Vertically stacked field programmable nonvolatile memory and method of fabrication
First Claim
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1. A memory comprising:
- a semiconductor substrate having peripheral circuits for the memory;
a memory array having a plurality of levels where each level includes a plurality of memory cells formed above the substrate, the memory cells at each level being coupled to a plurality of first and second lines; and
a plurality of vias for providing electrical connections between at least the first lines in more than one of the levels and the peripheral circuits of the substrate, each of the vias extending through more than one of the levels and contacting first lines in more than one level such that fewer than one via mask is needed per level.
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Abstract
A very high density field programmable memory is disclosed. An array is formed vertically above a substrate using several layers, each layer of which includes vertically fabricated memory cells. The cell in an N level array may be formed with N+1 masking steps plus masking steps needed for contacts. Maximum use of self alignment techniques minimizes photolithographic limitations. In one embodiment the peripheral circuits are formed in a silicon substrate and an N level array is fabricated above the substrate.
603 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A memory comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate having peripheral circuits for the memory;
a memory array having a plurality of levels where each level includes a plurality of memory cells formed above the substrate, the memory cells at each level being coupled to a plurality of first and second lines; and
a plurality of vias for providing electrical connections between at least the first lines in more than one of the levels and the peripheral circuits of the substrate, each of the vias extending through more than one of the levels and contacting first lines in more than one level such that fewer than one via mask is needed per level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A memory comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate; and
a plurality of separate three dimensional arrays of memory cells nestled with respect to one another on the substrate, each array comprising a plurality of levels of memory cells, the cells in each array communicating with peripheral circuits disposed in the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A memory comprising:
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a substrate;
a three dimensional memory array disposed on the substrate having a plurality of cells disposed in a plurality of levels;
the substrate including a plurality of decoders for accessing the cells with at least some of the decoders being folded under the array. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A memory comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate;
a memory array comprising a plurality of levels, each level having a plurality of column lines, a plurality of row lines and a plurality of memory cells, with a column line in a level n also being a column line in a level n+1 and a row line in level n also being a row line in level n−
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the substrate containing column decoders and row decoders coupled to the column and row lines, respectively, with at least a part of one of the row and column decoders being disposed under the array. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification