CA1118892A - Semiconductor device utilizing memory cells with sidewall charge storage regions - Google Patents

Semiconductor device utilizing memory cells with sidewall charge storage regions

Info

Publication number
CA1118892A
CA1118892A CA000308013A CA308013A CA1118892A CA 1118892 A CA1118892 A CA 1118892A CA 000308013 A CA000308013 A CA 000308013A CA 308013 A CA308013 A CA 308013A CA 1118892 A CA1118892 A CA 1118892A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
recess
forming
layer
substrate
memory device
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA000308013A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
John R. Edwards
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
American Microsystems Holding Corp
Original Assignee
American Microsystems Holding Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by American Microsystems Holding Corp filed Critical American Microsystems Holding Corp
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1118892A publication Critical patent/CA1118892A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G11INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11CSTATIC STORES
    • G11C11/00Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor
    • G11C11/21Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor using electric elements
    • G11C11/34Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor using electric elements using semiconductor devices
    • G11C11/35Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor using electric elements using semiconductor devices with charge storage in a depletion layer, e.g. charge coupled devices
    • GPHYSICS
    • G11INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11CSTATIC STORES
    • G11C11/00Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor
    • G11C11/21Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor using electric elements
    • G11C11/34Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor using electric elements using semiconductor devices
    • G11C11/40Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor using electric elements using semiconductor devices using transistors
    • G11C11/401Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor using electric elements using semiconductor devices using transistors forming cells needing refreshing or charge regeneration, i.e. dynamic cells
    • G11C11/403Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor using electric elements using semiconductor devices using transistors forming cells needing refreshing or charge regeneration, i.e. dynamic cells with charge regeneration common to a multiplicity of memory cells, i.e. external refresh
    • G11C11/404Digital stores characterised by the use of particular electric or magnetic storage elements; Storage elements therefor using electric elements using semiconductor devices using transistors forming cells needing refreshing or charge regeneration, i.e. dynamic cells with charge regeneration common to a multiplicity of memory cells, i.e. external refresh with one charge-transfer gate, e.g. MOS transistor, per cell
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H10SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10BELECTRONIC MEMORY DEVICES
    • H10B12/00Dynamic random access memory [DRAM] devices
    • H10B12/30DRAM devices comprising one-transistor - one-capacitor [1T-1C] memory cells
    • H10B12/34DRAM devices comprising one-transistor - one-capacitor [1T-1C] memory cells the transistor being at least partially in a trench in the substrate

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Semiconductor Memories (AREA)
  • Non-Volatile Memory (AREA)

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure A semiconductor memory device including a substrate supporting an array of memory cells wherein each cell comprises a single recess in the sur-face of the device whose lower end penetrates into a buried bit line within the substrate. Parallel and spaced apart word lines of conductive material formed on the surface of the device and oriented perpendicular to the buried bit lines extend into the recesses of the memory cells. For each recess a thre-shold barrier around its upper end and a diffusion barrier around its lower end adjacent the buried bit line combine to form a charge storage area in the material forming the walls of the recess, so that the portion of a word line within each recess provides a gate for modulating the flow of charge to and from the bit line during read and write oppressions.

Description

8~9~

Back~ro~md of the Invention This invention relatcs to semiconductor logic or memory devices and a method for making same.
In United States Letters Patent No. 4~003,036 which is assigned to the assignee of the present application, a single IGPET memory cell with a buried storage element is disclosed for use in a semiconductor read-write memory device. Briefly~ this prior art memory cell utilized a buried storage element of a first conductivity type (N~) located within a substrate of another conductivity type ~P+) material. An etched recess having a V-shaped cross-section had a lower end that extended into the buried element which formed the source o a VMOS transistor. The recess also extended through another region of the first conductivity type material that formed the drain of the V~OS transistor near its upper end. The recess walls were provided with a thin gate oxide material and this oxide was covered by a conductive material serving both as a gate and also forming a portion of a word line for the device. In operation, the buried N+ source elemen~ formed the storage device for the cell and the drain region formed a portion of buried bit lines. The aforesaid prior art single transistor cell provided an improvement in the art with significant advantages over previously developed three transistor and six transistor planar type memory cells. However, it also required the ~ormation of transistor drain regions and the charge capacity of the device was limited by the size o~ the buried N~ storage element.
One object of the present invention is to provide an improved semi-cQnduc~or memory cell that also utilizes an etched recess but which furnishes new and unobv:Lous advantages over tlle prior art.
Another cb~ect of ~he lnven~ion is to provi~e a semiconduc~or Memory cell u~ilizing a single etched groove or recess ~hat requires a relativ~ly small '' 8~9Z

