Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Kyu-Charn Park

Jung-Dal Choi

Choong-Ho Lee

Chang-Hyun Lee

Sung-Hoi Hur

Sung-Nam Chang

Kwang-Shik Shin

Won-Hong Lee

Yoon-Dong Park

Jeong-Hyuk Choi

Jae-woong Hyun

Byung-Yong Choi

Heung-Kwun Oh

Hee-Soo Kang

Sung-Jae Byun

Hong-Soo Kim

Seong-Soon Cho

Suk-Kang Sung

Se-Hoon Lee

Yong-Sik Yim

You-Cheol Shin

Dong-Seog Eun

Kyoung-Iae Cho

Jung-Hoon Lee

Suk-Pil Kim

Young-Gu Jin

Seung-Hwan Song

Won-Joo Kim

Jeong-Dong Choe

Dong-Uk Choi

Kyoung-Lae Cho

Hye-Jin Cho

Duck-Hyung Lee

Sang-Wook Lim

Byung-Kyu Cho

Dae-Woong Kang

Sang-Bin Song

In one embodiment, the semiconductor memory device includes a semiconductor substrate having projecting portions, a tunnel insulation layer formed over at least one of the projecting semiconductor substrate portions, and a floating gate structure disposed over the tunnel insulation layer. An upper portion of the floating gate structure is wider than a lower portion of the floating gate structure, and the lower portion of the floating gate structure has a width less than a width of the tunnel insulating layer. First insulation layer portions are formed in the semiconductor substrate and project from the semiconductor substrate such that the floating gate structure is disposed between the projecting first insulation layer portions. A dielectric layer is formed over the first insulation layer portions and the floating gate structure, and a control gate is formed over the dielectric layer.

Semiconductor memory device, method of fabricating the same, and devices employing the semiconductor memory device

A non-volatile memory device includes a substrate and a tunnel insulation layer pattern, such that each portion of the tunnel insulation pattern extends along a first direction and adjacent portions of the tunnel insulation layer pattern may be separated in a second direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction. A non-volatile memory device may include a gate structure formed on the tunnel insulation layer pattern. The gate structure may include a floating gate formed on the tunnel insulation layer pattern along the second direction, a first conductive layer pattern formed on the floating gate in the second direction, a dielectric layer pattern formed on the first conductive layer pattern along the second direction, and a control gate formed on the dielectric layer pattern in the second direction.

Non-volatile memory devices including a floating gate and methods of manufacturing the same

A non-volatile memory device includes a substrate having a first region and a second region. A first gate electrode is disposed on the first region. A multi-layered charge storage layer is interposed between the first gate electrode and the substrate, the multi-layered charge storage including a tunnel insulation, a trap insulation, and a blocking insulation layer which are sequentially stacked. A second gate electrode is placed on the substrate of the second region, the second gate electrode including a lower gate and an upper gate connected to a region of an upper surface of the lower gate. A gate insulation layer is interposed between the second gate electrode and the substrate. The first gate electrode and the upper gate of the second gate electrode comprise a same material.

Non-volatile memory devices having a multi-layered charge storage layer

In a non-volatile memory device, active fin structures extending in a first direction may be formed on a substrate. A tunnel insulating layer may be formed on surfaces of the active fin structures and bottom surfaces of trenches that may be defined by the active fin structures. A charge trapping layer and a blocking layer may be sequentially formed on the tunnel insulating layer. A gate electrode structure may include first portions disposed over top surfaces of the active fin structures and second portions vertically spaced apart from portions of the charge trapping layer that may be disposed over the bottom surfaces of the trenches, and may extend in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction. Thus, lateral electron diffusion may be reduced in the charge trapping layer, and thereby the data retention performance and/or reliability of the non-volatile memory device may be improved.

Non-volatile memory device and method of manufacturing the same

In a method of manufacturing a non-volatile memory device, a conductive structure is formed on a substrate. The conductive structure includes a tunnel oxide pattern, a first conductive pattern, a pad oxide pattern and a hard mask pattern. A trench is formed on the substrate using the conductive structure as an etching mask. An inner oxide layer is formed on an inner wall of the trench and sidewalls of the tunnel oxide pattern and the first conductive pattern. The inner oxide layer is cured, thereby forming a silicon nitride layer on the inner oxide layer. A device isolation pattern is formed in the trench, and the hard mask pattern and the pad oxide pattern are removed from the substrate. A dielectric layer and a second conductive pattern are formed on the substrate. Accordingly, the silicon nitride layer prevents hydrogen (H) atoms from leaking into the device isolation pattern.

Methods of manufacturing non-volatile memory devices

Integrated circuit nonvolatile memory devices are manufactured by forming a variable resistance layer on an integrated circuit substrate. The variable resistance layer includes grains that define grain boundaries between the grains. Conductive filaments are formed along at least some of the grain boundaries. Electrodes are formed on the variable resistance layer. The conductive filaments may be formed by implanting conductive ions into at least some of the grain boundaries. Moreover, the variable resistance layer may be a variable resistance oxide of a metal, and the conductive filaments may be the metal. Related devices are also disclosed.

Methods of manufacturing non-volatile memory devices by implanting metal ions into grain boundaries of variable resistance layers

A semiconductor device includes a first substrate, a plurality of cell transistors and a second substrate. The first substrate has a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The plurality of cell transistors is formed extending on the first surface of the first substrate in a direction. The second substrate has an upper surface making contact with the second surface of the first substrate. Further, the upper surface of the second substrate has a bent structure to apply tensile stresses to the first substrate in the extending direction of the plurality of cell transistors. Thus, tensile stresses may be applied to the first substrate to improve the mobility of carriers in a channel region of the cell transistors.

