In FIG. 3, the channels 220 of the memory cells 30_10 and 30_30 are formed over the word line WL0, and the channels 220 of the memory cells 30_20 and 30_50 are formed over the word line WL1. Therefore, the memory cells 30_10 and 30_30 are aligned with each other, and the memory cells 30_20 and 30_50 are aligned with each other. However, the memory cells 30_10 and 30_30 are not aligned with the memory cells 30_20 and 30_50. i.e., the positions of the memory cells 30_10 and 30_30 and the positions of the memory cells 30_20 and 30_50 are staggered.
In some embodiments, the channel 220 of the memory cell 30_20 in the sub-line LN1_0 is aligned with the dielectric layer 210 in the boundary of the memory cell 30_10 in sub-line LN0_0 and the dielectric layer 210 in the boundary of the memory cell 30_30 in sub-line LN2_0. Furthermore, the channel 220 of the memory cell 30_10 in the sub-line LN0_0 is aligned with the dielectric layer 210 in the boundary of the memory cell 30_20 in the sub-line LN1_0 and the channel of the memory cell 30_30 in the sub-line LN2_0.