US Patent 9515021 Semiconductor structure and method of forming the same

A semiconductor device with metal-doped etch stop layer therein and a method of manufacturing the same is disclosed. The method includes forming an semiconductor device with a interconnect structure that has a dielectric layer and a conductor therein, and an etch stop layer over the dielectric layer; applying a photo resist layer and patterning the photo resist layer to expose a portion of the etch stop layer on a top surface of the conductor over of the dielectric layer; and doping the exposed portion of the etch stop layer with an element to form a metal-doped etch stop layer. The formed metal-doped etch stop layer has a recess structure and functions as a conductive pad over the conductor.