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Samsung patents memory chip design with stepped support for better connections

This patent describes a semiconductor memory chip where a stepped support structure sits next to the stacked memory layers. Vertical contact plugs pass through this support to connect directly to pad parts on top, creating a path for electrical signals.

Why it mattersIt is a routine improvement in chip manufacturing that helps connect different parts of a memory device more efficiently.

In the filing’s own words

A semiconductor device includes a substrate including a memory cell region and a connection region. A memory stack includes a plurality of word lines extending in the memory cell region and the connection region in a horizontal direction that is parallel with an upper surface of the substrate. The plurality of word lines overlaps with each other in a vertical direction. A support is in the connection region and positioned at a side of the memory stack. The support includes a plurality of steps. A plurality of pad parts is on a top surface of the support. A plurality of contact plugs passes through at least some of the plurality of word lines in the vertical direction. The plurality of contact plugs directly contacts the plurality of pad parts for electrical connection therewith.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor substrate including a memory cell region and a connection region; a memory stack including a plurality of word lines extending in the memory cell region and the connection region in a horizontal direction that is parallel with an upper surface of the semiconductor substrate, the plurality of word lines overlapping with each other in a vertical direction; a support in the connection region and positioned at a side of the memory stack, the support including a plurality of steps and passing through at least some of the plurality of word lines; a plurality of pad parts on a top surface of the support; and a plurality of contact plugs passing through the support in the vertical direction, the plurality of contact plugs directly contacting the plurality of pad parts for electrical connection therewith.

Facts

Company
Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
Official title
Semiconductor device having contact plugs and support and electronic system including the same
Patent number
US12772831B2
Application number
18197283
Filed
May 15, 2023
Granted
Oct 20, 2026
Inventors
5
Claims
20

Classified under

H10W 20/435 Electricity & electronicsG11C 16/0483 Physics & computingH10B 41/10 Electricity & electronicsH10B 41/27 Electricity & electronicsH10B 41/35 Electricity & electronicsH10B 41/40 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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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.