Micron Technology Incorporated

Yi Hu

Matthew J King

Xiaosong Zhang

Chandra S Tiwari

Harsh Narendrakumar Jain

Wei Yeeng Ng

Zahra Hosseinimakarem

Tom Jibu John

Lifang Xu

Jian Li

Jonathan D Harms

Indra V Chary

Anilkumar Chandolu

Alyssa N Scarbrough

Brett D Lowe

Daniel Billingsley

Yiping Wang

Dave Pratt

Prakash Rau Mokhna Rau

Andrew Li

Merri Lyn Carlson

Ramey M Abdelrahaman

Dmitry A Vengertsev

David Daycock

Raju Ahmed

Kar Wui Thong

Lance Williamson

Aaron Kenneth Belsher

Frank Speetjens

Darin Miller

Narula Bilik

Yung-Ta Sung

Siva Naga Sandeep Chalamalasetty

Allen R Gibson

Zhenyu Bo

Joan M Kash

David Neumeyer

Yung K Pak

John David Hopkins

David A Kewley

Matthew Holland

Shruthi Kumara Vadivel

Michael E Koltonski

Deepti Verma

Chandra Tiwari

Jennifer F Huckaby

Brooke Spencer

Deep Panjwani

Dmitry Vengertsev

A microelectronic device comprises a stack structure comprising alternating conductive structures and insulative structures arranged in tiers, each of the tiers individually comprising a conductive structure and an insulative structure, strings of memory cells vertically extending through the stack structure, the strings of memory cells comprising a channel material vertically extending through the stack structure, another stack structure vertically overlying the stack structure and comprising alternating levels of other conductive structures and other insulative structures, the other stack structure comprising pillars vertically overlying the strings of memory cells, each pillar comprising an other channel material in electrical communication with the channel material of the strings of memory cells, and conductive contact structures vertically overlying the other stack structure, each conductive contact structure comprising an electrically conductive contact at least partially extending into the pillars and a portion extending outside of the pillars having a larger cross-sectional area than the pillars. Related microelectronic devices including self-aligned conductive contact structures, and related electronic systems and methods are also described.

Microelectronic devices with improved alignment for contact structures

An image or a spectrum of a surface may be acquired by a computing device, which may be included in a mobile device in some examples. The computing device may extract a measured spectrum from the image and generate a corrected spectrum of the surface. In some examples, the corrected spectrum may be generated to compensate for ambient light influence. The corrected spectrum may be analyzed to provide a result, such as a diagnosis or a product recommendation. In some examples, the result is based, at least in part, on a comparison of the corrected spectrum to reference spectra. In some examples, the result is based, at least in part, on an inference of a machine learning model.

Apparatuses and methods for color matching and recommendations

Some embodiments include a method of forming an integrated assembly. An arrangement is formed to include a conductive pillar extending through an insulative mass. An upper surface of the conductive pillar is recessed to form a cavity. An insulative collar is formed within the cavity to line an outer lateral periphery of the cavity. A recessed surface of the conductive pillar is exposed at a bottom of the lined cavity. A conductive expanse is formed over the insulative mass. A portion of the conductive expanse extends into the cavity and is configured as an interconnect. The conductive expanse is patterned into multiple conductive structures. One of the conductive structures includes the interconnect.

Conductive interconnects and methods of forming conductive interconnects

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. Intervening material is laterally-between and longitudinally-along immediately-laterally-adjacent of the memory blocks. The intervening material comprises longitudinally-alternating first and second regions that individually have a vertically-elongated seam therein. The vertically-elongated seam in the first regions has a higher top than in the second regions. The seam tops in the second regions are elevationally-coincident with or below a bottom of an uppermost of the conductive tiers. Methods are disclosed.

Memory array having an intervening material between adjacent memory blocks with an elongated seam therein

A microelectronic device comprises a stack structure comprising alternating conductive structures and insulative structures. Memory cells vertically extend through the stack structure, and comprise a channel material vertically extending through the stack structure. An additional stack structure vertically overlies the stack structure and comprises additional conductive structures and additional insulative structures. First pillar structures extend through the additional stack structure and vertically overlie a portion of the memory cells. Second pillar structures are adjacent to the first pillar structures and extend through the additional stack structure and vertically overlie another portion of the memory cells. Slot structures are laterally adjacent to the first pillar structures and to the second pillar structures and extend through at least a portion of the additional stack structure. A distance between the first pillar structures and the slot structures is substantially equal to a distance between the second pillar structures and the slot structures.

