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US 11,963,354 B2Granted
Three-dimensional memory device with dielectric or semiconductor wall support structures and method of forming the same
AssigneeSanDisk Technologies LLC
InventorTomohiro Kubo
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A three-dimensional memory device includes an alternating stack of insulating layers and electrically conductive layers, memory openings vertically extending through each layer of the alternating stack; memory opening fill structures located in the memory openings, and a perforated wall structure including lateral openings at levels of the insulating layers.
Claims20
A three-dimensional memory device, comprising:
- an alternating stack of insulating layers and electrically conductive layers located between a first line trench and a second line trench that laterally extend along a first horizontal direction and over a substrate;
- memory openings vertically extending through each layer of the alternating stack and located in a memory array region;
- memory opening fill structures located in the memory openings, wherein each of the memory opening fill structures comprises a memory film comprising a dielectric layer stack, a vertical semiconductor channel, and a dielectric core comprising a dielectric fill material;
- and
- a perforated wall structure located between the first line trench and the second line trench and including lateral openings at levels of the insulating layers through which a respective insulating layer laterally extends from outside the perforated wall structure into inside the perforated wall structure.
2 more elements
A method of forming a memory device, comprising:
- forming an alternating layer stack of continuous insulating layers and continuous sacrificial material layers;
- forming memory openings and columnar openings through each layer of the alternating layer stack;
- forming a continuous perforated cavity by isotropically etching portions of the sacrificial material layers around the columnar openings, wherein volumes of the columnar openings expand at levels of the sacrificial material layers and merge to form the continuous perforated cavity;
- forming memory opening fill structures in the memory openings and a perforated wall structure in the continuous perforated cavity, wherein each of the memory opening fill structures comprises a memory film and a vertical semiconductor channel and the perforated wall structure includes lateral openings at levels of the insulating layers through which a respective insulating layer laterally extends from outside the perforated wall structure into inside the perforated wall structure;
- patterning the alternating layer stack into multiple alternating stacks of insulating layers and sacrificial material layers;
- and
- replacing the sacrificial material layers with electrically conductive layers.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.