Spansion Llc.

Cypress Semiconductor Corporation

Advanced Micro Devices Corporation

Longitude Flash Memory Solutions Ltd.

Globalfoundries Inc.

Monterey Research, LLC

Youseok Suh

Shenqing Fang

Kuo-Tung Chang

Hidehiko Shiraiwa

Ya-Fen Lin

Meng Ding

Tim Thurgate

Yi-Ching Jean Wu

Michael Allen Van Buskirk

Lei Xue

Ming Sang Kwan

Amol Ramesh Joshi

Satoshi Torii

Sung-Yong Chung

Chih-Yuh Yang

Allison Holbrook

Harpreet Kaur Sachar

David H Matsumoto

Lovejeet Singh

Takao Akaogi

Rinji Sugino

Colin Stewart Bill

Hapreet Sachar

Sameer S Haddad

Scott Allan Bell

Yi Ma

Timothy J Thurgate

Takashi Whitney Orimoto

Jean Y Yang

Joong Jeon

Kuo Tung Chang

Yukio Hayakawa

Swaroop Kaza

Jayendra D Bhakta

Di Li

Hiroyuki Nansei

Eunha Kim

Takayuki Maruyama

Shenging Fang

Coling Stewart Bill

Jeremy Wahl

A memory device is described. Generally, the device includes a string of memory transistors, a source select transistor coupled to a first end of the string of memory transistor and a drain select transistor coupled to a second end of the string of memory transistor. Each memory transistor includes a gate electrode formed adjacent to a charge trapping layer and there is neither a source nor a drain junction between adjacent pairs of memory transistors or between the memory transistors and source select transistor or drain select transistor. In one embodiment, the memory transistors are spaced apart from adjacent memory transistors and the source select transistor and drain select transistor, such that channels are formed therebetween based on a gate fringing effect associated with the memory transistors. Other embodiments are also described.

Gate fringing effect based channel formation for semiconductor device

A memory string is disclosed including a plurality of core cells serially connected between a source select gate and a drain select gate along a channel. Each core cell includes a wordline separated from the channel by a stack of layers including a charge trapping layer. At least one of the source and drain select gates is a stacked select gate with a plurality of components, including a first component adjacent to the plurality of core cells and a second component separated from the core cells by the first component. The first component includes a wordline separated from the channel by a stack of layers including a charge trapping layer, and a distance between the wordline of the first component and the wordline of a first core cell in the plurality of core cells is substantially the same as distances between each wordline in the plurality of word core cells.

NAND memory cell string having a stacked select gate structure and process for forming same

NAND memory cell string having a stacked select gate structure and process for for forming same

A method for fabricating a memory device with a self-aligned trap layer and rounded active region corners is disclosed. In the present invention, an STI process is performed before any of the charge-trapping and top-level layers are formed. Immediately after the STI process, the sharp corners of the active regions are exposed. Because these sharp corners are exposed at this time, they are available to be rounded through any number of known rounding techniques. Rounding the corners improves the performance characteristics of the memory device. Subsequent to the rounding process, the charge-trapping structure and other layers can be formed by a self-aligned process.

System and method for manufacturing self-aligned STI with single poly

Methods and structures for forming semiconductor channels based on gate fringing effect are disclosed. In one embodiment, a NAND flash memory device comprises multiple NAND strings of memory transistors. Each memory transistor includes a charge trapping layer and a gate electrode formed on the charge trapping layer. The memory transistors are formed close to each other to form a channel between an adjacent pair of the memory transistors based on a gate fringing effect associated with the adjacent pair of the memory transistors.

A memory system is programmed with minimal program disturb and reduced junction and channel leakage during self-boosting. Pre-charging bias signals are applied to word lines adjacent to a selected word line before a program signal is applied to the selected word line and a pass signal is applied to the remaining word lines. The pre-charging bias signals apply a pre-charge to the memory cells. The pre-charging bias signals are chosen to improve the isolation of the memory cells on word lines adjacent to the selected word line, improve self boost efficiency and reduce current leakage to prevent or reduce program disturb and/or programming errors especially in the inhibited memory cells on the selected word line.

Partial local self boosting for NAND

A method of programming a memory system by selectively applying a program voltage to a selected wordline connected to a memory transistor to be programmed. A first bias voltage is applied to a first wordline adjacent to the source side of the selected wordline. The first bias voltage is also applied to a second wordline adjacent to the drain side of the selected wordline. A second bias voltage is applied to a third wordline adjacent to the drain side of the second wordline. A third bias voltage is applied to a fourth wordline adjacent to the source side of the first wordline. A pass voltage is also applied to the remaining wordlines that do not have one of a bias voltage and a program voltage applied, the pass voltage a selected voltage level.

Modified local segmented self-boosting of memory cell channels

An embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method of forming a memory cell. The method includes etching a trench in a substrate and filling the trench with an oxide to form a shallow trench isolation (STI) region. A portion of an active region of the substrate that comes in contact with the STI region forms a bitline-STI edge. The method further includes forming a gate structure over the active region of the substrate and over the STI region. The gate structure has a first width substantially over the center of the active region of the substrate and a second width substantially over the bitline-STI edge, and the second width is greater than the first width.

Flash memory cell with flair gate

A memory cell system is provided including forming a first insulator layer over a semiconductor substrate, forming a charge trap layer over the first insulator layer, forming a second insulator layer over the charge trap layer, forming a top blocking intermediate layer over the second insulator layer, and forming a contact layer over the top blocking intermediate layer.

Memory cell system with multiple nitride layers

Growing community of inventors

Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Youseok Suh