Non-volatile memory devices including vertical NAND channels and methods of forming the same

US9640545B2 · US · B2

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-9640545-B2
Application numberUS-201414171074-A
CountryUS
Kind codeB2
Filing dateFeb 3, 2014
Priority dateFeb 10, 2009
Publication dateMay 2, 2017
Grant dateMay 2, 2017

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.

A non-volatile memory device can include a plurality of immediately adjacent offset vertical NAND channels that are electrically coupled to a single upper select gate line or to a single lower select gate line of the non-volatile memory device.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

What is claimed: 1. A non-volatile memory device comprising: a plurality of vertical NAND channels electrically coupled to a same single select gate line of the non-volatile memory device; bit line contacts on the vertical NAND channels; and a bit line electrically connected to one of the vertical NAND channels through one of the bit line contacts, wherein the bit line contacts are coupled to the same single select gate line; and wherein a line defined by the bit line contacts comprises at least one turn. 2. A device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the vertical channels is controlled by control gates, the control gates being vertically stacked. 3. A device according to claim 2 , further comprising a tunnel insulation layer, a charge storage layer, and a block insulation layer, wherein the tunnel insulation layer, the charge storage layer, and the block insulation layer are provided between the vertical channels and the control gate. 4. A device according to claim 3 , wherein at least one of the tunnel insulation layer, the charge storage layer and the block insulation layer extend onto upper and lower surfaces of the control gate. 5. A non-volatile memory device comprising: a plurality of vertical NAND channels disposed vertically through a same single select gate line of the non-volatile memory device, the same single select gate line extending in a first direction; bit line contacts on the vertical NAND channels; a first bit line electrically connected to a first channel of the vertical NAND channels through a first bit line contact of the bit line contacts, the first bit line extending in a second direction; and a second bit line electrically connected to a second channel of the vertical NAND channels through a second bit line contact of the bit line contacts, the second bit line extending in the second direction, wherein the first bit line contact and the second bit line contact are disposed such that an imaginary line connecting a center of the first bit line contact and a center of the second bit line contact extends in a slanting direction with respect to the first direction and the second direction, the first direction and the second direction being substantially perpendicular. 6. The memory device according to claim 5 , wherein each of the vertical NAND channels is controlled by control gates, the control gates being vertically stacked. 7. The memory device according to claim 6 , further comprising a tunnel insulation layer, a charge storage layer, and a block insulation layer, wherein the tunnel insulation layer, the charge storage layer, and the block insulation layer are provided between each vertical NAND channel and each control gate. 8. The memory device according to claim 7 , wherein at least one of the tunnel insulation layer, the charge storage layer and the block insulation layer extend onto upper and lower surfaces of each control gate. 9. The memory device according to claim 5 , wherein the first bit line and the second bit line are immediately adjacent. 10. A non-volatile memory device comprising: a plurality of vertical NAND channels disposed vertically through a same single select gate line of the non-volatile memory device, the same single select gate line extending in a first direction; bit line contacts on the vertical NAND channels; a first bit line contact of the bit line contacts contacting a first channel of the vertical NAND channels and a first bit line extending in a second direction; a second bit line contact of the bit line contacts contacting a second channel of the vertical NAND channels, wherein the first bit line contact and the second bit line contact are disposed such that an imaginary line connecting a center of the first bit line contact and a center of the second bit line contact extends in a slanting direction with respect to the first direction and the second direction, the first direction and the second direction being substantially perpendicular. 11. The memory device according to claim 10 , further comprising a second bit line extending in the second direction, wherein the second bit line contact contacts the second bit line. 12. The memory device according to claim 10 , wherein each of the vertical NAND channels is controlled by control gates, the control gates being vertically stacked. 13. The memory device according to claim 12 , further comprising a tunnel insulation layer, a charge storage layer, and a block insulation layer, wherein the tunnel insulation layer, the charge storage layer, and the block insulation layer are provided between each vertical NAND channel and each control gate. 14. The memory device according to claim 13 , wherein at least one of the tunnel insulation layer, the charge storage layer and the block insulation layer extend onto upper and lower surfaces of each control gate. 15. A non-volatile memory device comprising: a plurality of vertical NAND channels disposed vertically through a same single select gate line of the non-volatile memory device; and bit line contacts disposed on the vertical NAND channels, wherein a first group of the bit line contacts are disposed in a first row and a second group of the bit line contacts are disposed in a second row, the first and second rows are spaced apart in a column direction. 16. The memory device according to claim 15 , wherein the first group of the bit line contacts is shifted from the second group of the bit line contacts in a direction of the first and second rows. 17. The memory device according to claim 15 , wherein each of the vertical NAND channels is controlled by control gates, the control gates being vertically stacked. 18. The memory device according to claim 17 , further comprising a tunnel insulation layer, a charge storage layer, and a block insulation layer, wherein the tunnel insulation layer, the charge storage layer, and the block insulation layer are provided between each vertical NAND channel and each control gate. 19. The memory device according to claim 18 , wherein at least one of the tunnel insulation layer, the charge storage layer and the block insulation layer extend onto upper and lower surfaces of each control gate.

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

  • Layouts of interconnections · CPC title

  • Vias, e.g. via plugs · CPC title

  • comprising cells containing floating gate transistors (G11C16/0483, G11C16/0491 take precedence) · CPC title

  • Electricity · mapped topic

  • Electricity · mapped topic

Patent family

Related publications grouped by family.

External sources

Frequently asked questions

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

What does patent US9640545B2 cover?
A non-volatile memory device can include a plurality of immediately adjacent offset vertical NAND channels that are electrically coupled to a single upper select gate line or to a single lower select gate line of the non-volatile memory device.
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification G11C16/0408. Mapped technology areas include Physics.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Tue May 02 2017 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).