Patent ID: 7749852

Claim:
A method of forming a dielectric layer of a Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) capacitor comprising: forming a passivation layer on a dielectric layer of a MIM capacitor to separate the dielectric layer from direct contact with an overlying photo-resist pattern; wherein forming a passivation layer is preceded by forming an upper electrode on the dielectric layer; wherein forming a passivation layer is further preceded by forming a capping insulation layer on the upper electrode beneath the passivation layer; wherein forming an upper electrode layer on the dielectric layer further comprises: forming a photo-resist pattern on the capping insulation layer to expose portions of the capping insulation layer and the upper electrode outside the photo-resist pattern; the method further comprising: removing the portions of the capping insulation layer and the upper electrode layer outside the photo-resist pattern to form an upper electrode for the MIM capacitor to expose a portion of the dielectric layer above a lower conductive plug of the MIM capacitor; and removing the photo-resist pattern from the capping insulation layer.