Semiconductor device

A highly integrated non-volatile memory device and a method of operating the non-volatile memory device are provided. The non-volatile memory device includes a semiconductor layer. A plurality of upper control gate electrodes are arranged above the semiconductor layer. A plurality of lower control gate electrodes are arranged below the semiconductor layer, and the plurality of upper control gate electrodes and the plurality of lower control gate electrodes are disposed alternately. A plurality of upper charge storage layers are interposed between the semiconductor layer and the upper control gate electrodes. A plurality of lower charge storage layers are interposed between the semiconductor layer and the lower control gate electrodes.

Non-volatile memory device and method of operating the same

In a memory cell programming method, first through n-th programming operations are performed to program first through n-th bits of the n bits of data using the plurality of threshold voltage distributions. The first through n-th programming operations are performed sequentially. A threshold voltage difference between threshold voltage distributions used in the n-th programming operation is less than or equal to at least one threshold voltage difference between threshold voltage distributions used in the first through (n&#x2212;1)-th programming operations.

Memory cell programming methods capable of reducing coupling effects

A method of manufacturing a non-volatile memory device includes sequentially depositing a first insulation layer, a charge storage layer, and a second insulation layer on a substrate, forming a first opening through the resultant structure to expose the substrate, forming second and third openings through the second insulation layer to form a second insulation layer pattern, forming a conductive layer on the second insulation layer pattern, forming a photoresist pattern structure on the conductive layer, and forming simultaneously a common source line, at least one ground selection line, at least one string selection line, and a plurality of gate structures on the substrate by etching through the photoresist pattern structure, wherein the common source line and the gate structures are formed simultaneously on a substantially same level and of substantially same components.

A non-volatile memory device includes a substrate, resistance patterns, a gate dielectric layer, a gate electrode pattern, a first impurity region and a second impurity region. The substrate has recesses. The recesses are filled with the resistance patterns. The resistance patterns include a material having a resistance that is variable in accordance with a voltage applied thereto. The gate dielectric layer is formed on the substrate. The gate electrode pattern is formed on the gate dielectric layer. The first and second impurity regions are formed in the substrate. The first impurity region and the second impurity region contact side surfaces of the resistance patterns. Further, the resistance patterns, the first impurity region and the second impurity region define a channel region. Thus, the non-volatile memory device may store data using a variable resistance of the resistance patterns so that the non-volatile memory device may have excellent operational characteristics.

Non-volatile memory device, method of manufacturing the same, and method of operating the same

Provided in one example embodiment, a method of programming n bits of data to a semiconductor memory device may include outputting a first bit of data written in a memory cell from a first latch, storing the first bit of the data to a third latch, storing a second bit of the data to the first latch, outputting the second bit of the data from the first latch, storing the second bit of the data to the second latch, and writing the second bit of the data stored in the second latch to the memory cell with reference to a data storage state of the first bit of the data stored in the third latch.

Method of programming multi-level semiconductor memory device and multi-level semiconductor memory device

Methods of forming non-volatile memory devices having a multi-layered charge storage layer

Methods of fabricating a semiconductor device having multi-gate insulation layers and semiconductor devices fabricated thereby are provided. The method includes forming a pad insulation layer and an initial high voltage gate insulation layer on a first region and a second region of a semiconductor substrate respectively. The initial high voltage gate insulation layer is formed to be thicker than the pad insulation layer. A first isolation layer that penetrates the pad insulation layer and is buried in the semiconductor substrate is formed to define a first active region in the first region, and a second isolation layer that penetrates the initial high voltage gate insulation layer and is buried in the semiconductor substrate is formed to define a second active region in the second region. The pad insulation layer is then removed to expose the first active region. A low voltage gate insulation layer is formed on the exposed first active region. Accordingly, it can minimize a depth of recessed regions (dent regions) to be formed at edge regions of the first isolation layer during removal of the pad insulation layer, and it can prevent dent regions from being formed at edge regions of the second isolation layer.

Methods of fabricating a semiconductor device having multi-gate insulation layers and semiconductor devices fabricated thereby

This disclosure provides cells of nonvolatile memory devices with floating gates and methods for fabricating the same. The cell of the nonvolatile memory device includes device isolation layers in parallel with each other on a predetermined region of a semiconductor substrate that define a plurality of active regions. Each device isolation layer has sidewalls that project over the semiconductor substrate. A plurality of word lines crosses over the device isolation layers. A tunnel oxide layer, a floating gate, a gate interlayer dielectric layer, and a control gate electrode are sequentially stacked between each active region and each word line. The floating gate and the control gate electrode have sidewalls that are self-aligned to the adjacent device isolation layers. The method for forming the self-aligned floating gate and the control gate electrode includes forming trenches in a semiconductor substrate to define a plurality of active regions and concurrently forming an oxide layer pattern, a floating gate pattern, a dielectric layer pattern and a control gate pattern that are sequentially stacked. A conductive layer is then formed on the device isolation layers and the control gate pattern. Thereafter, the conductive layer, the control gate pattern, the dielectric layer pattern, the floating gate pattern, and the oxide layer pattern are successively patterned.

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Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Kyu-Charn Park