area on a substrate so that the density of cells per unit area can be extremely high in a memory device.
Another object of the invention is to provide a semiconductor memory cell utilizing a single groove or recess that does not util;ze buried drain regions in combination with a buried source region to form a transistor, but which utilizes a single buried bit line and a thin layer of material in the walls surrounding the recess as a charge storage area.
Another object of the invention is to provide a semiconductor memory device comprising an array of cells formed at the cross-over locations of sur-face word lines andtransverse buried bit lines with each cell providing an increased charge storage capacity and greater speed than prior single trans-istor memory cell devices.
Still another object o~ the invention is to provide a semiconduc~or memory cell utilizing a single groove type of recess that is less complicated and requires fewer steps to manufacture.
Yet another object o the present invention is to provide an improved and more efficient method for making a semiconductor memory device.
Summary of the InventLon According to one broad aspect of the invention there is provided a semiconductor memory device comprising:
a substrate of a irst conductivity type material;
a plurality of elongated regions of a second conductivity type mater-ial within sQid substrate forming bit lines;
cm epitaxial layer Oe lLgh~ly doped ~lrsk conduckivity kype ma~erial covering said ~ub~krate and said ~longated reg-ions;
a serles oE recesses extendLng erom the surface Oe said epitaxial layer and spaced apart along salcl elongated regions, each said reccss eormed
-2-8~2 by sidewalls that extend into a sa:id elongated region;
a relatively thick field oxide layer extending over said epitaxial layer and surrounding each saicl recess, said thick oxide layer forming a field threshold barr:ier around the upper end of each said recess;
a series of parallel, spaced apart and elongated regions of conductive material forming word lines on said field oxide layer, each said word line extending transverse to said buried bit lines and between a series of recesses and each said aligned recess;
means on said elongated bit lines near the lower end of each said recess forming a cliffusion barrier;
and charge storage regions formed in the side walls of each said recess between its said diffusion barrier and said field threshold barrier.
~ccording to another broad aspect of the invention there is provided a method for manufacturing a semiconductor memory device including the steps of:
providing a substrate of crystalline silicon material having P~ type conductivity;
forming a series of spaced apart diffused strips of N~ type conducti-vity material within said substrate to provide buried bit lines;
forming a diffusion barrier layer over said buried bit lines of P
type material that is less heavily P doped than said substrate;
forming an epitaxial layer on said substrate having a lightly doped P-type conductivity that is less heavily doped than said diffusion carrier layer;
a~chin~ a plurality o~ spacqd ap~rt recesses w.lthln khe surface of sald device which are align~d gc ~hat each rec,ess extends throu~h said epik~x-ial layer into a said bit llne;
formln~ a relakively thick layer Oe o~lde material arouncl khe u~per
-3-edges of said recesses; and forming a series of conductive lines of conductive material on said oxide material which are transverse to said buried bit lines, each said word line interconnecting an aligned series of said recesses and covering the sidewalls o:f each aligned recess.
A presently preferred embodiment of a memory device according to the present invention and which accomplishes the aforesaid objectives comprises one having an array of cells wherein each cell comprises an etched recess having a V or U-shaped cross-section extending into the upper surface of a semicon-ductor substrate The substrate,of a first conductivity type~ has at least one buried bit line o~ an opposite conductivity type and the lower end of the re-cess extends into it. Surrounding the lower end of the recess adjacent to and above the b.uried bit line is a diffusion barrier for preventing the leakage of charge from the remaining area around the sides of the recess. Within the re-cess its sides may be covered with a thin gate-oxide layer in an IG~ETtype structure. Alternatively, the walls of the recess could be covered directly with a conductive material which forms a junction field effect transistor (JFET)-like device. ~or the IG~ET device~ the oxide is covered with a conduct-ive material that may be metal or poly-crystalline silicon. This conductive material (for either case) forms a gate for the memory cell and also forms a portion of an "X" line or word line that runs transversely to the buried bit line or "Y" line. When used in a semiconductor device comprised of a large number of word lines and buried bit lines a memory cell may be formed at each intersec-kion or orQ~sover 4:~ ~hese lines. In e:Efec~, the area :~orming the walls surr~unding each V or ll-shapc(l r~cess becomes a rela~ively large charge st~rage region .~or th~ cell and the charge is kept within this area by an isolating threshold barrier near the top and the diffusion barrier near the bottom of each recess. In use, when it is desired to write into the cell, a voltage is applied to the buried bit line and thereaEter another voltage is applied to the word line, the latter vol~age being of such a nature that it will lower the surface potential on the recess walls. This causes a thin layer of epitax-ial material around the recess walls to function as a storage element and attain a surface potential equal to that of the bit line below. When the surface pot-ential on the word line is removed, the diffusion barrier between the buried bit line and the charge storage region is now cut off so that the charge stor-age region in the walls of the recess is isolated and separate. I'his charge remains in storage until such time as the cell is read. To sense the charge or read the cell a voltage of the proper polarity is once again placed on the word line and causes an electrical connection between the charge storage region and the bit line through the diffusion barrier. Thus, a certain amount of charge determined by surface potentials and geometric factors is transferred to the bit line which causes a certain potential differential between the existing level and the original bit line level, which may be sensed by a differential amplifier.
Other objectsJ advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description presented in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.
Brief De ~ e Drawing ~igure 1 is a schematic plan view of a portion of a semiconductor memory device utilizing charge storage cells according to tho present invention;
~igure 2 is a viqw in cross section of one memory cell e~bodylng ~he principles o~ the presqn~ invention;
~ig~lro~, 3a - 3~ are a series of views in crcss section showing the 5 .

