Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080290398 | Nonvolatile charge trap memory device having <100> crystal plane channel orientation - A nonvolatile charge trap memory device and a method to form the same are described. The device includes a channel region having a channel length with <100> crystal plane orientation. The channel region is between a pair of source and drain regions and a gate stack is disposed above the channel region. | 11-27-2008 |
20080290399 | Nonvolatile charge trap memory device having a deuterated layer in a multi-layer charge-trapping region - A nonvolatile charge trap memory device is described. The device includes a substrate having a channel region and a pair of source/drain regions. A gate stack is above the substrate over the channel region and between the pair of source/drain regions. The gate stack includes a multi-layer charge-trapping region having a first deuterated layer. The multi-layer charge-trapping region may further include a deuterium-free charge-trapping layer. | 11-27-2008 |
20080293207 | INTEGRATION OF NON-VOLATILE CHARGE TRAP MEMORY DEVICES AND LOGIC CMOS DEVICES - A semiconductor structure and method to form the same. The semiconductor structure includes a substrate having a non-volatile charge trap memory device disposed on a first region and a logic device disposed on a second region. A charge trap dielectric stack may be formed subsequent to forming wells and channels of the logic device. HF pre-cleans and SC1 cleans may be avoided to improve the quality of a blocking layer of the non-volatile charge trap memory device. The blocking layer may be thermally reoxidized or nitridized during a thermal oxidation or nitridation of a logic MOS gate insulator layer to densify the blocking layer. A multi-layered liner may be utilized to first offset a source and drain implant in a high voltage logic device and also block silicidation of the nonvolatile charge trap memory device. | 11-27-2008 |
20080293254 | Single-wafer process for fabricating a nonvolatile charge trap memory device - A method for fabricating a nonvolatile charge trap memory device is described. The method includes first forming a tunnel dielectric layer on a substrate in a first process chamber of a single-wafer cluster tool. A charge-trapping layer is then formed on the tunnel dielectric layer in a second process chamber of the single-wafer cluster tool. A top dielectric layer is then formed on the charge-trapping layer in the second or in a third process chamber of the single-wafer cluster tool. | 11-27-2008 |
20080293255 | RADICAL OXIDATION PROCESS FOR FABRICATING A NONVOLATILE CHARGE TRAP MEMORY DEVICE - A method for fabricating a nonvolatile charge trap memory device is described. The method includes providing a substrate having a charge-trapping layer disposed Thereon. A portion of the charge-trapping layer is then oxidized to form a blocking Dielectric layer above the charge-trapping layer by exposing the charge-trapping layer to a radical oxidation process. | 11-27-2008 |
20080296661 | INTEGRATION OF NON-VOLATILE CHARGE TRAP MEMORY DEVICES AND LOGIC CMOS DEVICES - A semiconductor structure and method to form the same. The semiconductor structure includes a substrate having a non-volatile charge trap memory device disposed on a first region and a logic device disposed on a second region. A charge trap dielectric stack may be formed subsequent to forming wells and channels of the logic device. HF pre-cleans and SC | 12-04-2008 |
20080296664 | INTEGRATION OF NON-VOLATILE CHARGE TRAP MEMORY DEVICES AND LOGIC CMOS DEVICES - A semiconductor structure and method to form the same. The semiconductor structure includes a substrate having a non-volatile charge trap memory device disposed on a first region and a logic device disposed on a second region. A charge trap dielectric stack may be formed subsequent to forming wells and channels of the logic device. HF pre-cleans and SC1 cleans may be avoided to improve the quality of a blocking layer of the non-volatile charge trap memory device. The blocking layer may be thermally reoxidized or nitridized during a thermal oxidation or nitridation of a logic MOS gate insulator layer to densify the blocking layer. A multi-layered liner may be utilized to first offset a source and drain implant in a high voltage logic device and also block silicidation of the nonvolatile charge trap memory device. | 12-04-2008 |
20090011609 | RADICAL OXIDATION PROCESS FOR FABRICATING A NONVOLATILE CHARGE TRAP MEMORY DEVICE - A method for fabricating a nonvolatile charge trap memory device is described. The method includes providing a substrate having a charge-trapping layer disposed thereon. A portion of the charge-trapping layer is then oxidized to form a blocking dielectric layer above the charge-trapping layer by exposing the charge-trapping layer to a radical oxidation process. | 01-08-2009 |
20090020831 | Deuterated film encapsulation of nonvolatile charge trap memory device - A nonvolatile charge trap memory device with deuterium passivation of charge traps and method of manufacture. Deuterated gate layer, deuterated gate cap layer and deuterated spacers are employed in various combinations to encapsulate the device with deuterium sources proximate to the interfaces within the gate stack and on the surface of the gate stack where traps may be present. | 01-22-2009 |
20090032863 | Nitridation oxidation of tunneling layer for improved SONOS speed and retention - A method for forming a tunneling layer of a nonvolatile trapped-charge memory device and the article made thereby. The method includes multiple oxidation and nitridation operations to provide a dielectric constant higher than that of a pure silicon dioxide tunneling layer but with a fewer hydrogen and nitrogen traps than a tunneling layer having nitrogen at the substrate interface. The method provides for an improved memory window in a SONOS-type device. In one embodiment, the method includes an oxidation, a nitridation, a reoxidation and a renitridation. In one implementation, the first oxidation is performed with O | 02-05-2009 |
