Imec

Imec Vzw

Interuniversitair Microelektronica Centrum (imec)

Micron Technology Incorporated

Interuniversitair Micorelektronica Centrum (imec, Vzw)

Pieter Blomme

Jan F Van Houdt

Maarten Rosmeulen

Bogdan Govoreanu

Paolo Tessariol

Justin B Dorhout

Jian Li

Emilio Camerlenghi

Vladimir Machkaoutsan

Matty Caymax

Gouri Sankar Kar

Roger Loo

Ryan L Meyer

Dirk Wouters

Judit Gloria Lisoni Reyes

Laurent Breuil

Antonino Cacciato

Geert Van Den Bosch

Antonio Cacciato

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. First dummy pillars in the memory blocks extend through at least a majority of the insulative tiers and the conductive tiers through which the channel-material strings extend. Second dummy pillars are laterally-between and longitudinally-spaced-along immediately-laterally-adjacent of the memory blocks. The second dummy pillars extend through at least a majority of the insulative tiers and the conductive tiers through which the operative channel-material strings extend laterally-between the immediately-laterally-adjacent memory blocks. Other embodiments, including method, are disclosed.

Methods used in forming a memory array comprising strings of memory cells

The disclosed technology relates generally to semiconductor devices and more particularly to three dimensional semiconductor memory devices, such as vertical three dimensional non-volatile memory devices. In one aspect, a method of fabricating a memory device comprises providing, on a substrate, an alternating stack of control gate layers and dielectric layers. The method additionally includes forming a memory block. comprising forming at least one memory hole through the alternating stack, where the at least one memory hole comprises on its sidewalls a stack of a programmable material, a channel material and a dielectric material, thereby forming at least one memory cell. The method additionally comprises removing a portion of the alternating stack to form at least one trench, where the at least one trench forms at least part of a boundary of the memory block. The method additionally comprises partially removing the control gate layers exposed at a sidewall of the at least one trench, thereby forming recesses in the control gate layers. The method further comprises filling the recesses with an electrically conductive material, thereby forming electrically conductive plugs. In another aspect, a device formed using the method is also provided.

Three-dimensional non-volatile semiconductor memory device having replacement gate

The disclosed technology generally relates to semiconductor devices, and more particularly to a ferroelectric memory device and a method of manufacturing and using the same. In one aspect, a vertical ferroelectric memory device includes a stack of horizontal layers formed on a semiconductor substrate, where the stack of layers includes a plurality gate electrode layers alternating with a plurality of insulating layers. A vertical structure extends vertically through the stack of horizontal layers, where the vertical structure has a vertical channel structure and a sidewall having formed thereon a vertical transition metal oxide (TMO) ferroelectric layer. A memory cell is formed at each of overlapping regions between the gate electrode layers and the vertical channel structure.

Vertical ferroelectric memory device and a method for manufacturing thereof

The present invention provides a resistive memory array arranged in a 3D stack comprising a plurality of resistivity switching memory elements laid out in an array in a first and second direction, and stacked in a third direction, a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes extending in the first direction, each first electrode and each second electrode being associated with the at least one resistivity switching memory element, and a plurality of transistor devices, each transistor device being electrically coupled to one of the resistivity switching memory elements, an inversion or accumulation channel of a transistor device being adapted for forming a switchable resistivity path in the third direction, between the electrically coupled resistivity switching memory element and the associated second electrode, wherein the memory array furthermore comprises at least one third electrode provided in a trench through the stack.

Stacked RRAM array with integrated transistor selector

The disclosed technology generally relates to memory devices, and more particularly to memory devices having an intergate dielectric stack comprising multiple high k dielectric materials. In one aspect, a planar non-volatile memory device comprises a hybrid floating gate structure separated from an inter-gate dielectric structure by a first interfacial layer which is designed to be electrically transparent so as not to affect the program saturation of the device. The inter-gate structure comprises a stack of three layers having a high-k/low-k/high-k configuration and the interfacial layer has a higher k-value than its adjacent high-k layer in the inter-gate dielectric structure. A method of making such a non-volatile memory device is also described.

Non-volatile memory semiconductor devices and method for making thereof

Disclosed are methods for manufacturing floating gate memory devices and the floating gate memory devices thus manufactured. In one embodiment, the method comprises providing a monocrystalline semiconductor substrate, forming a tunnel oxide layer on the substrate, and depositing a protective layer on the tunnel oxide layer to form a stack of the tunnel oxide layer and the protective layer. The method further includes forming at least one opening in the stack, thereby exposing at least one portion of the substrate, and cleaning the at least one exposed portion with a cleaning liquid. The method still further includes loading the substrate comprising the stack into a reactor and, thereafter, performing an in-situ etch to remove the protective layer, using the at least one exposed portion as a source to epitaxially grow a layer comprising the monocrystalline semiconductor material, and forming the layer into at least one columnar floating gate structure.

Method for producing a floating gate memory structure

Disclosed are methods for manufacturing a floating gate memory device and the floating gate memory device thus obtained. In one embodiment, a method is disclosed that includes providing a semiconductor-on-insulator substrate, forming at least two trenches in the semiconductor-on-insulator substrate, and, as a result of forming the at least two trenches, forming at least one elevated structure. The method further includes forming isolation regions at a bottom of the at least two trenches by partially filling the at least two trenches, thermally oxidizing sidewall surfaces of at least a top portion of the at least one elevated structure, thereby providing a gate dielectric layer on at least the exposed sidewall surfaces; and forming a conductive layer over the at least one elevated structure, the gate dielectric layer, and the isolation regions to form at least one floating gate semiconductor memory device.

Floating gate semiconductor memory device and method for producing such a device

Method for manufacturing a non-volatile memory comprising at least one array of memory cells on a substrate of a semiconductor material, the memory cells being self-aligned to and separated from each other by STI structures, the memory cells comprising a floating gate having an inverted-T shape in a cross section along the array of memory cells, wherein the inverted T shape is formed by oxidizing an upper part of the sidewalls of the floating gates thereby forming sacrificial oxide, and subsequently removing the sacrificial oxide simultaneously with further etching back the STI structures.

Method for forming a floating gate non-volatile memory cell

Non-volatile memory devices are disclosed. In a first example non-volatile memory device, programming and erasing of the memory device is performed through the same insulating barrier without the use of a complex symmetrical structure. In the example device, programming is accomplished by tunneling negative charge carriers from a charge supply region to a charge storage region. Further in the example device, erasing is accomplished by tunneling positive carriers from the charge supply region to the charge storage region. In a second example non-volatile memory device, a charge storage region with spatially distributed charge storage region is included. Such a charge storage region may be implemented in the first example memory device or may be implemented in other memory devices. In the second example device, programming is accomplished by tunneling negative charge carriers from a charge supply region to the charge storage region. In the second example device, the tunneled negative charge carriers are stored in the discrete storage sites.

Non-volatile memory devices

An insulating barrier extending between a first conductive region and a second conductive region is disclosed. The insulating barrier is provided for tunnelling charge carriers from the first to the second region, the insulating barrier comprising a first portion contacting the first region and a second portion contacting the first portion and extending towards the second region, the first portion being substantially thinner than the second portion, the first portion being constructed in a first dielectric and the second portion being constructed in a second dielectric different from the first dielectric, the first dielectric having a lower dielectric constant than the second dielectric.

Growing community of inventors

Heverlee, Belgium

Pieter Blomme