Sandisk Technologies Inc.

Naoki Takeguchi

Seiji Shimabukuro

Raghuveer S Makala

Yujin Terasawa

Rahul Sharangpani

Tatsuya Hinoue

Kensuke Yamaguchi

Hiroyuki Ogawa

Genta Mizuno

Hiroaki Iuchi

Yusuke Mukae

Tuan Duc Pham

Fei Zhou

Masanori Tsutsumi

Teruyuki Mine

Chan Park

Masaaki Higashitani

Johann Alsmeier

George Matamis

Yao-Sheng Lee

Senaka Kanakamedala

Michiaki Sano

Ramy Nashed Bassely Said

Marika Gunji-Yoneoka

Kazuya Tokunaga

Jong Sun Sel

Yanli Zhang

Kiyohiko Sakakibara

Sateesh Koka

Jongsun Sel

Fumitaka Amano

Shigehisa Inoue

Atsushi Suyama

Ryoichi Honma

Yoshinobu Tanaka

Shiori Kataoka

Takashi Hamaya

Takashi Arai

Frank Yu

Jiao Chen

Ryosuke Itou

A method of forming a three-dimensional memory device includes forming an alternating stack of insulating layers and sacrificial material layers over a substrate, forming a memory opening extending through the alternating stack, forming a sacrificial memory opening fill structure in the memory opening, replacing the sacrificial material layers with electrically conductive layers, removing the sacrificial memory opening fill structure selective to the electrically conductive layers, and forming a memory opening fill structure the memory opening after replacing the sacrificial material layers with electrically conductive layers and after removing the sacrificial memory opening fill structure. The memory opening fill structure includes a memory film and a vertical semiconductor channel.

Three dimensional memory device and method of making thereof by forming channel and memory film after word line replacement

A vertical repetition of multiple instances of a unit layer stack is formed over a substrate. The unit layer stack includes an insulating layer and a sacrificial material layer. Lateral recesses are formed by removing the sacrificial material layers selective to the insulating layers. Each lateral recess is sequentially fill with at least one conductive fill material and an insulating fill material, and vertically-extending portions of the at least one conductive fill material are removed such that a vertical layer stack including a first-type electrically conductive layer, a seamed insulating layer, and a second-type electrically conductive layer are formed in each lateral recess. Memory opening fill structures including a respective vertical stack of memory elements is formed through the insulating layers and the layer stacks. Access points for providing an etchant for removing the sacrificial material layers may be provided by memory openings, contact via cavities or backside trenches.

Three-dimensional memory device and method of making thereof using double pitch word line formation

A method of depositing a metal includes providing a structure a process chamber, and providing a metal fluoride gas and a growth-suppressant gas into the process chamber to deposit the metal over the structure. The metal may comprise a word line or another conductor of a three-dimensional memory device.

Methods and apparatuses for forming semiconductor devices containing tungsten layers using a tungsten growth suppressant

A vertical repetition of multiple instances of a unit layer stack is formed over a substrate. The unit layer stack includes an insulating layer and a sacrificial material layer. Lateral recesses are formed by removing the sacrificial material layers selective to the insulating layers. Each lateral recess is sequentially fill with at least one conductive fill material and an insulating fill material, and vertically-extending portions of the at least one conductive fill material are removed such that a vertical layer stack including a first-type electrically conductive layer, a seamed insulating layer, and a second-type electrically conductive layer are formed in each lateral recess. Memory opening fill structures including a respective vertical stack of memory elements is formed through the insulating layers and the layer stacks. Memory openings, contact via cavities, or backside trenches may be used as access points for removing the sacrificial material layers.

A method of depositing tungsten over a substrate includes disposing the substrate into a vacuum enclosure of a tungsten deposition apparatus, performing a first tungsten deposition process that deposits a first tungsten layer over a physically exposed surface of the substrate by flowing a fluorine-containing tungsten precursor gas into the vacuum enclosure, performing an in-situ oxidation process by exposing the first tungsten layer to an oxidation agent gas while the substrate remains within the vacuum enclosure without breaking vacuum and forming a tungsten oxyfluoride gas which is pumped out of the vacuum enclosure, and performing a second tungsten deposition process that deposits a second tungsten layer on the first tungsten layer by flowing the fluorine-containing tungsten precursor gas into the vacuum enclosure in a second tungsten deposition process after the in-situ oxidation process.

