US 12,457,905 B2
Patterning magnetic tunnel junctions and the like while reducing detrimental resputtering of underlying features
Kisup Chung, Slingerlands, NY (US); Michael Rizzolo, Albany, NY (US); and Fee Li Lie, Albany, NY (US)
Assigned to International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US)
Filed by International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US)
Filed on Sep. 13, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/943,974.
Application 17/943,974 is a division of application No. 16/205,485, filed on Nov. 30, 2018, granted, now 11,476,415.
Prior Publication US 2023/0006131 A1, Jan. 5, 2023
Int. Cl. H10B 61/00 (2023.01); H10N 50/01 (2023.01); H10N 50/10 (2023.01); H10N 50/80 (2023.01)
CPC H10N 50/01 (2023.02) [H10B 61/00 (2023.02); H10N 50/10 (2023.02); H10N 50/80 (2023.02)] 5 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An integrated circuit comprising:
a dielectric layer;
a bottom contact disposed at least partially in the dielectric layer, the bottom contact having an upper surface;
two dielectric sidewall spacers disposed on the bottom contact;
a landing pad disposed on the bottom contact and between the two dielectric sidewall spacers, wherein a maximum width of the landing pad at a top surface of the landing pad is smaller than a width of the bottom contact at an interface between the landing pad and the bottom contact; and
a magnetic tunnel junction disposed directly on top of the landing pad;
wherein the upper surface of the bottom contact is wider than the magnetic tunnel junction; and
wherein:
the landing pad is separately formed on the upper surface of the bottom contact;
the landing pad is formed from a landing pad material selected from the group consisting of niobium, niobium nitride, tungsten, tungsten nitride, titanium, titanium nitride, ruthenium, and molybdenum;
the bottom contact includes a bottom contact liner and a bottom contact core, wherein the bottom contact core is formed from a bottom contact core material selected from the group consisting of copper, cobalt, ruthenium, copper-manganese, and aluminum; and
the upper surface of the bottom contact bottom contact has an equal width as does the landing pad plus the dielectric sidewall spacers.