The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 20, 2003
Filed:
Sep. 20, 2000
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Hsin-Chu, TW;
Abstract
A flash memory device includes floating gate electrode, an interelectrode dielectric layer and a control gate electrode. The interelectrode dielectric layer is formed on top of the floating gate electrode and the control gate electrode is formed on top of the interelectrode dielectric layer. A doped silicon semiconductor substrate is covered with variable thickness silicon oxide regions on the surface thereof with junctions between the variable thickness regions. The silicon oxide regions are substantially thicker beneath the center of the floating gate electrode. Source/drain regions formed in the substrate extend beneath the tunnel oxide regions with the junctions aligned with the regions. The floating gate electrodes formed over the silicon oxide regions above the source/drain regions including dielectric sidewalls within the floating gate electrode above the junctions. The variable thickness silicon oxide regions are tunnel oxide regions on either side of a gate oxide region. The floating gate electrode is composed of doped polysilicon and the dielectric sidewalls is reoxidized polysilicon dielectric regions formed within the floating gate electrode above the junctions of the tunnel oxide regions and the gate oxide region.