Patents Examined by Christopher Johnson
  • Patent number: 11683932
    Abstract: A method used in forming a memory array comprising strings of memory cells comprises forming a stack comprising vertically-alternating first tiers and second tiers. The stack comprises laterally-spaced memory-block regions that have horizontally-elongated trenches there-between. Channel openings extend through the first tiers and the second tiers in the memory-block regions. Channel material of channel-material strings is formed in the channel openings and the channel material is formed in the horizontally-elongated trenches. The channel material is removed from the horizontally-elongated trenches and the channel material of the channel-material strings is left in the channel openings. After removing the channel material from the horizontally-elongated trenches, intervening material is formed in the horizontally-elongated trenches laterally-between and longitudinally-along immediately-laterally-adjacent of the memory-block regions. Other embodiments, including structure independent of method, are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: John D. Hopkins, Alyssa N. Scarbrough
  • Patent number: 11672118
    Abstract: An electronic device comprising a cell region comprising stacks of alternating dielectric materials and conductive materials. A pillar region is adjacent to the cell region and comprises storage node segments adjacent to adjoining oxide materials and adjacent to a tunnel region. The storage node segments are separated by a vertical portion of the tunnel region. A high-k dielectric material is adjacent to the conductive materials of the cell region and to the adjoining oxide materials of the pillar region. Additional electronic devices are disclosed, as are methods of forming an electronic device and related systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Shyam Surthi, Richard J. Hill, Gurtej S. Sandhu, Byeung Chul Kim, Francois H. Fabreguette, Chris M. Carlson, Michael E. Koltonski, Shane J. Trapp
  • Patent number: 11659708
    Abstract: A memory array comprises a conductor tier comprising upper conductor material directly above and directly electrically coupled to lower conductor material. The upper and lower conductor materials comprise different compositions relative one another. Laterally-spaced memory blocks individually comprising a vertical stack comprise alternating insulative tiers and conductive tiers, Channel-material strings of memory cells extend through the insulative tiers and the conductive tiers and through the upper conductor material into the lower conductor material. The channel material of the channel-material strings is directly electrically coupled to the upper and lower conductor materials of the conductor tier. Intervening material is laterally-between and longitudinally-along immediately-laterally-adjacent of the memory blocks. Other embodiments, including method, are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: John D. Hopkins, Nancy M. Lomeli
  • Patent number: 11653541
    Abstract: A display device includes a substrate and a pixel disposed on the substrate. The pixel includes a first transistor, a second transistor electrically connected to the first transistor, a third transistor electrically connected to the first transistor, and a light-emitting diode element electrically connected to at least one of the first transistor and the third transistor. The first transistor includes a first semiconductor member and a first gate electrode. The first semiconductor member includes an oxide semiconductor material. The first gate electrode is disposed between the first semiconductor member and the substrate. The second transistor includes a second semiconductor member and a second gate electrode. The second semiconductor member includes the oxide semiconductor material. The second semiconductor member is disposed between the second gate electrode and the substrate. The third transistor includes a third semiconductor member including silicon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kyoung Seok Son, Myoung Hwa Kim, Jay Bum Kim, Seung Jun Lee, Seung Hun Lee, Jun Hyung Lim
  • Patent number: 11641740
    Abstract: A device includes conductor layers and a first pillar, extending through the conductor layers, that includes a first columnar portion, a second columnar portion, and a middle portion between the first and second columnar portions. A diameter of the middle portion is larger than a diameter of the first columnar portion and larger than a diameter of the second columnar portion. The first columnar portion includes a first semiconductor layer and a first charge storage layer. The second columnar portion includes a second semiconductor layer and a second charge storage layer. The middle portion includes a third semiconductor layer. The first and second semiconductor layers are in contact with the third semiconductor layer on a first side and a second side of the third semiconductor layer, respectively. The first charge storage layer is spaced from the second charge storage layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: KIOXIA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takamitsu Ochi, Shunsuke Kasashima
  • Patent number: 11637125
