Sandisk Technologies Inc.

Globalfoundries Inc.

Murshed Chowdhury

Johann Alsmeier

James K Kai

Jin Liu

Raghuveer S Makala

Yanli Zhang

Tong Zhang

Yao-Sheng Lee

Zhixin Cui

Koichi Matsuno

Marika Gunji-Yoneoka

Masaaki Higashitani

Hiroyuki Ogawa

Ching-Huang Lu

Hiroyuki Kinoshita

Senaka Kanakamedala

Andrew C Lin

Shafaat Ahmed

Joyeeta Nag

Aritra Dasgupta

Tadashi Nakamura

Matthias Baenninger

Kazuya Tokunaga

Jiyin Xu

Shahrukh Akbar Khan

Mohammad Hasanuzzaman

Yoshihiro Kanno

Arvind Kumar

Chung-Hsun Lin

Jayavel Pachamuthu

Brian Joseph Greene

Fumiaki Toyama

Masatoshi Nishikawa

Akio Nishida

Kwang-Ho Kim

Mitsuteru Mushiga

Kensuke Yamaguchi

Kiyokazu Shishido

Hisakazu Otoi

Hiro Kinoshita

Atsushi Suyama

Kazutaka Yoshizawa

Dai Iwata

Tomoyuki Obu

Keerti Shukla

Takahito Fujita

Benjamin G Moser

Yasuaki Yonemochi

Daewung Kang

Tsuyoshi Hada

Raiden Matsuno

Tomohisa Abe

Luckshitha Suriyasena Liyanage

Camilla Huang

A three-dimensional memory device includes an alternating stack of insulating layers and electrically conductive layers located over a substrate, and an array of memory opening fill structures extending through the alternating stack, an array of drain-select-level assemblies overlying the alternating stack and having a same two-dimensional periodicity as the array of memory opening fill structures, a first strip electrode portion laterally surrounding a first set of multiple rows of drain-select-level assemblies within the array of drain-select-level assemblies, and a drain-select-level isolation strip including an isolation dielectric that contacts the first strip electrode portion and laterally spaced from the drain-select-level assemblies and extending between the first strip electrode portion and a second strip electrode portion.

Three-dimensional memory device having on-pitch drain select gate electrodes and method of making the same

A three-dimensional memory device may include an alternating stack of insulating layers and spacer material layers formed over a carrier substrate. The spacer material layers are formed as, or are subsequently replaced with, electrically conductive layers. Memory stack structures are formed through the alternating stack. Each memory stack structure includes a respective vertical semiconductor channel and a respective memory film. Drain regions and bit lines can be formed over the memory stack structures to provide a memory die. The memory die can be bonded to a logic die containing peripheral circuitry for supporting operations of memory cells within the memory die. A distal end of each of the vertical semiconductor channels is physically exposed by removing the carrier substrate. A source layer is formed directly on the distal end each of the vertical semiconductor channels. A bonding pad can be formed on the source layer.

Bonded three-dimensional memory devices and methods of making the same by replacing carrier substrate with source layer

A first wafer including a first substrate, first semiconductor devices overlying the first substrate, and first dielectric material layers overlying the first semiconductor devices is provided. A sacrificial material layer is formed over a top surface of a second wafer including a second substrate. Second semiconductor devices and second dielectric material layers are formed over a top surface of the sacrificial material layer. The second wafer is attached to the first wafer such that the second dielectric material layers face the first dielectric material layers. A plurality of voids is formed through the second substrate. The sacrificial material layer is removed by providing an etchant that etches a material of the sacrificial material layer through the plurality of voids. The substrate is detached from a bonded assembly including the first wafer, the second semiconductor devices, and the second dielectric material layers upon removal of the sacrificial material layer.

Method for removing a bulk substrate from a bonded assembly of wafers

A three-dimensional memory device includes an alternating stack of source layers and drain layers located over a substrate, gate electrodes vertically extending through each of the source layers and the drain layers of the alternating stack, memory films laterally surrounding a respective one of the gate electrodes, and semiconductor channels laterally surrounding a respective one of the memory films and connected to a respective vertically neighboring pair of a source layer and a drain layer. An array of memory openings can vertically extend through the alternating stack, and each of the gate electrodes can be located within a respective one of the memory openings.

Three-dimensional memory device containing alternating stack of source layers and drain layers and vertical gate electrodes

A memory die including a three-dimensional array of memory elements and a logic die including a peripheral circuitry that support operation of the three-dimensional array of memory elements can be bonded by die-to-die bonding to provide a bonded assembly. External bonding pads for the bonded assembly can be provided by forming recess regions through the memory die or through the logic die to physically expose metal interconnect structures within interconnect-level dielectric layers. The external bonding pads can include, or can be formed upon, a physically exposed subset of the metal interconnect structures. Alternatively or additionally, laterally-insulated external connection via structures can be formed through the bonded assembly to multiple levels of the metal interconnect structures. Further, through-dielectric external connection via structures extending through a stepped dielectric material portion of the memory die can be physically exposed, and external bonding pads can be formed thereupon.

