Patent ID: 7663207

Claim:
A semiconductor device, comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a planar layer formed on said semiconductor substrate; a capacitor forming region, in said planar layer, comprising an MIM capacitor, said MIM capacitor comprising an insulating film formed on said semiconductor substrate, a first electrode, and a second electrode, said first electrode and said second electrode being arranged facing each other with said insulating film interposed therebetween; and a continuous shielding region in said planar layer and completely surrounding an outermost edge of said capacitor forming region and configured to shield said capacitor forming region from other regions outside said capacitor forming region, said shielding region comprising a plurality of shielding electrodes distributed throughout the shielding region along all sides of said outermost edge of said capacitor forming region, wherein an entirety of said capacitor forming region is within a shielded region defined by an area enclosed by said shielding region and a thickness equal to a thickness of said shielding region, and wherein a potential of each of said plurality of shielding electrodes is predetermined.