U.S. patent application number 11/709161 was filed with the patent office on 2007-06-28 for semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba. Invention is credited to Yoshio Ozawa.
Application Number | 20070145470 11/709161 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33447639 |
Filed Date | 2007-06-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070145470 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ozawa; Yoshio |
June 28, 2007 |
Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same
Abstract
A semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor substrate, and
a non-volatile memory cell provided on the semiconductor substrate,
the non-volatile memory cell comprising a tunnel insulating film
provided on the semiconductor substrate, a floating gate electrode
provided on the tunnel insulating film, the width of the floating
gate electrode changing in the height direction of the non-volatile
memory cell in channel width or length direction there, and being
thinnest between a region above the bottom surface of the floating
gate electrode and a region below the upper surface thereof, a
control gate electrode above the floating gate electrode, and an
interelectrode insulating film provided between the control gate
electrode and the floating gate electrode.
Inventors: |
Ozawa; Yoshio;
(Yokohama-shi, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FINNEGAN, HENDERSON, FARABOW, GARRETT & DUNNER;LLP
901 NEW YORK AVENUE, NW
WASHINGTON
DC
20001-4413
US
|
Assignee: |
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
|
Family ID: |
33447639 |
Appl. No.: |
11/709161 |
Filed: |
February 22, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10770579 |
Feb 4, 2004 |
7199425 |
|
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11709161 |
Feb 22, 2007 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
257/316 ;
257/E21.682; 257/E27.103; 257/E29.129; 257/E29.304 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 29/42336 20130101;
H01L 29/7883 20130101; H01L 27/115 20130101; H01L 29/42324
20130101; H01L 27/11521 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
257/316 |
International
Class: |
H01L 29/788 20060101
H01L029/788 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 26, 2003 |
JP |
2003-148132 |
Claims
1-9. (canceled)
10. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor substrate;
and a non-volatile memory cell provided on the semiconductor
substrate, the non-volatile memory cell comprising: a tunnel
insulating film provided on the semiconductor substrate; a floating
gate electrode provided on the tunnel insulating film; a control
gate electrode above the floating gate electrode; and an
interelectrode insulating film provided between the control gate
electrode and the floating gate electrode, the interelectrode
insulating film including a first dielectric region and a second
dielectric region having permittivity lower than the first
dielectric region, the second dielectric region being provided on
an edge of the first dielectric region in a channel length
direction of the non-volatile memory cell.
11-20. (canceled)
21. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor substrate;
and a non-volatile memory cell provided on the semiconductor
substrate, the non-volatile memory cell comprising: a tunnel
insulating film provided on the semiconductor substrate; a floating
gate electrode provided on the tunnel insulating film, the width of
the floating gate electrode changing in a height direction of the
non-volatile memory cell in a channel width direction, and being
thinnest between a region above a bottom surface of the floating
gate electrode and a region below an upper surface thereof; a
control gate electrode above the floating gate electrode; and an
interelectrode insulating film provided between the control gate
electrode and the floating gate electrode; wherein a distribution
of a width of the floating gate electrode in a height direction of
the non-volatile memory cell in the channel width direction shows a
maximum width at a first position away from the bottom surface of
the floating gate electrode with a predetermined distance and a
minimum width at a second position above a first position in the
channel width direction, the isolation film includes a top surface
which is higher than that of the floating gate electrode in the
channel width direction, the interelectrode insulating film covers
a top side portion of the floating gate electrodes in the channel
width direction, and an area of the tunnel insulating film facing
the floating gate electrode is smaller than an area of the
interelectrode insulating film facing the floating gate
electrode.
22. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor substrate;
and a non-volatile memory cell provided on the semiconductor
substrate, the non-volatile memory cell comprising: a tunnel
insulating film provided on the semiconductor substrate; a floating
gate electrode provided on the tunnel insulating film, the width of
the floating gate electrode changing in a height direction of the
non-volatile memory cell in a channel width direction, and being
thinnest at an approximately intermediate position between a region
above the bottom surface of the floating gate electrode and a
region below the upper surface thereof; a control gate electrode
above the floating gate electrode; and an interelectrode insulating
film provided between the control gate electrode and the floating
gate electrode. wherein a distribution of the width of the floating
gate electrode in a height direction of the non-volatile memory
cell in the channel width direction shows a maximum width at a
first position away from the bottom surface of the floating gate
electrode with a predetermined distance and a minimum width at a
second position above the first position in the channel width
direction, the isolation film includes a top surface which is
higher than that of the floating gate electrode in the channel
width direction, the interelectrode insulating film covers a top
side portion of the floating gate electrode in the channel width
direction and an area of the tunnel insulating film facing the
floating gate electrode is smaller than an area of the
interelectrode insulating film facing the floating gate electrode.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of
priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No.
2003-148132, filed May 26, 2003, the entire contents of which are
incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a semiconductor device
including a non-volatile memory cell, and to a method of
manufacturing the same.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] FIG. 29 shows the cross-sectional structure of a plurality
of conventional non-volatile memory cells in a channel width
direction (i.e., direction-perpendicular to channel current flowing
direction) (see IEEE ELECTRON -DEVICE-LETTERS, VOL. 23, NO. 5, MAY
2002, p 264-266). In FIG. 29, reference numerals 81, 82, 83, 84, 85
and 86 denote silicon substrate, isolation film, tunnel insulating
film, floating gate electrode, interelectrode insulating film and
control gate electrode, respectively.
[0006] As seen from FIG. 29, most of two adjacent floating gate
electrodes in the channel width direction (about 50% in the example
shown in FIG. 29) face via the isolation film 82.
[0007] The scale-down of memory cell further advances, and thereby,
a distance L1 between floating gate electrodes 84 becomes shorter.
The shorter the distance L1 becomes, the larger the capacitance
between adjacent floating gate electrodes (parasitic capacitance
between floating gate electrodes) becomes.
[0008] As a result, since the scale-down of memory cell is now
advancing, the parasitic capacitance between floating gate
electrodes must be considered as well as the parasitic capacitance
between the floating gate electrode 84 and the silicon substrate
81.
[0009] An increase of the parasitic capacitance between floating
gate electrodes causes a cell interference. According to the cell
interference, write/erase state of adjacent memory cells gives
influence to memory cell operation characteristic. The cell
interference is a factor of causing memory malfunction.
