Patent ID: 11877449
Assignee: YANGTZE MEMORY TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Field: Semiconductors (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 19:
20. A method for forming a three-dimensional (3D) memory device, comprising:
forming a channel hole extending vertically above a substrate and having a plum blossom shape in a plan view;
forming a continuous blocking layer, a continuous charge trapping layer, and a continuous tunneling layer each following the plum blossom shape from outside to inside in this order along sidewalls of the channel hole;
forming a plurality of separate semiconductor channels each disposed over part of the continuous tunneling layer at a respective apex of the plum blossom shape; and
forming a capping layer to fully fill the channel hole,
wherein after the formation of the capping layer to fully fill the channel hole, a channel structure having the plum blossom shape is formed, which comprises:
the blocking layer, the charge trapping layer, and the tunneling layer, each of which is continuous and nominally uniform in the plan view;
the plurality of semiconductor channels; and
the capping layer.