Patents by Inventor Michael A. Smith

Michael A. Smith has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20250234533
    Abstract: Integrated circuit structures might include a semiconductor material, a first active area in the semiconductor material, a second active area in the semiconductor material, and an isolation structure comprising a dielectric material deposited in a trench formed in the semiconductor material between the first active area and the second active area. The isolation structure might further include a first edge portion extending below a surface of the semiconductor material to a first depth, a second edge portion extending below the surface of the semiconductor material to the first depth, and an interior portion between the first edge portion and the second edge portion, and extending below the surface of the semiconductor material to a second depth, less than the first depth.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2025
    Publication date: July 17, 2025
    Applicant: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventor: Michael A. Smith
  • Publication number: 20250212449
    Abstract: High voltage isolation devices for semiconductor devices and associated systems, are disclosed herein. The isolation device may support operations of a 3-dimensional NAND memory array of the semiconductor device. In some embodiments, during high voltage operations (e.g., erase operations), the isolation device may provide a high voltage to the memory array while isolating other circuitry supporting low voltage operations of the memory array from the high voltage. The isolation device may include a set of narrow active areas separating the low voltage circuitry from the high voltage and a gate over the narrow active areas. In a further embodiment, the isolation device includes interdigitated narrow active areas and a common gate over the interdigitated narrow active areas to reduce an area occupied by the isolation devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2025
    Publication date: June 26, 2025
    Inventor: Michael A. Smith
  • Patent number: 12342563
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a substrate and a transistor disposed on the substrate. The transistor can include a gate disposed between a source area and a drain area of the transistor. The transistor can also include a plurality of routing lanes above the gate for use by automated routing programs that layout metal connections for the apparatus. A first field plate can be disposed above a LDD region of the source area with the first field plate being on a same level as the plurality of routing lanes. A second field plate can be disposed above a LDD region of the drain area with the second field plate being on the same level as the plurality of routing lanes. The first and second field plates can be electrically connected to the gate using respective first and second path that bypass the plurality of routing lanes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2025
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael A. Smith
  • Publication number: 20250192075
    Abstract: Active protection circuits for semiconductor devices, and associated systems and methods, are disclosed herein. The active protection circuits may protect various components of the semiconductor devices from process induced damage—e.g., stemming from process charging effects. In some embodiments, the active protection circuit includes an FET and a resistor coupled to certain nodes (e.g., source plates for 3D NAND memory arrays) of the semiconductor devices, which may be prone to accumulate the process charging effects. The active protection circuits prevent the nodes from reaching a predetermined voltage during process steps utilizing charged particles. Subsequently, metal jumpers may be added to the active protection circuits to deactivate the FETs for normal operations of the semiconductor devices. Further, the FET and the resistor of the active protection circuit may be integrated with an existing component of the semiconductor device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2025
    Publication date: June 12, 2025
    Inventors: Michael A. Smith, Kenneth W. Marr
  • Publication number: 20250155024
    Abstract: A sealing element for sealing a gap between a first member and a second member includes an annular seal body having an inner surface, an outer surface and a pair of side surfaces each connected between opposite ends of the inner surface and the outer surface. A first square garter spring embedded within at least one of an inner and an outer corner of the annular seal body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2024
    Publication date: May 15, 2025
    Inventors: John E. SCHROEDER, Michael A. SMITH, Phillip D. EMBURY
  • Patent number: 12278286
    Abstract: High voltage isolation devices for semiconductor devices and associated systems, are disclosed herein. The isolation device may support operations of a 3-dimensional NAND memory array of the semiconductor device. In some embodiments, during high voltage operations (e.g., erase operations), the isolation device may provide a high voltage to the memory array while isolating other circuitry supporting low voltage operations of the memory array from the high voltage. The isolation device may include a set of narrow active areas separating the low voltage circuitry from the high voltage and a gate over the narrow active areas. In a further embodiment, the isolation device includes interdigitated narrow active areas and a common gate over the interdigitated narrow active areas to reduce an area occupied by the isolation devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2024
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael A. Smith
  • Patent number: 12274057
    Abstract: Method of forming an isolation structure might include forming a first conductive region in a first section of a semiconductor material, forming a first trench in a second section of the semiconductor material adjacent a first side of the first section of the semiconductor material and forming a second trench in a third section of the semiconductor material adjacent a second side of the first section of the semiconductor material, extending the first and second trenches to a depth below the first conductive region and removing a portion of the first section of the semiconductor material overlying the first conductive region, forming second and third conductive regions in the semiconductor material below bottoms of the first and second trenches, respectively, and forming a dielectric material overlying the first conductive region and filling the first and second trenches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael A. Smith
