Patents by Inventor Ming-Che Ku

Ming-Che Ku has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240090340
    Abstract: The present disclosure, in some embodiments, relates to an integrated chip. The integrated chip includes a memory device surrounded by a dielectric structure disposed over a substrate. The memory device includes a data storage structure disposed between a bottom electrode and a top electrode. A bottom electrode via couples the bottom electrode to a lower interconnect. A top electrode via couples the top electrode to an upper interconnect. A bottommost surface of the top electrode via is directly over the top electrode and has a first width that is smaller than a second width of a bottommost surface of the bottom electrode via.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2023
    Publication date: March 14, 2024
    Inventors: Ming-Che Ku, Harry-Hak-Lay Chuang, Hung Cho Wang, Tsun Chung Tu, Jiunyu Tsai, Sheng-Huang Huang
  • Patent number: 11889769
    Abstract: The present disclosure, in some embodiments, relates to an integrated chip. The integrated chip includes a magnetic tunnel junction arranged between a bottom electrode and a top electrode and surrounded by a dielectric structure disposed over a substrate. The top electrode has a width that decreases as a height of the top electrode increases. A bottom electrode via couples the bottom electrode to a lower interconnect. An upper interconnect structure is coupled to the top electrode. The upper interconnect structure has a vertically extending surface that is disposed laterally between first and second outermost sidewalls of the upper interconnect structure and along a sidewall of the top electrode. The vertically extending surface and the first outermost sidewall are connected to a bottom surface of the upper interconnect structure that is vertically below a top of the top electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ming-Che Ku, Harry-Hak-Lay Chuang, Hung Cho Wang, Tsun Chung Tu, Jiunyu Tsai, Sheng-Huang Huang
  • Publication number: 20220359815
    Abstract: The present disclosure, in some embodiments, relates to an integrated chip. The integrated chip includes a magnetic tunnel junction arranged between a bottom electrode and a top electrode and surrounded by a dielectric structure disposed over a substrate. The top electrode has a width that decreases as a height of the top electrode increases. A bottom electrode via couples the bottom electrode to a lower interconnect. An upper interconnect structure is coupled to the top electrode. The upper interconnect structure has a vertically extending surface that is disposed laterally between first and second outermost sidewalls of the upper interconnect structure and along a sidewall of the top electrode. The vertically extending surface and the first outermost sidewall are connected to a bottom surface of the upper interconnect structure that is vertically below a top of the top electrode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2022
    Publication date: November 10, 2022
    Inventors: Ming-Che Ku, Harry-Hak-Lay Chuang, Hung Cho Wang, Tsun Chung Tu, Jiunyu Tsai, Sheng-Huang Huang
  • Patent number: 11489107
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method of forming an integrated chip. The method includes forming an ILD layer over a memory device over a substrate. A hard mask structure is formed over the ILD layer and a patterning structure is formed over the hard mask structure. The hard mask structure has sidewalls defining a first opening directly over the memory device and centered along a first line perpendicular to an upper surface of the substrate. The patterning structure has sidewalls defining a second opening directly over the memory device and centered along a second line parallel to the first line. The second line is laterally offset from the first line by a non-zero distance. The ILD layer is etched below an overlap of the first and second openings to define a top electrode via hole. The top electrode via hole is with a conductive material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ming-Che Ku, Harry-Hak-Lay Chuang, Hung Cho Wang, Tsun Chung Tu, Jiunyu Tsai, Sheng-Huang Huang
  • Patent number: 11469372
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an integrated chip. The integrated chip includes a memory device surrounded by a dielectric structure disposed over a substrate. The memory device includes a data storage structure disposed between a bottom electrode and a top electrode. A top electrode via couples the top electrode to an upper interconnect wire. A first line is tangent to a first outermost sidewall of the top electrode via and a second line is tangent to an opposing second outermost sidewall of the top electrode via. The first line is oriented at a first angle with respect to a horizontal plane that is parallel to an upper surface of the substrate and the second line is oriented at a second angle with respect to the horizontal plane. The second angle is less than the first angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ming-Che Ku, Harry-Hak-Lay Chuang, Hung Cho Wang, Tsun Chung Tu, Jiunyu Tsai, Sheng-Huang Huang
  • Publication number: 20220277989
    Abstract: An opening is formed within a dielectric material overlying a semiconductor substrate. The opening may comprise a via portion and a trench portion. During the manufacturing process a treatment chemical is placed into contact with the exposed surfaces in order to release charges that have built up on the surfaces. By releasing the charges, a surface change potential difference is reduced, helping to prevent galvanic corrosion from occurring during further manufacturing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2022
    Publication date: September 1, 2022
    Inventors: Yao-Wen Hsu, Ming-Che Ku, Neng-Jye Yang, Yu-Wen Wang
  • Patent number: 11335589
