Methods of fabricating integrated structures, and methods of forming vertically-stacked memory cells

US8946076B2 · US · B2

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-8946076-B2
Application numberUS-201313835551-A
CountryUS
Kind codeB2
Filing dateMar 15, 2013
Priority dateMar 15, 2013
Publication dateFeb 3, 2015
Grant dateFeb 3, 2015

How to read this patent

A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.

  1. Title

    What the patent document calls the invention.

  2. Abstract

    A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.

  3. Assignees and inventors

    Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.

  4. Key dates

    Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.

  5. First independent claim

    The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.

  6. CPC / IPC classifications

    Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.

  7. Citations and related patents

    Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.

Abstract

Official abstract text for this publication.

Some embodiments include methods of forming vertically-stacked memory cells. An opening is formed to extend partially through a stack of alternating electrically insulative levels and electrically conductive levels. A liner is formed along sidewalls of the opening, and then the stack is etched to extend the opening. The liner is at least partially consumed during the etch and forms passivation material. Three zones occur during the etch, with one of the zones being an upper zone of the opening protected by the liner, another of the zones being an intermediate zone of the opening protected by passivation material but not the liner, and another of the zones being a lower zone of the opening which is not protected by either passivation material or the liner. Cavities are formed to extend into the electrically conductive levels along sidewalls of the opening. Charge blocking dielectric and charge-storage structures are formed within the cavities.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

We claim: 1. A method of fabricating integrated structures, comprising: forming an opening to extend partially through a stack of alternating first and second levels; forming a liner along sidewalls of the opening; extending the opening into the stack utilizing etching conditions that penetrate the first and second levels and that remove at least a majority of the liner; and wherein the first and second levels comprise silicon dioxide and conductively-doped silicon, respecti…

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

Patent family

Related publications grouped by family.

External sources

Next steps

Free tools are coming soon. Tell us what you want to track and we'll notify you.

Frequently asked questions

Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.

What does patent US8946076B2 cover?
Some embodiments include methods of forming vertically-stacked memory cells. An opening is formed to extend partially through a stack of alternating electrically insulative levels and electrically conductive levels. A liner is formed along sidewalls of the opening, and then the stack is etched to extend the opening. The liner is at least partially consumed during the etch and forms passivation …
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Micron Technology Inc
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification H10D30/0411. Mapped technology areas include Electricity.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Tue Feb 03 2015 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
What related patents are in patentsdb?
We list 8 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).