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:
Sep. 09, 2003
Filed:
Jan. 08, 2001
Applicant:
Inventors:
An-Ming Chiang, Hsin-Chu, TW;
Kuei-Wu Huang, Hsin-Chu, TW;
Assignee:
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Hsin-Chu, TW;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H01L 2/9788 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
H01L 2/9788 ;
Abstract
A method is provided to form a split-gate flash memory not susceptible to inadvertent reverse tunneling during programming. This is accomplished by forming a silicon nitride spacer on the negatively tapered walls of the floating gate of the cell which serves as a barrier to reverse tunneling. The negatively tapered walls, in contrast to vertical walls, is disclosed to provide a geometry better suited for forming thicker spacers around the floating gate, which in turn serve to act as a more robust barrier to reverse tunneling. Furthermore, it is shown that the method requires fewer steps than practiced in prior art.