Etch-resistant protective coating for a magnetic tunnel junction device

1. A method of forming a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device, the method comprising:

forming a spacer on an exposed side portion of the MTJ device; and

forming an etch-resistant protective coating on a top surface of the spacer and at least a portion of sidewalls of the spacer associated with the MTJ device, the etch-resistant protective coating providing greater etch resistance than the spacer.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising forming a first portion of the MTJ device.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, after forming the etch-resistant protective coating, forming a second portion of the MTJ device.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein forming the second portion of the MTJ device is performed using a noble-gas-based plasma etching process, an organic-compound based etching process, a chlorine based etching process, or any combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the etch-resistant protective coating comprises:

during a directional deposition process, forming a protective crown on the top surface of the spacer, on a top surface of a hard mask layer, and on an upper portion of the sidewalls of the spacer by repositioning a wafer that comprises the MTJ device; and

oxidizing the protective crown.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein repositioning the wafer comprises tilting the wafer and rotating the wafer.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the directional deposition process comprises an ion beam deposition process, an evaporation process, or any combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the etch-resistant protective coating comprises:

forming a metal layer on the spacer;

chemically modifying the metal layer; and

etching the metal layer, wherein the chemically modifying the metal layer and the etching the metal layer form the etch-resistant protective coating on sidewalls of the spacer.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein chemically modifying the metal layer comprises oxidizing the metal layer using an oxidation process.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the etch-resistant protective coating comprises:

forming a silicon-based layer on the spacer;

performing an ion implantation process on the silicon-based layer; and

etching the silicon-based layer, wherein performing the ion implantation process and the etching form the etch-resistant protective coating on sidewalls of the spacer.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein etching the silicon-based layer is performed using a fluorine-based plasma etching process.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the silicon-based layer comprises silicon nitride, silicon oxide, or any combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein performing the ion implantation process increases an etching resistance of the silicon-based layer.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the etch-resistant protective coating comprises performing an ion implantation process on the spacer to form the etch-resistant protective coating.

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, after formation of the MTJ device, removing the etch-resistant protective coating from the spacer.

16. An apparatus comprising:

an electrode of a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device; and

a storage layer of the MTJ device,

wherein the MTJ device comprises:

a spacer on an exposed portion of the electrode and on an exposed side portion of the storage layer; and

an etch-resistant protective coating on a top surface of the spacer and at least a portion of sidewalls of the spacer associated with the MTJ device, the etch-resistant protective coating providing greater etch resistance than the spacer.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the etch-resistant protective coating comprises a protective crown attached to the top of the spacer, on a top surface of a hard mask layer, and to an upper portion of the sidewall of the spacer, a metal layer deposited on the sidewall of the spacer, or a combination thereof.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the etch-resistant protective coating comprises an ion implanted silicon based layer attached to the sidewall of the spacer.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the etch-resistant protective coating comprises tantalum oxide, aluminum oxide, or any combination thereof.

20. The apparatus of claim 16 , further comprising a high density MTJ array, wherein the high density MTJ array comprises the etch-resistant protective coating and a plurality of MTJ devices, and wherein the plurality of MTJ devices comprises the MTJ device.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein a height to space ratio of the high density MTJ array is greater than 1.0.

22. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the MTJ device is integrated into an electronic device selected from the group consisting of a set top box, a music player, a video player, an entertainment unit, a navigation device, a communications device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a fixed location data unit, and a computer.

23. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to initiate operations during formation of a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device, the operations comprising:

forming a spacer on an exposed side portion of the MTJ device; and

forming an etch-resistant protective coating on a top surface of the spacer and at least a portion of sidewalls of the spacer associated with the MTJ device, the etch-resistant protective coating providing greater etch resistance than the spacer.

24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 23 , wherein forming the etch-resistant protective coating comprises:

during a directional deposition process, forming a protective crown on the top surface of the spacer, on a top surface of a hard mask layer, and on an upper portion of the sidewalls of the spacer by repositioning a wafer that comprises the MTJ device; and

oxidizing the protective crown.

25. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 23 , wherein forming the etch-resistant protective coating comprises:

forming a metal layer on the spacer;

oxidizing the metal layer; and

etching the metal layer, wherein the oxidizing and the etching form the etch-resistant protective coating on the sidewalls of the spacer.

26. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 23 , wherein forming the etch-resistant protective coating comprises:

forming a silicon-based layer on the spacer;

performing an ion implantation process on the silicon-based layer; and

etching the silicon-based layer, wherein the ion implantation process and the etching form the etch-resistant protective coating on the sidewalls of the spacer.

27. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 23 , wherein the operations further comprise, after forming the MTJ device, removing the etch-resistant protective coating from the spacer.

28. A method comprising:

receiving a data file comprising design information corresponding to a semiconductor device; and

fabricating the semiconductor device according to the design information, wherein fabricating the semiconductor device comprises:

during formation of a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device:

forming a spacer on an exposed side portion of an MTJ device; and

forming an etch-resistant protective coating on a top surface of the spacer and at least a portion of sidewalls of the spacer associated with the MTJ device, the etch-resistant protective coating providing greater etch resistance than the spacer.

29. The method of claim 28 , further comprising integrating the semiconductor device into a device selected from the group consisting of a set top box, a music player, a video player, an entertainment unit, a navigation device, a communications device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a fixed location data unit, and a computer.