IP Library Granted Patent US 10,074,693
Granted Patent B2
US 10,074,693 · App. 14/637,158 · Granted Sep 11, 2018

Connections for memory electrode lines

View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,074,693
App. No.
14/637,158
Granted
Sep 11, 2018
Kind
B2
Abstract

Subject matter disclosed herein relates to an integrated circuit device having a socket interconnect region for connecting a plurality of conductive lines at a first vertical level to interconnect structures formed at a second vertical level different from the first vertical level. The conductive lines include a plurality of contacted lines that are vertically connected to the interconnect structures at the socket interconnect region, a plurality of terminating lines terminating at the socket interconnect region, and a plurality of pass-through lines that pass through the socket interconnect region without being vertically connected and without being terminated at the socket interconnect region.

Claims (39)

1. An integrated circuit having a plurality of conductive lines formed at a first vertical level and extending in a first lateral direction and connected to interconnect structures formed at a second vertical level different from the first vertical level, the conductive lines comprising:

a plurality of contacted lines each vertically connected to the interconnect structures at a socket interconnect region by a contacted vertical connector;

a plurality of terminating lines terminating at or within the socket interconnect region; and

a plurality of pass-through lines that pass through the socket interconnect region without being vertically connected and without being terminated at or within the socket interconnect region, wherein the terminating lines are vertically connected to the interconnect structures at other socket interconnect regions that are shifted in the first lateral direction from the socket interconnect region by a first distance.

2. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the first distance is between about 3/16 and about 5/16 of a length of the conductive lines.

3. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the terminating lines include a first group of co-terminating lines and a second group of co-terminating lines that are aligned in the first lateral direction and interposed in the first lateral direction by a gap within the socket interconnect region, wherein at least one pass-through vertical connector passes vertically through the first vertical level within the gap without contacting any conductive line at the first vertical level.

4. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the integrated circuit further comprises a plurality of upper conductive lines extending in the first lateral direction formed at a third vertical level above the first vertical, and wherein the at least one pass-through vertical connector vertically extends to electrically connect one of the upper conductive lines to the interconnect structures.

5. The integrated circuit of claim 4 , wherein the integrated circuit comprises a plurality of memory array decks, wherein the conductive lines serve as one of word lines or digit lines of a first memory array deck, and wherein the upper conductive lines serve as one of word lines or digit lines of a second memory array deck.

6. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the contacted lines, the terminating lines and the pass-through lines have substantially the same length in the first lateral direction.

7. An integrated circuit having a plurality of conductive lines formed at a first vertical level and extending in a first lateral direction and connected to interconnect structures formed at a second vertical level different from the first vertical level, the conductive lines comprising:

a plurality of contacted lines each vertically connected to the interconnect structures at a socket interconnect region by a contacted vertical connector;

a plurality of terminating lines terminating at or within the socket interconnect region; and

a plurality of pass-through lines that pass through the socket interconnect region without being vertically connected and without being terminated at or within the socket interconnect region,

wherein the integrated circuit further comprises a plurality of upper conductive lines extending in the first lateral direction formed at a third vertical level above the first vertical, and wherein at least one pass-through vertical connector vertically extends to electrically connect one of the upper conductive lines to the interconnect structures,

wherein the integrated circuit comprises a plurality of memory array decks, wherein the conductive lines serve as one of word lines or digit lines of a first memory array deck,

wherein the upper conductive lines serve as one of word lines or digit lines of a second memory array deck, and

wherein each memory deck comprises phase change memory cells at intersections between word lines and digit lines.

8. An integrated circuit having a plurality of conductive lines formed at a first vertical level and extending in a first lateral direction and connected to interconnect structures formed at a second vertical level different from the first vertical level, the conductive lines comprising:

a plurality of contacted lines each vertically connected to the interconnect structures at a socket interconnect region by a contacted vertical connector;

a plurality of terminating lines terminating at or within the socket interconnect region; and

a plurality of pass-through lines that pass through the socket interconnect region without being vertically connected and without being terminated at or within the socket interconnect region,

wherein the terminating lines include a first group of co-terminating lines and a second group of co-terminating lines that are aligned in the first lateral direction and interposed in the first lateral direction by a gap within the socket interconnect region, wherein at least one pass-through vertical connector passes vertically through the first vertical level within the gap without contacting any conductive line at the first vertical level, and

wherein the at least one pass-through vertical connector is positioned, in a second lateral direction crossing the first lateral direction, between a first pair of contacted lines.

