Macronix International Co., Ltd.

Miao-Chih Hsu

Tzung-Ting Han

Yu-Fong Huang

Kuan-Fu Chen

Teng-Hao Yeh

Ming-Shang Chen

Yu-Min Hung

Shang-Wei Lin

I-Shen Tsai

Provided are improved semiconductor memory devices and methods for manufacturing such semiconductor memory devices. A method may incorporate the patterning of the array and periphery regions in self-aligned quadruple patterning and provide semiconductor devices resulting from the combined patterning.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor devices with combined array and periphery patterning in self-aligned quadruple patterning

A memory device including a substrate, a conductive layer, a charge storage layer, first and second dopant regions and first and second cell dopant regions is provided. A plurality of trenches is deployed in the substrate. The conductive layer is disposed on the substrate and fills the trenches. The charge storage layer is disposed between the substrate and the conductive layer. The first and second dopant regions having a first conductive type are configured in the substrate under bottoms of the trenches and in an upper portion of the substrate between two adjacent trenches, respectively. The first and second cell dopant regions having a second conductive type are configured in the substrate between lower portions of side surfaces of the trenches and in the substrate adjacent to the bottoms of the second dopant regions, respectively. The first and the second conductive types are different dopant types.

Memory device

A memory device is provided, including a substrate, a conductive layer, a charge storage layer, a plurality of isolation structures, a plurality of first doped regions, and a plurality of second doped regions. The substrate has a plurality of trenches. The conductive layer is disposed on the substrate and fills the trenches. The charge storage layer is disposed between the substrate and the conductive layer. The isolation structures are disposed in the substrate between two adjacent trenches, respectively. The first doped regions are disposed in an upper portion of the substrate between each isolation structure and each trench, respectively. The second doped regions are disposed in the substrate under a bottom portion of the trenches, in which each isolation structure is disposed between two adjacent second doped regions.

A method of operating a memory cell is provided. The memory cell has first, second, third and fourth storage regions in a charge-storage layer between a substrate and a word line. The first and second storage regions are respectively adjacent to lower and upper portions at one side of the protruding part of the substrate, and the third and fourth storage regions are respectively adjacent to lower and upper portions at the other side of the same. The second and third storage regions are regarded as a top storage region. When the top storage region is programmed, a first positive voltage is applied to the word line, a second positive voltage is applied to a top bit line in a top portion of the protruding part, and a bottom voltage is applied to first and second bottom bit lines in the substrate beside the protruding part respectively.

Method of operating memory cell

Methods of contact formation and memory arrays formed using such methods, which methods include providing a substrate having a contacting area; forming a plurality of line-shape structures extending in a first direction; forming a hard mask spacer beside the line-shape structure; forming an insulating material layer above the hard mask spacer; forming a contiguous trench in the insulating material layer extending in a second direction different from the first direction and exposing the contacting area; and forming a conductive line in the trench to contact the contacting area.

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Hsinchu, Taiwan

Miao-Chih Hsu