3D NAND Stack Support Layout for Capacity and Structural Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a demand for increasing the data storage capacity of semiconductor devices, and existing methods, such as using three-dimensionally arranged memory cells, require improvements in structural stability and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor device with a stack structure featuring gate electrodes and interlayer insulating layers, including channel and support structures with varying widths and distances to enhance structural stability and data storage capacity, and a data storage system with a controller for managing these components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If three-dimensionally arranged memory cells are used to increase data storage capacity, then storage capacity is improved, but structural stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The stack structure is divided into multiple regions (memory cell array region and step region) with different functions. The step region contains support structures that segment the overall structure to provide localized reinforcement without affecting the entire device, thus maintaining stability while enabling high-density memory cells in the memory cell array region.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the stack structure are given different properties: the memory cell array region is optimized for high-density storage with closely spaced memory cells, while the step region provides structural support with wider-spaced support structures. This local differentiation allows each region to optimize its function without compromising the other.
2Quantity of substance
If memory cells are arranged in three dimensions to increase capacity, then storage capacity is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process is segmented into distinct stages: forming the stack structure with alternating insulating layers and sacrificial layers, creating memory cell holes through selective removal, and forming support structures in the step region. This segmentation simplifies the overall manufacturing complexity by breaking down the three-dimensional structure creation into manageable sequential steps.
3Stability of the object's composition
If support structures with varying widths are used in different regions, then structural stability is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support structures are designed with different widths in different regions: wider support structures in regions requiring greater stability and narrower support structures in regions where space is constrained. This local quality approach allows the structure to optimize stability where needed while maintaining manufacturability through standardized fabrication processes that can accommodate controlled dimensional variations.
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device includes a stack structure having gate electrodes and interlayer insulating layers, the stack structure having a cell region and a step region, and the gate electrodes extending in a first direction to have a step shape in the step region, channel structures through the stack structure in the cell region, separation structures through the stack structure and extending in the first direction, and support structures between the separation structures and through the stack structure in the step region. The step region includes first and second regions, the first region closer to the cell region in the first direction than the second region is, the support structures include first and second support structures through the stack structure in the first and second regions, respectively, a maximum width of the first support structure being greater than that of the second support structure.