9. The integrated circuit of claim 8 , further comprising another pass-through vertical connector in the socket interconnect region positioned in the second lateral direction between a second pair of contacted lines, wherein the pass-through lines are positioned in the second lateral direction between the at least one pass-through vertical connector and the another pass-through vertical connector.

10. The integrated circuit of claim 9 , further comprising a mam memory array region adjacent the socket interconnect region in the first lateral direction, wherein the plurality of conductive lines serves as word lines or bit lines and form parallel periodic lines having a pitch of 2F in the second lateral direction, wherein F is a minimum lithographic feature size of a memory array.

11. The integrated circuit of claim 9 , wherein the at least one pass-through vertical connector and the another pass-through vertical connector are separated by a distance greater than 6F in the second lateral direction, wherein F is a minimum lithographic feature size of a memory array.

12. An integrated circuit device, comprising:

a plurality of staggered electrode lines formed at a first vertical level and extending in a first lateral direction, wherein each of the electrode lines is connected

at a respective socket interconnect region to a metallization level at a second vertical level different from the first vertical level,

wherein at least one of the electrode lines is connected at a first socket interconnect region and at least another one of the electrode lines is connected at a second socket interconnect region that is shifted in the first lateral direction relative to the first socket interconnect region by between about 5% and about 20% of a length of the electrode lines.

13. The device of claim 12 , wherein each of the electrode lines is connected to interconnect structures formed at the second vertical level different from the first vertical level, at a respective central location of the electrode lines.

14. The device of claim 12 , wherein the first socket interconnect region and the second socket interconnect region are shifted in the first lateral direction relative to each other by between about 1/32 and about ¼ of the length of the electrode lines.

15. The device of claim 12 , wherein each electrode line spans across a distance corresponding to between six and ten adjacent socket interconnect regions in the first lateral direction.

16. A memory array, comprising:

a plurality of electrode lines formed at a first vertical level and extending in a first lateral direction to traverse a plurality of array patches and a plurality of socket interconnect regions, each patch being an array region formed between laterally adjacent ones of the socket interconnect regions in the first lateral direction, wherein the electrode lines include digit lines and word lines that cross each other in the patches but do not cross each other in the socket interconnect regions,

wherein each of the electrode lines is vertically connected at one of the socket interconnect regions to a metallization level formed at a second vertical level, wherein connection positions of adjacent ones or adjacent groups of the electrode lines are laterally offset from each other in the first lateral direction and are periodically repeating in a second lateral direction crossing the first lateral direction,

wherein a periodicity of the periodically repeating positions is greater than a pitch of the electrode lines multiplied by a number of patches traversed by the electrode lines.

17. The memory array of claim 16 , wherein the pitch of the electrode lines is 2F, wherein F is a minimum feature size in the memory array, and the number of patches traversed exceeds 4, such that the periodicity of the periodically repeating positions exceeds 8F.

18. The memory array of claim 16 , wherein the metallization level comprises metallization lines extending in the second lateral direction and has a second pitch in the first lateral direction equal to the periodicity.

Assignments (8)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 12, 2019
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.; MICRON SEMICONDUCTOR PRODUCTS, INC.
Reel/Frame 051028/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Oct 9, 2019
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 050937/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Aug 23, 2018
From: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 047243/0001 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 13, 2018
From: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.; MICRON SEMICONDUCTOR PRODUCTS, INC.
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 047540/0001 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE REPLACE ERRONEOUSLY FILED PATENT #7358718 WITH THE CORRECT PATENT #7358178 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 038669 FRAME 0001. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SECURITY INTEREST. Recorded Jun 8, 2017
From: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
To: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 043079/0001 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jun 2, 2016
From: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 038954/0001 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 12, 2016
From: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
To: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 038669/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 4, 2015
From: CASTRO, HERNAN A.
To: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 035085/0915 →