Semiconductor device having a multi-layer channel structure

• US 5,586,073 A
• Filed: 12/22/1994
• Issued: 12/17/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Hiura, Yohei, Yamada, Seiji, Yoshikawa, Kuniyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nelms, David C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LE, VU ANH
• Application Number:
  US08/361,505
• Time in Patent Office: 726 Days
• Field of Search: 365/185, 365/185.24, 365/185.17, 257/404, 257/345, 257/315, 257/316, 257/319, 257/403
• US Class Current: 365/185.01
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/0408 comprising cells containing floating gate transistors G11C16/0483, G11C16/0491 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7885 Hot carrier injection from the channel
• CPC Class Codes: H10B 69/00 Erasable-and-programmable ROM [EPROM] devices not provided for in groups H10B41/00 - H10B63/00, e.g. ultraviolet erasable-and-programmable ROM [UVEPROM] devices

Abstract

A non-volatile semiconductor memory cell has a channel layer with a two-layered structure including a surface channel layer and a buried channel layer. The operation of reading out "1" level data or "0" level data from the memory cell is effected by using only the buried channel layer and based on whether the conductivity type of the buried layer is inverted or not. The operation of writing "0" level data is effected by using both of the surface channel layer and the buried channel layer, simultaneously inverting the conductivity types of the surface channel layer and the buried channel layer, and passing a current into the inverted layer to generate hot electrons.

Claims

1. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device comprising:

a semiconductor substrate of one conductivity type;

a memory cell with respect to which at least the data writing operation can be effected and which includes a threshold variable type transistor including a channel region having one surface and provided in said semiconductor substrate, a gate insulation film provided on said one surface of said channel region, a gate provided on said gate insulation film, and a charge storage layer provided in said gate insulation film;

gate potential supplying means for supplying a readout potential to said gate at the time of data readout operation and supplying a writing potential higher than the readout potential to said gate at the time of data writing operation;

a surface channel layer provided in contact with said one surface in said channel region, the conductivity type thereof being inverted only when the writing potential is applied to said gate; and

a buried channel layer provided in contact with said surface channel layer in said channel region, the conductivity type thereof being inverted when one of the readout potential and the writing potential is applied to said gate.

2. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 1, wherein the carrier concentration of said buried channel layer is lower than the carrier concentration of said surface channel layer.

3. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 2, wherein each of said surface channel layer and said buried channel layer has the same conductivity type as that of said substrate when said gate is grounded.

4. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 3, wherein the impurity concentration of said buried channel layer is lower than the impurity concentration of said surface channel layer and said substrate.

5. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 4, further comprising a semiconductor region of the one conductivity type provided in contact with said buried channel layer and having an impurity concentration greater than said substrate.

6. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 2, wherein the effective carrier concentration of said surface channel layer is determined to such a value that the conductivity type thereof can always be inverted while the writing potential is supplied.

7. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 6, wherein the effective carrier concentration of said surface channel layer is set to a value not larger than approximately 10¹⁸ cm^-3 when the writing potential is set to 10 V, and the effective carrier concentration of said surface channel layer is set to a value not larger than approximately 10¹⁷ cm^-3 when the writing potential is set to 8 V.

8. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 3, wherein the conductivity type of said surface channel layer is not inverted and only the conductivity type of said buried channel layer is inverted when the readout potential is supplied to said gate and data stored in said memory cell is "1" level, and none of the conductivity types of said surface channel layer and said buried channel layer are inverted when the readout potential is supplied to said gate and data stored in said memory cell is "0" level.

9. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 8, wherein both of the conductivity types of said surface channel layer and said buried channel layer are inverted when the writing potential is supplied to said gate and data stored in said memory cell is "1" level.

10. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 9, wherein the amount of electrons stored in said charge storage layer is larger when the data is "0" level than when the data is "1" level.

11. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 2, wherein said surface channel layer has the same conductivity type as that of said substrate and said buried channel layer has a different conductivity type from that of said substrate when said gate is grounded and data stored in said memory cell is "1" level.

12. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 11, wherein only the conductivity type of said buried channel layer is inverted when said gate is grounded and data stored in said memory cell is "0" level.

13. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 12, wherein only the conductivity type of said surface channel layer is inverted when the writing potential is supplied to said gate and data stored in said memory cell is "1" level.

14. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 13, wherein the amount of electrons stored in said charge storage layer is larger when the data is "0" level than when the data is "1" level.

15. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device comprising:

a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type;

a first memory cell with respect to which at least the data writing operation can be effected and which includes a threshold variable type transistor including a channel region having one surface and provided in said semiconductor substrate, a gate insulation film provided on said one surface of said channel region, a gate provided on said gate insulation film, a charge storage layer provided in said gate insulation film, a first terminal region of a second conductivity type provided in contact with said channel region in said substrate, and a second terminal region of said second conductivity type connected to a source and provided in contact with said channel region in said substrate;

a second memory cell with respect to which at least the data writing operation can be effected and which includes a threshold variable type transistor including a channel region having one surface and provided in said semiconductor substrate, a gate insulation film provided on said one surface of said channel region, a gate provided on said gate insulation film, a charge storage layer provided in said gate insulation film, a first terminal region of said second conductivity type provided in contact with said channel region in said substrate and connected to said first terminal region of said first memory cell, and a second terminal region of said second conductivity type connected to a drain and provided in contact with said channel region in said substrate;

gate potential supplying means for supplying a readout conduction potential to one of said gates of said first and second memory cells and supplying a selection readout potential to the other gate at the time of data readout operation and supplying a writing conduction potential higher than the readout conduction potential to one of said gates of said first and second memory cells and supplying a selection writing potential to the other gate at the time of data writing operation;

a first surface channel layer provided in contact with said one surface in said channel region of said first memory cell, the conductivity type thereof being inverted only when said drain is grounded and one of the writing conduction potential and the selection writing potential is supplied;

a first buried channel layer provided in contact with said first surface channel layer in said channel region of said first memory cell and having a carrier concentration lower than that of said first surface channel layer;

a second surface channel layer provided in contact with said one surface in said channel region of said second memory cell, the conductivity type thereof being inverted only when said drain is grounded and one of the writing conduction potential and the selection writing potential is supplied; and

a second buried channel layer provided in contact with said second surface channel layer in said channel region of said second memory cell and having a carrier concentration lower than that of said second surface channel layer.

16. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 15, wherein said first surface channel layer has the same conductivity type as that of said substrate and said first buried channel layer has a different conductivity type from that of said substrate when said gate is grounded and data stored in said first memory cell is "1" level;

only the conductivity type of said first buried layer is inverted when said gate is grounded and data stored in said first memory cell is "0" level;

said second surface channel layer has the same conductivity type as that of said substrate and said second buried channel layer has a different conductivity type from that of said substrate when said gate is grounded and data stored in said second memory cell is "1" level; and

only the conductivity type of said second buried layer is inverted when said gate is grounded and data stored in said second memory cell is "0" level.

17. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 16, wherein the amount of electrons stored in said charge storage layer is larger when the data is "0" level than when the data is "1" level.

18. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device comprising:

a semiconductor substrate; and

a memory cell with respect to which at least the data writing operation can be effected and which includes a channel region of a two-layered structure having a surface channel layer and a buried channel layer provided in said semiconductor substrate, a gate insulation film provided on said surface channel layer, a gate provided on said gate insulation film, and a charge storage layer provided in said gate insulation film;

wherein the operation of reading out data from said memory cell is effected by using only said buried channel layer and determining data of "1" level or "0" level according to whether the conductivity type of said buried channel layer is the same as the conductivity type of said substrate or not; and

the operation of writing "0" level data into said memory cell is effected by using both of said surface channel layer and said buried channel layer, simultaneously making the conductivity types of said surface channel layer and said buried channel layer different from the conductivity type of said substrate, and passing a current into said surface channel layer and said buried channel layer to inject carriers into said charge storage layer.

19. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 18, wherein the carrier concentration of said buried channel layer is lower than the carrier concentration of said surface channel layer.

20. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 19, wherein the amount of electrons stored in said charge storage layer is larger when the data is "0" level than when the data is "1" level.

21. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device comprising:

a semiconductor substrate of one conductivity type;

a memory cell including a channel region having a deep layer and a surface layer arranged between said deep layer and a surface of said semiconductor substrate, a control gate, and a charge storage layer; and

a gate potential supplying circuit for supplying first and second potentials to said control gate, said first potential providing an inverted or non-inverted layer in said deep layer of said channel region based on data stored in said memory cell and said second potential causing the conductivity type of both said deep layer of said channel region and said surface layer of said channel region to be different than the one conductivity type of said semiconductor substrate.

22. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 21, wherein said memory cell includes a normally-OFF type cell transistor.

23. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 22, wherein said first potential is readout potential and said second potential is programming potential.

24. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 23, wherein said readout potential is VCC, and said programming potential is VPP.

25. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 21, wherein said memory cell includes a normally-ON type cell transistor.

26. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 25, wherein said first potential is ground potential and said second potential is programing potential.

27. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 26, wherein said ground potential is VSS, and said programming potential is VPP.

28. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 25, wherein said normally-ON type cell transistor includes NAND type cell transistor.

29. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 28, wherein said first potential is ground potential and said second potential is programing potential.

30. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 29, wherein said ground potential is VSS, and said programing potential is VM.

31. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device, comprising:

a body of semiconductor material of a first conductivity type;

a non-volatile memory cell transistor having source and drain regions of a second conductivity type formed in said semiconductor body and defining a channel region therebetween, a control gate, and a charge storage layer, wherein said channel region includes a buried channel layer, and a surface channel layer formed between said buried channel layer and a surface of said semiconductor body;

a gate potential supplying circuit for supplying a reading potential to said control gate during a data reading operation for reading data from said non-volatile memory cell transistor and for supplying a writing potential to said control gate during a data writing operation for writing data to said non-volatile memory cell transistor,

wherein the conductivity type of said buried channel layer, but not said surface channel layer, is inverted or not inverted during the data reading operation based on the data read from said non-volatile memory cell transistor and the reading potential supplied to said control gate, and the conductivity type of both said buried channel layer and said surface channel layer is different than the conductivity type of said semiconductor body during the data writing operation based on the writing potential supplied to said control gate.

32. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 31, wherein the carrier concentration of said buried channel layer is lower than the carrier concentration of said surface channel layer.

33. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 32, wherein each of said surface channel layer and said buried channel layer is of the same conductivity type as the conductivity type of said semiconductor body when said control gate is supplied with a ground potential.

34. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 33, wherein the impurity concentration of said buried channel layer is lower than the impurity concentration of said surface channel layer and said semiconductor body.

35. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 34, further comprising:

a semiconductor region of the first conductivity type provided in contact with said buried channel layer and having an impurity concentration greater than the impurity concentration of said semiconductor body.

36. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 32, wherein the carrier concentration of said surface channel layer is set such that the conductivity type thereof is always inverted when said gate potential supplying circuit supplies the writing potential to said control gate.

37. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 36, wherein the carrier concentration of said surface channel layer is not greater than approximately 10¹⁸ cm^-3 if said gate potential supplying circuit is set to supply a writing potential of 10 volts, and the carrier concentration of said surface channel layer is not greater than approximately 10¹⁷ cm^-3 if said gate potential supplying circuit is set to supply a writing potential of 8 volts.

38. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 33, wherein the conductivity type of said buried channel layer, but not said surface channel layer, is inverted when said gate potential supplying circuit supplies the reading potential to said control gate and the data stored in said non-volatile semiconductor memory cell is data of a first logic level, and the conductivity type of neither said buried channel layer nor said surface channel layer is inverted when said gate potential supplying circuit supplies the reading potential to said control gate and the data stored in said non-volatile semiconductor memory cell is data of a second logic level.

39. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 38, wherein said charge storage layer stores more electrons for data of the second logic level than for data of the first logic level.

40. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 32, wherein said surface channel layer is of the same conductivity type as said semiconductor body and said buried channel layer is of a different conductivity type as said semiconductor body when said gate is supplied with ground potential and said non-volatile memory cell transistor stores data of a first logic level.

41. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 40, wherein the conductivity type of only said buried channel layer is inverted when said gate is supplied with ground potential and said non-volatile memory cell transistor stores data of a second logic level.

42. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 41, wherein the conductivity type of only said surface channel layer is inverted when said gate potential supplying circuit supplies the writing potential to said control gate and said non-volatile memory cell transistor stores data of the first logic level.

43. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 42, wherein said charge storage layer stores more electrons for data of the second logic level than for data of the first logic level.

44. A semiconductor device, comprising:

a body of semiconductor material of a first conductivity type;

a transistor including source and drain regions of a second conductivity type formed in said semiconductor body and defining a channel region therebetween and a gate insulatively spaced from said channel region, wherein said channel region comprises at least two channel layers; and

a gate potential supplying circuit for supplying a gate potential to said gate,

wherein the conductivity types of said at least two channel layers are separately invertible in accordance with the gate potential supplied to said gate, and

wherein said at least two channel layers comprise a buried channel layer, and a surface channel layer formed between said buried channel layer and a surface of said semiconductor body and the conductivity type of said buried channel layer, but not said surface channel layer, is inverted when the gate potential supplied to said gate turns said transistor ON.

45. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device, comprising:

a body of semiconductor material of a first conductivity type;

a NAND memory cell block comprising a plurality of non-volatile memory cell transistors, each non-volatile memory cell transistor having source and drain regions of a second conductivity type formed in said semiconductor body and defining a channel region therebetween, a control gate, and a charge storage layer, wherein said channel region includes a buried channel layer, and a surface channel layer formed between said buried channel layer and a surface of said semiconductor body;

a gate potential supplying circuit for supplying a reading potential to the gate of a first of said non-volatile memory cell transistors during a data reading operation for reading data from said first non-volatile memory cell transistor and for supplying a writing potential to the gate of a second of said non-volatile memory cell transistors during a data writing operation for writing data to said second non-volatile memory cell transistor,

wherein the conductivity type of the buried channel layer, but not the surface channel layer, of said first non-volatile memory cell transistor is inverted or not inverted during the data reading operation based on the data read from said first non-volatile memory cell transistor and the reading potential supplied to the control gate of said first non-volatile memory cell transistor, and the conductivity type of both the buried channel layer and the surface channel layer of said second non-volatile memory cell transistor is different than the conductivity type of said semiconductor body during the data writing operation based on the writing potential supplied to the control gate of said second non-volatile memory cell transistor.

46. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to claim 45, further comprising:

a selection transistor connected to one end of said NAND cell block, said selection transistor having source and drain regions of a second conductivity type formed in said semiconductor body and defining a channel region therebetween and a control gate, wherein said channel region includes a buried channel layer, and a surface channel layer formed between said buried channel layer and a surface of said semiconductor body,

wherein the conductivity type of said buried channel layer, but not said surface channel layer, is inverted when said selection transistor is turned ON.

47. A non-volatile semiconductor memory device, comprising:

a body of semiconductor material of a first conductivity type;

a memory cell having source and drain regions of a second conductivity type formed in said semiconductor body and defining a channel region therebetween, a control gate, and a charge storage layer, wherein said channel region includes a buried channel layer, and a surface channel layer of the first conductivity type formed between said buried channel layer and a surface of said semiconductor body; and

a gate potential supplying circuit for supplying a reading potential to said control gate during a data reading operation for reading data from said memory cell and for supplying a writing potential to said control gate during a data writing operation for writing data to said memory cell,

wherein, during the data reading operation, no current flows in said surface channel layer and the data is read from said memory cell based on a current flow or no current flow in said buried channel layer and, during the data writing operation, data is written to said memory cell based on a current flow in both said buried channel layer and said surface channel layer.

48. A method of operating a non-volatile semiconductor memory device which includes a semiconductor substrate of one conductivity type;

a memory cell with respect to which at least the data writing operation can be effected and which includes a threshold variable type transistor including a channel region having one surface and provided in said semiconductor substrate, a gate insulation film provided on said one surface of said channel region, a gate provided on said gate insulation film, and a charge storage layer provided in said gate insulation film;

a surface channel layer provided in contact with said one surface in said channel region; and

a buried channel layer provided in contact with said surface channel layer in said channel region, the method comprising the steps of;

supplying a readout potential to said gate at the time of data readout operation to invert or not invert the conductivity type of said buried channel layer based on the readout data; and

supplying a writing potential higher than the readout potential to said gate at the time of data writing operation to cause the conductivity type of both said buried channel layer and said surface channel layer to be different than the conductivity type of said semiconductor substrate.

