Patent ID: 11972974
Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.
Field: Semiconductors (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 14:
15. An IC structure, comprising:
a transistor comprising a gate structure and source/drain regions on opposite sides of the gate structure;
a source/drain contact over one of the source/drain regions;
an etch stop layer over the source/drain contact;
a barrier structure over the source/drain contact, the barrier structure having a stepped sidewall structure that comprises a lower sidewall contacting the etch stop layer, an upper sidewall above the etch stop layer and laterally set back from the lower sidewall, and an intermediary surface laterally extending from a top edge of the lower sidewall to a bottom edge of the upper sidewall, wherein the upper sidewall of the barrier structure overlaps with an interface between the source/drain contact and the barrier structure; and
a via structure over the barrier structure.