Patent ID: 6977198

Claim:
A method for fabricating a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor, comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; forming, in the order of, a first metal layer, a first dielectric layer, a second metal layer, a second dielectric layer, a third metal layer, and a cap layer over the substrate; etching the cap layer, the third metal layer, the second dielectric layer, the second metal layer, and the first dielectric layer to form an upper capacitor structure consisting of a second metal plate, a second capacitor dielectric layer, and third metal plate; partially covering the upper capacitor structure with a photo mask that defines a first metal plate to formed in the underlying first metal layer; simultaneously etching the first metal layer, a portion of the cap layer atop the second metal plate and the second metal plate of the upper capacitor structure that are not covered by the photo mask; and stripping the photo mask.