Sandisk Technologies Inc.

Atsushi Shimoda

Tatsuya Hinoue

Yuji Takahashi

Kengo Kajiwara

Masanori Terahara

Junpei Kanazawa

Takuya Sakurai

Masayuki Fukai

Toshiya Yokota

A three-dimensional memory device includes a first-tier structure located over a substrate and including a first alternating stack of first insulating layers and first electrically conductive layers. a second-tier structure located over the first-tier structure and including a second alternating stack of second insulating layers and second electrically conductive layers, memory stack structures vertically extending through the first alternating stack and the second alternating stack, primary support pillar structures, and auxiliary support pillar structures vertically extending through the first alternating stack, underlying the second stepped surfaces, and located below a horizontal plane including a bottommost surface of the second alternating stack.

Three-dimensional memory device containing auxiliary support pillar structures and method of making the same

A method of forming a NAND flash memory includes anisotropically etching trenches of a gate stack down to an intermediate level in a floating gate polysilicon layer, leaving remaining portions of the floating gate polysilicon over the gate dielectric layer. Subsequently, forming a protective layer along exposed sides of the trenches. Then, electrically separating individual floating gates by a selective process that is directed to the remaining portions of the floating gate polysilicon layer exposed by trenches.

Floating gate separation in NAND flash memory

A method of forming a semiconductor device includes forming a plurality of word lines separated by air gaps with contact pad structures connected to the word lines, and forming a dummy structure directly opposite an air gap between neighboring word lines. Subsequently, the contact pad structures are cut into individual contact pads by a contact pad cut that intersects the dummy structure.

Word line hook up with protected air gap

Growing community of inventors

Yokkaichi, Japan

Atsushi Shimoda