  • Patent number: 12237278
    Abstract: Active protection circuits for semiconductor devices, and associated systems and methods, are disclosed herein. The active protection circuits may protect various components of the semiconductor devices from process induced damage—e.g., stemming from process charging effects. In some embodiments, the active protection circuit includes an FET and a resistor coupled to certain nodes (e.g., source plates for 3D NAND memory arrays) of the semiconductor devices, which may be prone to accumulate the process charging effects. The active protection circuits prevent the nodes from reaching a predetermined voltage during process steps utilizing charged particles. Subsequently, metal jumpers may be added to the active protection circuits to deactivate the FETs for normal operations of the semiconductor devices. Further, the FET and the resistor of the active protection circuit may be integrated with an existing component of the semiconductor device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael A. Smith, Kenneth W. Marr
  • Publication number: 20240428859
    Abstract: A memory device includes a first string driver circuit and a second string driver circuit that are disposed laterally adjacent to each other in a length direction of a memory subsystem. The first and the second string driver circuits are disposed in an interleaved layout configuration such that the first connections of the first string driver are offset from the second connections of the second string driver in a width direction. For a same effective distance between the corresponding opposing first and second connections, a first pitch length corresponding to the interleaved layout configuration of the first and second string drivers is less by a predetermined reduction amount than a second pitch length between the first and second string drivers when disposed in a non-interleaved layout configuration in which each of the first connections is in-line with the corresponding second connection.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2024
    Publication date: December 26, 2024
    Inventors: Michael A. Smith, Martin W. Popp
  • Publication number: 20240390693
    Abstract: To distribute electrical treatment to a treatment area of a patient, described herein are electrical apparatuses, methods of their operation and methods for delivery of the electrical treatment to the patient. In some embodiments, the treatment applicator comprises an electrode assembly that includes at least two electrodes, and a conductive spacer positioned between the electrodes. Methods of treatment and methods of operation of the apparatuses and systems of the present disclosure are also provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2024
    Publication date: November 28, 2024
    Inventors: Cameron D. HINMAN, Michael A. SMITH, Kenneth R. KRIEG
  • Patent number: 12112804
    Abstract: A memory device includes a first string driver circuit and a second string driver circuit that are disposed laterally adjacent to each other in a length direction of a memory subsystem. The first and the second string driver circuits are disposed in an interleaved layout configuration such that the first connections of the first string driver are offset from the second connections of the second string driver in a width direction. For a same effective distance between the corresponding opposing first and second connections, a first pitch length corresponding to the interleaved layout configuration of the first and second string drivers is less by a predetermined reduction amount than a second pitch length between the first and second string drivers when disposed in a non-interleaved layout configuration in which each of the first connections is in-line with the corresponding second connection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2024
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael A. Smith, Martin W. Popp
  • Publication number: 20240322049
    Abstract: A semiconductor device including a first semiconductor device that includes a substrate, a memory array disposed above the substrate and below a frontside surface of the first semiconductor device, a plurality of source region contact (SRC) nodes disposed under the memory array, and a plurality of high-voltage (HV) diodes disposed in the substrate, each of the plurality of HV diodes being connected to corresponding one of the plurality of SRC nodes; and a second semiconductor device including a plurality of complementary-metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices, each of the plurality of CMOS devices being connected to, through a backside surface of the second semiconductor device and the frontside surface of the first semiconductor device, corresponding bond pad of the memory array, wherein fusion bonding exists between the backside surface of the second semiconductor device and the frontside surface of the first semiconductor device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2024
    Publication date: September 26, 2024
    Inventors: Shyam Surthi, Haitao Liu, Michael A. Smith
  • Publication number: 20240290787
    Abstract: A string driver device including a substrate; and a plurality of string driver array blocks that are disposed above the substrate, each of the plurality of string driver array blocks including a plurality of active regions that are parallelly aligned along a length direction, a plurality of shared gates that are disposed above the plurality of active regions and along a width direction, the width direction being perpendicular to the length direction, a through silicon isolation (TSI) region that surrounds the plurality of active regions on the substrate and that is disposed between neighboring active regions of the plurality of active regions, and a plurality of shallow trench isolation (STI) regions that are disposed adjacent to one or more channel regions of each of the plurality of active regions and below the plurality of shared gates respectively.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2024
    Publication date: August 29, 2024
    Inventor: Michael A. Smith
  • Publication number: 20240274594
