Embodiments disclosed herein pertain to arrays of memory cells, to methods associated with forming memory cells that comprise programmable material, and to methods associated with forming memory cells that comprise selector device material.
Devices incorporating chalcogenide materials, e.g., ovonic threshold switches and phase change storage elements, may be found in a wide range of electronic devices. Such devices may be used in computers, digital cameras, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, etc. Factors that a system designer may consider in determining whether and how to incorporate chalcogenide materials for a particular application may include, physical size, storage density, scalability, operating voltages and currents, read/write speed, read/write throughput, transmission rate, power consumption, and/or methods of forming devices with the chalcogenide materials, for example.
Embodiments of the invention include methods associated with forming a memory cell that comprises programmable material, and an array of memory cells independent of method of manufacture. Any suitable existing or yet-to-be developed programmable materials may-be used. Ideally, the programmable material renders the fabricated memory cell to be non-volatile, although not necessarily so. Example programmable materials include phase change materials (e.g., chalcogenide materials). In some embodiments, the memory cell comprises a selector device (synonymous with “select device”). The discussion proceeds with reference to the Figures showing formation of a plurality of memory cells individually comprising programmable material that is elevationally outward of a selector device. Alternately as examples, this elevational relationship can be reversed, an orientation other than elevational used (e.g., lateral and/or diagonal), or no selector device may be within the individual memory cells. In this document, “elevational”, “upper”, “lower”, “top”, and “bottom” are with reference to the vertical direction. “Horizontal” refers to a general direction along a primary surface relative to which the substrate is processed during fabrication, and vertical is a direction generally orthogonal thereto. Further, “vertical” and “horizontal” as used herein are generally perpendicular directions relative one another and independent of orientation of the substrate in three-dimensional space.
Example embodiments of a method associated with forming a memory cell in accordance with the invention are described with reference to
Example stack 13 is shown as comprising materials 14, 16, 18, and 20 that are elevationally between a sacrificial material 22 and base material 12. Any suitable thicknesses for such materials may be used. Sacrificial material 22 may be any of conductive, semiconductive, and insulative, with some examples being polyimide, carbon, silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, silicon, and/or aluminum nitride. Materials 16, 18, and 20 may ultimately comprise material of components of individual selector devices and, regardless, material 14 may be conductive to be used for formation of access lines or sense lines within an array of memory cells. Example conductive materials include one or more of elemental metal, an alloy of two or more elemental metals, conductive metal compounds, and conductively doped semiconductive material. Materials 16 and 20 may be conductive, and material 18 may comprise selector device material (e.g., a chalcogenide material) of lesser conductivity than materials 16 and 20. Sacrificial material 22 of stack 13 is over lower conductive material which may be considered as any one or more of materials 14, 16, and 20 where one or more of such are conductive. In some embodiments, stack 13 comprises an intermediate (i.e., in position) conductive material (e.g., material 16 or material 20) that is elevationally between a lower conductive material (e.g., material 14) and sacrificial material 22. In one embodiment, stack 13 comprises a material of lesser conductivity (e.g., material 18) than the intermediate conductive material (e.g., material 20) and which is elevationally between the lower conductive material (e.g., material 14) and the intermediate conductive material (e.g., material 20). In one embodiment, stack 13 may be considered as comprising a pair of elevationally-spaced conductive materials (e.g., materials 16 and 20) having material of lesser conductivity (e.g., material 18) there-between, with such pair being elevationally between the lower conductive material (e.g., material 14) and sacrificial material 22.
Conductive materials 14, 16, and 20 may be of the same composition or of different compositions relative one another. As used herein, “different composition” only requires those portions of two stated materials that may be directly against one another to be chemically and/or physically different, for example if such materials are not homogenous. If the two stated materials are not directly against one another, “different composition” only requires that those portions of the two stated materials that are closest to one another be chemically and/or physically different if such materials are not homogenous. In this document, a material or structure is “directly against” another when there is at least some physical touching contact of the stated materials or structures relative one another. In contrast, “over”, “on”, and “against” not preceded by “directly” encompass “directly against” as well as construction where intervening material(s) or structure(s) result(s) in no physical touching contact of the stated materials or structures relative one another.
