Micron Technology Incorporated

Lodestar Licensing Group LLC

Loestar Licensing Group LLC

Justin B Dorhout

Kunal R Parekh

Indra V Chary

Martin Ceredig Roberts

John David Hopkins

Chet E Carter

David A Daycock

Nancy M Lomeli

Paolo Tessariol

Matthew Park

Ryan L Meyer

Shuangqiang Luo

Damir Fazil

Haitao Liu

Jian Li

Mohd Kamran Akhtar

Vinayak Shamanna

Chandra V Mouli

Sanh D Tang

Akira Goda

Kunal Shrotri

Guangyu Huang

Lifang Xu

Yushi Hu

Brett D Lowe

Anish A Khandekar

Fei Wang

Eric Higgins Freeman

Jivaan Kishore Jhothiraman

Purnima Narayanan

Ian C Laboriante

Zhiqiang Xie

Jun Fang

Nirup Bandaru

Richard J Hill

Matthew J King

Joseph Neil Greeley

Qian Tao

Christopher J Larsen

Dimitrios Pavlopoulos

Jason Reece

Barbara L Casey

Woohee Kim

Chris M Carlson

Rita J Klein

Anilkumar Chandolu

Mark W Kiehlbauch

Collin Howder

Jianming Zhou

Ranjan Khurana

Justin D Shepherdson

Joel D Peterson

Daniel Osterberg

Scott D Stull

Greg Light

David Swindler

David A Kewley

Adam L Olson

Emilio Camerlenghi

Vladimir Machkaoutsan

Erik R Byers

Xiaosong Zhang

Merri Lyn Carlson

Pieter Blomme

Shruthi Kumara Vadivel

Biow Hiem Ong

Bo Zhao

Michael J Gossman

Martin Jared Barclay

Tien Minh Quan Tran

Eldon Nelson

Kah Sing Chooi

Zhen Feng Yow

Some embodiments include an integrated assembly having a first deck which has first memory cells, and having a second deck which has second memory cells. The first memory cells have first control gate regions which include a first conductive material vertically between horizontally-extending bars of a second conductive material. The second memory cells have second control gate regions which include a fourth conductive material along an outer surface of a third conductive material. A pillar passes through the first and second decks. The pillar includes a dielectric-barrier material laterally surrounding a channel material. The first and fourth materials are directly against the dielectric-barrier material. Some embodiments include methods of forming integrated assemblies.

Integrated assemblies which include stacked memory decks, and methods of forming integrated assemblies

A microelectronic device includes a stack structure including a vertically alternating sequence of conductive structures and insulating structures arranged in tiers, a dielectric-filled opening vertically extending into the stack structure and defined between two internal sidewalls of the stack structure, a stadium structure within the stack structure and comprising steps defined by horizontal ends of at least some of the tiers, a first ledge extending upward from a first uppermost step of the steps of the stadium structure and interfacing with a first internal sidewall of the two internal sidewalls of the stack structure, and a second ledge extending upward from a second, opposite uppermost step of the steps of the stadium structure and interfacing with a second, opposite internal sidewall of the two internal sidewalls.

Microelectronic devices including stadium structures

A microelectronic device comprises a stack structure comprising alternating conductive structures and insulative structures arranged in tiers, the tiers individually comprising one of the conductive structures and one of the insulative structures, first support pillar structures extending through the stack structure within a first region of the microelectronic device, the first support pillar structures electrically isolated from a source structure underlying the stack structure, second support pillar structures extending through the stack structure within a second region of the microelectronic device, the second support pillar structures comprising an electrically conductive material in electrical communication with the source structure, and bridge structures extending between at least some neighboring first support pillar structures of the first support pillar structures. Related memory devices, electronic systems, and methods are also described.

Microelectronic devices and memory devices including support pillars

Some embodiments include an integrated assembly with a semiconductor channel material having a boundary region where a more-heavily-doped region interfaces with a less-heavily-doped region. The more-heavily-doped region and the less-heavily-doped region have the same majority carriers. The integrated assembly includes a gating structure adjacent the semiconductor channel material and having a gating region and an interconnecting region of a common and continuous material. The gating region has a length extending along a segment of the more-heavily-doped region, a segment of the less-heavily-doped region, and the boundary region. The interconnecting region extends laterally outward from the gating region on a side opposite the semiconductor channel region, and is narrower than the length of the gating region. Some embodiments include methods of forming integrated assemblies.

Integrated assemblies and methods of forming integrated assemblies

Device, systems, and structures include a stack of vertically-alternating tiers of materials arranged in one or more decks of tiers. A channel opening, in which a channel pillar may be formed, extends through the stack. The pillar includes a 'shoulder portion' extending laterally into an “undercut portion” of the channel opening, which undercut portion is defined along at least a lower tier of at least one of the decks of the stack.

