Appeal No. 2006-1663
Application No. 09/871,883
The subject matter of this appeal is drawn to a dual damascene via
interconnect structure in a dielectric layer. (Specification, page 1, lines 3-6).
Further details regarding this subject matter are set forth in representative
independent claims 1, 10, 20, 25, 30 and 311 which read as follows:
1. An interconnect structure, comprising:
a lower level wire in a dielectric layer, said lower level wire
having a side and a bottom, said lower level wire comprising a lower
core conductor and a lower conductive liner, said lower conductive
liner on the side and the bottom of said lower level wire, said lower
conductive liner having an upper edge having an inner surface, an
outer surface, and a top surface, the top surface of said upper edge
substantially coplanar with a top surface of said dielectric layer,
an upper level wire having a side and a bottom, said upper level
wire comprising an upper core conductor and an upper conductive
liner, said upper conductive liner on the side and the bottom of said
upper level wire, at least a portion of the bottom of said upper level
wire extending below a top surface of said lower wire level; and
said upper conductive liner in contact with said lower core
conductor and also in contact with both the inner surface and the outer
surface of said upper edge of said conductive liner in a liner-to-liner
contact region.
10. An interconnect structure comprising:
a lower level wire in a dielectric layer, said lower level wire
having a side and a bottom, said lower level wire comprising a lower
core conductor and a lower conductive liner, said lower conductive
liner on the side and the bottom of said lower level wire, said lower
conductive liner having an upper edge having an inner surface, an
1 In each of the claims the phrase, “said lower wire level” has been construed to
mean the “lower level wire”. The terms “wire” and “level” appear to be transposed
in the claims.
2
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