[0010] The following is a description on another problem in
conventional non-volatile memory cells.
[0011] FIG. 30 shows the cross-sectional structure of a plurality
of conventional non-volatile memory cells in a channel length
direction (channel current flowing direction) (see JPN. PAT. APPLN.
KOKAI Publication No. 2002-203919). In FIG. 30, reference numerals
87 and 88 denote source/drain region and interlayer insulating
film, respectively. In FIG. 30, the same reference numerals as FIG.
29 are used to designate portions corresponding to FIG. 29.
[0012] As seen from FIG. 30, two adjacent floating gate electrodes
84 in the channel length direction entirely face each other via the
interlayer insulating film 88.
[0013] The scale-down of memory cell further advances, and thereby,
a distance L2 between floating gate electrodes 84 becomes shorter.
The shorter the distance L2 becomes, the larger parasitic
capacitance C1 between upper surfaces of adjacent floating gate
electrodes 84 shown in FIG. 31A becomes.
[0014] As a result, since the scale-down of memory cell is now
advancing, the parasitic capacitance C1 must be considered in
addition to parasitic capacitance C2 between sidewalls of adjacent
floating gate electrodes 84 (see FIG. 31B). In particular, the
parasitic capacitance C1 remarkably increases if high dielectric
constant films such as alumina film or tantalum oxide film are used
as the interelectrode insulating film 85.
[0015] The increase of the parasitic capacitance C1 causes cell
interference. The cell interference is a factor of causing memory
malfunction.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor
substrate; and a non-volatile memory cell provided on the
semiconductor substrate, the non-volatile memory cell comprising: a
tunnel insulating film provided on the semiconductor substrate; a
floating gate electrode provided on the tunnel insulating film, the
width of the floating gate electrode changing in the height
direction of the non-volatile memory cell in channel width or
length direction there, and being thinnest between a region above
the bottom surface of the floating gate electrode and a region
below the upper surface thereof; a control gate electrode above the
floating gate electrode; and an interelectrode insulating film
provided between the control gate electrode and the floating gate
electrode.
[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor
substrate; and a non-volatile memory cell provided on the
semiconductor substrate, the non-volatile memory cell comprising: a
tunnel insulating film provided on the semiconductor substrate; a
floating gate electrode provided on the tunnel insulating film; a
control gate electrode above the floating gate electrode; and an
interelectrode insulating film provided between the control gate
electrode and the floating gate electrode, the interelectrode
insulating film including a first dielectric region and a second
dielectric region having permittivity lower than the first
dielectric region, the second dielectric region being provided on a
edge of the first dielectric region in the channel length direction
of the non-volatile memory cell.
[0018] According to another aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor
substrate; and a non-volatile memory cell provided on the
semiconductor substrate, the non-volatile memory cell comprising: a
tunnel insulating film provided on the semiconductor substrate; a
floating gate electrode provided on the tunnel insulating film, and
including at least one of an empty space region and insulator
region; a control gate electrode above the floating gate electrode;
and an interelectrode insulating film provided between the control
gate electrode and the floating gate electrode.
[0019] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device
comprising: a semiconductor substrate; an isolation region provided
on a surface of the semiconductor and including an isolation
trench; and a non-volatile memory cell provided on the
semiconductor substrate, the non-volatile memory cell comprising: a
tunnel insulating film; a floating gate electrode provided on the
tunnel insulating film, a control gate electrode above the floating
gate electrode; and an interelectrode insulating film provided
between the control gate electrode and the floating gate electrode,
the method comprising: forming an insulating film to be processed
into the tunnel insulating film on the semiconductor substrate;
forming a semiconductor film to be processed into the floating gate
electrode on the insulating film, the semiconductor film including
a side where oxidation rate is the highest between a region above a
bottom surface of the semiconductor film and a region below an
upper surface thereof; etching the semiconductor film, the
insulating film and the semiconductor substrate, and forming the
isolation trench; oxidizing a surface of the semiconductor film
exposed in a process of forming the isolation trench, and forming
an oxide film on the surface of the semiconductor film; and
removing the oxide film.
[0020] According to another aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device
comprising: a semiconductor substrate; an isolation region provided
on a surface of the semiconductor and including an isolation
trench; and a non-volatile memory cell provided on the
semiconductor substrate, the non-volatile memory cell comprising: a
tunnel insulating film; a floating gate electrode provided on the
tunnel insulating film, a control gate electrode above the floating
gate electrode; and an interelectrode insulating film provided
between the control gate electrode and the floating gate electrode,
the method comprising: forming an insulating film to be processed
into the tunnel insulating film and a semiconductor film to be
processed into the floating gate electrode on the semiconductor
substrate successively; etching the semiconductor film, the
insulating film and the semiconductor substrate, and forming the
isolation trench; forming an isolation film in the isolation
trench; forming a first dielectric region making a part of the
interelectrode insulating film and the control gate electrode on a
region including the isolation film and the semiconductor film
successively; and forming a second dielectric region having
permittivity lower than the first dielectric region and making a
part of the interelectrode insulating film in an empty space region
formed by etching an exposed surface of the first dielectric region
by a predetermined amount in the lateral direction.
