Capacitor embedded with nanocrystals

A semiconductor structure, comprising:

• a semiconductor substrate;
• an interconnect structure having a first metal layer on the semiconductor substrate and a second metal layer on the first metal layer and being adjacent to the first metal layer;
• and
• a capacitor sandwiched between the first and second metal layers such that the capacitor physically contacts the first and second metal layers, wherein the capacitor includes:
• a dielectric material layer;
• a bottom electrode;
• a top electrode;
• and
• a layer of a plurality of semiconductor polycrystalline grains dispersed in a first portion of the dielectric material layer with a first thickness, wherein the dielectric material layer includes a dielectric material extending continuously from the bottom electrode to the top electrode, wherein the plurality of semiconductor polycrystalline grains are dispersed in the dielectric material such that a second portion of the dielectric material with a second thickness is disposed between the layer of the plurality of semiconductor polycrystalline grains and the bottom electrode thereby preventing any portion of the layer of the plurality of semiconductor polycrystalline grains from physically contacting the bottom electrode and a third portion of the dielectric material is disposed between the layer of the plurality of semiconductor polycrystalline grains and the top electrode thereby preventing any portion of the layer of the plurality of semiconductor polycrystalline grains from physically contacting the top electrode, wherein the first thickness is smaller than the second thickness, wherein the first and second thicknesses are uniform thicknesses and are measured parallel to a stacking direction of the semiconductor substrate, the top electrode, the bottom electrode, and the dielectric material layer.

A semiconductor capacitor, comprising:

• a bottom electrode on a semiconductor substrate;
• a top electrode over the bottom electrode;
• a titanium oxide layer extending continuously from the bottom electrode to the top electrode;
• and
• a nanocrystal layer with a first thickness that includes a semiconductor material embedded within the titanium oxide layer, wherein a first portion of the titanium oxide layer with a second thickness that does not include nanocrystals is disposed between a bottom surface of the nanocrystal layer and a top surface of the bottom electrode facing away from the semiconductor substrate thereby preventing any portion of the nanocrystal layer from physically contacting the bottom electrode and a second portion of the titanium oxide layer that does not include nanocrystals is disposed between a top surface of the nanocrystal layer facing away from the semiconductor substrate and a bottom surface of the top electrode thereby preventing any portion of the nanocrystal layer from physically contacting the top electrode, wherein the first thickness is smaller than the second thickness, wherein the first and second thicknesses are uniform thicknesses and are measured parallel to a stacking direction of the semiconductor substrate, the top electrode, and the bottom electrode.