Stacked Memory Deck Pillar Coupling Through Etchable Inter-Deck Layers
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for improved methods of fabricating stacked memory decks, particularly in coupling channel-material pillars of stacked memory decks, to enhance the efficiency and reliability of non-volatile memory devices.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using a continuous conductive material in a lower deck as wordlines and sacrificial material to form openings, with an upper deck formed over the lower deck, and utilizing an inter-deck material that is easy to etch, allowing for the formation of memory cells within these openings, and coupling channel-material pillars of stacked memory decks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional methods are used to fabricate stacked memory decks, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but the structural integrity and coupling between channel-material pillars of stacked memory decks is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous conductive material is deposited and patterned as wordlines in the lower deck before the upper deck is formed. This preliminary action creates sacrificial regions that guide subsequent etching processes, ensuring precise coupling of channel-material pillars between decks while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The continuous conductive material serves as an intermediary element with dual functionality: it acts as wordlines for memory operations and as sacrificial material during fabrication. This intermediary role enables precise positioning and coupling of channel-material pillars across decks without requiring separate alignment processes.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional etching methods are used, then the etching process is more robust, but the ease of forming openings through the inter-deck structure is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The inter-deck material acts as an intermediary layer that is specifically designed to be easily etched. This material facilitates the formation of openings through the inter-deck structure while the continuous conductive material serves as a sacrificial template that defines the precise geometry and position of these openings.
Solution Approach 2:
The etching process utilizes selective parameters (etch chemistry, power, pressure) that are optimized for the inter-deck material's composition. By changing etching parameters to match the material properties, the process achieves both ease of etching and high precision in opening formation.
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments include an integrated assembly having a first deck that has first memory cells and having a second deck that has second memory cells. The first memory cells have first control gate regions that include a first conductive material vertically between horizontally extending bars of a second conductive material. The second memory cells have second control gate regions that include a fourth conductive material along an outer surface of a third conductive material. A pillar passes through the first and second decks. The pillar includes a dielectric-barrier material laterally surrounding a channel material. The first and fourth materials are directly against the dielectric-barrier material. Some embodiments include methods of forming integrated assemblies.