METHODS OF FABRICATING SHIELD PLATES FOR REDUCED FIELD COUPLING IN NONVOLATILE MEMORY
First Claim
1. A method of fabricating nonvolatile memory, comprising:
- forming a plurality of adjacent charge storage regions in a first direction along a substrate, said charge storage regions having a lower surface level;
forming a plurality of adjacent control gates above said charge storage regions, said control gates having an upper surface level;
forming insulating members along sides of said charge storage regions facing adjacent charge storage regions in said first direction and along sides of said control gates facing adjacent control gates in said first direction, said insulating members extending from at least said lower surface level of said floating gates to at least said upper surface level of said control gates; and
forming conductive isolating members along said insulating members, said isolating members insulated from said charge storage regions and said control gates by said insulating members.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Shield plates for reduced coupling between charge storage regions in nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices, and associated techniques for forming the same, are provided. Electrical fields associated with charge stored in the floating gates or other charge storage regions of a memory device can couple to neighboring charge storage regions because of the close, and continually decreasing proximity of these regions. A shield plate can be formed adjacent to the bit line sides of floating gates that face opposing bit line sides of adjacent floating gates. Insulating layers can be formed between each shield plate and its corresponding adjacent charge storage region. The insulating layers can extend to the levels of the upper surfaces of the control gates formed above the charge storage regions. In such a configuration, sidewall fabrication techniques can be implemented to form the insulating members and shield plates. Each shield plate can be deposited and etched without complex masking to connect the control gates and shield plates. In one embodiment, the shield plates are at a floating potential.
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Citations
45 Claims
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1. A method of fabricating nonvolatile memory, comprising:
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forming a plurality of adjacent charge storage regions in a first direction along a substrate, said charge storage regions having a lower surface level; forming a plurality of adjacent control gates above said charge storage regions, said control gates having an upper surface level; forming insulating members along sides of said charge storage regions facing adjacent charge storage regions in said first direction and along sides of said control gates facing adjacent control gates in said first direction, said insulating members extending from at least said lower surface level of said floating gates to at least said upper surface level of said control gates; and forming conductive isolating members along said insulating members, said isolating members insulated from said charge storage regions and said control gates by said insulating members. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of fabricating nonvolatile memory, comprising:
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forming a plurality of charge storage regions above a substrate, said charge storage regions having two substantially parallel sides in a bit line direction; forming a plurality of control gates above said charge storage regions; forming first and second insulating layers between said bit line sides of charge storage regions adjacent in said bit line direction; and forming at least one floating isolation shield between each of said first and second insulating layers. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method of fabricating nonvolatile memory, comprising:
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forming charge storage regions above a substrate, said charge storage regions having two substantially parallel sides in a bit line direction; forming control gates above said charge storage regions, said control gates having two substantially parallel sides in said bit line direction, each of said control gates is associated with an individual word line extending in a word line direction substantially perpendicular to said bit line direction; forming insulation layers along said bit line sides of said charge storage regions; forming said insulation layers along said bit lines sides of said control gates; forming conductive isolation shields along said insulation layers, said isolation shields insulated from said charge storage regions and said control gates by said insulation layers; and providing an electrical connection for each word line to one or more of said isolation shields adjacent to a charge storage region associated with said each word line. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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Specification