Microelectronic devices with pillars or openings extending through a tiered stack

A memory array comprising strings of memory cells comprises laterally-spaced memory blocks individually comprising a vertical stack comprising alternating insulative tiers and conductive tiers. Operative channel-material strings of memory cells extend through the insulative tiers and the conductive tiers. The operative channel-material strings in the laterally-spaced memory blocks comprise part of a memory plane. An elevationally-extending wall is in the memory plane laterally-between immediately-laterally-adjacent of the memory blocks and that completely encircles an island that is laterally-between immediately-laterally-adjacent of the memory blocks in the memory plane. Other embodiments, including method are disclosed.

Memory arrays and methods used in forming a memory array comprising strings of memory cells

Some embodiments include an integrated structure having a conductive material, a select device gate material over the conductive material, and vertically-stacked conductive levels over the select device gate material. Vertically-extending monolithic channel material is adjacent the select device gate material and the conductive levels. The monolithic channel material contains a lower segment adjacent the select device gate material and an upper segment adjacent the conductive levels. A first vertically-extending region is between the lower segment of the monolithic channel material and the select device gate material. The first vertically-extending region contains a first material. A second vertically-extending region is between the upper segment of the monolithic channel material and the conductive levels. The second vertically-extending region contains a material which is different in composition from the first material.

Integrated structures

A method of forming a microelectronic device comprises forming a microelectronic device structure. The microelectronic device structure comprises a stack structure comprising insulative structures and additional insulative structures vertically alternating with the insulative structures, a dielectric structure vertically extending partially through the stack structure, and a dielectric material vertically overlying and horizontally extending across the stack structure and the dielectric structure. Portions of at least the dielectric material and the dielectric structure are removed to form a trench vertically overlying and at least partially horizontally overlapping a remaining portion of the dielectric structure. The trench is substantially filled with additional dielectric material. Microelectronic devices, memory devices, and electronic systems are also described.

Microelectronic devices and related memory devices

Some embodiments include an integrated structure having vertically-stacked conductive levels. Upper conductive levels are memory cell levels, and a lower conductive level is a select device level. Conductively-doped semiconductor material is under the select device level. Channel material extends along the memory cell levels and the select device level, and extends into the conductively-doped semiconductor material. A region of the channel material that extends into the conductively-doped semiconductor material is a lower region of the channel material and has a vertical sidewall. Tunneling material, charge-storage material and charge-blocking material extend along the channel material and are between the channel material and the conductive levels. The tunneling material, charge-storage material and charge-blocking material are not along at least a portion of the vertical sidewall of the lower region of the channel material, and the conductively-doped semiconductor material is directly against such portion. Some embodiments include methods of forming integrated structures.

Integrated structures comprising vertical channel material and having conductively-doped semiconductor material directly against lower sidewalls of the channel material

A microelectronic device may include a stack structure comprising a vertically alternating sequence of insulative structures and conductive structures, the stack structure divided into block portions. The microelectronic device may additionally include slit structures horizontally interposed between the block portions of the stack structure. Each of the slit structures may include a dielectric liner covering side surfaces of the stack structure and an upper surface of an additional structure underlying the stack structure, and a plug structure comprising at least one metal surrounded by the dielectric liner.

Microelectronic devices with slit structures including metal plugs and related systems

Some embodiments include an integrated structure having vertically-stacked conductive levels alternating with dielectric levels. A layer over the conductive levels includes silicon, nitrogen, and one or more of carbon, oxygen, boron and phosphorus. In some embodiments the vertically-stacked conductive levels are wordline levels within a NAND memory array. Some embodiments include an integrated structure having vertically-stacked conductive levels alternating with dielectric levels. Vertically-stacked NAND memory cells are along the conductive levels within a memory array region. A staircase region is proximate the memory array region. The staircase region has electrical contacts in one-to-one correspondence with the conductive levels. A layer is over the memory array region and over the staircase region. The layer includes silicon, nitrogen, and one or more of carbon, oxygen, boron and phosphorus.

Integrated structures including material containing silicon, nitrogen, and at least one of carbon, oxygen, boron and phosphorus

Microelectronic devices including support pillar structures, and related memory devices

A device comprises an array of elevationally-extending transistors and a circuit structure adjacent and electrically coupled to the elevationally-extending transistors of the array. The circuit structure comprises a stair step structure comprising vertically-alternating tiers comprising conductive steps that are at least partially elevationally separated from one another by insulative material. Operative conductive vias individually extend elevationally through one of the conductive steps at least to a bottom of the vertically-alternating tiers and individually electrically couple to an electronic component below the vertically-alternating tiers. Dummy structures individually extend elevationally through one of the conductive steps at least to the bottom of the vertically-alternating tiers. Methods are also disclosed.

Device, a method used in forming a circuit structure, a method used in forming an array of elevationally-extending transistors and a circuit structure adjacent thereto

Growing community of inventors

Boise, ID, United States of America

Justin B Dorhout