[0021] According to another aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device
comprising: a semiconductor substrate; an isolation region provided
on a surface of the semiconductor and including an isolation
trench; and a non-volatile memory cell provided on the
semiconductor substrate, the non-volatile memory cell comprising: a
tunnel insulating film; a floating gate electrode provided on the
tunnel insulating film, and including at least one of an empty
space region and insulator region; a control gate electrode above
the floating gate electrode; and an interelectrode insulating film
provided between the control gate electrode and the floating gate
electrode, the method comprising: forming an insulating film to be
processed into the tunnel insulating film, a first semiconductor
film making a part of the floating gate electrode, and a polishing
stopper film on the semiconductor substrate successively; etching
the first semiconductor film, the insulating film, the
semiconductor substrate and the polishing stopper film, forming the
isolation trench; forming an isolation film on a region including
the isolation trench and the polishing stopper film so that the
isolation trench is filled; polishing the surface of the isolation
trench using the polishing stopper film as a stopper, and removing
the isolation film outside the isolation trench; removing the
polishing stopper film; and forming a second semiconductor film
making a part of the floating gate electrode and including an empty
space therein on a region including the isolation film and the
first semiconductor film to fill a concave portion formed by
removing the polishing stopper film.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
[0022] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a plurality of memory cells
according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are cross-sectional views taken along
lines A-A'0 and B-B' shown in the plan view of FIG. 1,
respectively;
[0024] FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing a plurality of memory cells according to
the first embodiment;
[0025] FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells following FIG. 3A and
FIG. 3B, respectively;
[0026] FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells following FIG. 4A and
FIG. 4B, respectively;
[0027] FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells following FIG. 5A and
FIG. 5B, respectively;
[0028] FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells following FIG. 6A and
FIG. 6B, respectively;
[0029] FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells following FIG. 7A and
FIG. 7B, respectively;
[0030] FIG. 9 is a channel width direction cross-sectional view
showing a plurality of memory cells according to the second
embodiment of the present invention;
[0031] FIG. 10 is a channel width direction cross-sectional view
showing a plurality of memory cells according to the third
embodiment of the present invention;
[0032] FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing a plurality of memory cells according to
the third embodiment;
[0033] FIG. 12 is a channel width direction cross-sectional view
showing a plurality of memory cells according to the fourth
embodiment of the present invention;
[0034] FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing a plurality of memory cells according to
the fourth embodiment;
[0035] FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells following FIG. 13A and
FIG. 13B, respectively;
[0036] FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells following FIG. 14A and
FIG. 14B, respectively;
[0037] FIG. 16A and FIG. 16B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells following FIG. 15A and
FIG. 15B, respectively;
[0038] FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells following FIG. 16A and
FIG. 16B, respectively;
[0039] FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B are individually channel length and
width direction cross-sectional views showing a plurality of memory
cells according to the fifth embodiment of the present
invention;
[0040] FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells of the fifth
embodiment;
[0041] FIG. 20A and FIG. 20B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells following FIG. 19A and
FIG. 19B, respectively;
[0042] FIG. 21A and FIG. 21B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells following FIG. 20A and
FIG. 20B, respectively;
[0043] FIG. 22A and FIG. 22B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells following FIG. 21A and
FIG. 21B, respectively;
[0044] FIG. 23A and FIG. 23B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells following FIG. 22A and
FIG. 22B, respectively;
[0045] FIG. 24A and FIG. 24B are cross-sectional views showing the
process of manufacturing the memory cells following FIG. 23A and
FIG. 23B, respectively;
[0046] FIG. 25 is a channel length direction cross-sectional view
showing a plurality of memory cells according to the sixth
embodiment of the present invention;
[0047] FIG. 26 is a channel length direction cross-sectional view
showing a plurality of memory cells according to the seventh
embodiment of the present invention;
[0048] FIG. 27A and FIG. 27B are views schematically showing
parasitic capacitance of the memory cell according to the sixth
embodiment;
[0049] FIG. 28 is a channel width direction cross-sectional view
showing a plurality of memory cells according to the eighth
embodiment of the present invention;
[0050] FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a
conventional memory cell in a channel width direction;
[0051] FIG. 30 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a
conventional memory cell in a channel length direction; and
[0052] FIG. 31A and FIG. 31B are views schematically showing
parasitic capacitance of the conventional memory cell.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0053] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First Embodiment
[0054] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a plurality of non-volatile
memory cells (hereinafter, referred simply to as memory cell)
according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A
is a cross-sectional view (in channel length direction) taken along
a line A-A' of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view (in
channel width direction) taken along a line B-B' thereof.
[0055] A memory cell array of a non-volatile memory comprises a
plurality of memory cells. Each memory cell includes tunnel
insulating film, floating gate electrode, interelectrode insulating
film and source/drain regions. The memory cell of the present
embodiment will be described below.
[0056] The surface of a silicon substrate 1 is provided with an
isolation trench 2, which is filled with an isolation film 3. The
upper surface of each isolation film 3 is higher than the surface
of the silicon substrate 1, and lower than the upper surface of the
floating gate electrode 5. More specifically, the upper surface of
the isolation film 3 reaches about half of the height of the
floating gate electrode 5.
[0057] An isolation region comprises the isolation trench 2 and the
isolation film 3. The isolation region defines a semiconductor
region (element forming region) of the silicon substrate 1
including a channel region of the memory cell.
[0058] The surface of the semiconductor region is provided with a
tunnel insulating film 4. The floating gate electrode 5 is provided
on the tunnel insulating film 4.
[0059] In the channel width direction of the memory cell, the width
of the floating gate electrode 5 changes in the height direction of
the memory cell and the width becomes thinnest at the approximately
intermediate position between a region above the bottom surface of
the floating gate electrode 5 and a region below the upper surface
thereof.
[0060] The position where the width of the floating gate electrode
5 becomes thinnest is not limited to the foregoing intermediate
position. For example, the position may be located near to the
upper surface of the floating gate electrode 5 from the
intermediate position or near to the bottom surface from the
intermediate.
[0061] The width of the floating gate electrode 5 non-linearly
increases toward the upper and lower surfaces of the floating gate
electrode from the position where the width becomes thinnest.
However, the width may linearly increase.
[0062] The distance between the upper surfaces of adjacent floating
gate electrodes 5 is the same as the distance between that of the
conventional floating gate electrodes. The distance between the
lower surfaces of adjacent floating gate electrodes 5 is the same
as the distance between that of the conventional floating gate
electrodes. Therefore, the average distance between adjacent
floating gate electrodes 5 is longer than the distance between
conventional floating gate electrodes.
[0063] When the average distance between adjacent floating gate
electrodes 5 is longer, the parasitic capacitance between adjacent
floating gate electrodes 5 is reduced. Therefore, according to the
present embodiment, cell interference is effectively prevented even
if the scale-down of element is advanced. As a result, it is
possible to realize a high integration non-volatile memory, which
is hard to cause memory malfunction.
[0064] A control gate electrode 6 is provided above the floating
gate electrode 5. An interelectrode insulating film 7 is provided
between the floating gate electrode 5 and the control gate
electrode 6.
[0065] A silicon nitride film 8 is provided on the control gate
electrode 6. The silicon nitride film 8 is used as RIE (Reactive
Ion Etching) mask in the process of manufacturing the memory
cell.
