Semiconductor integrated circuit device and a method of manufacturing the same

US9735168B2 · US · B2

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-9735168-B2
Application numberUS-201615358950-A
CountryUS
Kind codeB2
Filing dateNov 22, 2016
Priority dateApr 18, 2002
Publication dateAug 15, 2017
Grant dateAug 15, 2017

How to read this patent

A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.

  1. Title

    What the patent document calls the invention.

  2. Abstract

    A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.

  3. Assignees and inventors

    Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.

  4. Key dates

    Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.

  5. First independent claim

    The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.

  6. CPC / IPC classifications

    Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.

  7. Citations and related patents

    Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.

Abstract

Official abstract text for this publication.

A semiconductor device including a memory cell featuring a first gate insulating film over a semiconductor substrate, a control gate electrode over the first gate insulating film, a second gate insulating film over the substrate and a side wall of the control gate electrode, a memory gate electrode over the second gate insulating film arranged adjacent with the control gate electrode through the second gate insulating film, first and second semiconductor regions in the substrate positioned on a control gate electrode side and a memory gate side, respectively, the second gate insulating film featuring a first film over the substrate, a charge storage film over the first film and a third film over the second film, the first film having a first portion between the substrate and memory gate electrode and a thickness greater than that of a second portion between the control gate electrode and the memory gate electrode.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

What is claimed is: 1. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor substrate having a main surface; a first gate electrode formed over the main surface of the semiconductor substrate; a first insulating film having a first thickness, the first insulating film being formed between the first electrode and the semiconductor substrate; a second gate electrode formed over the main surface of the semiconductor substrate; a second insulating film having a second thickness, the second insulating film being formed between the second gate electrode and semiconductor substrate, and the second gate electrode being disposed along the first gate electrode; a third insulating film having a third thickness, the third insulating film being formed between the first and second gate electrodes, and the first and second gate electrodes being comprised of a gate of a FET; a first semiconductor region formed in the main surface of the semiconductor substrate at one side of the gate of the FET; and a second semiconductor region formed in the main surface of the semiconductor substrate at another side of the gate of the FET; wherein each of the first and second gate electrodes includes a metal silicide film formed on a top surface thereof, wherein the first insulating film includes a charge accumulation layer and insulating layers formed on an upper side and a lower side of the charge accumulation layer, wherein the third thickness is greater than the first thickness, and wherein the metal silicide film on the first gate electrode and the metal silicide film on the second gate electrode are spaced apart from each other by the third insulating film. 2. The semiconductor device according to the claim 1 , wherein the first gate electrode is comprised of a memory gate electrode having a first height, wherein the second gate electrode is comprised of a control gate electrode having a second height, and wherein the first height is higher than the second height. 3. The semiconductor device according to the claim 1 , wherein a metal silicide film is formed on each of the first and second semiconductor regions. 4. The semiconductor device according to the claim 1 , wherein the third insulating film comprises a silicon oxide film and a silicon nitride film. 5. The semiconductor device according to the claim 1 , wherein the charge accumulation layer comprises a silicon nitride film. 6. The semiconductor device according to the claim 1 , wherein the second gate electrode is disposed at a sidewall surface of the first gate electrode. 7. The semiconductor device according to the claim 1 , wherein the metal silicide film on the first gate electrode and the metal silicide film on the second gate electrode are formed of the same film.

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

  • Interconnections within wafers or substrates, e.g. through-silicon vias [TSV] · CPC title

  • Circuits for erasing electrically, e.g. erase voltage switching circuits · CPC title

  • Electricity · mapped topic

  • Electricity · mapped topic

  • Determination of programming status, e.g. threshold voltage, overprogramming or underprogramming, retention · CPC title

Patent family

Related publications grouped by family.

External sources

Frequently asked questions

Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.

What does patent US9735168B2 cover?
A semiconductor device including a memory cell featuring a first gate insulating film over a semiconductor substrate, a control gate electrode over the first gate insulating film, a second gate insulating film over the substrate and a side wall of the control gate electrode, a memory gate electrode over the second gate insulating film arranged adjacent with the control gate electrode through th…
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Renesas Electronics Corp
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification H01L27/11568. Mapped technology areas include Electricity.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Tue Aug 15 2017 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
What related patents are in patentsdb?
We list 8 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).