Patent ID: 7645669

Claim:
A method for forming a nanotip capacitor, the method comprising: providing a bottom electrode from a Si-containing material selected from a group consisting of silicon-on-insulator (SOI), polycrystalline Si, amorphous Si, single-crystal Si, doped Si, and doped silicon-germanium (SiGe); depositing a growth promotion metal overlying the Si-containing bottom electrode, the growth promotion metal selected from a group of materials consisting of Ti, Ni, Au, Ta, Co, Ir, and Pt; growing electrically conductive nanotips overlying the bottom electrode; depositing an electrically insulating dielectric overlying and completely covering the nanotips, wherein the dielectric is a material selected from a group consisting of HfO 2 , Al X Hf 1-X , ZrO 2 , SiO 2 , and Al 2 O 3 ; and, depositing an electrically conductive top electrode overlying dielectric-covered nanotips.