Shared-Pillar Multi-Gate String Drivers for High-Voltage Memory
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional memory device drivers are unreliable when handling higher voltages and have limited current mobility and high resistance, leading to complexity in peripheral circuitry.
Innovation Solution
The design of memory device drivers with multiple rows of pillars that share a lightly doped structure, improving current mobility and reducing resistance, while supporting higher breakdown voltages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stress or pressure
If conventional drivers are designed to sustain high voltage (10-20 times operating voltage), then voltage handling capability is improved, but reliability deteriorates when even higher voltages are required
Solution Approach 1:
The driver is divided into multiple pillars (first pillar, second pillar, third pillar) that share the voltage handling responsibility. Each pillar is equipped with control gates that can independently regulate voltage distribution, preventing any single pillar from experiencing excessive stress that would compromise reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the electrical parameters by introducing multiple control gates (first control gate, second control gate, third control gate) that can dynamically adjust voltage levels across different pillars. This allows the system to adapt to higher voltage requirements while maintaining reliable operation through controlled parameter modification.
2Stress or pressure
If conventional drivers are designed for high voltage operation, then voltage support is improved, but current mobility is limited and resistance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The driver structure is segmented into multiple pillars with separate control gates, allowing current to flow through multiple parallel paths. This segmentation improves current mobility by providing alternative conduction routes while distributing the voltage support requirement across multiple structures.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple pillars are merged into a single driver structure that shares common functionality. The combined structure provides both improved current mobility through parallel conduction paths and maintained voltage support capability through coordinated control of multiple gates.
3Stress or pressure
If conventional drivers are designed for high voltage operation, then voltage handling is improved, but peripheral circuitry complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control gates serve multiple functions: they regulate voltage distribution across pillars, control current flow paths, and provide independent switching capability. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated circuits for each function, thereby reducing overall peripheral circuitry complexity while maintaining improved voltage handling.
Solution Approach 2:
By using control gates that can dynamically change electrical parameters (voltage levels, current flow), the system achieves improved voltage handling without requiring complex dedicated circuitry for each voltage regulation function. The parameter-changing capability is integrated into the gate structure itself.
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments include apparatuses, and methods of forming the apparatuses. Some of the apparatuses include a first group of conductive materials interleaved with a first group of dielectric materials, a pillar extending through the conductive materials and the dielectric materials, memory cells located along the first pillar, a conductive contact coupled to a conductive material of the first group of conductive materials, and additional pillars extending through a second group of conductive materials and a second group of dielectric materials. The second pillar includes a first portion coupled to a conductive region, a second portion, a third portion, and a fourth portion coupled to the conductive contact. The second portion is located between the first and third portions. The second portion of each of the additional pillars is part of a piece of material extending from a first pillar to a second pillar of the additional pillars.