Patent ID: 8062536

Claim:
A method for forming wiring lines separated by gaps filled with dielectric material, comprising: providing a substrate; forming a wiring layer above the substrate; forming a conductive protective layer on the wiring layer; forming a cap layer conformally and directly on the conductive protective layer, wherein the cap layer comprising at least one material selected from the group consisting of an oxide, a nitride, and an oxynitride, and the conductive protective layer is titanium nitride; forming a patterned mask layer above the cap layer, said patterned mask layer covering selected portions of the cap layer and exposing other portions of the cap layer; etching the exposed portions of the cap layer, the conductive protective layer, and the wiring layer to form the wiring lines separated by gaps; and utilizing a high density plasma chemical vapor deposition to form a dielectric material within the gaps for filling the gaps.