[0066] As shown in FIG. 2A, a gate structure portion comprises
tunnel insulating film 4, floating gate electrode 5, control gate
electrode 6, interelectrode insulating film 7 and silicon nitride
film 8. The side and upper gate surface of the gate structure
portion is coated with a silicon oxide film 9. Such a silicon oxide
film 9 is called as an electrode sidewall oxide film.
[0067] A BPSG (Borophosphosilicate Glass) film 10 functioning as an
interlayer insulating film is provided on the silicon oxide film 9.
The surface of the silicon substrate 1 is provided with a pair of
source/drain regions 11 and the gate structure portion 4 to 8 is
sandwiched by the pair of source/drain regions 11.
[0068] The method of manufacturing a plurality of memory cells of
the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3A
and FIG. 3B to FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B. FIG. 3A to FIG. 8A are
equivalent to cross-sectional views taken along a line A-A' of FIG.
1, and FIG. 3B to FIG. 8B are equivalent to cross-sectional views
taken along a line and B-B' thereof.
[0069] As shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the tunnel insulating film
4 having a thickness of 10 nm is formed on the surface of the
silicon substrate 1 doped with desired impurity by thermal
oxidation. Thereafter, a polysilicon film 5 having a thickness of
150 nm and doped with phosphorus to be processed into the floating
gate electrode is deposited on the tunnel insulating film 4. In
this case, the polysilicon film 5 is deposited thereon by
low-pressure CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) using silane
(SiH.sub.4) and phosphine (Ph3) gases.
[0070] The polysilicon film 5 has the following phosphorus
concentration gradient (concentration distribution). More
specifically, the phosphorus concentration is the highest at the
approximately intermediate position of the thickness direction of
the polysilicon film 5, and becomes gradually lower toward the
upper and lower surfaces thereof.
[0071] The polysilicon film 5 having the phosphorus concentration
gradient (concentration distribution) is obtained by controlling
the flow rate of phosphine in the CVD process of the polysilicon
film 5.
[0072] As illustrated in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the following films
are successively deposited on the polysilicon film 5 by
low-pressure CVD process. One is a silicon nitride film 12 to be
processed into the stopper for CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polish) and
having a thickness of 50 nm. Another is a silicon oxide film 13 to
be processed into an RIE mask and having a thickness of 100 nm.
[0073] As depicted in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the silicon oxide film
13 is etched by RIE process using resist (not shown) covering the
element forming region. By doing so, the resist pattern is
transferred to the silicon oxide film 13.
[0074] As seen from FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, silicon nitride film 12,
polysilicon film 5 and tunnel insulating film 4 are successively
etched by RIE process using the resist mask and the silicon oxide
film 13 as the mask. The exposed region of the silicon substrate 1
is etched so that an isolation trench 2 having a depth of 150 nm
can be formed. By doing so, the element forming region having a
channel width of about 100 nm is obtained, and the shape of the
polysilicon film (floating gate electrode) 5 is determined in the
bit line direction.
[0075] The resist disappears in the RIE process, thereafter; the
silicon oxide film 13 is used as the RIE mask.
[0076] As shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, silicon oxide films 14a and
14b are formed on the surface of the exposed silicon substrate 1
and the floating gate electrode 5 by thermal oxidation.
[0077] The silicon oxide film 14a on the surface of the silicon
substrate 1 (bottom surface and side surface of isolation trench 2)
has a thickness of 5 nm.
[0078] On the other hand, the silicon oxide film 14b on the
sidewall of the polysilicon film 5 doped with phosphorus has the
following film thickness distribution. The film thickness of the
silicon oxide film 14b on the sidewall of the polysilicon film 5
doped with phosphorus becomes thicker as the concentration of the
phosphorus increase, and the film 14b has a thickness of 10 nm at
the highest phosphorus concentration, that is, the approximately
intermediate position in the thickness direction.
[0079] The reason why the silicon oxide film 14b is formed having
the film thickness distribution described above is because enhanced
oxidation by phosphorus occurs on the sidewall of the polysilicon
film 5.
[0080] As illustrated in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the silicon oxide
films 14a and 14b are removed by wet etching using diluted
hydrofluoric acid solution. The silicon oxide film 13 is also
removed by the wet etching.
[0081] As a result, the floating gate electrode 5 is obtained
having the following width in the channel width direction of the
memory cell. Namely, the width becomes thinnest at the
approximately intermediate position between a region above the
bottom surface of the floating gate electrode 5 and a region below
the upper surface thereof. In addition, the width non-linearly
increases toward the upper and lower surfaces of the floating gate
electrode 5 from the position where the width of the floating gate
electrode 5 is minimum.
[0082] Next, a silicon oxide film (CVD oxide film) having a
thickness of 400 nm which is to be processed into the isolation
film 3 is deposited on the entire surface by plasma CVD so that the
isolation trench 2 is fully filled.
[0083] As depicted in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, unnecessary portions of
the CVD oxide film are removed by CMP process using the silicon
nitride film 12 as the CMP stopper. By doing so, the isolation film
3 having a predetermined shape is obtained. The CMP process is
carried out until the silicon nitride film 12 is exposed and the
surface is planarized.
[0084] As seen from FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, the silicon nitride film
12 is removed by etching using phosphoric acid solution.
Thereafter, the upper portion of the isolation film (silicon oxide
film) 3 is removed by wet etching using diluted hydrofluoric acid
solution. By doing so, the upper portion of the side surface of the
floating gate electrode 5 is exposed in the channel width
direction. In this case, the height of the side of the floating
gate electrode 5 is 70 nm.
[0085] As shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, a three-layer structure
insulating film having a thickness of 15 nm and including a silicon
oxide film, a silicon nitride film and a silicon oxide film to be
processed into the interelectrode insulating film 7 is deposited on
the entire surface by low-pressure CVD process.
[0086] As illustrated in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, a two-layer structure
conductive film having a thickness of 100 nm and including a
polysilicon film and a tungsten silicide film to be processed into
the control gate electrode 6 is deposited on the three-layer
structure insulating film by low-pressure CVD process.
[0087] Next, a silicon nitride film to be processed into a RIE mask
and having a thickness of 100 nm is formed on the two-layer
structure conductive film by low-pressure CVD.
[0088] Next, resist mask is formed on the silicon nitride film, and
the silicon nitride film is etched by RIE process using the resist
mask as the mask. By doing so, the silicon nitride film (RIE mask)
8 having the pattern corresponding to the gate structure portion is
obtained as seen from FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B.
