Integrated circuits with contemporaneously formed array electrodes and logic interconnects

Abstract

The invention relates to interconnects for an integrated circuit memory device. Embodiments of the invention include processes to fabricate interconnects for memory devices in relatively few steps. Embodiments of the invention further include memory devices with metallization layers having unequal pitch dimensions in different areas of the chip, thereby permitting simultaneous fabrication of array electrodes and electrical interconnects in different areas of the chip. This reduces the number of fabrication steps used to make interconnects, thereby speeding up fabrication and reducing production costs.

1 . An integrated circuit memory device comprising: 
 a semiconductor substrate assembly;    a memory array with a plurality of memory cells disposed above the semiconductor substrate assembly;    a plurality of metallization layers disposed above the substrate assembly, where at least one metallization layer is configured to provide electrodes for memory cell storage devices of the memory array and is also configured to provide interconnects for a logic circuit area; and    a plurality of interlayer dielectric layers disposed between metallization layers.    
   
   
       2 . The integrated circuit memory device as defined in  claim 1 , where a height and a material for the electrodes and the interconnects in the metallization layer are the same.  
   
   
       3 . The integrated circuit memory device as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the electrodes in the metallization layer have a first pitch and the interconnects in the same metallization layer have a second pitch, where the second pitch is looser than the first pitch.  
   
   
       4 . The integrated circuit memory device as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the metallization layer comprises copper.  
   
   
       5 . The integrated circuit memory device as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the metallization layer comprises aluminum.  
   
   
       6 . The integrated circuit memory device as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the memory cells are magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) cells.  
   
   
       7 . The integrated circuit memory device as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the memory cell storage devices are programmable conductor random access memory (PCRAM) cell storage devices.  
   
   
       8 . The integrated circuit memory device as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the logic circuit area comprises at least one circuit selected from the group consisting of buffers, state machines, counters, interfaces to microprocessors, memory arbiters, and data latches.  
   
   
       9 . The integrated circuit memory device as defined in  claim 1 , further comprising a pitch circuit area disposed at least between the memory array and the logic circuit area, where the metallization layer in the pitch circuit area includes interconnects to the memory array, and where at least a portion of the interconnects in the pitch circuit area have the same pitch as the electrodes in the memory array.  
   
   
       10 . The integrated circuit memory device as defined in  claim 1 , further comprising a pitch circuit area disposed at least between the memory array and the logic circuit area, where the metallization layer in the pitch circuit area includes interconnects to the memory array, where at least a portion of the interconnects in the pitch circuit area have the same pitch as the electrodes in the memory array, and where the pitch circuit area comprises at least one circuit selected from the group consisting of a row decoder, a column decoder, a current sense circuit, and a driver circuit.