Patent ID: 11963354
Assignee: SANDISK TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Field: nan (nan)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 15:
16. A method of forming a memory device, comprising:
forming an alternating layer stack of continuous insulating layers and continuous sacrificial material layers;
forming memory openings and columnar openings through each layer of the alternating layer stack;
forming a continuous perforated cavity by isotropically etching portions of the sacrificial material layers around the columnar openings, wherein volumes of the columnar openings expand at levels of the sacrificial material layers and merge to form the continuous perforated cavity;
forming memory opening fill structures in the memory openings and a perforated wall structure in the continuous perforated cavity, wherein each of the memory opening fill structures comprises a memory film and a vertical semiconductor channel and the perforated wall structure includes lateral openings at levels of the insulating layers through which a respective insulating layer laterally extends from outside the perforated wall structure into inside the perforated wall structure;
patterning the alternating layer stack into multiple alternating stacks of insulating layers and sacrificial material layers; and
replacing the sacrificial material layers with electrically conductive layers.