[0089] Next, the foregoing films are successively etched by RIE
process using the resist mask and the silicon nitride film 8 as the
mask. The films are two-layer structure conductive film,
three-layer structure insulating film, floating gate electrode 5
and tunnel insulating film 4. In this manner, a slit 15 is formed
in the word line direction, as shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B. By
doing so, the shape of the floating gate electrode 5 and the
control gate electrode 6 is defined.
[0090] Next, the silicon oxide film (electrode sidewall oxide film)
9 is formed using thermal oxidation and CVD process. The
source/drain regions 11 are formed using ion implantation and
annealing. The interlayer insulating film, that is, the BPSG film
10 is deposited by low-pressure CVD process. In this manner, the
memory cell shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B is obtained. Thereafter,
well-known process such as interconnect layer forming process is
carried out, and thus, a non-volatile memory is completed.
Second Embodiment
[0091] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a plurality of
memory cells according to the second embodiment of the present
invention. FIG. 9 is a channel width direction cross-sectional view
corresponding to FIG. 2B. In FIG. 9, the same reference numerals as
FIG. 2B are given to designate portions corresponding to FIG. 2B,
and the details ate omitted. The reference numerals identical to
the preceding drawings show the identical or corresponding portion,
and the details are omitted.
[0092] The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in
the following points. Of the upper surface and side of the floating
gate electrode 5, the upper surface is coated with the
interelectrode insulating film 7. In addition, the upper surface of
the isolation film 3 is higher than that of the floating gate
electrode 5.
[0093] According to the memory cell structure described above, no
interelectrode insulating film 7 exists on the side surface of the
floating gate electrode 5. Therefore, parasitic capacitance between
adjacent floating gate electrodes 5 is about twice as much as the
memory cell structure of the first embodiment. An increase of the
parasitic capacitance is a factor of causing cell interference.
[0094] However, according to the memory cell structure of the
present embodiment, the width of the floating gate electrode 5
becomes narrow at the approximately intermediate position in the
height direction of the memory cell. Thus, the increase of the
parasitic capacitance is prevented. As a result, the generation of
memory malfunction by cell interference is greatly reduced.
[0095] The method of manufacturing a plurality of memory cells of
the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment
except for the following point. Namely, the process of removing the
upper portion of the isolation film 3 is omitted from the process
of FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B. Therefore, according to the present
embodiment, the following effect is obtained, that is, the process
of manufacturing the memory cell is simplified.
Third Embodiment
[0096] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a plurality of
memory cells according to the third embodiment of the present
invention. FIG. 10 is a channel width direction cross-sectional
view corresponding to FIG. 2B.
[0097] The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in
the following points. Namely, the area of the tunnel insulating
film 4 facing the floating gate electrode 5 is smaller than the
area of the interelectrode insulating film 7 facing the floating
gate electrode 5.
[0098] In addition, the width of the floating gate electrode 5 has
the following distribution in the height direction of the memory
cell. Namely, the floating gate electrode 5 has the maximum width
at a position P1 separating from the bottom surface of the floating
gate electrode 5 with a predetermined distance. In addition, the
floating gate electrode 5 has the minimum width at a position P2
(position where the floating gate electrode 5 is thinnest) above
the position P1.
[0099] According to the present embodiment, the following effect is
obtained in addition to the effect described in the first
embodiment. Namely, as the area of the tunnel insulating film 4
facing the floating gate electrode 5 is smaller than that of the
interelectrode insulating film 7 facing the same, the reduction of
operating voltage by an increase of coupling ratio is realize.
[0100] The coupling ratio is defined as Cie/(Ctd+Cie). In this
case, Cie is capacitance of the interelectrode insulating film 7,
and Ctd is capacitance of the tunnel insulating film 4.
[0101] The method of manufacturing a plurality of memory cells of
the present embodiment slightly differs from that of the first
embodiment.
[0102] The difference point between the present embodiment and the
first embodiment is as follows. Time spent for wet etching using
diluted hydrofluoric acid solution is made long in the process of
FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, and as seen from FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, the
edge of the tunnel insulating film 4 close to the isolation film 3
is etched by about 10 nm, and thereafter, thermal oxidation is
carried out.
Fourth Embodiment
[0103] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a plurality of
memory cells according to the fourth embodiment of the present
invention. FIG. 12 is a channel width direction cross-sectional
view corresponding to FIG. 2B.
[0104] The fourth embodiment differs from the first to third
embodiments in the following point. The floating gate electrode 5
is provided with a region including an empty space region or
dielectric region (hereinafter, referred to as empty
space/dielectric region) 16.
[0105] The width of the floating gate electrode 5 has no change in
the height direction of the memory cell as well as channel length
and width directions thereof. However, in this case, the width of
the floating gate electrode 5 can be changed like the first or
second embodiment.
[0106] According to the present embodiment, the floating gate
electrode 5 is provided with the empty space/dielectric region 16.
Thus, the cross-sectional area of the conductor portion of the
floating gate electrode 5 becomes small. Therefore, this serves to
reduce the parasitic capacitance between adjacent floating gate
electrodes in the channel length direction. As a result, it is
possible to realize a non-volatile memory, which can sufficiently
reduce the generation of memory malfunction by memory cell
interference.
[0107] In FIG. 12, there is shown a memory cell in which one
floating gate electrode 5 is provided with one empty
space/dielectric region 16. In this case, one floating gate
electrode 5 may be provided with a plurality of empty
space/dielectric regions 16. In addition, empty space region and
dielectric region may be mixed in the floating gate electrode
5.
[0108] The method of manufacturing a plurality of memory cells of
the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 13A
and FIG. 13B to FIG. 16A and FIG. 16B. FIG. 13A to FIG. 16A are
equivalent to cross-sectional views taken along a line A-A' of FIG.
1, and FIG. 13B to FIG. 16B are equivalent to cross-sectional views
taken along a line B-B' thereof.
[0109] As shown in FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B, the tunnel insulating
film having a thickness of 10 nm is formed on the surface of the
silicon substrate doped with desired impurity by thermal oxidation.
Thereafter, the following films are successively deposited by low
pressure CVD. One is a first polysilicon film 5a (first
semiconductor film) having a thickness of 30 nm to be processed
into a bottom-layer of a floating gate electrode. Another is a
silicon nitride film 12 having a thickness of 150 nm to be
processed into a CMP stopper. Another is a silicon oxide film 13
having a thickness of 100 nm to be processed into an RIE mask.
[0110] Next, as illustrated in FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B, the silicon
oxide film 13 is etched by RIE process using resist (not shown)
covering the element forming region as the mask. By doing so, the
resist pattern is transferred to the silicon oxide film 13.
[0111] Subsequently, as depicted in FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B, silicon
nitride film 12, polysilicon film 5a and tunnel insulating film 4
are successively etched by RIE process using the resist mask and
the silicon oxide film 13 as the mask, further, the exposed region
of the silicon substrate 1 is etched so that the isolation trench
having a depth of 150 nm can be formed.
[0112] The resist disappears in the RIE process, and thereafter,
the silicon oxide film 13 is used as the RIE mask.
[0113] As seen from FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B, a silicon oxide film
(not shown) having a thickness of 5 nm is formed on the exposed
silicon surface, thereafter, a silicon oxide film (CVD oxide film)
having a thickness of 400 nm to be processed into the isolation
film 3 is deposited on the entire surface by plasma CVD process so
that the isolation trench 2 is fully filled.
[0114] Next as shown in FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B, unnecessary portions
of the CVD oxide film are removed by CMP process using the silicon
nitride film 12 as the stopper. By doing so, the isolation film 3
having a predetermined shape is obtained, and the silicon oxide
film (RIE mask) 13 is removed. The CMP process is carried out until
the silicon nitride film 12 is exposed and the surface is
planarized.
[0115] Next as illustrated in FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B, the silicon
nitride film 12 is removed by etching using phosphoric acid
solution. Thereafter, a second polysilicon film 5b (second
semiconductor film) having a thickness of 200 nm to be processed
into a top-layer floating gate electrode 5 is deposited on the
entire surface by low pressure CVD process.
[0116] In this case, the low pressure CVD process of the second
polysilicon film 5b is carried out under the condition that the
second polysilicon film 5b is formed conformaly. By doing so, the
second polysilicon film 5b having an empty space region 17 called
seam is formed. The empty space region 17 is positioned at the
approximately center portion of a trench (concave) formed between
adjacent isolation films 3. The trench (concave) is formed by
removing the silicon nitride film 12.
[0117] Next, as depicted in FIG. 16A and FIG. 16B, the second
polysilicon film 5b outside the trench (concave) between adjacent
isolation films 3 is removed by CMP process and the surface of the
region including the second polysilicon film 5b and the isolation
film 3 is planarized. As a result, the floating gate electrode 5
comprising the first and second polysilicon films 5a and 5b is
obtained.
[0118] Next, as seen from FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B, the upper portion
of the isolation film (silicon oxide film) 3 is removed by wet
etching using diluted hydrofluoric acid solution. Thereafter, the
interelectrode insulating film 7 is formed on the isolation film 3
and the floating gate electrode 5.
[0119] The silicon oxide film making the interelectrode insulating
film 7 is formed by thermal oxidation process. In this case,
oxidation species diffuses into the second polysilicon film 5b, and
reaches the empty space region 17. Thus, the empty space region 17
is converted into a silicon dioxide region, and thereby, a
dielectric region is obtained as the empty space/dielectric region
16.
[0120] Incidentally, if the empty space region 17 is intactly left,
an empty space region is obtained as the empty space/dielectric
region 16. In addition, if part of the empty space region 17 is
converted into a silicon dioxide region, empty space and dielectric
regions are obtained as the empty space/dielectric region 16.
[0121] Thereafter, control gate electrode 6, silicon nitride film
8, silicon oxide film 9, BPSG film 10, source/drain regions 11, and
the interconnect layer are formed like the first embodiment, and
thus, a non-volatile memory is completed.
[0122] In the present embodiment, the dielectric region is formed
in the empty space region when forming the interelectrode
insulating film 7 by thermal oxidation. However, the method for
forming the dielectric region is not limited to thermal oxidation.
For example, the dielectric region can be formed in the empty space
region when forming the electrode sidewall insulating film 9 by low
pressure CVD process.
Fifth Embodiment
[0123] FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B are cross-sectional views showing a
plurality of memory cells according to the fifth embodiment of the
present invention. FIG. 18A is an equivalent to cross-sectional
view taken along a line A-A' of FIG. 1, and FIG. 18B is an
equivalent to cross-sectional views taken along a line B-B'
thereof.
[0124] The fifth embodiment differs from the first embodiment in
the following points. The width of the floating gate electrode 5
changes in the height direction of the memory cell in the channel
length direction of the memory cell and the floating gate electrode
5 has the thinnest width at the approximately intermediate position
between a region above the bottom surface of the floating gate
electrode 5 and a region below the upper surface of the floating
gate electrode 5.
[0125] The position where the width of the floating gate electrode
5 is the thinnest and the change of the width thereof may be
variously modified like the first embodiment.
[0126] In the channel length direction of the memory cell, the
distance between upper surfaces of adjacent floating gate
electrodes 5 is the same as the distance between conventional ones.
Likewise, the, distance between lower surfaces of adjacent floating
gate electrodes 5 is the same as the distance between conventional
ones. Therefore, the average distance between adjacent floating
gate electrodes 5 of the present embodiment is longer than the
average distance between conventional ones.
[0127] When the average distance between adjacent floating gate
electrodes is longer, the parasitic capacitance between adjacent
floating gate electrodes 5 is reduced. Therefore, according to the
present embodiment, cell interference is effectively prevented even
if the scale-down of element is advanced. As a result, it is
possible to realize a high integration non-volatile memory, which
is hard to cause memory malfunction.
[0128] The method of manufacturing a plurality of memory cells of
the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 19A
and FIG. 19B to FIG. 24A and FIG. 24B. FIG. 19A to FIG. 24A are
equivalent to cross-sectional views taken along a line A-A' of FIG.
1, and FIG. 19B to FIG. 24B are equivalent to cross-sectional views
taken along a line B-B' thereof.
[0129] As shown in FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B, the tunnel insulating
film 4 having a thickness of 10 nm is formed on the surface of the
silicon substrate 1 doped with desired impurity by thermal
oxidation. Thereafter, a polysilicon film 5 having a thickness of
150 nm and doped with phosphorus to be processed into the floating
gate electrode is deposited on the tunnel insulating film 4 by
low-pressure CVD process using silane and phosphine gases. The
polysilicon film 5 has the same phosphorus concentration gradient
(concentration distribution) as the first embodiment.
