Semiconductor devices including conductive lines and methods of forming the semiconductor devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018114751-A1
Application number	US-201715842432-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 14, 2017
Priority date	Aug 28, 2015
Publication date	Apr 26, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

A semiconductor device including conductive lines is disclosed. First conductive lines each comprise a first portion, a second portion, and an enlarged portion, the enlarged portion connecting the first portion and the second portion of the first conductive line. The semiconductor device includes second conductive lines, at least some of the second conductive lines disposed between a pair of the first conductive lines, each second conductive line including a larger cross-sectional area at an end portion of the second conductive line than at other portions thereof. The semiconductor device includes a pad on each of the first conductive lines and the second conductive lines, wherein the pad on each of the second conductive lines is on the end portion thereof and the pad on the each of the first conductive lines is on the enlarged portion thereof.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A semiconductor device, comprising:
a first group of conductive lines extending in a first direction, each conductive line of the first group of conductive lines comprising a conductive contact on an enlarged portion of the respective conductive line at an end portion thereof; and a second group of conductive lines extending in the first direction and comprising a conductive contact comprising an enlarged portion and located between end portions thereof, each conductive line of the second group of conductive lines located adjacent to at least one conductive line of the first group of conductive lines.

2 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein about one-half of the conductive contacts of the first group of conductive lines are located at a first end of the conductive lines of the first group of conductive lines and about one-half of the conductive contacts of the first group of conductive lines are located at a second end of the conductive lines of the first group of conductive lines.

3 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the conductive contacts of the second group of conductive lines are laterally displaced from each other.

4 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein each of the conductive contacts of the first group of conductive lines are laterally displaced from each other.

5 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the conductive lines of the first group of conductive lines each comprise a narrow region proximate the enlarged portion of an adjacent conductive line of the second group of conductive lines.

6 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the enlarged portion of each conductive line of the second group of conductive lines extends at an angle between about 10° and about 30° relative to a longitudinal axis of the respective conductive line.

7 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the enlarged portions of the second group of conductive lines are located in an array region of the semiconductor device and the enlarged portions of the first group of conductive lines are located in a peripheral region of the semiconductor device.

8 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the conductive contacts of the first group of conductive lines are laterally and longitudinally offset from each other.

9 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , further comprising a third group of conductive lines extending in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction.

10 . The semiconductor device of claim 9 , wherein the third group of conductive lines includes a first portion of conductive lines having conductive contacts at end portions thereof and a second portion of conductive lines having conductive contacts between end portions thereof.

11 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the enlarged portion of the second conductive lines each comprise an arcuate surface.

12 . A method of forming a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
forming a first group of conductive lines extending in a first direction; forming a conductive contact on each conductive line of the first group of conductive lines on an enlarged portion of the respective conductive line at an end portion thereof; forming a second group of conductive lines extending in the first direction, forming the second group of conductive lines comprising forming each conductive line of the second group of conductive lines to be located adjacent to at least one conductive line of the first group of conductive lines; and forming a conductive contact on each conductive line of the second group of conductive lines on an enlarged portion of the respective conductive line and between end portions thereof.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein forming a second group of conductive lines extending in the first direction comprises forming about the same number of second conductive lines as a number of the first conductive lines.

14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein forming a conductive contact on each conductive line of the first group of conductive lines on an enlarged portion of the respective conductive line at an end portion thereof comprises forming about one-half of the conductive contacts of the first conductive lines at a first end of each of the conductive lines and forming about one-half of the conductive contacts of the first conductive lines at a second, opposite end of each of the conductive lines.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein forming about one-half of the conductive contacts of the first conductive lines at a first end of the conductive lines comprises forming the conductive contacts of the first conductive lines at the first end of the conductive lines to be laterally and longitudinally offset from at least one other of the conductive contacts of the first conductive lines at the first end.

16 . A method of forming a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
forming lines of a photoresist material on a semiconductor device, each line of the photoresist material comprising a widened portion relative to other portions of the respective line of photoresist material; forming spacers on sidewalls of the lines of the photoresist material; removing the lines of the photoresist material; forming a nitride material over the spacers; removing a portion of the nitride material to form loops of the nitride material surrounding the spacers; and transferring a pattern of the loops of the nitride material and the spacers to an underlying conductive material to form a pattern of conductive lines, at least some of the conductive lines having a widened portion relative to other portions of the respective conductive lines.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising removing the photoresist material from between end portions of the lines of the photoresist material while a portion of the photoresist material remains at the end portions of the lines of the photoresist material.

18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein forming a pattern of conductive lines comprises forming four times as many conductive lines as lines of the photoresist material.

19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein forming a pattern of conductive lines comprises forming about one-half of the conductive lines comprising the widened portion at end portions thereof and about one-half of the conductive lines comprising the widened portions between end portions thereof.

20 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising forming conductive contacts on the widened portion of the conductive lines, wherein forming conductive contacts on the widened portion of the conductive lines comprises:
forming a conductive contact between end portions of a first set of conductive lines to be longitudinally and laterally offset from other conductive contacts; and forming a conductive contact at end portions of a second set of conductive lines, some of the conductive contacts at end portions of the second set of conductive lines longitudinally offset from other conductive contacts of the second set of conductive lines.

Assignees

• Micron Technology Inc

Inventors

• Brown William R
• Russon Jenna L
• Bossart Tim H
• Watson Brian R
• Mirin Nikolay A
• Kewley David A

Classifications

• H10W20/0633

  using subtractive patterning of the conductive members · CPC title

• H10P74/277

  Circuits for electrically characterising or monitoring manufacturing processes, e.g. circuits in tested chips or circuits in testing wafers · CPC title

• H10P74/273

  Interconnections for measuring or testing, e.g. probe pads · CPC title

• H10P74/27

  Structural arrangements therefor · CPC title

• H10P76/4085

  characterised by the processes involved to create the masks · CPC title