3D Memory Gate Stack Layout With Recessed Separation Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing semiconductor devices face challenges in achieving high data storage capacity and reliability, particularly in three-dimensional memory cell arrangements.
Innovation Solution
The semiconductor device incorporates a second semiconductor structure with gate electrodes stacked and spaced apart, channel structures penetrating the gate electrodes, support structures, and separation regions, along with recess regions and horizontal conductive and insulating layers, to enhance data storage capacity and reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If three-dimensional memory cell arrangements are implemented to increase data storage capacity, then storage capacity is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is divided into first and second regions with distinct structures. The first region contains channel structures for memory cells, while the second region contains support structures and recess regions. This segmentation allows complex 3D memory structures to be organized into manageable functional zones, improving manufacturability while maintaining high storage capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements vertical stacking of gate electrodes (first, second, and third gate electrodes stacked in the thickness direction) to create three-dimensional memory structures. This multi-layer gate configuration increases storage capacity by utilizing the vertical dimension, while the differentiated second region provides structural support to manage the complexity of these stacked structures.
2Quantity of substance
If three-dimensional memory cell arrangements are implemented to increase data storage capacity, then storage capacity is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The recess regions are formed in the second substrate before forming the support structures. This preliminary action creates pre-defined structural features that guide subsequent manufacturing steps, ensuring precise positioning of support structures relative to channel structures and gate electrodes, thereby reducing overall manufacturing precision requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The second region is designed with different structural properties (recess regions and support structures) compared to the first region (channel structures). This local differentiation allows optimized manufacturing processes for each region, with the second region providing structural tolerance that compensates for variations in the complex stacked gate structures, reducing overall manufacturing precision requirements.
3Quantity of substance
If gate electrodes are stacked and extended with different lengths to optimize storage density, then data storage capacity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The first, second, and third gate electrodes are designed with different lengths in the second region, creating an asymmetric configuration. This asymmetric gate structure optimizes storage density by allowing different gate electrodes to control different numbers of memory cell strings, increasing capacity while the symmetric stacking arrangement maintains manageable device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The stacked gate electrodes serve multiple functions: the first gate electrode controls memory cell strings, the second gate electrode provides additional control and separation, and the third gate electrode extends control to deeper structures. This multi-functional stacking increases storage capacity while the unified vertical arrangement keeps device complexity manageable through functional integration.
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device includes a substrate having a first region and a second region, gate electrodes spaced apart from each other in a first direction, perpendicular to an upper surface of the substrate, and extend in a second direction, and have different lengths on the second region, channel structures that penetrate the gate electrodes, extend in the first direction, and respectively include a channel layer on the first region, support structures that penetrate the gate electrodes and extend in the first direction on the second region, and a separation region that penetrates the gate electrodes and extend in the second direction. The substrate has a recess region that overlaps the separation region in the first direction and extends downward from an upper surface in the second region, adjacent to the first region. The separation region has a protrusion that protrudes downward to correspond to the recess region.