Micron Technology Incorporated

Kyuseok Lee

Sangmin Hwang

Byung Yoon Kim

Si-Woo Lee

Christopher Gordon Wieduwilt

Masahiro Yokomichi

Takefumi Shirako

Mark A Zaleski

In some examples, a subword driver block of a memory device includes a first active region and a second active region adjacent to each other. The first active region forms drains/sources of a first and second transistors in a first region; the second active region forms drains/sources of a third and fourth transistors in a second region, where the first and second regions are adjacent to each other. The first, second, third and fourth transistors are coupled to a common non-active potential via a shared contact overlaid over a merged region between the first and second regions. The first and second active regions may comprise N+ diffusion materials.

Memory subword driver circuits and layout

A method of forming a microelectronic device comprises forming a spacer structure having a rectangular ring horizontal cross-sectional shape over a transistor, a portion of the spacer structure horizontally overlapping a drain region of the transistor. A masking structure is formed over the spacer structure and the transistor, the masking structure exhibiting an opening therein horizontally overlapping the drain region of the transistor and the portion of the spacer structure. A portion of an isolation structure overlying the drain region of the transistor is removed using the masking structure and the portion of the spacer structure as etching masks to form a trench vertically extending through the isolation structure to the drain region of the transistor. A drain contact structure is formed within the trench in the isolation structure. Microelectronic devices, memory devices, and electronic systems are also described.

Microelectronic devices and memory devices

An apparatus includes a substrate and a memory cell array disposed on the substrate. The apparatus also includes a logic cell disposed on the substrate in a peripheral region adjacent the memory cell array. The apparatus further includes a trench isolation region disposed in the substrate in the peripheral region. The trench isolation region either separates a first active area of the logic cell from a second active area of the logic cell or separates the logic cell from an adjacent logic cell. The logic cell includes a connection line that is buried within the trench isolation region. The connection line can be formed as an extension of a buried word line in the memory cell array region during a same fabrication process that forms the corresponding buried word line. By extending the buried word line into the peripheral region, the buried connection line can be formed without additional processing.

Buried connection line for peripheral area of a memory device

Embodiments herein relate to vertical contacts for semiconductor devices. For instance, a memory device having vertical contacts can comprise a substrate including circuitry components, a vertical stack of layers formed from repeating iterations of a group of layers disposed on the substrate, the group of layers comprising a first dielectric material layer, a semiconductor material layer, and a second dielectric material layer including horizontal conductive lines formed along a horizontal plane in the second dielectric material layer, and vertical contacts coupled to the horizontal conductive lines, the vertical contacts extending along a vertical plane within the vertical stack of layers to directly electrically couple the horizontal conductive lines to the circuitry components.

Vertical contacts for semiconductor devices

Some embodiments include an integrated assembly having a CMOS region. Fins extend across the CMOS region and are on a first pitch. A circuit arrangement is associated with the CMOS region and includes segments of one or more of the fins. The circuit arrangement has a first dimension along a first direction. A second region is proximate the CMOS region. Conductive structures are associated with the second region. The conductive structures extend along a second direction different than the first direction. Some of the conductive structures are electrically coupled with the circuit arrangement. The conductive structures are on a second pitch different from the first pitch. A second dimension is a distance across said some of the conductive structures along the first direction, and the second dimension is substantially the same as the first dimension.

Integrated assemblies and semiconductor memory devices

The present disclosure includes apparatuses and methods related to array and peripheral area masking. An example method comprises concurrently forming an array active area mask in an array active area and a peripheral component active area. The method further comprises forming a peripheral component active area mask in the peripheral component active area. The method further comprises concurrently forming etch stop spacers using the array active area mask in the array active area and the peripheral component active area. The method further comprises etching a portion of the peripheral component active area to open peripheral component conductive contact vias using the peripheral component active area mask together with the formed etch stop spacers in order to reduce over-etch of an opening to a device well while increasing surface area opening to a peripheral component conductive contact.

Array and peripheral area masking

Devices, systems, and methods for forming twisted conductive lines are described herein. One method includes: forming a first row and a second row of a first number of vertical conductive line contacts, the vertical contacts in each row are arrayed in a first horizontal direction and the first row is spaced from the second row in a second horizontal direction; forming a number of conductive lines with curved portions, each conductive line making contact with alternating conductive line contacts of the first and second rows of the first number of vertical conductive line contacts; and forming a second number of conductive lines with one or more curved portions, each conductive line making contact with the remaining ones of the conductive line contacts of the first and second rows of the first number of vertical conductive line contacts that have not been contacted by the first number of conductive lines.

Contacts for twisted conductive lines within memory arrays

Systems, methods, and apparatus including multi-direction conductive lines and staircase contacts for semiconductor devices. One memory device includes an array of vertically stacked memory cells, the array including: a vertical stack of horizontally oriented conductive lines, each conductive line comprising: a first portion extending in a first horizontal direction; and a second portion extending in a second horizontal direction at an angle to the first horizontal direction.

Multi-direction conductive line and staircase contact for semiconductor devices

Semiconductor memory subword driver circuits and layout

In some examples, a subword driver block of a memory device includes a plurality of active regions of a first type and a plurality of active regions of a second type adjacent to the plurality of active regions of the first type. The subword driver block further includes a plurality of first gate electrodes overlapping with the plurality of active regions of the first type to form a plurality of first transistors, and a plurality of second gate electrodes overlapping with the plurality of active regions of the first type to form a plurality of second transistors. Each of the second transistors is shared by a first subword driver and a second subword driver. Each of the second transistors may include a drain and a source respectively coupled to a first and second word line, which are driven by the first subword driver and the second subword driver, respectively.

Semiconductor memory devices including subword driver and layouts thereof

A memory device includes a plurality of sub-word line drivers with, each sub-word line driver configured to receive a main word line signal and configured to drive a respective local word line to at least one of an active state, a soft-landing state, an off state based on the main word line signal and a phase signal. The memory device also includes a plurality of phase drivers with each phase driver configured to generate the respective phase signal. The memory device can further include a processing device configured to drive the respective local word line to the soft-landing state prior to entering the off state when transitioning from the active state to the off state so as to provide row hammer stress mitigation between adjacent local word lines corresponding to the plurality of sub-word line drivers. Each sub-word line driver includes a diode-connected transistor.

Sub-word line driver with soft-landing

Apparatuses including threshold voltage compensated sense amplifiers and methods for compensating same are disclosed. An example threshold voltage compensated sense amplifier according to the disclosure includes circuits, such as isolation transistors and at least one precharge transistor, that are used to provide threshold voltage compensation.

Apparatuses including threshold voltage compensated sense amplifiers and methods for compensating same

Methods, apparatuses, and systems related to a memory device are described. The memory device may include a sense amplifier that is configured to simultaneously precharge sensing nodes therein and compensate for threshold voltage mismatches between any transistors therein. The sense amplifier may be configured to charge gut nodes therein without connecting to a separate precharging voltage.

Growing community of inventors

Boise, ID, United States of America

Kyuseok Lee