Patent · US Active

Method of manufacturing magnetic tunnel junction memory element

US8962349B1 · kind B1 · utility

16Cited by
0References
20Claims
0Family size

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Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateNov 25, 2013
Grant dateFeb 24, 2015
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 25, 2033

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH10N50/01

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a method for fabricating a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) memory element. The method comprises the steps of providing a substrate having a contact dielectric layer, a bottom dielectric layer, a bottom electrode layer, an etch stop layer, an MTJ layer stack, and a top electrode layer sequentially formed thereon; etching the top electrode layer with a first mask thereon to form a top electrode; etching the MTJ layer stack with the top electrode thereon to form a patterned MTJ; encapsulating the patterned MTJ with a passivation layer; depositing a top dielectric layer on top of the passivation layer and planarizing the same layer; forming a second mask on the top dielectric layer; and etching the bottom electrode layer, the etch stop layer, the passivation layer, and the top dielectric layer with the second mask thereon to form a bottom electrode.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.