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Spaced elevationally-extending projections 46 are incorporated into one of the programmable material or a selector device component of individual memory cells being formed. In one embodiment, the phase change material projections are incorporated into the programmable material of individual memory cells, and regardless of whether such memory cells individually comprise any selector device component. In one embodiment, the memory cells individually comprise a selector device component and the phase change material projections are individually incorporated into the selector device component of the individual memory cells. For example, referring to
In one embodiment, a method associated with forming memory cells that comprise programmable material comprises etching sacrificial material (e.g., material 22) to form spaced sacrificial masses (e.g., projections 36) in two separate and time-spaced acts of etching of the sacrificial material. Each of the two acts of etching uses masking lines (e.g., referred to above) outward of the sacrificial material that are different from and angle relative to the masking lines of the other of said two acts of etching. The sacrificial masses are replaced with the programmable material (e.g., material 44) to form spaced masses (e.g., projections 46) of the programmable material. Individual of the spaced programmable material masses are incorporated into programmable material of individual of the memory cells being formed. Any other attribute(s) or aspect(s) as described above and/or shown in the Figures may be used.
In one embodiment, a method associated with forming memory cells that comprise selector device material comprises etching sacrificial material (e.g., material 22) to form spaced sacrificial masses (e.g., projections 36) in two separate and time-spaced acts of etching of the sacrificial material. Each of the two acts of etching uses masking lines (e.g., as referred to above) outward of the sacrificial material that are different from and angle relative to the masking lines of the other of said two acts of etching. The sacrificial masses are replaced with the selector device material (e.g., material 44) to form spaced masses (e.g., projections 46) of the selector device material. Individual of the spaced selector device material masses are incorporated into selector device material of individual of the memory cells being formed. In one embodiment, the selector device comprises a conductive electrode, and the selector device material is of lesser conductivity than the conductive electrode. In one embodiment, the memory cells comprise programmable material and that is formed prior to replacing the sacrificial masses. In one embodiment, the memory cells comprise programmable material and that is formed after replacing the sacrificial masses. Any other attribute(s) or aspect(s) as described above and/or shown in the Figures may be used.
Some of the above-described processing includes separate first and second patternings using different masks. However, such is not required in some embodiments. In one embodiment, a method associated with forming a memory cell that comprises programmable material includes forming a stack comprising sacrificial material over lower conductive material. That sacrificial material is patterned to form a sacrificial elevationally-extending projection (i.e., regardless of whether conducted in one, two, or more patterning steps). The sacrificial projection is replaced with phase change material to form an elevationally-extending projection comprising the phase change material. The phase change material projection is incorporated into one of the programmable material or a selector device component of the memory cell being formed.
The methods described above in connection with the Figures are but example embodiments of patterning the sacrificial material using multiple patterning, masking, and/or etching steps. As an alternate embodiment, such might be conducted using a single masking step. For example, a single masking step and then a single etching step might be conducted to directly form sacrificial elevationally-extending projections 36 of
As ever smaller and denser arrays of memory cells are fabricated, the individual memory cells become both smaller and closer together. Heretofore, part of the dielectric material that was used to separate individual memory cells within the memory array may include dielectric liners deposited against sidewalls of the phase change material of the memory cells, followed by deposition of different composition dielectric material from that of the liner materials. Liners are commonly used to protect the phase change material from contamination during subsequent acts of etching, and are not expected to be practical as minimum spacing between immediately adjacent memory cells is 20 nm or less.