Fluorine-free tungsten deposition process employing in-situ oxidation and apparatuses for effecting the same

An alternating stack of insulating layers and sacrificial material layers is formed over a substrate. Memory stack structures are formed through the alternating stack. Each of the memory stack structures includes a memory film and a vertical semiconductor channel. Backside recesses are formed by removing the sacrificial material layers selective to the insulating layers and the memory stack structures. Electrically conductive layers are formed in the backside recesses. Each of the electrically conductive layers includes a molybdenum-containing conductive liner and a metal fill portion including a metal other than molybdenum.

Three-dimensional memory device including electrically conductive layers with molybdenum-containing liners

An alternating stack of insulating layers and sacrificial material layers is formed with stepped surfaces. Sacrificial metal plates are formed on the top surfaces of the sacrificial material layers, and a retro-stepped dielectric material portion is formed over the sacrificial metal plates. Contact via cavities are formed through the retro-stepped dielectric material portion employing the sacrificial metal plates as etch stop structures. The sacrificial metal plates are replaced with portions of insulating spacer layers. Sacrificial via fill structures within remaining volumes of the contact via cavities. The sacrificial material layers are replaced with electrically conductive layers. The sacrificial via fill structures are replaced with portions of staircase-region contact via structures that contact the electrically conductive layers.

Three-dimensional memory device containing replacement contact via structures and method of making the same

Void formation in tungsten lines in a three-dimensional memory device can be prevented by providing polycrystalline aluminum oxide liners in portions of lateral recesses that are laterally spaced from backside trenches by a distance grater than a predefined lateral offset distance. Tungsten nucleates on the polycrystalline aluminum oxide liners prior to nucleating on a metallic liner layer. Thus, tungsten layers can be deposited from the center portion of each backside recess, and the growth of tungsten can proceed toward the backside trenches. By forming the tungsten layers without voids, structural integrity of the three-dimensional memory device can be enhanced.

Selective tungsten growth for word lines of a three-dimensional memory device

A memory film and a semiconductor channel can be formed within each memory opening that extends through a stack including an alternating plurality of insulator layers and sacrificial material layers. After formation of backside recesses through removal of the sacrificial material layers selective to the insulator layers, a metallic barrier material portion can be formed in each backside recess. A cobalt portion can be formed in each backside recess. Each backside recess can be filled with a cobalt portion alone, or can be filled with a combination of a cobalt portion and a metallic material portion including a material other than cobalt.

Cobalt-containing conductive layers for control gate electrodes in a memory structure

A non-volatile data storage device comprises pairs of immediately adjacent and isolated-from-one-another local bit lines that are independently driven by respective and vertically oriented bit line selector devices. The isolation between the immediately adjacent and isolated-from-one-another local bit lines also isolates from one another respective memory cells of the non-volatile data storage device such that leakage currents cannot flow from memory cells connected to a first of the immediately adjacent and isolated-from-one-another local bit lines to memory cells connected to the second of the pair of immediately adjacent and isolated-from-one-another local bit lines. A method programming a desire one of the memory cells includes applying boosting voltages to word lines adjacent to the bit line of the desired memory cell while not applying boosting voltages to word lines adjacent to the other bit line of the pair.

Method of fabricating memory array having divided apart bit lines and partially divided bit line selector switches

Three-dimensional (3D) non-volatile memory arrays having a vertically-oriented thin film transistor (TFT) select device and method of fabricating are described. The vertically-oriented TFT may be used as a vertical bit line selection device to couple a global bit line to a vertical bit line. A select device pillar includes a body and upper and lower source/drain regions. At least one gate is separated horizontally from the select device pillar by a gate dielectric. Each gate is formed over the gate dielectric and a base that extends horizontally at least partially between adjacent pillars. The base is formed with notches filled with the gate dielectric. The select device is fabricated using a conformally deposited base dielectric material and conformal hard mask layer that is formed with a larger bottom thickness than horizontal thickness. The base thickness is defined by the deposition thickness, rather than an uncontrolled etch back.

Vertical thin film transistors in non-volatile storage systems

A trench can be formed through a stack of alternating plurality of first material layers and second material layers. A dielectric material liner and a trench fill material portion can be formed in the trench. The dielectric material liner and portions of first material layer can be simultaneously etched to form laterally-extending cavities having level-dependent lateral extents. A set of stepped surfaces can be formed by removing unmasked portions of the second material layers. Alternately, an alternating sequence of processing steps including vertical etch processes and lateral recess processes can be employed to laterally recess second material layers and to form laterally-extending cavities having level-dependent lateral extents. Lateral cavities can be simultaneously formed in multiple levels such that levels having laterally-extending cavities of a same lateral extent are offset across multiple integrated cavities.

Set of stepped surfaces formation for a multilevel interconnect structure

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Yokkaichi, Japan

Naoki Takeguchi