US Patent Application 18356911. Middle-Of-Line Interconnect Structure Having Air Gap And Method Of Fabrication Thereof simplified abstract
Middle-Of-Line Interconnect Structure Having Air Gap And Method Of Fabrication Thereof
Organization Name
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
Inventor(s)
Yi-Nien Su of Hsinchu City (TW)
Jyu-Horng Shieh of Hsin-Chu City (TW)
Middle-Of-Line Interconnect Structure Having Air Gap And Method Of Fabrication Thereof - A simplified explanation of the abstract
This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18356911 titled 'Middle-Of-Line Interconnect Structure Having Air Gap And Method Of Fabrication Thereof
Simplified Explanation
The patent application describes a new type of interconnect for electronic devices that helps reduce capacitance and resistance.
- The interconnect structure includes a device-level contact and a ruthenium structure.
- The device-level contact physically connects to an integrated circuit feature.
- The ruthenium structure physically connects to the device-level contact.
- There is an air gap between the sidewalls of the ruthenium structure and the insulator layer.
- The top surface of the ruthenium structure is lower than the top surface of the insulator layer.
- A via in a third insulator layer connects to the ruthenium structure.
- A dummy contact spacer layer separates the first and second insulator layers.
Original Abstract Submitted
Middle-of-line (MOL) interconnects that facilitate reduced capacitance and/or resistance and corresponding techniques for forming the MOL interconnects are disclosed herein. An exemplary MOL interconnect structure includes a device-level contact disposed in a first insulator layer and a ruthenium structure disposed in a second insulator layer disposed over the first insulator layer. The device-level contact physically contacts an integrated circuit feature, and the ruthenium structure physically contacts the device-level contact. An air gap separates sidewalls of the ruthenium structure from the second insulator layer. A top surface of the ruthenium structure is lower than a top surface of the second insulator layer. A via disposed in a third insulator layer extends below the top surface of the second insulator layer to physically contact the ruthenium structure. A remainder of a dummy contact spacer layer may separate the first insulator layer and the second insulator layer.