    Abstract: An opening is formed within a dielectric material overlying a semiconductor substrate. The opening may comprise a via portion and a trench portion. During the manufacturing process a treatment chemical is placed into contact with the exposed surfaces in order to release charges that have built up on the surfaces. By releasing the charges, a surface change potential difference is reduced, helping to prevent galvanic corrosion from occurring during further manufacturing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yao-Wen Hsu, Ming-Che Ku, Neng-Jye Yang, Yu-Wen Wang
  • Patent number: 11264561
    Abstract: A method of forming a magnetic random access memory (MRAM) device includes forming a bottom electrode layer over a substrate including an inter-metal dielectric (IMD) layer having a metal line therein; forming a barrier layer over the bottom electrode layer; forming a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) layer stack over the bottom electrode layer; forming a dielectric layer over the MTJ layer stack; forming an opening in the dielectric layer to expose the barrier layer; filling the opening in the dielectric layer with a top electrode; after filling the opening in the dielectric layer with the top electrode, etching the dielectric layer to expose the barrier layer; and patterning the MTJ layer stack to form an MTJ stack that exposes the bottom electrode layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ming-Che Ku, Jun-Yao Chen, Sheng-Huang Huang, Jiun-Yu Tsai, Harry-Hak-Lay Chuang, Hung-Cho Wang
  • Patent number: 11217627
    Abstract: A method of forming a MRAM device includes forming an interconnect structure spanning a memory region and a peripheral region; forming a MTJ stack over the interconnect structure within the memory region; depositing a dielectric layer over the MTJ stack and spanning the memory region and the peripheral region; removing a first portion of the dielectric layer from the peripheral region, while leaving a second portion of the dielectric layer within the memory region; after removing the first portion of the dielectric layer from the peripheral region, forming a first IMD layer spanning the memory region and the peripheral region; forming a dual damascene structure through the first IMD layer to a metallization pattern of the interconnect structure within the peripheral region; and after forming the dual damascene structure within the peripheral region, forming a top electrode via in contact with a top electrode of the MTJ stack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Harry-Hak-Lay Chuang, Jiun-Yu Tsai, Sheng-Huang Huang, Ming-Che Ku, Hung-Cho Wang
  • Patent number: 11189791
    Abstract: A method for fabricating an integrated circuit is provided. The method includes forming a memory cell over a substrate, wherein the memory cell comprising a top electrode, a bottom electrode, and a resistance switching element between the bottom electrode and the top electrode; forming a dielectric layer over the memory cell and the substrate; etching a via opening in the dielectric layer to expose the top electrode of the memory cell; forming a spacer in the via opening; performing a liner removal process to the dielectric layer after forming the spacer; and forming a conductive feature connected to the top electrode in the via opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ming-Che Ku, Jiun-Yu Tsai, Hung-Cho Wang
  • Publication number: 20210135106
    Abstract: A method for fabricating an integrated circuit is provided. The method includes forming a memory cell over a substrate, wherein the memory cell comprising a top electrode, a bottom electrode, and a resistance switching element between the bottom electrode and the top electrode; forming a dielectric layer over the memory cell and the substrate; etching a via opening in the dielectric layer to expose the top electrode of the memory cell; forming a spacer in the via opening; performing a liner removal process to the dielectric layer after forming the spacer; and forming a conductive feature connected to the top electrode in the via opening.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2020
    Publication date: May 6, 2021
    Applicant: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ming-Che KU, Jiun-Yu TSAI, Hung-Cho WANG
  • Publication number: 20210098529
    Abstract: A method of forming a MRAM device includes forming an interconnect structure spanning a memory region and a peripheral region; forming a MTJ stack over the interconnect structure within the memory region; depositing a dielectric layer over the MTJ stack and spanning the memory region and the peripheral region; removing a first portion of the dielectric layer from the peripheral region, while leaving a second portion of the dielectric layer within the memory region; after removing the first portion of the dielectric layer from the peripheral region, forming a first IMD layer spanning the memory region and the peripheral region; forming a dual damascene structure through the first IMD layer to a metallization pattern of the interconnect structure within the peripheral region; and after forming the dual damascene structure within the peripheral region, forming a top electrode via in contact with a top electrode of the MTJ stack.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2020
    Publication date: April 1, 2021
    Inventors: Harry-Hak-Lay CHUANG, Jiun-Yu TSAI, Sheng-Huang HUANG, Ming-Che KU, Hung-Cho WANG
  • Publication number: 20210057639
    Abstract: A method of forming a magnetic random access memory (MRAM) device includes forming a bottom electrode layer over a substrate including an inter-metal dielectric (IMD) layer having a metal line therein; forming a barrier layer over the bottom electrode layer; forming a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) layer stack over the bottom electrode layer; forming a dielectric layer over the MTJ layer stack; forming an opening in the dielectric layer to expose the barrier layer; filling the opening in the dielectric layer with a top electrode; after filling the opening in the dielectric layer with the top electrode, etching the dielectric layer to expose the barrier layer; and patterning the MTJ layer stack to form an MTJ stack that exposes the bottom electrode layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2020
