Method of forming an on-chip decoupling capacitor with bottom hardmask

摘要

An on-chip vertically stacked decoupling capacitor includes a hardmask film formed between the capacitor dielectric and the lower electrode. The manufacturing process used to form the capacitor takes advantage of the hardmask film and enables the capacitor to be formed over a low-k dielectric material. Attack of the underlying low-k dielectric material is suppressed during the etching and stripping processes used to form the capacitor, due to the presence of the hardmask. The low-k dielectric film provides for a reduced parasitic capacitance between adjacent conductive wires formed in the low-k dielectric material and therefore provides for increased levels of integration.