    Abstract: Provided is a memory device including a substrate, a stack structure on the substrate, a contact, and a supporting pillar. The stacked structure includes a plurality of conductive layers and a plurality of insulating layers stacked alternately on each other. The contact is connected to one of the plurality of conductive layers of the stack structure. The supporting pillar penetrates the stack structure and is disposed around the contact. The supporting pillar includes a body portion and a plurality of extension portions. The body portion is arranged around a first side of the contact. The plurality of extension portions are located on two sides of the body portion. A length of each of the extension portions is greater than a width of the contact, and one of the extension portions is disposed around a second side of the contact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: MACRONIX INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Chien-Ying Lee, Chih-Hsiung Lee, Tzung-Ting Han
  • Patent number: 11637204
    Abstract: A device includes a semiconductive substrate, a semiconductive fin, a stop layer, a fin isolation structure, and a spacer. The semiconductive fin is over the substrate. The stop layer is between the semiconductive substrate and the semiconductive fin. The fin isolation structure is in contact with the semiconductor fin and over the stop layer. A topmost surface of the fin isolation structure is higher than a topmost surface of the semiconductive fin. The spacer at least partially extends along a sidewall of the fin isolation structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Che-Cheng Chang, Chih-Han Lin, Horng-Huei Tseng
  • Patent number: 11631683
    Abstract: A semiconductor storage device includes first conductive layers stacked in a first direction and extend in a second direction; second conductive layers stacked in the first direction and extend in the second direction; third conductive layers that are electrically connected to the first conductive layers and the second conductive layers and stacked in the first direction; a first insulating layer and a second insulating layer sandwich the first conductive layer; a third insulating layer and a fourth insulating layer sandwich the second conductive layer; first pillars arranged in the second direction in the first insulating layer with a first distance; and second pillars arranged in the second direction in the second insulating layer with the first distance. Each of the second pillars is displaced from a corresponding one of the first pillars by a second distance that is shorter than a half of the first distance in the second direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: KIOXIA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Naoya Yoshimura, Keisuke Nakatsuka
  • Patent number: 11631740
    Abstract: A memory array comprises laterally-spaced memory blocks individually comprising a vertical stack comprising alternating insulative tiers and conductive tiers. Channel-material strings of memory cells extend through the insulative tiers and the conductive tiers. A ring is around individual of the channel-material strings in at least one of a lowest of the conductive tiers or a lowest of the insulative tiers. Individual of the rings have a top that is below all of the memory cells. Other embodiments are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: John D. Hopkins, Nancy M. Lomeli
  • Patent number: 11631797
    Abstract: A buffer layer can be used to smooth the surface roughness of a galvanic contact layer (e.g., of niobium) in an electronic device, the buffer layer being made of a stack of at least four (e.g., six) layers of a face-centered cubic (FCC) crystal structure material, such as copper, the at least four FCC material layers alternating with at least three layers of a body-centered cubic (BCC) crystal structure material, such as niobium, wherein each of the FCC material layers and BCC material layers is between about five and about ten angstroms thick. The buffer layer can provide the smoothing while still maintaining desirable transport properties of a device in which the buffer layer is used, such as a magnetic Josephson junction, and magnetics of an overlying magnetic layer in the device, thereby permitting for improved magnetic Josephson junctions (MJJs) and thus improved superconducting memory arrays and other devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Thomas F. Ambrose, Melissa G. Loving
  • Patent number: 11631693
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes a substrate, insulating members, first conductive layers, first pillars, and second pillars. The substrate includes a first area, a second area, block regions, and a first dummy block region. The insulating members are arranged at respective boundary portions of the block regions and the first dummy block region. The first conductive layers are partitioned by the insulating members. The first pillars penetrates the first conductive layers in a region where the first area and the block regions overlap. The second pillars penetrates at least one of the first conductive layers in a region where the first area and the first dummy block region overlap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: Kioxia Corporation
    Inventors: Takahito Nishimura, Genki Kawaguchi, Yusuke Okumura
  • Patent number: 11626417
    Abstract: A three-dimensional semiconductor memory device includes a substrate including cell and connection regions. An electrode structure is disposed on the substrate, the electrode structure having a staircase structure on the connection region. A first vertical channel structure and a first dummy structure at least partially penetrate the electrode structure on the cell region and the connection region, respectively. Bottoms of expanded portions of the first vertical channel structure and the first dummy structure are located at first and second levels, respectively. The second level is higher than the first level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd.