Three-dimensional device with bonded structures including a support die and methods of making the same

An alternating stack of insulating layers and dielectric spacer layers is formed over a semiconductor substrate. Memory stack structures are formed through the alternating stack. Backside trenches, a moat trench, and a contact opening are formed through the alternating stack, and are subsequently filled with sacrificial backside trench fill material structures, a sacrificial moat trench fill structure, and a sacrificial contact opening fill structure, respectively. The sacrificial moat trench fill structure is replaced with tubular dielectric wall structure. Portions of the dielectric spacer layers located outside the tubular dielectric wall structure are replaced with electrically conductive layers. The sacrificial backside trench fill material structures are replaced with backside trench fill structures. The sacrificial contact opening fill structure is replaced with a conductive via structure. Concurrent formation of the backside trenches, the moat trench, and the contact opening reduces processing steps and cost.

Through-array conductive via structures for a three-dimensional memory device and methods of making the same

An annular dielectric spacer can be formed at a level of a joint-level dielectric material layer between vertically neighboring pairs of alternating stacks of insulating layers and spacer material layers. After formation of a memory opening through multiple alternating stacks and formation of a memory film therein, an anisotropic etch can be performed to remove a horizontal bottom portion of the memory film. The annular dielectric spacer can protect underlying portions of the memory film during the anisotropic etch. In addition, a silicon nitride barrier may be employed to suppress hydrogen diffusion at an edge region of peripheral devices.

Multi-tier three-dimensional memory devices containing annular dielectric spacers within memory openings and methods of making the same

A memory die includes an alternating stack of insulating layers and electrically conductive layers located over a substrate, memory stack structures extending through the alternating stack, source regions located on, or in, the substrate, and at least one memory-side bonding pad electrically connected to the source regions. A logic die includes a power supply circuit configured to generate a supply voltage for the source regions, and at least one logic-side bonding pad electrically connected to the power supply circuit through a network of logic-side metal interconnect structures. The memory die is bonded to the logic die. The network of logic-side metal interconnect structures distributes source power from the power supply circuit over an entire area of the memory stack structures and transmits the source power to the memory die through bonded pairs of memory-side bonding pads and logic-side bonding pads.

Three-dimensional memory device containing bond pad-based power supply network for a source line and methods of making the same

A semiconductor structure includes a semiconductor device, an overlying silicon nitride diffusion barrier layer, and an interconnect structure extending through the silicon nitride diffusion barrier layer. The interconnect structure includes a titanium diffusion barrier structure in contact with the silicon nitride diffusion barrier layer to form a continuous hydrogen diffusion barrier structure.

Three-dimensional memory device containing hydrogen diffusion blocking structures and method of making the same

Multiple tier structures are stacked over a substrate. Each tier structure includes an alternating stack of insulating layers and sacrificial material layers and a retro-stepped dielectric material portion overlying the alternating stack. Multiple types of openings are formed concurrently during formation of each tier structure. Openings concurrently formed through each tier structure can include at least two types of openings that may be selected from through-tier memory openings, through-tier support openings, and through-tier staircase-region openings. Each through-tier opening is filled with a respective through-tier sacrificial opening fill structure. Stacks of through-tier sacrificial opening fill structures can be removed in stages to form various device components, which include memory stack structures, support pillar structures, and staircase-region contact via structures. The sacrificial material layers are replaced with electrically conductive layers, which are laterally electrically isolated from the staircase-region contact via structures by annular insulating spacers.

Three-dimensional memory device and method of making the same using concurrent formation of memory openings and contact openings

A three-dimensional memory device including self-aligned drain select level electrodes is provided. Memory stack structures extend through an alternating stack of insulating layers and spacer material layers. Each of the memory stack structures includes a memory film and a memory level channel portion. Drain select level channel portions are formed over the memory level channel portions with respective lateral shifts with respect to underlying memory stack structures. The direction of lateral shifts alternates from row to row for each row of drain select level channel portions. Drain select level gate dielectrics and drain select level gate electrodes are formed on the drain select level channel portions. Each drain select level gate electrode controls two rows of drain select level channel portions, and is laterally spaced from neighboring drain select level gate electrodes.

Three-dimensional memory device with self-aligned drain side select gate electrodes and method of making thereof

A three-dimensional memory device includes an alternating stack of insulating layers and electrically conductive layers located over a substrate. Memory stack structures are located in a memory array region, each of which includes a memory film and a vertical semiconductor channel. Contact via structures located in the terrace region and contact a respective one of the electrically conductive layers. Each of the electrically conductive layers has a respective first thickness throughout the memory array region and includes a contact portion having a respective second thickness that is greater than the respective first thickness within a terrace region. The greater thickness of the contact portion prevents an etch-through during formation of contact via cavities for forming the contact via structures.

Three-dimensional memory device with thickened word lines in terrace region and method of making thereof

Growing community of inventors

Fremont, CA, United States of America

Murshed Chowdhury