In the manufacture of semiconductor products such as integrated circuits, individual electrical devices are formed on or in a semiconductor substrate, and are thereafter interconnected to form circuits. Interconnection of these devices is typically accomplished by forming a multi-level interconnect network in and through one or more dielectric or non-conductive layers that are formed over the electrical devices to electrically isolate the devices from one another. A conductive material, such as copper, is deposited into vias and/or trenches formed within these dielectric layers to connect the devices and thereby establish the multi-level interconnect network.
MIM (metal insulator metal) capacitors are semiconductor devices that are formed by sandwiching a thin layer or film of dielectric material between two layers of conductive material, usually metals. The metal layers can be said to comprise some or all of top and bottom electrodes, respectively, of the capacitor. Generally the bottom electrode is in contact with a conductive copper via or trench, which can also be said to comprise some of the bottom electrode of the capacitor. At times, however, the copper can diffuse from one electrode through the dielectric layer to the other electrode and “short out” or provide a conductive pathway between the two metal layers. This can substantially compromise the capacitor's ability to perform its intended function of storing charge. This deleterious effect is only enhanced through normal operation of the capacitor as the electric field induced during operation naturally enhances the undesired transport of copper from one electrode to the other. It is therefore necessary to ensure that the MIM capacitor is designed in such a manner that the functionality of the capacitor is maintained for the required lifetime of the device and that the diffusion and/or transport of copper through the dielectric layer is sufficiently controlled or eliminated to ensure such required lifetime.
It can be appreciated that several trends presently exist in the electronics industry. Devices are continually getting smaller, faster and requiring less power, while simultaneously being able to support and perform a greater number of increasingly complex and sophisticated functions. One reason for these trends is an ever increasing demand for small, portable and multifunctional electronic devices. For example, cellular phones, personal computing devices, and personal sound systems are devices which are in great demand in the consumer market. These devices rely on one or more small batteries as a power source and also require an ever increasing computational speed and storage capacity to store and process data, such as digital audio, digital video, contact information, database data and the like.
Accordingly, there is a continuing trend in the semiconductor industry to manufacture integrated circuits (ICs) with higher densities. To achieve high densities, there has been and continues to be efforts toward scaling down dimensions (e.g., at submicron levels) on semiconductor wafers. In order to accomplish such high densities, smaller feature sizes, smaller separations between features and layers, and/or more precise feature shapes are required. The scaling-down of integrated circuit dimensions can facilitate faster circuit performance and/or switching speeds, and can lead to higher effective yield in IC fabrication by providing more circuits on a semiconductor die and/or more die per semiconductor wafer, for example.
As device sizes continue to shrink, however, the close proximity of certain areas can lead to undesirable results. With regard to MIM capacitors, for example, bringing the metal layers closer together by reducing the thickness of the thin dielectric film can allow diffused copper to more readily short out the capacitor thereby compromising the capacitor's reliability and useful life. Still, a thin dielectric layer remains desirable as the capacitance, or ability of a capacitor to store charge, changes as a function of the distance between the metal plates, among other things. In particular, the capacitance goes up as the plates are brought closer together, but decreases as the plates are moved further apart. Accordingly, it would be desirable to fabricate a MIM capacitor in a manner that mitigates adverse effects associated with copper diffusion while concurrently allowing the size of the device to be reduced.