49. A method according to claim 48, wherein the carrier concentration of said buried channel layer is lower than the carrier concentration of said surface channel layer.

50. A method according to claim 49, wherein each of said surface channel layer and said buried channel layer is of the same conductivity type as said semiconductor substrate when said gate is supplied with a ground potential.

51. A method according to claim 50, wherein the impurity concentration of said buried channel layer is lower than the impurity concentration of said surface channel layer and said semiconductor substrate.

52. A method according to claim 51, wherein said non-volatile semiconductor memory device further comprises a semiconductor region of the one conductivity type provided in contact with said buried channel layer and having an impurity concentration greater than the impurity concentration of said semiconductor substrate.

53. A method according to claim 49, further comprising setting the carrier concentration of said surface channel layer such that the conductivity type thereof is always inverted when the writing potential is supplied to said gate.

54. A method according to claim 53, further comprising setting the carrier concentration of said surface channel layer to a value not larger than approximately 10¹⁸ cm^-3 if the writing potential is set to 10 V, and setting the carrier concentration of said surface channel layer to a value not larger than approximately 10¹⁷ cm^-3 if the writing potential is set to 8 V.

55. A method according to claim 50, wherein the conductivity type of said surface channel layer is not inverted and only the conductivity type of said buried channel layer is inverted when the reading potential is supplied to said gate and data stored in said memory cell is data of a first logic level, and none of the conductivity types of said surface channel layer and said buried channel layer are inverted when the readout potential is supplied to said gate and data stored in said memory cell is data of a second logic level.

56. A method according to claim 55, wherein both of the conductivity types of said surface channel layer and said buried channel layer are inverted when the writing potential is supplied to said gate and data stored in said memory cell is data of the first logic level.

57. A method according to claim 56, wherein said charge storage layer stores more electrons for data of the second logic level than for data of the first logic level.

58. A method according to claim 49, wherein said surface channel layer is of the same conductivity type as said semiconductor substrate and said buried channel layer is of a different conductivity type as said semiconductor substrate when ground potential is supplied to said gate and said memory cell stores data of a first logic level.

59. A method according to claim 58, wherein the conductivity type of only said buried channel layer is inverted when ground potential is supplied to said gate and said memory cell stores data of a second logic level.

60. A method according to claim 59, wherein the conductivity type of only said surface channel layer is inverted when the writing potential is supplied to said gate and data stored in said memory cell is data of the first logic level.

61. A method according to claim 60, wherein said charge storage layer stores more electrons for data of the second logic level than for data of the first logic level.

62. A method of operating a non-volatile semiconductor memory device which includes a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type;

a first memory cell with respect to which at least the data writing operation can be effected and which includes a threshold variable type transistor including a channel region having one surface and provided in said semiconductor substrate, a gate insulation film provided on said one surface of said channel region, a gate provided on said gate insulation film, a charge storage layer provided in said gate insulation film, a first terminal region of a second conductivity type provided in contact with said channel region in said substrate, and a second terminal region of said second conductivity type connected to a source and provided in contact with said channel region in said substrate;

a first surface channel layer provided in contact with said one surface in said channel region of said first memory cell;

a first buried channel layer provided in contact with said first surface channel layer in said channel region of said first memory cell and having a carrier concentration lower than that of said first surface channel layer;

a second memory cell with respect to which at least the data writing operation can be effected and which includes a threshold variable type transistor including a channel region having one surface and provided to said semiconductor substrate, a gate insulation film provided on said one surface of said channel region, a gate provided on said gate insulation film, a charge storage layer provided in said gate insulation film, a first terminal region of said second conductivity type provided in contact with said channel region in said substrate and connected to said first terminal region of said first memory cell, and a second terminal region of said second conductivity type connected to a drain and provided in contact with said channel region in said substrate;

a second surface channel layer provided to contact with said one surface in said channel region of said second memory cell; and

a second buried channel layer provided in contact with said second surface channel layer in said channel region of said second memory cell and having a carrier concentration lower than that of said second surface channel layer, the method comprising the steps of;

supplying readout conduction potential to one of said gates of said first and second memory cells and supplying a selection readout potential to the other gate at the time of data readout operation; and

supplying a writing conduction potential higher than the readout conduction potential to one of said gates of said first and second memory cells and supplying a selection writing potential to the other gate at the time of data writing operation to invert the conductivity type of one of said first and second surface channel layers.

63. A method according to claim 62, wherein said first surface channel layer has the same conductivity type as that of said substrate and said first buried channel layer has a different conductivity type from that of said substrate when ground potential is supplied to said gate of said first memory cell and data stored in said first memory cell is data of a first logic level;

only the conductivity type of said first buried layer is inverted when ground potential is supplied to said gate of said first memory cell and data stored in said first memory cell is data of a second logic level;

said second surface channel layer has the same conductivity type as that of said substrate and said second buried channel layer has a different conductivity type from that of said substrate when ground potential is supplied to said gate of said second memory cell and data stored in said second memory cell is data of the first logic level; and

only the conductivity type of said second buried layer is inverted when ground potential is supplied to said gate of said second memory cell and data stored in said second memory cell is data of the second logic level.

64. A method according to claim 63, wherein said charge storage layer stores more electrons for data of the second logic level than for data of the first logic level.

65. A method of operating a non-volatile semiconductor memory device which includes a semiconductor substrate of one conductivity type;

and a memory cell including a channel region having a deep layer and a surface layer arranged between said deep layer and a surface of said semiconductor substrate, a control gate, and a charge storage layer, the method comprising the steps of;

supplying a first potential to said control gate, said first potential providing an inverted or non-inverted layer in said deep layer of said channel region based on the data stored in said memory cell; and

supplying a second potential to said control gate, said second potential causing the conductivity type of both said channel region and said surface layer of said channel region to be different than the conductivity type of said semiconductor substrate.

66. A method according to claim 65, wherein said memory cell includes a normally-OFF type cell transistor.

67. A method according to claim 66, wherein said first potential is readout potential and said second potential is programming potential.

68. A method according to claim 67, wherein said readout potential is VCC, and said programming potential is VPP.

69. A method according to claim 65, wherein said memory cell includes a normally-ON type cell transistor.

70. A method according to claim 69, wherein said first potential is ground potential and said second potential is programming potential.

71. A method according to claim 70, wherein said ground potential is VSS, and said programming potential is VPP.

72. A method according to claim 69, wherein said normally-ON type cell transistor includes a NAND type cell transistor.

73. A method according to claim 72, wherein said first potential is ground potential and said second potential is programming potential.

74. A method according to claim 73, wherein said ground potential is VSS, and said programming potential is VM.

75. A method of operating non-volatile semiconductor memory device which includes a body of semiconductor material of a first conductivity type;

and a non-volatile memory cell transistor having source and drain regions of a second conductivity type formed in said semiconductor body and defining a channel region therebetween, a control gate, and a charge storage layer, wherein said channel region includes a buried channel layer, and a surface channel layer formed between said buried channel layer and a surface of said semiconductor body, the method comprising the steps of;

supplying a reading potential to said control gate during a data reading operation for reading data from said non-volatile memory cell transistor; and

supplying a writing potential higher than the reading potential to said control gate during a data writing operation for writing data to said non-volatile memory cell transistor,

wherein the conductivity type of said buried channel layer, but not said surface channel layer, is inverted or not inverted during the data reading operation based on the data read from said non-volatile memory cell transistor and the reading potential supplied to said control gate, and the conductivity type of both said buried channel layer and said surface channel layer is different than the conductivity type of said semiconductor body during the data writing operation based on the writing potential supplied to said control gate.

76. A method according to claim 75, wherein the carrier concentration of said buried channel layer is lower than the carrier concentration of said surface channel layer.