[0130] Next, as illustrated in FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B, the following
films are successively deposited on the polysilicon film 5 by
low-pressure CVD process. One is a silicon nitride film 12 having a
thickness of 50 nm to be processed into a CMP stopper. Another is a
silicon oxide film 13 having a thickness of 100 nm to be processed
into an RIE mask.
[0131] Next, as depicted in FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B, the silicon
oxide film 13 is etched by RIE process using resist (not shown)
covering the element forming region. By doing so, the resist
pattern is transferred to the silicon oxide film 13.
[0132] Next, as seen from FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B, silicon nitride
film 12, polysilicon film 5 and tunnel insulating film 4 are
successively etched by RIE process using the resist mask and the
silicon oxide film 13 as the mask, further, the exposed region of
the silicon substrate 1 is etched so that an isolation trench 2 can
be formed.
[0133] The resist disappears in the RIE process, thereafter, the
silicon oxide film 13 is used as the RIE mask.
[0134] Next, as shown in FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B, a silicon oxide
film (CVD oxide film) having a thickness of 400 nm to be processed
into the isolation film 3 is deposited on the entire surface by
plasma CVD processed so that the isolation trench 2 is fully
filled.
[0135] Next, as depicted in FIG. 20A and FIG. 20B, unnecessary
portions of the CVD oxide film are removed by CMP process using the
silicon nitride film 12 as the CMP stopper. By doing so, the
isolation film 3 having a predetermined shape is obtained, and the
silicon oxide film 13 (RIE mask) 13 is removed. The CMP process is
carried out until the silicon nitride film 12 is exposed and the
surface is planarized.
[0136] Next, as seen from FIG. 21A and FIG. 21B, the silicon
nitride film 12 is removed by etching using phosphoric acid
solution. Thereafter, the upper portion of the isolation film
(silicon oxide film) 3 is removed by wet etching using diluted
hydrofluoric acid solution. By doing so, the upper portion of the
side of the floating gate electrode 5 is exposed.
[0137] Next as shown in FIG. 22A and FIG. 22B, a three-layer
structure insulating film having a thickness of 15 nm and
comprising a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitride film and a
silicon oxide film to be processed into the interelectrode
insulating film 7 is deposited on the entire surface by
low-pressure CVD.
[0138] Next, as illustrated in FIG. 22A and FIG. 22B, a two-layer
structure conductive film having a thickness of 100 nm and
comprising a polysilicon film, and a tungsten silicide film to be
processed into the control gate electrode 6 is deposited on the
three-layer structure insulating film by low-pressure CVD.
[0139] Next, a silicon nitride film to be processed into an RIE
mask and having a thickness of 100 nm is formed on the two-layer
structure conductive film by low-pressure CVD process.
[0140] Next, a resist mask is formed on the silicon nitride film,
and the silicon nitride film is etched by RIE process using the
resist mask as the mask. By doing so, the silicon nitride film 8
having the pattern corresponding to the gate structure portion is
obtained as seen from FIG. 22A and FIG. 22B.
[0141] Next, the two-layer structure conductive film, three-layer
structure insulating film, the floating gate electrode 5, and the
tunnel insulating film 4 are successively etched by RIE process
using the resist mask and the silicon nitride film 8 as the mask,
and as depicted in FIG. 22A and FIG. 22B, a slit 15 is formed in
the word line direction. By doing so, the shape of the floating
gate electrode 5 and the control gate electrode 6 is defined.
[0142] Next, as depicted in FIG. 23A and FIG. 23B, silicon oxide
films 14a and 14b are formed on the surfaces of the exposed silicon
substrate and the floating gate electrode 5 by thermal
oxidation.
[0143] The film thickness of the silicon oxide film 14b on the
sidewall of the polysilicon film 5 doped with phosphorus becomes
thicker as the concentration of the phosphorus increase, and the
film 14b has a thickness of 10 nm at the highest phosphorus
concentration, that is, the approximately intermediate position in
the thickness direction.
[0144] The reason why the silicon oxide film 14b is formed having
the film thickness distribution described above is because enhanced
oxidation by phosphorus occurs on the sidewall of the polysilicon
film 5.
[0145] Next, as seen from FIG. 24A and FIG. 24B, the silicon oxide
films 14a and 14b are removed by wet etching using diluted
hydrofluoric acid solution.
[0146] As a result, the floating gate electrode 5 is obtained
having the following width in the channel length direction of the
memory cell. Namely, the width becomes thinnest at the
approximately intermediate position between a region above the
bottom surface of the floating gate electrode 5 and a region below
the upper surface thereof. In addition, the width non-linearly
increases toward the upper and lower surfaces of the floating gate
electrode 5 from the position where the width becomes thinnest.
[0147] Thereafter, the silicon oxide film (electrode sidewall oxide
film) 9 is formed using thermal oxidation and CVD process, the
source/drain regions 11 are formed using ion implantation and
annealing, and the interlayer insulating film as the BPSG film 10
is deposited by low-pressure CVD like the first embodiment, thereby
the memory cell shown in FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B is obtained.
Thereafter, well-known process such as interconnect forming process
is carried out, and thus, a non-volatile memory is completed.
Sixth Embodiment
[0148] FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view showing a plurality of
memory cells according to the sixth embodiment of the present
invention. FIG. 25 is a channel length direction cross-sectional
view corresponding to FIG. 2A.
[0149] The sixth embodiment differs from the fifth embodiment in
the following points. Namely, the area of the tunnel insulating
film 4 facing the floating gate electrode 5 is smaller than that of
the interelectrode insulating film 7 facing the floating gate
electrode 5.
[0150] In addition, the width of the floating gate electrode 5 has
the following distribution in the height direction of the memory
cell. Namely, the floating gate electrode 5 has the maximum width
at a position P1 separating from the bottom surface of the floating
gate electrode 5 with a predetermined distance. In addition, the
floating gate electrode 5 has the minimum width, at a position P2.
(position where the floating gate electrode 5 is thinnest) above
the position P1.
[0151] According to the present embodiment, the following effect is
obtained in addition to the effect described in the fifth
embodiment. Namely, the area of the tunnel insulating film 4 facing
the floating gate electrode 5 is smaller than that of the
interelectrode insulating film 7 facing the floating gate electrode
5. This serves to realize the reduction of operating voltage by an
increase of coupling ratio.
[0152] The method of manufacturing a plurality of memory cells of
the present embodiment slightly differs from that of the fifth
embodiment.
[0153] The difference point between the present embodiment and the
fifth embodiment is as follows. Time spent for wet etching using
diluted hydrofluoric acid solution is made long in the process of
FIG. 23. The edge of the tunnel insulating film 4 is etched by
about 10 nm in the channel length direction, and thereafter,
thermal oxidation is again carried out.
[0154] The first to sixth embodiments have described the following
memory cell structure. In one of the channel width and length
directions, the width of the floating gate electrode 5 changes in
the height direction of non-volatile memory cell. In addition, the
width is the thinnest at the intermediate position between the
region above the bottom surface of the floating gate electrode 5
and the region below the upper surface thereof. The width of the
floating gate electrode 5 can be changed in both channel width and
length directions, as described above.
Seventh Embodiment
[0155] FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view showing a plurality of
memory cells according to the seventh embodiment of the present
invention. FIG. 26 is a channel length direction cross-sectional
view corresponding to FIG. 2A.
[0156] The seventh embodiment differs from the first embodiment in
the following points. The interelectrode insulating film 7 includes
a first dielectric region 7.sub.1 and a second dielectric region
7.sub.2 having permittivity lower than the first dielectric region
7.sub.1. In addition, in the channel length direction of the memory
cells, the second dielectric region 7.sub.2 is provided on the edge
of the first dielectric region 7.sub.1 in the channel length
direction of the non-volatile memory cell.
[0157] The first dielectric region 7.sub.1 comprises alumina or
tantalum oxide; on the other hand, the second dielectric region
7.sub.2 comprises silicon oxide (SiO.sub.2), silicon nitride (SiN)
or silicon oxynitride (SiON). In this case, the width of the
floating gate electrode 5 can be changed like the first to sixth
embodiments.
[0158] The width of the floating gate electrode 5 has no change in
the height direction of the memory cell in any of the channel
length and width directions.
[0159] The scale-down of the memory cell is advanced, and thereby,
the distance L2 between floating gate electrodes 5 becomes shorter.
When the distance L2 becomes shorter, the parasitic capacitance C1
between upper surfaces of adjacent floating gate electrodes 5 shown
in FIG. 27A becomes larger in general.
[0160] However, according to the present embodiment, the second
dielectric region 7.sub.2 having low permittivity exists on the
upper surface of the edge of the floating gate electrode 5.
Therefore, an increase of the parasitic capacitance C1 is
effectively prevented even if the scale-down of the memory cell is
advanced. The parasitic capacitance C2 (see FIG. 27B) between
sidewalls of adjacent floating gate electrodes 5 is the same as the
conventional case.
[0161] According to the present embodiment, the factor of memory
malfunction, that is, cell interference is prevented even if the
scale-down of elements is advanced. As a result, it is possible to
realize a high integration non-volatile memory, which is hard to
cause memory malfunction.
[0162] The method of manufacturing the memory cell of the present
embodiment is as follows. The processes described in FIG. 19A and
FIG. 19B to FIG. 22A and FIG. 22b of the sixth embodiment are
carried out. The interelectrode insulating film 7 (equivalent to
first dielectric region 7.sub.1 of the present embodiment) is
alumina film or tantalum oxide film.
[0163] The edge of the interelectrode insulating film 7 is removed
by a predetermined amount (dimension equivalent to the width of
second dielectric region 7.sub.2) in the channel direction by RIE
process or wet etching. By doing so, the first dielectric region
7.sub.1 is formed.
[0164] Thereafter, the region where the interelectrode insulating
film 7 is removed is filled with dielectrics having low
permittivity, such as silicon oxide by CVD process, and thereby,
the second dielectric region 7.sub.2 is obtained.
[0165] Thereafter, well-known processes, that is, processes of
forming electrode sidewall oxide film 9, source/drain regions 11,
and BPSG film (interlayer insulating film) 10 are carried out. In
this manner, the memory cell shown in FIG. 26A and FIG. 26B is
obtained. Thereafter, the process of forming interconnect layer is
carried out, and thus, a non-volatile memory is completed.
[0166] Incidentally, the region where the interelectrode insulating
film 7 is removed is filled with the BPSG film (interlayer
insulating film) 10, and thereby, the second dielectric region
7.sub.2 can be formed. In this case, the process can be simplified
because of omitting the process of filling the region where the
inter-electrode insulating film 7 is removed with dielectrics such
as silicon oxide.
Eighth Embodiment
[0167] FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view showing a plurality of
memory cells according to the eighth embodiment of the present
invention. FIG. 28 is a channel width direction cross-sectional
view corresponding to FIG. 2B.
[0168] The eighth embodiment differs from the seventh embodiment in
the following point. The area of the tunnel insulating film 4
facing the floating gate electrode 5 (5a, 5b) is smaller than that
of the interelectrode insulating film 7 facing the floating gate
electrode 5.
[0169] According to the present embodiment, the following effect is
obtained in addition to the effect described in the seventh
embodiment. Namely, the area of the tunnel insulating film 4 facing
the floating gate electrode 5 is smaller than that of the
interelectrode insulating film 7 facing the floating gate electrode
5 in the present embodiment. Therefore, it is possible to realize
the reduction of operating voltage by an increase of coupling
ratio.
[0170] The method of manufacturing a plurality of memory cells of
the present embodiment is the same as the seventh embodiment
excepting the process of forming the floating gate electrode 5 (5a,
5b). The process of forming the floating gate electrode 5a, 5b is
as follows.
[0171] The process of forming the floating gate electrode 5a, 5b
includes the following processes, like the process of FIG. 21A and
FIG. 21B of the fifth embodiment. One is a step of forming the
floating gate electrode (equivalent to the floating gate electrode
5a of the present embodiment). Another is a step of forming a
polysilicon film on regions including the isolation film 3 and the
floating gate electrode 5a. Another is a step of processing the
polysilicon film by photolithography and etching to form the
floating gate electrode 5b including the polysilicon film.
[0172] Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur
to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its
broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and
representative embodiments shown and described herein. Accordingly,
various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit
or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the
appended claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *