A semiconductor device is disclosed. The semiconductor device includes a first slit, at least one word line, and a second slit. The first slit is disposed at a boundary between contiguous memory blocks to isolate the memory blocks from each other, and includes a first outer slit and a second outer slit, the second outer slit is spaced apart in a first direction from the first outer slit by a predetermined distance. The word line is disposed, between the first and second outer slits, including a center region having a first end and a second end, and an edge region located at the first end and a second end of the center region, and the second slit is disposed at the center region that isolate area of the word line in the center region on either side of the second slit, wherein the word line is continuous in the edge regions.

A memory device is disclosed. The disclosed memory device may include a first wafer, and a second wafer stacked on and bonded to the first wafer. The first wafer may include a cell structure including a memory cell array; and a first logic structure disposed under the cell structure, and including a column control circuit. The second wafer may include a second logic structure including a row control circuit.

Provided herein may be a semiconductor memory device and a method of manufacturing the same. The semiconductor memory device may include a stacked body including alternately stacked interlayer insulating layers and conductive patterns, and channel structures penetrating the stacked body. Each of the channel structures may include a channel layer vertically extending up to the height of the upper portion of at least one upper conductive pattern disposed uppermost, among the conductive patterns, a memory layer surrounding the channel layer and extending from the lower interlayer insulating layer to the height of the middle portion of the upper conductive pattern, and a doped semiconductor pattern disposed above the channel layer and the memory layer.

A memory device with a three-dimensional (3D) staircase memory stack includes dummy connectors proximate semi-isolated connectors. The memory device includes multiple wordlines stacked in a 3D staircase stack, which includes a wordline at an edge of a region of the staircase. The memory device includes vertical connectors through an isolation layer on the 3D staircase stack to connect the wordlines with conductive lines in an access layer. A wordline at the edge of the region of the staircase has a vertical connector that will be adjacent a connector on one side and not on the other side. The memory device includes at least one dummy vertical connector on the edge side of the vertical connector of the wordline on the edge, wherein the dummy vertical connector does not electrically connect a wordline of the 3D staircase stack to a conductive line in the access layer.

A three-dimensional (3D) memory device includes a doped semiconductor layer, a stack structure, a channel structure, and a semiconductor structure. The stack structure includes a plurality of word lines and a select gate line formed on the doped semiconductor layer. The channel structure extends through the plurality of word lines along a first direction and in contact with the doped semiconductor layer. The semiconductor structure extends through the select gate line along the first direction and in contact with the channel structure. The select gate line extends along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the drain select gate line around the semiconductor structure is insulated from the drain select gate line around an adjacent semiconductor structure. A width of the semiconductor structure is less than a width of the channel structure.

A microelectronic device comprises a stack structure comprising a vertically alternating sequence of conductive structures and insulative structures arranged in tiers, a stair step structure within the stack structure and having steps comprising lateral edges of the tiers, pillar structures extending through the stack structure and the stair step structure and in contact with a source tier vertically underlying the stack structure, and conductive contact structures in contact with the steps of the staircase structure, the conductive contact structures individually comprising a first portion and a second portion vertically overlying the first portion, the second portion vertically above the pillar structures and having a greater lateral dimension than the first portion. Related microelectronic devices, memory devices, and electronic systems are also described.

A semiconductor device includes a substrate; a first stack structure including first gate electrodes on the substrate; and a second stack structure on the first stack structure; wherein the first stack structure includes a first lower staircase region, a second lower staircase region, and a third lower staircase region, wherein the second stack structure includes a first upper staircase region, a second upper staircase region, a third upper staircase region, and at least one through portion penetrating the second stack structure and on the first to third lower staircase regions, wherein the first lower staircase region has a same shape as a shape of the first upper staircase region, the second lower staircase region has a same shape as a shape of the second upper staircase region, and the third lower staircase region has a same shape as a shape of the third upper staircase region.

A microelectronic device comprises a stack structure, contact structures, and additional contact structures. The stack structure comprises a vertically alternating sequence of conductive material and insulative material arranged in tiers. The stack structure is divided into blocks each comprising a stadium structure including steps comprising horizontal ends of the tiers. The contact structures are within a horizontal area of the stadium structure and vertically extend through the stack structure. The additional contact structures are on at least some of the steps of the stadium structure and are coupled to the contact structures. Memory devices and electronic devices are also disclosed.

A vertical repetition of multiple instances of a unit layer stack is formed over a substrate. The unit layer stack includes an insulating layer and a sacrificial material layer. Lateral recesses are formed by removing the sacrificial material layers selective to the insulating layers. Each lateral recess is sequentially fill with at least one conductive fill material and an insulating fill material, and vertically-extending portions of the at least one conductive fill material are removed such that a vertical layer stack including a first-type electrically conductive layer, a seamed insulating layer, and a second-type electrically conductive layer are formed in each lateral recess. Memory opening fill structures including a respective vertical stack of memory elements is formed through the insulating layers and the layer stacks. Access points for providing an etchant for removing the sacrificial material layers may be provided by memory openings, contact via cavities or backside trenches.

An embodiment of a memory device may comprise a vertical channel, a first memory cell formed on the vertical channel, a first wordline coupled to the first memory cell, a second memory cell formed on the vertical channel immediately above the first memory cell, a second wordline coupled to the second memory cell, and an airgap disposed between the first wordline and the second wordline. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.