US5960285A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Flash EEPROM device
Assignee: FOOTHILLS IP LLC
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Filing: 1997-11-21
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Granted: 1999-09-28
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Expires: 2017-11-21
Abstract
Abstract A floating gate transistor is formed on an active device region defined between field isolation structures. A first polysilicon layer, or a layer of another conductor which can be used in diffusing impurities into the underlying silicon substrate, is provided on the active device region of the substrate and is covered by a layer of insulating material such as silicon oxide. The first polysilicon layer is doped by implantation of impurities, but no annealing step is performed at this time. An opening is formed through the polysilicon layer to expose the surface of the active device region. Oxide spacers and then nitride spacers are formed on the sidewalls of the opening in the first polysilicon layer to define a narrower opening. A gate oxide layer is grown on the active device region between the nitride spacers in a thermal oxidation process which preferably causes impurities to diffuse from the first polysilicon layer into the active device region on either side of the gate electrode, forming source/drain regions for the floating gate transistor. The nitride spacers are then removed in a wet etching process and then tunnel oxide layers are grown on the portions of the active device region exposed when the nitride spacers are removed. A second layer of polysilicon is deposited, followed by an interlayer dielectric and then a third layer of polysilicon. Patterning defines a control gate and a floating gate from the third and second layers of polysilicon, respectively, for the floating gate transistor.
Inventors
- 👤 Gary Hong
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 10:41
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10D; H10D30/00; H10D30/01; H10D30/021; H10D30/0411
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 29
Claim 1
Independent Claim
124 words
A method of making a nonvolatile memory, including an array of floating gate transistors, comprising the steps of: forming a mask over a substrate, wherein the mask comprises a conductive material and has a mask opening exposing a surface of the substrate, the mask opening having walls; forming first spacers within the mask opening; forming a gate insulator on the surface of the substrate between the first spacers; removing the first spacers and then forming tunnel oxide layers on both sides of the gate insulator, the tunnel oxide layers being thinner than the gate insulator; and forming a floating gate electrode in contact with the tunnel oxide layers and the gate insulator, wherein the floating gate electrode extends over a portion of the mask.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
124 words
A method of making a nonvolatile memory, including an array of floating gate transistors, comprising the steps of: forming a mask over a substrate, wherein the mask comprises a conductive material and has a mask opening exposing a surface of the substrate, the mask opening having walls; forming first spacers within the mask opening; forming a gate insulator on the surface of the substrate between the first spacers; removing the first spacers and then forming tunnel oxide layers on both sides of the gate insulator, the tunnel oxide layers being thinner than the gate insulator; and forming a floating gate electrode in contact with the tunnel oxide layers and the gate insulator, wherein the floating gate electrode extends over a portion of the mask.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of heating to diffuse impurities from the mask into the substrate to form at least parts of source/drain regions adjacent the walls of the mask opening.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
139 words
A method of making a nonvolatile memory, including an array of floating gate transistors comprising the steps of: forming a mask over a substrate, wherein the mask comprises a conductive material and has a mask opening exposing a surface of the substrate, the mask opening having walls; heating the mask to diffuse impurities from the mask into the substrate to form at least parts of source/drain regions adjacent the walls of the mask opening; forming first spacers within the mask opening; forming a gate insulator on the surface of the substrate between the first spacers; removing the first spacers and then forming tunnel oxide layers on both sides of the gate insulator, the tunnel oxide layers being thinner than the gate insulator; and forming a floating gate electrode in contact with the tunnel oxide layers and the gate insulator.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
139 words
A method of making a nonvolatile memory, including an array of floating gate transistors comprising the steps of: forming a mask over a substrate, wherein the mask comprises a conductive material and has a mask opening exposing a surface of the substrate, the mask opening having walls; heating the mask to diffuse impurities from the mask into the substrate to form at least parts of source/drain regions adjacent the walls of the mask opening; forming first spacers within the mask opening; forming a gate insulator on the surface of the substrate between the first spacers; removing the first spacers and then forming tunnel oxide layers on both sides of the gate insulator, the tunnel oxide layers being thinner than the gate insulator; and forming a floating gate electrode in contact with the tunnel oxide layers and the gate insulator.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
10 words
The method of claim 3, wherein the mask comprises polysilicon.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of forming a set of oxide spacers on the walls of the opening in the mask prior to forming the first spacers within the mask opening.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 5, wherein the first spacers are formed by depositing a layer of silicon nitride and then etching back the layer of silicon nitride to define the first spacers.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 6, wherein the first spacers are removed in a wet etching process.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 7, wherein the wet etching process using a heated phosphoric acid solution.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of: forming an interlayer dielectric layer over the floating gate electrode; and forming a control gate electrode over the floating gate electrode, the control gate electrode separated from the floating gate electrode by the interlayer dielectric layer.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1, wherein edges of each of the tunnel oxide layers are aligned with lower edges of the floating gate electrode.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
