Barrier material encapsulation of programmable material

Abstract

A method comprising forming as stacked materials on a substrate, a volume of programmable material and a signal line, conformably forming a first dielectric material on the stacked materials, forming a second dielectric material on the first material, etching an opening in the second dielectric material with an etchant that, between the first dielectric material and the second dielectric material, favors removal of the second dielectric material, and forming a contact in the opening to the stacked materials. An apparatus comprising a contact point formed on a substrate, a volume of programmable material formed on the contact point, a signal line formed on the volume of programmable material, a first dielectric material conformally formed on the signal line, a different second dielectric material formed on the first dielectric material, and a contact formed through the first dielectric material and the second dielectric material to the signal line.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.