An embodiment of the invention includes an array of memory cells independent of method of manufacture. Such array includes a plurality of laterally-spaced memory cells individually comprising a stack of materials comprising phase change material. The phase change material comprises at least one of programmable material or a selector device component of the individual memory cell. Dielectric material spans laterally between immediately adjacent of the individual memory cells. Such dielectric material is directly against the phase change material of the immediately adjacent individual memory cells and is homogenous there-between. In one embodiment, minimum spacing between immediately adjacent surfaces of the phase change material of different memorial cells is no greater than 20 nm. As an example,
An Appendix is provided herewith and constitutes part of this document as if provided textually herein before the claims in this document. The Appendix is U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/228,104, filed on Mar. 27, 2014, (now U.S. Patent Publication No. ______ published on) ______). Accordingly, such is fully herein incorporated as if part of this document, and with any conflict, if any, between the two documents to be resolved in favor of this document as if the Appendix was not included herewith. The Appendix does not disclose the acts of separate first and second patternings of the sacrificial material that is ultimately replaced whereas the non-Appendix part of this document does.
In some embodiments, a method associated with forming a memory cell that comprises programmable material comprises forming a stack comprising sacrificial material over lower conductive material. The sacrificial material is first patterned in a first direction to form a sacrificial line. After the first patterning, second patterning is conducted of the sacrificial material of the sacrificial line in a second direction that crosses the first direction to form a sacrificial elevationally-extending projection from the sacrificial line. The sacrificial projection is replaced with phase change material to form an elevationally-extending projection comprising the phase change material. The phase change material projection is incorporated into one of the programmable material or a selector device component of the memory cell being formed.
In some embodiments, a method associated with forming memory cells that comprise programmable material comprises forming a stack comprising sacrificial material over lower conductive material. In a first patterning step, the sacrificial material is patterned to form a series of line stacks. The first patterning step forms individual of the line stacks to be separated by first trenches and to comprise a line of the sacrificial material. The line of sacrificial material is over the lower conductive material. A line of dielectric material is formed within individual of the first trenches. In a second patterning step after forming the lines of dielectric material, the sacrificial material and the dielectric material are patterned to form spaced sacrificial elevationally-extending projections from the sacrificial material of the lines of sacrificial material. The second patterning step forms second trenches that cross through the first trenches. A line of dielectric material is formed within individual of the second trenches. The sacrificial projections are replaced with phase change material to form spaced elevationally-extending projections comprising the phase change material. The spaced phase change material projections are incorporated one of the programmable material or a selector device component of individual of the memory cells being formed.
In some embodiments, a method associated with forming memory cells that comprise programmable material comprises etching sacrificial material to form spaced sacrificial masses in two separate and time-spaced acts of etching of the sacrificial material. Each of the two acts of etching uses masking lines outward of the sacrificial material that are different from and angle relative to the masking lines of the other of said two acts of etching. The sacrificial masses are replaced with the programmable material to form spaced masses of the programmable material. Individual of the spaced programmable material masses are incorporated into programmable material of individual of the memory cells being formed.
In some embodiments, a method associated with forming memory cells that comprise selector device material comprises etching sacrificial material to form spaced sacrificial masses in two separate and time-spaced acts of etching of the sacrificial material. Each of the two acts of etching uses masking lines outward of the sacrificial material that are different from and angle relative to the masking lines of the other of said two acts of etching. The sacrificial masses are replaced with the selector device material to form spaced masses of the selector device material. Individual of the spaced selector device material masses are incorporated into selector device material of individual of the memory cells being formed.
In some embodiments, a method associated with forming a memory cell that comprises programmable material comprises forming a stack comprising sacrificial material over lower conductive material. The sacrificial material is patterned to form a sacrificial elevationally-extending projection. The sacrificial projection is replaced with phase change material to form an elevationally-extending projection comprising the phase change material. The phase change material projection is incorporated into one of the programmable material or a selector device component of the memory cell being formed.
In some embodiments, an array of memory cells comprises a plurality of laterally-spaced memory cells individually comprising a stack of materials comprising phase change material. The phase change material comprises at least one of programmable material or a selector device component of the individual memory cell. Dielectric material spans laterally between immediately adjacent of the individual memory cells. Such dielectric material is directly against the phase change material of the immediately adjacent individual memory cells and is homogenous there-between.
In compliance with the statute, the subject matter disclosed herein has been described in language more or less specific as to structural and methodical features. It is to be understood, however, that the claims are not limited to the specific features shown and described, since the means herein disclosed comprise example embodiments. The claims are thus to be afforded full scope as literally worded, and to be appropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.