159 words
A method of providing a nonvolatile memory, comprising the steps of: depositing a first polysilicon layer over a substrate; forming an opening having walls within the first polysilicon layer; providing a first spacer of a first insulating material alongside a first wall of the first polysilicon layer; providing a second spacer of a second material alongside the first spacer; forming a gate insulator layer on the surface of the substrate within the opening, the gate oxide layer extending from an edge of the second spacer on the surface of the substrate; removing the second spacer to expose a first portion of the substrate; forming a first tunnel oxide layer on the first portion of the substrate exposed in the step of removing the second spacer; depositing a second polysilicon layer on the gate insulator layer and on the first tunnel oxide layer; and patterning the second polysilicon layer to laterally define an upper portion of a floating gate electrode.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
159 words
A method of providing a nonvolatile memory, comprising the steps of: depositing a first polysilicon layer over a substrate; forming an opening having walls within the first polysilicon layer; providing a first spacer of a first insulating material alongside a first wall of the first polysilicon layer; providing a second spacer of a second material alongside the first spacer; forming a gate insulator layer on the surface of the substrate within the opening, the gate oxide layer extending from an edge of the second spacer on the surface of the substrate; removing the second spacer to expose a first portion of the substrate; forming a first tunnel oxide layer on the first portion of the substrate exposed in the step of removing the second spacer; depositing a second polysilicon layer on the gate insulator layer and on the first tunnel oxide layer; and patterning the second polysilicon layer to laterally define an upper portion of a floating gate electrode.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
98 words
The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of: providing a third spacer of the first insulating material alongside a second wall of the first polysilicon layer; providing a fourth spacer of the second material alongside the third spacer, wherein the gate oxide layer is formed to extend from the second spacer to the fourth spacer on the surface of the substrate; removing the fourth spacer to expose second portion of the substrate; and forming a second tunnel oxide layer on the a second portion of the substrate exposed in the step of removing the fourth spacer.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of implanting first impurities into the first polysilicon layer prior to forming the opening in the first polysilicon layer.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 13, wherein the first polysilicon layer contacts the surface of the substrate adjacent the opening.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of diffusing the first impurities from the first polysilicon layer into the substrate, forming at least a portion of source/drain regions on either side of the floating gate electrode.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of providing a layer of oxide over the surface of the first polysilicon layer prior to the step of implanting first impurities into the first polysilicon layer.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 11, wherein the first insulating material is silicon dioxide and wherein the second material is silicon nitride.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 17, wherein the step of removing the second spacer includes a wet etching process.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 18, wherein the wet etching process utilizes a heated phosphoric acid solution.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 11, wherein the first spacer is formed by depositing by CVD a layer of oxide followed by an anisotropic etch back process that forms the first spacer on the first wall of the opening.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 11, wherein the second spacer is formed by depositing by CVD a layer of nitride followed by an anisotropic etch back process that forms the second spacer alongside the first spacer within the opening.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 12, wherein the upper portion of the floating gate electrode extends laterally over the walls of the opening and over the first polysilicon layer.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 22, wherein the upper portion of the floating gate electrode is separated from the first polysilicon layer by an oxide layer.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of: forming an interlayer dielectric layer over the floating gate electrode; and forming a control gate electrode over the floating gate electrode, the control gate electrode separated from the floating gate electrode by the interlayer dielectric layer.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 12, wherein edges of the first and second tunnel oxide layers are aligned with lower edges of the floating gate electrode.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 25, further comprising the steps of: forming an interlayer dielectric layer over the floating gate electrode; and forming a control gate electrode over the floating gate electrode, the control gate electrode separated from the floating gate electrode by the interlayer dielectric layer.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-09-27 | 2003-03-29 | 2003-09-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-09-27 | 2007-03-29 | 2007-09-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-09-27 | 2011-03-29 | 2011-09-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |