Device including active floating gate region area that is smaller than channel area

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9252149-B2
Application number	US-201214375695-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 30, 2012
Priority date	Apr 30, 2012
Publication date	Feb 2, 2016
Grant date	Feb 2, 2016

Abstract

A device including a drain, a channel, a floating gate, and a control gate. The channel surrounds the drain and has a channel area. The floating gate includes an active floating gate region that has an active floating gate region area. The control gate is coupled to the active floating gate region via a control capacitance, wherein the active floating gate region area is smaller than the channel area.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A device comprising:
a drain;
a channel that surrounds the drain and has a channel area;
a floating gate that includes an active floating gate region that has an active floating gate region area; and
a control gate coupled to the active floating gate region via a control capacitance, wherein the active floating gate region area is smaller than the channel area.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the floating gate includes at least one inactive floating gate region.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the floating gate has a floating gate capacitance and the active floating gate region has an active floating gate region capacitance and the control capacitance to the active floating gate region capacitance ratio is greater than the control capacitance to the floating gate capacitance ratio.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the channel has a channel length to width ratio and the active floating gate region has an active floating gate region length to width ratio that is greater than the channel length to width ratio.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the channel has a channel length to width ratio and the channel includes an active channel region that has an active channel region length to width ratio that is greater than the channel length to width ratio.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the channel includes an active channel region that has an active channel region area that is greater than the channel area.

7. An integrated circuit comprising:
a drain;
a channel that surrounds the drain and has a channel length to width ratio;
a floating gate that includes an active floating gate region having an active floating gate region length to width ratio; and
a control gate coupled to the active floating gate region via a control capacitance, wherein the active floating gate region length to width ratio is greater than the channel length to width ratio.

8. The integrated circuit of claim 7 , wherein the channel has a channel area and the active floating gate region has an active floating gate region area that is smaller than the channel area.

9. The integrated circuit of claim 7 , wherein the control capacitance to active floating gate region capacitance ratio is greater than the control capacitance to floating gate capacitance ratio.

10. The integrated circuit of claim 7 , wherein the floating gate includes at least one inactive floating gate region over an inactive channel region.

11. The integrated circuit of claim 7 , wherein the channel includes an active channel region that has an active channel length to width ratio that is greater than the channel length to width ratio.

Assignees

• Ge Ning
• Ghozeil Adam L
• Ho Chaw Sing
• Benjamin Trudy
• Hewlett Packard Development Co

Inventors

• Ge Ning
• Ghozeil Adam L
• Ho Chaw Sing
• Benjamin Trudy

Classifications

• H10P50/264

  by chemical means · CPC title

• H10P14/46

  using a liquid · CPC title

• H10D64/01332

  Making the insulator · CPC title

• H10D62/235

  of IGFETs (IGFETs having buried channels H10D30/637) · CPC title

• H10D30/6891

  characterised by the shapes, relative sizes or dispositions of the floating gate electrode · CPC title