77. A method according to claim 76, wherein each of said surface channel layer and said buried channel layer is of the same conductivity type as the conductivity type of said semiconductor body when said control gate is supplied with a ground potential.

78. A method according to claim 77, wherein the impurity concentration of said buried channel layer is lower than the impurity concentration of said surface channel layer and said semiconductor body.

79. A method according to claim 78, wherein said non-volatile semiconductor memory device further comprises a semiconductor region of the first conductivity type provided in contact with said buried channel layer and having an impurity concentration greater than the impurity concentration of said semiconductor body.

80. A method according to claim 79, wherein the carrier concentration of said surface channel layer is set such that the conductivity type thereof is always inverted when the writing potential is supplied to said control gate.

81. A method according to claim 80, wherein the carrier concentration of said surface channel layer is not greater than approximately 10¹⁸ cm^-3 when a writing potential of 10 volts is supplied, and the carrier concentration of said surface channel layer is not greater than approximately 10¹⁷ cm^-3 when a writing potential of 8 volts is supplied.

82. A method according to claim 77, wherein the conductivity type of said buried channel layer, but not said surface channel layer, is inverted when the reading potential is supplied to said control gate and the data stored in said non-volatile semiconductor memory cell is data of a first logic level, and the conductivity type of neither said buried channel layer nor said surface channel layer is inverted when the reading potential is supplied to said control gate and the data stored in said non-volatile semiconductor memory cell is data of a second logic level.

83. A method according to claim 82, wherein said charge storage layer stores more electrons for data of the second logic level than for data of the first logic level.

84. A method according to claim 76, wherein said surface channel layer is of the same conductivity type as said semiconductor body and said buried channel layer is of a different conductivity type as said semiconductor body when said gate is supplied with ground potential and said non-volatile memory cell transistor stores data of a first logic level.

85. A method according to claim 84, wherein the conductivity type of only said buried channel layer is inverted when said gate is supplied with ground potential and said non-volatile memory cell transistor stores data of a second logic level.

86. A method according to claim 85, wherein the conductivity type of only said surface channel layer is inverted when the writing potential is supplied to said control gate and said non-volatile memory cell transistor stores data of the first logic level.

87. A method according to claim 86, wherein said charge storage layer stores more electrons for data of the second logic level than for data of the first logic level.

88. A method of operating a non-volatile semiconductor memory device which includes a body of semiconductor material of a first conductivity type;

a NAND memory cell block comprising a plurality of non-volatile memory cell transistors, each non-volatile memory cell transistor having source and drain regions of a second conductivity type formed in said semiconductor body and defining a channel region therebetween, a control gate, and a charge storage layer, wherein said channel region includes a buried channel layer, and a surface channel layer formed between said buried channel layer and a surface of said semiconductor body, the method comprising the steps of;

supplying a reading potential to the gate of a first of said non-volatile memory cell transistors during a data reading operation for reading data from said first non-volatile memory cell transistor; and

supplying a writing potential higher than the reading potential to the gate of a second of said non-volatile memory cell transistors during a data writing operation for writing data to said second non-volatile memory cell transistor,

wherein the conductivity type of the buried channel layer, but not the surface channel layer, of said first non-volatile memory cell transistor is inverted or not inverted during the data reading operation based on the data read from said first non-volatile memory cell transistor and the reading potential supplied to the control gate of said first non-volatile memory cell transistor, and the conductivity type of both the buried channel layer and the surface channel layer of said second non-volatile memory cell transistor is different than the conductivity type of said semiconductor body during the data writing operation based on the writing potential supplied to the control gate of said second non-volatile memory cell transistor.

89. A method according to claim 88, wherein said non-volatile semiconductor memory device further comprises a selection transistor connected to one end of said NAND cell block, said selection transistor having source and drain regions of a second conductivity type formed in said semiconductor body and defining a channel region therebetween and a control gate provided over said semiconductor body, wherein said channel region includes a buried channel layer, and a surface channel layer formed between said buried channel layer and a surface of said semiconductor body, and

the method comprises the further step of applying a potential to the control gate of said selection transistor, wherein the conductivity type of said buried channel layer, but not said surface channel layer, is inverted when said selection transistor is turned ON.