The present application discloses a semiconductor device and a method for fabricating the semiconductor device. The semiconductor device includes a substrate, a channel region positioned in the substrate, first impurity regions positioned in the substrate and respectively positioned on two ends of the channel region, a gate dielectric layer positioned on the channel region, a gate bottom conductive layer positioned on the gate dielectric layer, first contacts respectively positioned on the first impurity regions, programmable insulating layers respectively positioned on the first contacts, a top conductive layer positioned on the programmable insulating layers and electrically coupled to the gate bottom conductive layer.

A ROM cell includes first and second three-dimensional transistors. The second transistor is formed above the first transistor, and the channel portions of the first and second transistors overlap each other. First data is stored depending on whether first and second local interconnects connected to the nodes of the first transistor are connected to a same line, or different lines, out of a bit line and a ground power supply line. Second data is stored depending on whether third and fourth local interconnects connected to the nodes of the second transistor are connected to a same line, or different lines, out of a bit line and a ground power supply line.

The present application discloses a method for fabricating a semiconductor device The method includes providing a substrate; forming a channel region in the substrate; forming a gate dielectric layer on the channel region; forming a gate bottom conductive layer on the gate dielectric layer; forming first impurity regions on two ends of the channel region; forming first contacts on the first impurity regions; forming programmable insulating layers on the first contacts; forming a gate via on the gate bottom conductive layer; and forming a top conductive layer on the gate via and the programmable insulating layers.

Some embodiments include apparatuses having non-volatile memory cells, each of the non-volatile memory cells to store more than one bit of information; data lines, at most one of the data lines electrically coupled to each of the non-volatile memory cells; a circuit including transistors coupled to the data lines, the transistors including gates coupled to each other; and an encoder including input nodes and output nodes, the input nodes to receive input information from the data lines through the transistors, and the output nodes to provide output information having a value based on a value of the input information.

A memory circuit includes first and second active structures extending along a first direction. The first active structure has a shared source portion and first and second drain portions corresponding to source and drain nodes of first and second memory cells. The second active structure has a shared source portion and third and fourth drain portions corresponding to source and drain nodes of third and fourth memory cells. A first conductive structure extends along a second direction and electrically connects the shared source portions of the first and second active structures, and first and second bit lines extend over the first and second active structures. A via plug is part of a direct electrical connection between the first bit line and one of the first or second drain portions or between the second bit line and one of the third or fourth drain portions.

A method includes placing first and second oxide diffusion (OD) layout patterns in a layout design corresponding to first, second, third, and fourth memory cells of a memory circuit. The first OD layout pattern extends along a first direction and has a first source portion shared between the first and second memory cells, and the second OD layout pattern extends along the first direction and has a second source portion shared between the third and fourth memory cells. The method includes placing a first conductive layout pattern in the layout diagram, the first conductive layout pattern corresponding to a first conductive structure under a lowest via plug layer of the memory circuit, extending along a second direction, and overlapping the first source portion and the second source portion. The method is wholly or partially performed by using a hardware processor.

A method for integrating a stack of fins to form an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) device is presented. The method includes forming a stack of at least a first fin structure and a second fin structure over a semiconductor substrate, forming a sacrificial gate straddling the stack of at least the first fin structure and the second fin structure, forming a first conductivity type source/drain region to the first fin structure, and forming a second conductivity type source/drain to the second fin structure. The method further includes removing the sacrificial gate to form a gate opening, and forming a single floating gate in communication with a channel for each of the first and second fin structures.

Various implementations described herein are directed to an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit may include a bitcell and multiple straps including a first strap, a second strap, and a third strap. The first strap may couple the bitcell to ground. The second strap may couple the bitcell to a bitline. The third strap may couple the bitcell to a wordline within a boundary of the bitcell.

Some embodiments include apparatuses having non-volatile memory cells, each of the non-volatile memory cells to store more than one bit of information; data lines, at most one of the data lines electrically coupled to each of the non-volatile memory cells; a circuit including transistors coupled to the data lines, the transistors including gates coupled to each other; and an encoder including input nodes and output nodes, the input nodes to receive input information from the data lines through the transistors, and the output nodes to provide output information having a value based on a value of the input information.

An integrated circuit (IC) chip embodiment includes first and second ROM cells arranged in a same row of a ROM array. The first and second ROM cells include first portions of first and second gate structures, respectively. The IC chip further includes a strap cell disposed between the first and second ROM cells. The strap cell includes second portions of the first and second gate structures. The first gate structure is physically separated from the second gate structure.