Low resistance electrode for high aspect ratio confined PCM cell in BEOL

US10903418B2 · US · B2

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-10903418-B2
Application numberUS-201816194662-A
CountryUS
Kind codeB2
Filing dateNov 19, 2018
Priority dateNov 19, 2018
Publication dateJan 26, 2021
Grant dateJan 26, 2021

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  1. Title

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  2. Abstract

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  3. Assignees and inventors

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  4. Key dates

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  5. First independent claim

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Abstract

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A phase change material (“PCM”) device is described. A non-limiting example of the PCM device includes a bottom electrode including a low resistivity material and a PCM material over the bottom electrode. The PCM device has a top electrode over the PCM material.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

What is claimed is: 1. A method of forming a PCM device, the method comprising: forming a low resistivity bottom electrode; depositing an etch stop layer above the bottom electrode; depositing an ILD layer, a sacrificial silicon nitride layer, and a titanium nitride hard mask layer stacked in sequence above the etch stop layer; etching through each of the titanium nitride hard mask layer, the sacrificial silicon nitride layer, and the ILD layer so as to expose the etch stop layer above the bottom electrode; responsive to etching through each of the titanium nitride hard mask layer, the sacrificial silicon nitride layer, and the ILD layer, removing the titanium nitride hard mask layer and the sacrificial silicon nitride layer; depositing a liner within the ILD layer and on top of the etch stop layer; punching through the liner and an exposed portion of the etch stop layer to the bottom electrode; depositing a PCM material within the ILD layer, such that the PCM material is in electrical contact with the bottom electrode; and forming a top electrode on top of the PCM material. 2. The method of forming a PCM device of claim 1 further comprising, prior to depositing the PCM material, depositing a second liner upon the liner and the exposed portion of the bottom electrode. 3. The method of forming a PCM device of claim 1 , wherein forming the top electrode further comprises forming a bottom portion of the top electrode and forming a top portion of the top electrode. 4. The method of forming a PCM device of claim 1 , wherein the bottom electrode is formed on a first landing pad. 5. The method of forming a PCM device of claim 1 further comprising forming a second ILD layer around the top electrode. 6. The method of forming a PCM device of claim 1 further comprising forming a wiring formation on top of the top electrode. 7. The method of forming a PCM device of claim 1 further comprising forming a third ILD layer around the wiring formation. 8. The method of forming a PCM device of claim 6 further comprising forming a second etch stop layer on top of the top electrode prior to forming the wiring formation. 9. The method of forming a PCM device of claim 4 further comprising forming a second landing pad adjacent the first landing pad, forming a second wiring formation in the third ILD layer and forming a via between the second wiring formation and the second landing pad. 10. A method of forming a PCM device, the method comprising: forming a low resistivity bottom electrode; depositing an etch stop layer above the bottom electrode; depositing an ILD layer, a sacrificial silicon nitride layer, and a titanium nitride hard mask layer stacked in sequence above the etch stop layer; etching through each of the titanium nitride hard mask layer, the sacrificial silicon nitride layer, and the ILD layer so as to expose the etch stop layer above the bottom electrode; responsive to etching through each of the titanium nitride hard mask layer, the sacrificial silicon nitride layer, and the ILD layer, removing the titanium nitride hard mask layer; depositing a liner within the ILD layer and the sacrificial nitride layer and on top of the etch stop layer; punching through the liner and an exposed portion of the etch stop layer to the bottom electrode; depositing a PCM material within the ILD layer and the sacrificial layer, such that the PCM material is in electrical contact with the bottom electrode; and forming a top electrode on top of the PCM material. 11. The method of forming a PCM device of claim 10 further comprising removing the sacrificial nitride layer after depositing the liner and prior to forming a top electrode on top of the PCM material. 12. The method of forming a PCM device of claim 10 further comprising, prior to depositing the PCM material, depositing a second liner upon the liner and the exposed portion of the bottom electrode. 13. The method of forming a PCM device of claim 10 , wherein forming the top electrode further comprises forming a bottom portion of the top electrode and forming a top portion of the top electrode.

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Frequently asked questions

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What does patent US10903418B2 cover?
A phase change material (“PCM”) device is described. A non-limiting example of the PCM device includes a bottom electrode including a low resistivity material and a PCM material over the bottom electrode. The PCM device has a top electrode over the PCM material.
Who is the assignee on this patent?
IBM
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification H01L45/06. Mapped technology areas include Electricity.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Tue Jan 26 2021 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 6 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).