US Patent Application 18361677. Metal/Dielectric/Metal Hybrid Hard Mask To Define Ultra-Large Height Top Electrode For Sub 60nm MRAM Devices simplified abstract

Metal/Dielectric/Metal Hybrid Hard Mask To Define Ultra-Large Height Top Electrode For Sub 60nm MRAM Devices

Organization Name

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.==Inventor(s)==

[[Category:Yi Yang of Fremont CA (US)]]

[[Category:Yu-Jen Wang of San Jose CA (US)]]

Metal/Dielectric/Metal Hybrid Hard Mask To Define Ultra-Large Height Top Electrode For Sub 60nm MRAM Devices - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18361677 titled 'Metal/Dielectric/Metal Hybrid Hard Mask To Define Ultra-Large Height Top Electrode For Sub 60nm MRAM Devices

Simplified Explanation

The patent application describes a method for creating an ultra-large height top electrode for MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory).

• The method involves using a unique combination of thin metal, thick dielectric, and thick metal layers as a hard mask stack.
• The etching process is carefully controlled to quickly remove the dielectric layer while minimizing the etch rate on the metal layers above and below.
• The thick dielectric layer provides protection, allowing for the successful etching of the large height metal hard mask.
• This innovation enables the creation of a large height top electrode, which is important for the performance and functionality of MRAM devices.

Original Abstract Submitted

An ultra-large height top electrode for MRAM is achieved by employing a novel thin metal/thick dielectric/thick metal hybrid hard mask stack. Etching parameters are chosen to etch the dielectric quickly but to have an extremely low etch rate on the metals above and underneath. Because of the protection of the large thickness of the dielectric layer, the ultra-large height metal hard mask is etched with high integrity, eventually making a large height top electrode possible.