Samsung patents memory chip design with layered protective coating
Samsung has been granted a patent for a semiconductor device, likely a type of memory chip, that features a specific arrangement of vertical channels and gate layers. The design includes a protective passivation layer made of two parts: one with a high concentration of a protective element and another with a lower concentration.
In the filing’s own words
Provided is a semiconductor device including a semiconductor substrate, a gate stack including a plurality of gate layers and a plurality of insulation layers alternately stacked on the semiconductor substrate, a plurality of first channel structures penetrating through the gate stack and extending in a vertical direction, a word line cut penetrating through the gate stack and extending in the vertical direction, a passivation layer disposed on the gate stack, and a string select line stack disposed on the passivation layer, wherein the passivation layer includes a first passivation layer containing a passivation element and a second passivation layer having a smaller content of the passivation element than the first passivation layer.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a gate stack comprising a plurality of gate layers and a plurality of insulation layers alternately stacked on the semiconductor substrate; a plurality of first channel structures penetrating through the gate stack and extending in a vertical direction; a word line cut penetrating through the gate stack and extending in the vertical direction; a passivation layer disposed on the gate stack; and a string select line stack disposed on the passivation layer, wherein the passivation layer comprises a first passivation layer containing a passivation element and a second passivation layer having a smaller content of the passivation element than the first passivation layer.
Facts
- Company
- Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
- Official title
- Semiconductor device
- Patent number
- US12757782B2
- Application number
- 18640201
- Filed
- Apr 19, 2024
- Granted
- Oct 6, 2026
- Inventors
- 6
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
H10W 74/137 Electricity & electronicsH10B 12/485 Electricity & electronicsH10B 12/488 Electricity & electronicsH10W 20/42 Electricity & electronicsH10W 74/43 Electricity & electronicsMore from Samsung in Chips & hardware
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.