PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL VARIABLE CAPACITOR

• US 20160071653A1
• Filed: 11/13/2015
• Published: 03/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Western Digital Technologies Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: LAMOREY, Mark C.
• Granted Patent: US 10,032,560 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 4/232 electrically connecting two or more layers of a stacked or rolled capacitor
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 4/258 Temperature compensation means
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 4/33 Thin- or thick-film capacitors thin- or thick-film circuits H01L27/00; capacitors without a potential-jump or surface barrier specially adapted for integrated circuits, details thereof, multistep manufacturing processes therefor H01L28/40
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 7/00 Capacitors in which the capacitance is varied by non-mechanical means; Processes of their manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 7/04 having a dielectric selected for the variation of its permittivity with applied temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/0004 Devices wherein the heating current flows through the material to be heated Circuit arrangements for heating by passing the current directly across the material to be heated H05B3/0023; granular, powdered or fluid material H05B3/60
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/435 Solid dielectric type

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a variable capacitor includes forming a capacitor conductor. The method also includes forming a phase change material adjacent the capacitor conductor. The method further includes forming a first contact on the capacitor conductor. The method additionally includes forming a second contact and a third contact on the phase change material.

Claims

1. A variable capacitor, comprising:

a capacitor conductor;

a phase change material adjacent the capacitor conductor;

a first contact on the capacitor conductor; and

a second contact and a third contact on the phase change material.

2. The variable capacitor of claim 1, further comprising a dielectric between the phase change material and the capacitor conductor.

3. The variable capacitor of claim 2, further comprising:

a lower capacitor conductor;

a lower dielectric between the phase change material and the lower capacitor conductor.

4. The variable capacitor of claim 3, further comprising a fourth contact on the lower capacitor conductor.

5. The variable capacitor of claim 1, wherein the phase change material is composed of a material that is selectively changeable between an amorphous phase and a crystalline phase.

6. The variable capacitor of claim 1, wherein the phase change material is composed of a material that is selectively changeable between a first phase having a high resistivity and a second phase having a low resistivity.

7. The variable capacitor of claim 1, wherein the phase change material comprises a chalcogenide material.

8. The variable capacitor of claim 1, wherein the capacitor conductor and the phase change material are formed in interlevel dielectric layers over a substrate.

9. The variable capacitor of claim 1, further comprising a control device connected to the second contact and the third contact on the phase change material.

10. The variable capacitor of claim 9, wherein the control device is configured to selectively apply a current through the phase change material for a predefined amount of time.

11. The variable capacitor of claim 10, wherein a magnitude of the current and the predefined amount of time are selected to set the phase change material to a crystalline phase or reset the phase change material to an amorphous phase.

12. A method of manufacturing a variable capacitor, comprising:

forming a capacitor conductor;

forming a phase change material that is selectively changeable between one of a first phase and a second phase;

forming a first contact on the capacitor conductor; and

forming a second contact and a third contact on the phase change material,

wherein the variable capacitor has a first capacitance when the phase change material is in the first phase and a second capacitance different from the first capacitance when the phase change material is in the second phase.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising forming a capacitor dielectric between the capacitor conductor and the phase change material.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

forming an other capacitor conductor; and

forming an other capacitor dielectric between the other capacitor conductor and the phase change material.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising forming a control device configured to selectively change the phase change material to one of the first phase and the second phase.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the control device is connected to the second contact and the third contact on the phase change material.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the capacitor conductor and the phase change material are formed in interlevel dielectric layers over a substrate;

the phase change material comprises chalcogenide material;

the first phase is a high resistivity amorphous phase; and

the second phase is a low resistivity crystalline phase.