Appeal No. 96-0859
Application No. 08/252,727
The invention pertains to integrated circuits and, more
particularly, to structures within integrated circuits, such
as capacitors, which employ sacrificial oxygen sources in
order to prevent reduction of oxygen containing materials.
Maintaining a high dielectric constant is essential in order
to build smaller capacitors while maintaining the same
capacitance. Many high dielectric constant materials depend
for their electrical properties on their oxygen content. Yet,
the many fabrication steps in the manufacture of DRAMs and
other structures generally reduce high dielectric constant
materials which contain oxygen resulting in a degradation or
nullification of their advantageous electrical properties.
Accordingly, the instant invention is said to provide for the
prevention of reduction of oxygen containing dielectric
materials during VLSI processing through the use of
sacrificial oxygen sources provided near the oxygen containing
material and subject to certain requirements, disclosed at
page 4 of the specification.
Representative independent claim 1 is reproduced as
follows:
2
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Last modified: November 3, 2007