Semiconductor device including junction diode contacting contact-antifuse unit comprising silicide
AssigneeMatrix Semiconductor, Inc.
InventorsChristopher J. Petti, S. Brad Herner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention provides for a vertically oriented junction diode having a contact-antifuse unit in contact with one of its electrodes. The contact-antifuse unit is formed either above or below the junction diode, and comprises a silicide with a dielectric antifuse layer formed on and in contact with it. In preferred embodiments, the silicide is cobalt silicide, and the antifuse preferably silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or silicon oxynitride grown on the colbalt silicide. The junction diode and contact-antifuse unit can be used as a memory cell, which is advantageously used in a monolithic three dimensional memory array.
Claims85
A semiconductor device comprising:
- a vertically oriented junction diode;
- a contact-antifuse unit, the unit comprising an antifuse layer and a layer of silicide, the antifuse layer on and in contact with the silicide layer, wherein
- the contact-antifuse unit is in contact with an electrode of the junction diode.
The semiconductor device of claim l wherein the junction diode comprises:
- a first layer of heavily doped semiconductor material of a first conductivity type;
- a second layer of either a) lightly doped semiconductor material of a second conductivity type or of b) undoped semiconductor material, the second layer on and in contact with the first layer;
- and
- a third layer of heavily doped semiconductor material of the second conductivity type, the third layer on and in contact with the second layer.
A semiconductor device comprising:
- a vertically oriented junction diode;
- a contact-antifuse unit comprising a silicide layer and a dielectric layer, wherein the contact-antifuse unit is in contact with the junction diode and wherein the dielectric layer is grown on the silicide layer.
A monolithic three dimensional memory array comprising a memory cell, the memory cell comprising:
- a vertical junction diode;
- and
- a contact-antifuse unit, the unit comprising a silicide layer and an antifuse layer, wherein the silicide layer is in contact with the antifuse layer,
- wherein the contact-antifuse unit is in contact with the junction diode and
- wherein the memory array comprises at least a first memory level at a first height and a second memory level at a second height different from the first height.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.