A chalcogenide memory cell with chalcogenide electrodes positioned on both sides of the active chalcogenide region of the memory cell. The chalcogenide memory cell includes upper and lower chalcogenide electrodes with a dielectric layer positioned therebetween. The dielectric layer includes an opening defining a pore. A volume of chalcogenide material formed integral to the upper chalcogenide electrode is contained within the pore. The upper and lower chalcogenide electrodes both have greater cross sectional areas than the pore.

Chalcogenide memory cell with a plurality of chalcogenide electrodes

There is described a memory cell having a vertically oriented polysilicon pillar diode for use in delivering large current flow through a variable resistance material memory element. The pillar diode comprises a plurality of polysilicon layers disposed in a vertical stack between a wordline and digitline. The memory element is disposed in series with the diode, also between the wordline and the digitline. The diode is capable of delivering the large current flow required to program the memory element without also requiring the surface space on the upper surface of the memory matrix normally associated with such powerful diodes. The invention allows memory cells to be disposed every 0.7 microns or less across the face of a memory matrix. Further, the memory cell is easily fabricated using standard processing techniques. The unique layout of the inventive memory cell allows fabrication with as few as three mask steps or less.

Polysilicon pillar diode for use in a non-volatile memory cell

A user-configurable circuit architecture includes a two dimensional array of functional circuit modules disposed within a semiconductor substrate. A first interconnect layer disposed above and insulated from the semiconductor substrate contains a plurality of conductors and is used for internal connections within the functional circuit modules. A second interconnect layer disposed above and insulated from the first interconnect layer contains a plurality of segmented tracks of conductors running in a first direction and is used to interconnect functional circuit module inputs and outputs. A third interconnect layer disposed above and insulated from the second interconnect layer contains a plurality of segmented tracks of conductors running in a second direction, some of the segments of conductors forming intersections with ones of the segments of the conductors in the second interconnect layer, and is used to interconnect functional circuit module inputs and outputs to implement the desired applications. A plurality of user-configurable interconnect elements are placed directly between the second and third interconnect layers at the intersections of selected segments of the segmented conductors in the second and third interconnect layers. More user-configurable interconnect elements are located between adjacent segments of the segmented conductors in both the second and third interconnect layers. Pass transistors located in the semiconductor substrate in between the functional circuit modules are connected between adjacent segments in both the second and third interconnect layers and between selected intersecting segments in the second and third interconnect layers.

Programmable interconnect architecture

A method and an apparatus for manufacturing a memory cell having a non-volatile resistive memory element with a limited size active area. The method comprises a first step of providing a dielectric volume and forming a plug opening within the dielectric volume. A recessed plug of a conductive material is then formed within a lower portion of the opening and a dielectric spacer is formed along the sidewalls of an upper portion of the opening. The spacer is cylindrical and has a central hole. A contact plug is subsequently formed within the central hole, the contact plug electrically coupled to the recessed plug. The contact plug can include a memory element or an additional memory element can be applied over the contact plug.

Method and apparatus for forming an integrated circuit electrode having a reduced contact area

Annular and linear contact structures are described which exhibit a greatly reduced susceptibility to process deviations caused by lithographic and deposition variations than does a conventional circular contact plug. In one embodiment, a standard conductive material such as carbon or titanium nitride is used to form the contact. In an alternative embodiment, a memory material itself is used to form the contact. These contact structures may be made by various processes, including chemical mechanical planarization and facet etching.

Contact structure and memory element incorporating the same

A semiconductor read-only-memory (ROM) unit fabricated in large-scale-integrated form utilizing the formation of self-isolating bit-line surface regions of one conductivity type directly in a bulk region of the opposite conductivity type. Channel-stop regions of the same conductivity type as the bulk region are formed in the spaces between bit-line regions. Metallic word-lines overlying and orthogonal to the bit-line regions are formed, separated from the bit-line regions by an insulating layer. The memory cell comprises a single Schottky diode. Such a diode is made or not at each word-line/bit-line crossover location depending respectively on whether or not an aperture is formed in the insulating layer during fabrication to permit the word-line to contact a lightly doped portion of the bit-line. ROM units formed by this method are characterized by small area, high speed, low power dissipation and low cost.

Bipolar read-only-memory unit having self-isolating bit-lines

For identification purposes, a network is added to a multiply configurable microminiature array. During fabrication of the array, the connection pattern of the network is established to be uniquely representative of the particular circuit then being formed in the array. In response to interrogation signals applied to the array, the network provides a unique pattern of voltages representative of the particular circuit. During actual operation of the array, the identification network is in effect automatically disconnected therefrom.

Electrical identification of multiply configurable circuit array

An integrated circuit thyristor switching network in which a parasitic pnp transistor effect, normally encountered as a result of the junction isolation employed, provides a crosspoint gain rather than the loss previously presented by the thyristor. When a thyristor crosspoint is switched to its on state, the effective pnp transistor is biased to its active region and draws current from the negatively biased substrate to augment the signals being applied to a selected network path.

Integrated circuit switching network providing crosspoint gain

A semiconductor junction-isolated PNPN crosspoint switch array has a plurality of crosspoint switches that are each formed of four regions of alternating conductivity type in a semiconductor substrate. Low enough leakage to allow the crosspoint switch array to be used in large telephone switching systems is achieved by proper selection of the thickness of the semiconductor regions and by appropriate gold doping thereof.

Robert Leonard Pritchett

Papers

Bipolar read-only-memory unit having self-isolating bit-lines

Electrical identification of multiply configurable circuit array

Integrated circuit switching network providing crosspoint gain

Integrated circuit switching network using low substrate leakage current thyristor construction

Halbleiter-pnpn-kreuzpunktschalter