Patent ID: 8679938

Claim:
A method for formation of a shallow trench isolation (STI) region in an active region of a device comprising trench capacitive elements, the trench capacitive elements comprising a metal plate and a high-k dielectric, the method comprising: etching a STI trench in the active region of the device, wherein the high-k dielectric of the trench capacitive elements is exposed by the etching of the STI trench, and the high-k dielectric of the trench capacitive elements comprises a first portion of a surface of the STI trench; and forming an oxide liner on a second portion of the surface of the STI trench, wherein the oxide liner is formed selectively to the exposed high-k dielectric such that the oxide liner is not formed on the exposed high-k dielectric, and wherein forming the oxide liner is performed at a temperature of about 600° C. or less.