Stacked Capacitor Structure With Edge Protection for Higher Capacitance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in semiconductor technology is to increase the capacitance of capacitor structures without expanding the device area, as increasing the area of the upper and lower plates in existing capacitor structures leads to device miniaturization issues.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves creating a semiconductor structure with two or more capacitor structures coupled in parallel and stacked perpendicularly on a substrate. At least one capacitor structure includes a protective layer at its top edge to reduce current flow, allowing for increased capacitance without occupying additional substrate area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the areas of the upper plate and the lower plate in the capacitor structure are increased to increase capacitance, then the capacitance of the capacitor structure is improved, but the area of the entire device is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a planar capacitor structure to a three-dimensional stacked structure. Multiple capacitor structures are stacked vertically along a direction perpendicular to the substrate, utilizing the third dimension (height) to increase capacitance without expanding the device footprint. This dimensional change allows capacitance multiplication while maintaining a compact device area.
Solution Approach 2:
The capacitor structure is segmented into multiple discrete capacitor units that are stacked vertically. Each capacitor structure includes separate upper plates, lower plates, and dielectric layers. By dividing the capacitance requirement into multiple stacked units rather than using a single large-area capacitor, the patent achieves increased total capacitance while maintaining a compact footprint.
2Reliability
If a protective layer is added to the top edge area of the capacitor structure to reduce current flow, then the reliability of the capacitor structure is improved, but the device complexity is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The protective layer is applied locally only to the top edge area of the capacitor structure rather than uniformly across the entire capacitor. This localized application targets the specific region where current leakage occurs (the top edge area) without adding unnecessary complexity to other parts of the structure. The protective layer is positioned precisely where it is needed to prevent current flow from the metal layer to the top edge area.
Data Source
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AI summary
A semiconductor structure and a method for forming same. The semiconductor structure comprises: a substrate, which comprises a first region; two or more capacitor structures, which are connected in parallel and are sequentially stacked on the first region in the direction perpendicular to the substrate, wherein a top edge region of at least one capacitor structure is provided with a protective layer, the protective layer being used for covering the top edge region of the capacitor structure, and thereby reducing the current which flows from a metal layer, which is located above the protective layer, to the edge region of the capacitor structure. By using the scheme, the capacity of a capacitor structure in a semiconductor structure can be increased without increasing the area of a device, and the reliability of the capacitor structure can be improved.