Semiconductor device

A semiconductor device, comprising:

• interlayer insulating layers and horizontal conductive patterns alternately stacked on a substrate, each of the interlayer insulating layers having a first side surface and a second side surface facing in opposite directions with respect to each other;
• vertical structures extending through the interlayer insulating layers and the horizontal conductive patterns;
• and
• data storage layers disposed between the vertical structures and the horizontal conductive patterns,
• wherein each of the interlayer insulating layers has first regions disposed adjacent to the first side surface and the second side surface thereof, respectively, and a second region interposed between the first regions, a portion of the second region is thicker than the first regions, and the first regions have an impurity concentration higher than that of the portion of the second region that is thicker than the first regions such that in each of the interlayer insulating layers the impurity concentration is non-uniform along an axis parallel to the opposite directions.

A semiconductor device, comprising:

• a substrate;
• separation structures disposed on the substrate and comprising insulating material;
• a stack of horizontal layers disposed on the substrate and interposed between the insulating material of the separation structure, the horizontal layers including interlayer insulating layers and conductive lines alternately disposed in a vertical direction in the stack such that each of the conductive lines is interposed between vertically adjacent ones of a respective pair of the interlayer insulating layers;
• vertical structures comprising semiconductor material extending through the stack of horizontal layers;
• and
• wherein each of the conductive lines has a thickness, in the vertical direction, that varies in a widthwise direction of the conductive line between the separation structures,
• each of the conductive lines is thinnest at a central portion thereof intermediate the separation structures in the widthwise direction, and
• each of the interlayer insulating layers has first regions disposed adjacent to the separation structures, respectively, and a second region between the first regions, and
• the first regions have a thickness, in the vertical direction, that is less than a thickness of the second regions in the vertical direction, and
• the first regions and the second region have etch rates when exposed in common to a given etchant wherein the etch rate of the first regions is greater than that of the second region, and
• each of the interlayer insulating layers comprises a main body of material containing an impurity at a concentration that is non-uniform in widthwise direction of the interlayer insulating layer from one of the separation structures to the other of the separation structures.