PCM) element is provided that mitigates unwanted residual tantalum nitride (TaN) particles that would otherwise remain after patterning a TaN surface using an RIE process.
- Who is the assignee on this patent?
- IBM
- What technology area does this patent fall under?
- Primary CPC classification H01L45/1675. Mapped technology areas include Electricity.
- When was this patent published?
- Publication date Tue Nov 10 2020 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
- What related patents are in patentsdb?
- We list 3 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).