    Abstract: A semiconductor device including a substrate; a plurality of active regions that are disposed on the substrate and that are parallelly aligned; a plurality of first type of trench isolations having a first top critical dimension (CD), each of the plurality of the first type of trench isolations including sidewalls that taper towards one another along a depth direction; and a plurality of second type of trench isolations having a second top CD, the second top CD being larger than the first top CD and each of the plurality of the second type of trench isolations having a flat bottom trench surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2024
    Publication date: August 15, 2024
    Inventors: Shyam Surthi, Michael A. Smith
  • Publication number: 20240274533
    Abstract: A semiconductor device assembly including a first wafer having complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices, the CMOS devices including a plurality of string drivers, wherein each of the plurality of string drivers includes a field effect transistor (FET), a global word line connected to a source of the FET, and a local word line vertically passing through the FET; and a second wafer having a memory array including a plurality of word lines, each of the word lines being connected to a corresponding one of the string drivers of the first wafer through a local word line of the corresponding string driver, wherein a backside surface of the first wafer is bonded to a frontside surface of the second wafer to form a wafer-on-wafer (WOW) bonding.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2024
    Publication date: August 15, 2024
    Inventors: Michael A. Smith, Martin W. Popp, Richard J. Hill
  • Publication number: 20240234311
    Abstract: A memory device includes an array of memory cells and a plurality of bit-lines with each bit-line connected to a respective set of memory cells of the array of memory cells. The memory device includes a memory subsystem having first and second memory circuits. Each first memory circuit can be disposed laterally adjacent to a second memory circuit. Each first memory circuit includes a first bit-line connection and each second memory circuit including a second bit-line connection, the first and second bit-line connections can connect to respective bit-lines. Each first bit-line connection is disposed on a first bit-line connection line of the memory subsystem and each second bit-line connection is disposed on a second bit-line connection line of the memory subsystem, and the second bit-line connection line can be offset from the first bit-line connection line by a predetermined distance that is greater than zero.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 20, 2024
    Publication date: July 11, 2024
    Inventors: Michael A. Smith, Haitao Liu, Vladimir Mikhalev
  • Patent number: 12015026
    Abstract: Methods of forming a circuit-protection device include forming a dielectric having a first thickness and a second thickness greater than the first thickness over a semiconductor, forming a conductor over the dielectric, and patterning the conductor to retain a portion of the conductor over a portion of the dielectric having the second thickness, and to retain substantially no portion of the conductor over a portion of the dielectric having the first thickness, wherein the retained portion of the conductor defines a control gate of a field-effect transistor of the circuit-protection device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2024
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael A. Smith, Kenneth W. Marr
  • Publication number: 20240154033
    Abstract: High voltage isolation devices for semiconductor devices and associated systems, are disclosed herein. The isolation device may support operations of a 3-dimensional NAND memory array of the semiconductor device. In some embodiments, during high voltage operations (e.g., erase operations), the isolation device may provide a high voltage to the memory array while isolating other circuitry supporting low voltage operations of the memory array from the high voltage. The isolation device may include a set of narrow active areas separating the low voltage circuitry from the high voltage and a gate over the narrow active areas. In a further embodiment, the isolation device includes interdigitated narrow active areas and a common gate over the interdigitated narrow active areas to reduce an area occupied by the isolation devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 8, 2024
    Publication date: May 9, 2024
    Inventor: Michael A. Smith
  • Patent number: 11973031
    Abstract: A memory device includes an array of memory cells and a plurality of bit-lines with each bit-line connected to a respective set of memory cells of the array of memory cells. The memory device includes a memory subsystem having first and second memory circuits. Each first memory circuit can be disposed laterally adjacent to a second memory circuit. Each first memory circuit includes a first bit-line connection and each second memory circuit including a second bit-line connection, the first and second bit-line connections can connect to respective bit-lines. Each first bit-line connection is disposed on a first bit-line connection line of the memory subsystem and each second bit-line connection is disposed on a second bit-line connection line of the memory subsystem, and the second bit-line connection line can be offset from the first bit-line connection line by a predetermined distance that is greater than zero.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael A. Smith, Haitao Liu, Vladimir Mikhalev
  • Publication number: 20240107754
    Abstract: Method of forming an isolation structure might include forming a first conductive region in a first section of a semiconductor material, forming a first trench in a second section of the semiconductor material adjacent a first side of the first section of the semiconductor material and forming a second trench in a third section of the semiconductor material adjacent a second side of the first section of the semiconductor material, extending the first and second trenches to a depth below the first conductive region and removing a portion of the first section of the semiconductor material overlying the first conductive region, forming second and third conductive regions in the semiconductor material below bottoms of the first and second trenches, respectively, and forming a dielectric material overlying the first conductive region and filling the first and second trenches.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2023
    Publication date: March 28, 2024
    Applicant: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventor: Michael A. Smith