Semiconductor device having electrically floating body transistor, semiconductor device having both volatile and non-volatile functionality and method of operating
First Claim
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1. A semiconductor memory array comprising a plurality of semiconductor memory cells arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, each said semiconductor memory cell comprising:
- a substrate;
a floating body region configured to store volatile memory;
a stacked gate nonvolatile memory comprising a floating gate adjacent said substrate and a control gate adjacent said floating gate such that said floating gate is positioned between said control gate and said substrate; and
a select gate positioned adjacent said substrate and said floating gate.
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Abstract
A semiconductor memory cell includes a floating body region configured to be charged to a level indicative of a state of the memory cell; a first region in electrical contact with said floating body region; a second region in electrical contact with said floating body region and spaced apart from said first region; and a gate positioned between said first and second regions. The cell may be a multi-level cell. Arrays of memory cells are disclosed for making a memory device. Methods of operating memory cells are also provided.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A semiconductor memory array comprising a plurality of semiconductor memory cells arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, each said semiconductor memory cell comprising:
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a substrate; a floating body region configured to store volatile memory; a stacked gate nonvolatile memory comprising a floating gate adjacent said substrate and a control gate adjacent said floating gate such that said floating gate is positioned between said control gate and said substrate; and a select gate positioned adjacent said substrate and said floating gate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A semiconductor memory cell comprising:
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a substrate; a floating body region configured to store volatile memory; a buried layer buried in a bottom portion of said substrate, said buried layer having a conductivity type different from a conductivity type of said floating body region; a stacked gate nonvolatile memory comprising a floating gate adjacent said substrate and a control gate adjacent said floating gate such that said floating gate is positioned between said control gate and said substrate; and a select gate positioned adjacent said substrate and said floating gate; wherein applying a bias to said buried layer results in at least two stable floating body region charge levels. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A semiconductor memory array comprising a plurality of semiconductor memory cells arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, each said semiconductor memory cell comprising:
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a substrate; a floating body region configured to store volatile memory; a buried layer buried in a bottom portion of said substrate, said buried layer having a conductivity type different from a conductivity type of said floating body region; a stacked gate nonvolatile memory comprising a floating gate adjacent said substrate and a control gate adjacent said floating gate such that said floating gate is positioned between said control gate and said substrate; and a select gate positioned adjacent said substrate and said floating gate; wherein said buried layer region is commonly connected to at least two of said memory cells, configured to inject charge into or extract charge out of said floating body region of each of said memory cells connected thereto, to maintain said state of the memory cells in parallel. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification