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US 2022/0020920 A1Published application
Memory device and fabrication method thereof
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsJun-Yao CHEN, Sheng-Huang HUANG, Hung-Cho WANG, Harry-Hak-Lay CHUANG
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Abstract
A memory device includes a bottom electrode, a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) stack, a top electrode, and a sidewall spacer. The MTJ stack is over the bottom electrode. The top electrode is over the MTJ stack. The sidewall spacer laterally surrounds the MTJ stack and the top electrode. The sidewall spacer has an outermost sidewall laterally set back from an outermost sidewall of the bottom electrode.
Claims20
A memory device, comprising:
- a bottom electrode;
- a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) stack over the bottom electrode;
- a top electrode over the MTJ stack;
- and
- a sidewall spacer laterally surrounding the MTJ stack and the top electrode, wherein the sidewall spacer has an outermost sidewall laterally set back from an outermost sidewall of the bottom electrode.
2 more elements
A memory device, comprising:
- a bottom electrode;
- a top electrode above the bottom electrode;
- a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) stack disposed between the bottom electrode and the top electrode;
- a sidewall spacer laterally surrounding the MTJ stack and the top electrode;
- an etch stop layer laterally surrounding the sidewall spacer, the etch stop layer having an outermost edge aligned with an edge of the bottom electrode;
- and
- a metal structure extending through the etch stop layer to the top electrode.
4 more elements
A method, comprising:
- forming a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) layer and a top electrode layer over a bottom electrode layer;
- patterning the top electrode layer into top electrodes;
- patterning the MTJ layer into MTJ stacks below the top electrodes, respectively;
- depositing a spacer layer over the top electrodes and the MTJ stacks;
- etching the spacer layer to form sidewall spacers that laterally surround the MTJ stacks, respectively;
- after etching the spacer layer, forming a patterned mask layer over the top electrodes;
- and
- with the patterned mask layer in place, performing a first etching process to pattern the bottom electrode layer into bottom electrodes below the MTJ stacks, respectively.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.