    Publication date: February 25, 2021
    Applicant: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ming-Che KU, Jun-Yao CHEN, Sheng-Huang HUANG, Jiun-Yu TSAI, Harry-Hak-Lay Chuang, Hung-Cho Wang
  • Publication number: 20210028350
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method of forming an integrated chip. The method includes forming an ILD layer over a memory device over a substrate. A hard mask structure is formed over the ILD layer and a patterning structure is formed over the hard mask structure. The hard mask structure has sidewalls defining a first opening directly over the memory device and centered along a first line perpendicular to an upper surface of the substrate. The patterning structure has sidewalls defining a second opening directly over the memory device and centered along a second line parallel to the first line. The second line is laterally offset from the first line by a non-zero distance. The ILD layer is etched below an overlap of the first and second openings to define a top electrode via hole. The top electrode via hole is with a conductive material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 2, 2020
    Publication date: January 28, 2021
    Inventors: Ming-Che Ku, Harry-Hak-Lay Chuang, Hung Cho Wang, Tsun Chung Tu, Jiunyu Tsai, Sheng-Huang Huang
  • Publication number: 20200403146
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an integrated chip. The integrated chip includes a memory device surrounded by a dielectric structure disposed over a substrate. The memory device includes a data storage structure disposed between a bottom electrode and a top electrode. A top electrode via couples the top electrode to an upper interconnect wire. A first line is tangent to a first outermost sidewall of the top electrode via and a second line is tangent to an opposing second outermost sidewall of the top electrode via. The first line is oriented at a first angle with respect to a horizontal plane that is parallel to an upper surface of the substrate and the second line is oriented at a second angle with respect to the horizontal plane. The second angle is less than the first angle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 2, 2020
    Publication date: December 24, 2020
    Inventors: Ming-Che Ku, Harry-Hak-Lay Chuang, Hung Cho Wang, Tsun Chung Tu, Jiunyu Tsai, Sheng-Huang Huang
  • Publication number: 20200312711
    Abstract: An opening is formed within a dielectric material overlying a semiconductor substrate. The opening may comprise a via portion and a trench portion. During the manufacturing process a treatment chemical is placed into contact with the exposed surfaces in order to release charges that have built up on the surfaces. By releasing the charges, a surface change potential difference is reduced, helping to prevent galvanic corrosion from occurring during further manufacturing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 15, 2020
    Publication date: October 1, 2020
    Inventors: Yao-Wen Hsu, Ming-Che Ku, Neng-Jye Yang, Yu-Wen Wang
  • Patent number: 10790439
    Abstract: The present disclosure, in some embodiments, relates to an integrated chip. The integrated chip includes a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) device surrounded by a dielectric structure disposed over a substrate. The MRAM device includes a magnetic tunnel junction disposed between a bottom electrode and a top electrode. A bottom electrode via couples the bottom electrode to a lower interconnect wire. A top electrode via couples the top electrode to an upper interconnect wire. A bottom surface of the top electrode via has a first width that is smaller than a second width of a bottom surface of the bottom electrode via.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ming-Che Ku, Harry-Hak-Lay Chuang, Hung Cho Wang, Tsun Chung Tu, Jiunyu Tsai, Sheng-Huang Huang
  • Patent number: 10685870
    Abstract: An opening is formed within a dielectric material overlying a semiconductor substrate. The opening may comprise a via portion and a trench portion. During the manufacturing process a treatment chemical is placed into contact with the exposed surfaces in order to release charges that have built up on the surfaces. By releasing the charges, a surface change potential difference is reduced, helping to prevent galvanic corrosion from occurring during further manufacturing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2020
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yao-Wen Hsu, Ming-Che Ku, Neng-Jye Yang, Yu-Wen Wang
  • Publication number: 20200035908
    Abstract: The present disclosure, in some embodiments, relates to an integrated chip. The integrated chip includes a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) device surrounded by a dielectric structure disposed over a substrate. The MRAM device includes a magnetic tunnel junction disposed between a bottom electrode and a top electrode. A bottom electrode via couples the bottom electrode to a lower interconnect wire. A top electrode via couples the top electrode to an upper interconnect wire. A bottom surface of the top electrode via has a first width that is smaller than a second width of a bottom surface of the bottom electrode via.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 20, 2019
    Publication date: January 30, 2020
    Inventors: Ming-Che Ku, Harry-Hak-Lay Chuang, Hung Cho Wang, Tsun Chung Tu, Jiunyu Tsai, Sheng-Huang Huang
  • Publication number: 20190067088
    Abstract: An opening is formed within a dielectric material overlying a semiconductor substrate. The opening may comprise a via portion and a trench portion. During the manufacturing process a treatment chemical is placed into contact with the exposed surfaces in order to release charges that have built up on the surfaces. By releasing the charges, a surface change potential difference is reduced, helping to prevent galvanic corrosion from occurring during further manufacturing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2018
    Publication date: February 28, 2019
    Inventors: Yao-Wen Hsu, Ming-Che Ku, Neng-Jye Yang, Yu-Wen Wang