    Inventors: Dong-Sik Lee, Byungjin Lee, Sung-Min Hwang
  • Patent number: 11626435
    Abstract: An image sensor includes a substrate, a photosensitive unit in the substrate, a dielectric grid over the substrate, and a color filter over the photosensitive unit and surrounded by the dielectric grid. The dielectric grid has a first portion and a second portion over the first portion, and the second portion of the dielectric grid has a rounded top surface extending upwards from a sidewall of the first portion of the dielectric grid. The color filter has a first portion lower than a lowermost portion of the rounded top surface of the second portion of the dielectric grid and a second portion higher than the lowermost portion of the rounded top surface of the second portion of the dielectric grid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yun-Wei Cheng, Chun-Hao Chou, Yin-Chieh Huang, Wan-Chen Huang, Zhe-Ju Liu, Kuo-Cheng Lee, Chi-Cherng Jeng
  • Patent number: 11610910
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes first and second semiconductor layers and a first conductive layer. The first and second semiconductor layers extend in a first direction. The second semiconductor layer is stacked above the first semiconductor layer in a second direction intersecting the first direction. The first conductive layer intersects the first and second semiconductor layers and extends in the second direction. The first conductive layer includes first and second portions intersecting the first and second semiconductor layers respectively. A width of the first portion in the first direction is smaller than a width of the second portion in the first direction. A thickness of the first semiconductor layer in the second direction is larger than a thickness of the second semiconductor layer in the second direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Kioxia Corporation
    Inventors: Daisuke Hagishima, Fumitaka Arai, Keiji Hosotani, Masaki Kondo
  • Patent number: 11600508
    Abstract: Herein disclosed are a micro-component transfer head, a micro-component transfer device, and a micro-component display. Said micro-component transfer head comprises a carrying surface that corresponds to a micro-component extraction area. Said extraction area conforms with a first geometric object, which comprises at least an acute angle. A second geometric object comprises at least a right angle and is constituted of n copies of the first geometric object, n being an integer greater than 1. The shape of the first geometric object differs from that of the second.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: PlayNitride Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yu-Chu Li, Pei-Hsin Chen, Yi-Chun Shih, Yi-Ching Chen
  • Patent number: 11594551
    Abstract: A semiconductor memory device according to an embodiment includes: a stacked body alternately stacking first insulating layers and gate electrode layers in a first direction; first to third semiconductor layers in the stacked body extending in the first direction; first to third charge accumulation layers; and a second insulating layer in the stacked body extending in the first direction, the second insulating layer contacting the first semiconductor layer or the first charge accumulation layer in a plane perpendicular to the first direction. A first distance between two end surfaces of the gate electrode layer monotonically increases in the first direction in a first cross section parallel to the first direction. A second distance between two end surfaces of the gate electrode layer monotonically increases in the first direction, decreases, and then monotonically increases in a second cross section parallel to the first direction different from the first cross section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: Kioxia Corporation
    Inventor: Moto Yabuki
  • Patent number: 11587943
    Abstract: A first semiconductor die includes a first substrate, first semiconductor devices, first dielectric material layers having a first silicon oxide surface as an uppermost surface and forming first metal interconnect structures. A second semiconductor die includes a second substrate, second semiconductor devices, and second dielectric material layers forming second metal interconnect structures. A handle substrate is attached to a topmost surface of the second semiconductor die. The second substrate is thinned, and a second silicon oxide surface is provided as a bottommost surface of the second semiconductor die. The second semiconductor die is bonded to the first semiconductor die by inducing oxide-to-oxide bonding between the second silicon oxide surface and the first silicon oxide surface. The handle substrate is detached, and inter-die connection via structures are formed through the second substrate and the bonding interface to contact the first metal interconnect structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2023
    Assignee: SANDISK TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventors: Masatoshi Nishikawa, Akio Nishida
  • Patent number: 11581329
    Abstract: A semiconductor memory device comprises a semiconductor, a first insulator, a second insulator, a first conductor, a third insulator, a fourth insulator, and a fifth insulator. The first insulator is on the semiconductor. The second insulator is on the first insulator. The third insulator is on the first conductor. The fourth insulator is between the second insulator and the first conductor. The fifth insulator is provided between the second insulator and the third insulator. The fifth insulator is having an oxygen concentration different from an oxygen concentration of the fourth insulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Kioxia Corporation
    Inventors: Ryosuke Sawabe, Yasuhiro Uchiyama, Hiroshi Itokawa
  • Patent number: 11581330
    Abstract: A memory array comprises laterally-spaced memory blocks individually comprising a vertical stack comprising alternating insulative tiers and conductive tiers. Channel-material strings of memory cells extend through the insulative tiers and the conductive tiers. Dummy pillars extend through the insulative tiers and the conductive tiers. A lowest of the conductive tiers comprises conducting material and dummy-region material that is aside and of different composition from that of the conducting material. The channel-material strings extend through the conducting material of the lowest conductive tier. The dummy pillars extend through the dummy-region material of the lowest conductive tier. Other embodiments, including method, are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: John D. Hopkins, Jordan D. Greenlee, Nancy M. Lomeli, Alyssa N. Scarbrough
  • Patent number: 11574922
    Abstract: Embodiments of 3D memory devices and methods for forming the same are disclosed. In an example, a 3D memory device includes a substrate, a peripheral circuit on the substrate, a memory stack including interleaved conductive layers and dielectric layers above the peripheral circuit, an N-type doped semiconductor layer above the memory stack, a plurality of channel structures each extending vertically through the memory stack into the N-type doped semiconductor layer, and a source contact above the memory stack and in contact with the N-type doped semiconductor layer. An upper end of each of the plurality of channel structures is flush with or below a top surface of the N-type doped semiconductor layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: YANGTZE MEMORY TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kun Zhang, Wenxi Zhou, Zhiliang Xia, Zongliang Huo