, .

8~3~Z

method steps ~or constructing a memory cell according to the principles of the invention;
~ igures 4a - ~c are a series of views in cross section showing some alternate method steps for forming the lower diffusion barrier region according to the invention;
Figure S is a view in vertical cross section of a modified form of memory call according to the invention; and Figure 6 is a view in vertical cross section showing another alternate form of memory ceLl embodying the principles of the present invention and utilizing a U-shaped recess.
Detailed Description of Embodiments With reference to the drawing, Figure 1 shows a schematic plan view of a semiconductor memory device 10 embodying the principles of the present invention. The portion of the device illustrated comprises an array of memory cells 12 formed at the intersections of parallel word lines 1~ and a series of buried bit lines 16 oriented in a direction 90 to the word lines. Thus, in the array, the memory cells are closely packed because the parallel word lines and bit lines may relatively close together using conventional semiconductor design rules, and each memory cell requires essentially only the area formed by a word line and bit line intersection or crossover.
In Figure 2, the structure of a typical single memory celL 12 accord-ing to the invention is shown in vertical cross-section. The entire memory device is formed as an integrated circuit on a base semiconductor substrate 1~ of P nr N material. In the embodiment illus-~rated, the base substrQ~e is crystalline silicon material having a generally uni~o*m thic~ness ~e.g~ ~S0 mier~ns). This ma~erial is provided with a P~ type conductivity by doplng it with boron to lov~l of around lOLS ~o loL~ a~oms per eublc eontime~or.

The yarallel bit lincs 16, having an essentially uniform width and spacing are formed of N+ material within the base substrate 1~. The thickness of these bit lines is essentially uniform (e.g. around 2 microns) and the N~
type conductivlty, preferably with a concentration of around 1019 to 102 atoms per cubic centimeter, may be provided using a dopant with a small diffusion coeffi~ient such as arsenic or antimony.
Covering the base substrate 18 and ~he buried bit lines 16 is an epitaxial layer 20 of lightly doped P or P- material formed by`a standard chemical vapor deposition (CVD) type of process. Along the interface o~

this layer 20 and the base substrate 18 is an intermediate layer 22, also of P material, but more heavily doped P material than the epitaxial layer 20.
Extending downwardly from the surface of the epitaxial layer 20 at each cross-over area of a word line and a bit line is a recess 2~ having a V-shape in its vertical cross-section. These recesses are formed by an anis-otropic etching process which has a low rate of attack along ~ planes and a high attack rate on [100] planes, as described in United States Patent No. 3,924,265. This etching process thus forms recesses 2~ with downwardly converging side walls, and the lower edge of each recess formed by its con-verging side walls extends into a buried bit line 16. With V-shaped recesses the horizontal cross-section of each recess has a square or rectangular shape and all of its sloping walls are covered with a thin gate oxide layer 26 of silicon dioxide which also extends below the upper surface of a buried bit line 16. The word lines 1~ are ~ormed o~ a conductive material such as a suitable matal or polycrystalline sillcon and each recess is subs~an~ially ~illed wlth such conduct:ive materi.al.
The epitaxlal li~h~ly doped P-material 20 formin~ the sloping ~ide-walls of ea~h V-shaped reGess 2~ comprise a char~e s-torage regiorl 2~ kllat ~118~392 cxtends completcly aro~nd the recess acljacent to the thin gate oxide layer 26.
As indicated by the dotted line in Figure 2, this charge storage region 28 may llave a shallow depth, but its charge capacity is relatively large since it covers the area of all four sloping walls of each recess.
The upper edges of the gate oxide layer 26 te:rminate around the edges of each V-shaped recess and at this point the thickness of the oxide increases abruptly to form a relatively thick insulative oxide layer 30 that covers the epitaxial layer 20 around the various recesses 24. This relatively thick oxide layer 30 forms a barrier (indicated by the numeral 32) around the upper end of each recess to help retain charge concentration within the sloped charge storage region 28. This retention is based upon the effective surface poten-tial under the thick insulator region 30 for the voltages used during the operation of the cell.
Surrounding the lower end of each recess the relatively higher P
doped intermediate layer 22 tas compared with the epitaxial P-materlal) forms a lower barrier for the charge storage area. I'hese upper and lower barriers serve to retain the charge concentration of electrons within the storage re-gions 28 formed in the sloped side walls of each recess. In accordance with well known principles of field effect devices, the layers 22 and 30 are efect-ive as barriers because of the quasi Fermi level in the silicon which prevent the e].ectrons rom moving away from the walls of each recess, either along the top surface 30 or into the top surface of the buried bit layer 16 at the bottom of the recess.
In addi.tion to its barrier unction the interm~dia~e P layer 22 ser-ves ~s a ~r~nsfer -region that helps to control the flow o~ elcctrons from th~
bit line into and out Oe the charge storage r~glon 28~ MoreoverJ ~his trans-eer region or di~ usion ba~rier 22 is modul~,~ed ~y the ga~e portion of ~he . ,~, "t ~i~L889Z

worcl line coverirlg the gate oxide layer within the recess.
In the operation of a memory cell 12 accord:ing to the invention, wilen -it is desired to write into the cell a voltage is first appl;ed to the appropriate b;t l;ne. Thereafter, a voltage ;s appl;ed to the word l;ne of such a nature that ;t w;ll actually physically lower the surface potential of the transfer region. That is, the positive voltage on the word line (and thus on the gate of the cell) acts in essence to turn on the transfer region bet-ween the bit line and the charge region 28. When this occurs, the charge storage region will attain a surace potential equal to tha~ of the bit line and thus the charge becomes stored there. Now, the surface potential in this charge storage reg;on ;s controlled by the b;t l;ne 16. When the voltage or surface potent;al on the word line ;s removed, thc flow of electrons between the bit line and the charge storage region ceases. At this point, the surface potential is isolated with;n this storage region. Since the charge storage region 28 extends completely around the recess on all of the sloping wallsj it thus covers a relatively large area, and accordingly its charge capacity is also relatively high. Thus, when this write procedure is complete, a strong, durable signal is locked into the memory cell.
When it is desired to sense the stored charge in a "read" mode for the cell, to determine whether a "1" or an 1l0l- is present therein, the unction of the elements is similar. At this point, the bit line is essentially "float-ing" or at some intermediate potential that is predetermined and from which all relative changes will be made. A positive value voltage is applied to the worcl line which again causes the bit line to connec~ with the charge storage reglon 2~. This causes ~he circuit to ~.ome to equilibrium wi~h some ~oten~ial ~:L~ecren~iail ~rom i~s origlnal po~ential occurrlng on the bi~ line which is detec~abl~ by a suitable di~ferential sense circui-t on the dovlco.
,c) ',i . ~ , Such a sense amplifier circuit is well known in thc art o~ memory devices and therefore will not be described here in detail.
The aforesaid write and read functions o~ the memory cell 12 can be expressed mathematically by applying the rules of conservation o~ surface potential during the write-in phase and the conservation of charge during the read-out phase and then the sensing of differential voltage in reading.
One method for producing the memory device 10 according to the pre-sent invention may be best described by reference to Figures 3a to 3f. It ; is first necessary to provide the substrate 18 of crystalline silicon material having a P~ type conductivity concen~ration of 1015 to 1019 atoms/cc. This material must also have a crystallographic orienkation with the flOO] plane at its surface so the V-type grooves or recesses can be ~ormed therein by an anisotropic etchant.
To form a first mask, the substrate 18 is provided with a layer 34 of silicon dioxide which may be formed by oxidizing the substrate surface in steam at 800 - 1,200 C. The oxide layer is then treated with a suitable etchant (e.g. buffered hydrofluoric acid) to remove the oxide at the areas on the substrate surface where the buried bit lines 16 axe to be formed. As shown in Figure 3a, a dif~usion of N~ material (e.g. antimony~ in~o the sub-strate is now per~ormed to ~orm a buried N~ layer 16 having a th:ickness o~
around 2 microns. The oxidation layer 3~ is then removed leaving the substrate with a series o~ parallel N~ strips with the desired spacing on the substrate.
In the next step of the method, as shown in F;guxe 3b, an epitaxial layer 20 of lightly doped P- material is ~ormed on tho substra~e sur~ace and ovcr the N~ regions 16, This layer can h~ Porme~ by the ~hermal decomposi~ion o~ silane ~Si~l~) at a t~mpera~ure o~ around ~00 - l,000C. in an cpitaxial reac~or to a ~hickness oP a~ound 2.5 microns. During the applicatlon o~ this f~, 519~

epitaxial layer 20 including the simultaneous heat treatment, an out-diffusion of P matcrial from ~he P type substrate occurs which forms the interface bar-rier layer 22 that extends for about 0.5 microns above the N~ buried layer.
Now, another oxide layer 36 is applied over the device and a second mask is used to define spaced apart openings 38 directly above and in line with the buried N+ regions. Vsing an anistotropic ctchant (e.g. hydrazine and water) a V-type recess 24 is formed in the device at every opening above an N~ region~
the bottom of each recess penetrating into the buried N~ region, as shown in Figure 3c.
Using a conventional oxidation procedure, a thin gate oxide 26 with a thickness typically 500A to lOOOA is now grown within the recess 24. (See Figure 3d).
Now the V-groove recess areas are masked, as further oxidation is accomplished to provide the field oxide layer 30 surrounding each recess (See Figure 3e).
Thereafter, another mask ~not shown) is utilized to form the conduc-tive word lines 14 as shown in Figure 3f that extend from recess to recess and perpendicular in orientation to the buried bit lines 16. Thc word lines may be polycrystalline silicon or metal and covering them may be a suitable passiva-tion layer (not shown) of some ef~ective insulative and protective material.
Contacts (not shown) may be provided from the surface of the device by vias through the epitaxial layer 20 to the various bit lines where necess-ary, ar~d in accordance with well known design principles.
As previously dHscri~od, the lnkereace layer 22 Oe P ma~erial provides khe diefuslon harrior eor the charge region 2~. Other forms Oe khls die~usion barrier may be provided wi~hin the scope Oe th~ present invention utilizing some o~her diPeeron~ mekhod skeps. ~or examplel as shown in ~ rcs 4a to 4c~

;' 1118~9Z

the d;ffusion barrier may be formed by the diffusion or ion implantation of a th;n P layer 40 clirectly on the N~ regions 16. This would be done just after the N+ regions are formed using tho same mask 34 and before the epitaxial layer 20 is grown thereon ~See Figure 4a~. Thereafter, the epitaxial layer 20 may be applied as previously clescribed (See Figure ~b). When the V-shaped recesses are formed, the P layer ~0 on each N~ bit line 16 surrounds the lower portion of each recess thereby performing its barrier function ~See Figure 4c).
Another form of diffusion barrier may be formed by providing a layer of P material on all areas of the substrate other than the N~ regions. This procedur0, however, requires the application of an additional mask after the N+ regions have been formed. Subsequent heat treatment will cause the P
material to diffuse over the N~ regions surrounding each recess, thereb~ form-ing another form of lower diffusion barrier.
In an alternate form of the invention the insulated gate field effect transistor (IGFET) embodiment, just described, may be replaced by a junction field effect transistor (JF~T) arrangement. In this latter embodiment, as illustrated in Figure 5, no thin oxide layer is provided within the recess for the cell. Insteacl, a suitable conductive material 14a, such as platinum or some other metal is used for the word lines. Within each recess the metal is applied directly to the recess walls and provides a Schottky effect to trans-mit charge carriers. Here the function of the upper and lower barriers and the surrounding charge storage regions is exactly the same as with the previously described IGP~T version.
~l~hough khe inven~ion has been described in ~erms o~ embodimen~s whe~eln s~id rqcesses Eormed anisentropic etching are V-shaped in cross-section, i~ may al50 be em~odied in a $emiconductor clevice l~b wherein recesses 24b are Eormed havlng a U-shapqd cros~ seG-~ion wi~h parall~l~ rathor ~han downwarclly converging side walls. Such recesses are formed when the silicon wafer is first cut with its hori7ontal surface in the rllO] crystalline plane and its [111] planes perpendicular to the horizontal plane. As sho~ in Figure 6, the U-shaped recess 24b, like the previous V-shaped recess 24 extends through an epitaxial layer 20b and into a bit line 16b formed within a substrate 18b. The device may have a thin oxide layer 26b within the recess as shown in the IGFET
version or it may have the Schottky type JFET construction similar to that shown in Figure 5. Within the U-shaped recess is a layer of conductive material 14_, such as polycrystalline silicon which provides a gate portion of a word line. In the same manner as the V-shaped cell embodiment, an upper charge barrier 32b is formed around the open end of each recess by a relatively thick insulating oxide layer 30b. Also, a lower charge barrier is formed by a thin P layer 22_ that covers the buried bit line region 16b around the lower end of each recess. These upper and lower barriers control the charge storage region in the parallel side walls of the recess 24b in the same manner as with the V-shaped recesses 24, previously described.
To those skilled in the art to which this invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the ~pirit and scope of the invention. The disclosures and the description herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.

r

Claims (12)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A semiconductor memory device comprising:
a substrate of a first conductivity type material;
a plurality of elongated regions of a second conductivity type material within said substrate forming bit lines;
an epitaxial layer of lightly doped first conductivity type material covering said substrate and said elongated regions;
a series of recesses extending from the surface of said epitaxial layer and spaced apart along said elongated regions, each said recess formed by sidewalls that extend into a said elongated region;
a relatively thick field oxide layer extending over said epitaxial layer and surrounding each said recess, said thick oxide layer forming a field threshold barrier around the upper end of each said recess;
a series of parallel, spaced apart and elongated regions of conduct-ive material forming word lines on said field oxide layer, each said word line extending transverse to said buried bit lines and between a series of recesses and each said aligned recess;
means on said elongated bit lines near the lower end of each said recess forming a diffusion barrier;
and charge storage regions formed in the side walls of each said recess between its said diffusion barrier and said field threshold barrier.
2. The memory device as described in claim 1 wherein said substrate is P+ type conductivity silicon material, said bit lines have an N+ type conducti-vity and said means forming a diffusion barrier is an intermediate layer of material covering said bit lines around the lower end of each said recess.
3. The memory device as described in claim 2 wherein said epitaxial layer is P- type material that is more lightly doped than said intermediate layer.
4. The memory device as described in claim 1 wherein said substrate material with its epitaxial layer has an upper surface in a [100] crystal plane and each said recess in said upper surface has a V-shaped cross section.
5. The memory device as described in claim 1 wherein said substrate material has an upper surface in a [100] crystal plane and each said recess has parallel side walls with a bottom forming a U-shaped cross section.
6. The memory device as described in claim 1 including a relatively thin oxide layer covering said sidewalls of each said recess, said conductive material of one said word line covering said thin oxide layer within each said recess.
7. The memory device as described in claim 6 wherein said conductive material of said word lines is polycrystalline silicon.
8. The memory device as described in claim 1 wherein said conductive material of said word lines is metal covering the wall surfaces of each said recess and producing a Schottky effect for transmitting charge between said charge storage regions and said bit lines.
9. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor memory device including the steps of:
providing a substrate of crystalline silicon material having type conductivity forming a series of spaced apart diffused strips of N+ type conduc-tivity material within said substrate to provide burled bit linos;

forming a diffusion barrier layer over said buried bit lines of P
type material that is less heavily P doped than said substrate;
forming an epitaxial layer on said substrate having a lightly doped P- typed conductivity that is less heavily doped than said diffusion carrier layer;
etching a plurality of spaced apart recesses within the surface of said device which are aligned so that each recess extends through said epitax-ial layer into a said bit line;
forming a relatively thick layer of oxide material around the upper edges of said recesses; and forming a series of conductive lines of conductive material on said oxide material which are transverse to said buried bit lines, each said word line interconnecting an aligned series of said recesses and covering the side-walls of each aligned recess.
10. The method as described in claim 9 wherein the step of forming said diffusion barrier comprises heat treating said device during the application of said epitaxial layer to cause an out-diffusion of P material into said epitaxial layer.
11. The method as described in claim 9 wherein the step of forming said diffusion barrier comprises diffusing by ion implantation a thin layer of P
dopant material into said diffused strips of N+ material immediately after forming them and by utilization of the same mask.
12. The method as described in claim 9 including the step of forming a thin layer of gate oxide material within each said recess before forming said conductive word lines within said recesses.
CA000308013A 1977-12-27 1978-07-24 Semiconductor device utilizing memory cells with sidewall charge storage regions Expired CA1118892A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US86453677A 1977-12-27 1977-12-27
US864,536 1977-12-27

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1118892A true CA1118892A (en) 1982-02-23

Family

ID=25343489

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000308013A Expired CA1118892A (en) 1977-12-27 1978-07-24 Semiconductor device utilizing memory cells with sidewall charge storage regions

Country Status (7)

Country Link
JP (1) JPS5492077A (en)
CA (1) CA1118892A (en)
DE (1) DE2842334A1 (en)
FR (1) FR2413789A1 (en)
GB (1) GB2011175B (en)
IT (1) IT7869937A0 (en)
NL (1) NL7808079A (en)

Families Citing this family (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2909820A1 (en) * 1979-03-13 1980-09-18 Siemens Ag SEMICONDUCTOR STORAGE WITH SINGLE TRANSISTOR CELLS IN V-MOS TECHNOLOGY
US4252579A (en) * 1979-05-07 1981-02-24 International Business Machines Corporation Method for making single electrode U-MOSFET random access memory utilizing reactive ion etching and polycrystalline deposition
US4335450A (en) * 1980-01-30 1982-06-15 International Business Machines Corporation Non-destructive read out field effect transistor memory cell system
US4423490A (en) * 1980-10-27 1983-12-27 Burroughs Corporation JFET Dynamic memory
JPS6135554A (en) * 1984-07-28 1986-02-20 Nippon Telegr & Teleph Corp <Ntt> Read only memory and manufacture therefor
US4987090A (en) * 1987-07-02 1991-01-22 Integrated Device Technology, Inc. Static ram cell with trench pull-down transistors and buried-layer ground plate
US4997783A (en) * 1987-07-02 1991-03-05 Integrated Device Technology, Inc. Static ram cell with trench pull-down transistors and buried-layer ground plate
US6963108B1 (en) * 2003-10-10 2005-11-08 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Recessed channel

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE2842334A1 (en) 1979-07-05
GB2011175A (en) 1979-07-04
FR2413789A1 (en) 1979-07-27
NL7808079A (en) 1979-06-29
GB2011175B (en) 1982-02-10
JPS5492077A (en) 1979-07-20
IT7869937A0 (en) 1978-12-22

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US4003036A (en) Single IGFET memory cell with buried storage element
EP0135942B1 (en) Semiconductor memory and method of producing the same
US4110776A (en) Semiconductor integrated circuit with implanted resistor element in polycrystalline silicon layer
CA1248231A (en) High density memory
EP0051632B1 (en) Semiconductor integrated circuits
KR100338462B1 (en) Device manufacturing method comprising self-amplifying dynamic MOS transistor memory cells
EP0085988B1 (en) Semiconductor memory and method for fabricating the same
KR0135783B1 (en) High performance composed pillar dram cell
US4376947A (en) Electrically programmable floating gate semiconductor memory device
US4408385A (en) Semiconductor integrated circuit with implanted resistor element in polycrystalline silicon layer
US4364074A (en) V-MOS Device with self-aligned multiple electrodes
US4864375A (en) Dram cell and method
EP0236089A2 (en) Dynamic random access memory having trench capacitor
US5135879A (en) Method of fabricating a high density EPROM cell on a trench wall
US4855953A (en) Semiconductor memory device having stacked memory capacitors and method for manufacturing the same
US4467453A (en) Electrically programmable floating gate semiconductor memory device
JPS5840343B2 (en) Manufacturing method of MOSFET/RAM element
US4369564A (en) VMOS Memory cell and method for making same
US4514897A (en) Electrically programmable floating gate semiconductor memory device
CA1118892A (en) Semiconductor device utilizing memory cells with sidewall charge storage regions
JPH0371786B2 (en)
KR19990028827A (en) Electrically recordable and erasable read only memory cell device and method of manufacturing the same
US5250458A (en) Method for manufacturing semiconductor memory device having stacked memory capacitors
EP0180026A2 (en) Dram cell and method
US5010379A (en) Semiconductor memory device with two storage nodes

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
MKEX Expiry