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:
Feb. 26, 2013
Filed:
Apr. 19, 2007
Shih Wei Wang, Hsinchu, TW;
Te-hsun Hsu, Hsinchu, TW;
Hung-cheng Sung, Hsinchu, TW;
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd, Hsin-Chu, TW;
Abstract
A semiconductor memory device includes a substrate, and a trench formed in the substrate. First and second floating gates, each associated with corresponding first and second memory cells, extend into the trench. Since the trench can be made relatively deep, the floating gates may be made relatively large while the lateral dimensions of the floating gates remains small. Moreover, the insulator thickness between the floating gate and a sidewall of the trench where a channel region is formed can be made relatively thick, even though the lateral extent of the memory cell is reduced. A programming gate extends into the trench between the first and second floating gates, and is shared, along with a source region, by the two memory cells.