Microelectronic devices including slot structures, and related electronic systems and methods of forming the microelectronic devices

Methods for forming microelectronic devices include forming lower and upper stack structures, each comprising vertically alternating sequences of insulative and other structures arranged in tiers. Lower and upper pillar structures are formed to extend through the lower and upper stack structures, respectively. An opening is formed through the upper stack structure, and at least a portion of the other structures of the upper stack are replaced by (e.g., chemically converted into) conductive structures, which may be configured as select gate structures. Subsequently, a slit is formed, extending through both the upper and lower stack structures, and at least a portion of the other structures of the lower stack structure are replaced by a conductive material within a liner to form additional conductive structures, which may be configured as access lines (e.g., word lines). Microelectronic devices and structures and related electronic systems are also disclosed.

Microelectronic devices with isolation trenches in upper portions of tiered stacks, and related methods

In some implementations, a device may receive, from a sensor of a vehicle, sensor data. The device may detect whether an event causing damage to the vehicle has occurred or is expected to occur based on the sensor data being greater than a threshold, wherein the threshold is based on an on-off status of the vehicle and a sensor type. The device may activate, based on whether the event has occurred or is expected to occur, a camera of the vehicle to capture video data of a scene associated with the vehicle. The device may transmit, to a server, an indication that indicates the event and the video data.

Capturing video data of events associated with vehicles

In some embodiments, a memory array comprising strings of memory cells comprise 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. Insulative pillars are laterally-between and longitudinally-along immediately-laterally-adjacent of the memory blocks. The pillars comprise vertically-spaced and radially-projecting insulative rings in the conductive tiers as compared to the insulative tiers. Other embodiments, including methods, are disclosed.

Memory arrays and methods used in forming a memory array comprising strings of memory cells

A variety of applications can include apparatus having a memory device with an array of vertical strings of memory cells for the memory device with data lines coupled to the vertical strings, where the data lines have been formed by a metal liner deposition process. In the metal liner deposition, a metal can be formed on a patterned dielectric region. The metal liner deposition process allows for construction of the height of the data lines to be well controlled with selection of a thickness for the dielectric region used in forming the metal liner. Use of a metal liner deposition provides a controlled mechanism to reduce data line capacitance by being able to select liner thickness in forming the data lines. The use of the dielectric region with the metal liner deposition can allow the fabrication of the data lines to avoid pitch double or pitch quad processes.

Data lines in three-dimensional memory devices

Methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory machine-readable media associated with relative humidity (RH) sensors are described. Examples can include receiving from an RH sensor RH information of an environment of a processing resource or a memory resource coupled to the processing resource, or both, determining that the RH information indicates an RH level above a particular threshold for the processing resource or the memory resource, or both, and disabling one or more aspects of the processing resource or the memory resource, or both, to mitigate damage to the processing resource or the memory resource, or both, responsive to determining that the RH is above the particular threshold.

Relative humidity sensor

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. Intervening material is laterally-between and longitudinally-along immediately-laterally-adjacent of the memory blocks. The intervening material comprises longitudinally-alternating first and second regions that individually have a vertically-elongated seam therein. The vertically-elongated seam in the first regions are taller than in the second regions. Additional embodiments, including method, are disclosed.

A microelectronic device comprises a stack structure comprising a vertically alternating sequence of conductive structures and insulative structures arranged in tiers. The stack structure comprises a first block structure comprising stair step structures spaced from each other by crest regions, the stair step structures each comprising steps defined at horizontal edges of the tiers of the conductive structures and the insulative structures, and a second block structure horizontally neighboring the first block structure and comprising additional stair step structures spaced from one another by additional crest regions, the additional stair step structures horizontally offset from the stair step structures of the first block structure, and a slot structure extending though the stack structure and interposed between the first block structure and the second block structure. Related microelectronic devices, electronic systems, and methods are also described.

Microelectronic device structures including tiered stacks comprising staggered block structures separated by slot structures, and related electronic systems and methods

Microelectronic devices including contact structures with enlarged areas, and related electronic systems and methods

Growing community of inventors

Boise, ID, United States of America

Yi Hu