20090179253 | Oxide-nitride-oxide stack having multiple oxynitride layers - A semiconductor device including an oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO) structure having a multi-layer charge storing layer and methods of forming the same are provided. Generally, the method involves: (i) forming a first oxide layer of the ONO structure; (ii) forming a multi-layer charge storing layer comprising nitride on a surface of the first oxide layer; and (iii) forming a second oxide layer of the ONO structure on a surface of the multi-layer charge storing layer. Preferably, the charge storing layer comprises at least two silicon oxynitride layers having differing stoichiometric compositions of Oxygen, Nitrogen and/or Silicon. More preferably, the ONO structure is part of a silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) structure and the semiconductor device is a SONOS memory transistor. Other embodiments are also disclosed. | 07-16-2009 |
20090242962 | Plasma oxidation of a memory layer to form a blocking layer in non-volatile charge trap memory devices - A blocking layer of a non-volatile charge trap memory device is formed by oxidizing a portion of a charge trapping layer of the memory device. In one embodiment, the blocking layer is grown by a radical oxidation process at temperature below 500° C. In accordance with one implementation, the radical oxidation process involves flowing hydrogen (H | 10-01-2009 |
20090243001 | Sequential deposition and anneal of a dielectic layer in a charge trapping memory device - Deposition and anneal operations are iterated to break a deposition into a number of sequential deposition-anneal operations to reach a desired annealed dielectric layer thickness. In one particular embodiment, a two step anneal is performed including an NH | 10-01-2009 |
20110248332 | Oxide-Nitride-Oxide Stack Having Multiple Oxynitride Layers - A semiconductor device including a silicon-oxide-oxynitride-oxide-silicon structure and methods of forming the same are provided. Generally, the structure comprises: a tunnel oxide layer on a surface of a substrate including silicon; a multi-layer charge storing layer including an oxygen-rich, first oxynitride layer on the tunnel oxide layer in which the stoichiometric composition of the first oxynitride layer results in it being substantially trap free, and an oxygen-lean, second oxynitride layer on the first oxynitride layer in which the stoichiometric composition of the second oxynitride layer results in it being trap dense; a blocking oxide layer on the second oxynitride layer; and a silicon containing gate layer on the blocking oxide layer. Other embodiments are also disclosed. | 10-13-2011 |
20130175504 | OXIDE-NITRIDE-OXIDE STACK HAVING MULTIPLE OXYNITRIDE LAYERS - An embodiment of a semiconductor memory device including a multi-layer charge storing layer and methods of forming the same are described. Generally, the device includes a channel formed from a semiconducting material overlying a surface on a substrate connecting a source and a drain of the memory device; a tunnel oxide layer overlying the channel; and a multi-layer charge storing layer including an oxygen-rich, first oxynitride layer on the tunnel oxide layer in which a stoichiometric composition of the first oxynitride layer results in it being substantially trap free, and an oxygen-lean, second oxynitride layer on the first oxynitride layer in which a stoichiometric composition of the second oxynitride layer results in it being trap dense. In one embodiment, the device comprises a non-planar transistor including a gate having multiple surfaces abutting the channel, and the gate comprises the tunnel oxide layer and the multi-layer charge storing layer. | 07-11-2013 |
20130175599 | INLINE METHOD TO MONITOR ONO STACK QUALITY - Embodiments of structures and methods for determining operating characteristics of a non-volatile memory transistor comprising a charge-storage-layer and a tunneling-layer are described. In one embodiment, the method comprises: forming on a substrate a structure including a nitrided tunneling-layer and a charge-storage-layer overlying the tunneling-layer comprising a first charge-storage layer adjacent to the tunneling-layer, and a second charge-storage layer overlying the first charge-storage layer, wherein the first charge-storage layer is separated from the second charge-storage layer by a anti-tunneling layer comprising an oxide; depositing a positive charge on the charge-storage-layer and determining a first voltage to establish a first leakage current through the charge-storage-layer and the tunneling-layer; depositing a negative charge on the charge-storage-layer and determining a second voltage to establish a second leakage current through the charge-storage-layer and the tunneling-layer; and determining a differential voltage by calculating a difference between the first and second voltages. | 07-11-2013 |
20130175600 | SONOS STACK WITH SPLIT NITRIDE MEMORY LAYER - Embodiments of a non-planar memory device including a split charge-trapping region and methods of forming the same are described. Generally, the device comprises: a channel formed from a thin film of semiconducting material overlying a surface on a substrate connecting a source and a drain of the memory device; a tunnel oxide overlying the channel; a split charge-trapping region overlying the tunnel oxide, the split charge-trapping region including a bottom charge-trapping layer comprising a nitride closer to the tunnel oxide, and a top charge-trapping layer, wherein the bottom charge-trapping layer is separated from the top charge-trapping layer by a thin anti-tunneling layer comprising an oxide. Other embodiments are also disclosed. | 07-11-2013 |
20130175604 | NONVOLATILE CHARGE TRAP MEMORY DEVICE HAVING A HIGH DIELECTRIC CONSTANT BLOCKING REGION - An embodiment of a nonvolatile charge trap memory device is described. In one embodiment, the device comprises a channel comprising silicon overlying a surface on a substrate electrically connecting a first diffusion region and a second diffusion region of the memory device, and a gate stack intersecting and overlying at least a portion of the channel, the gate stack comprising a tunnel oxide abutting the channel, a split charge-trapping region abutting the tunnel oxide, and a multi-layer blocking dielectric abutting the split charge-trapping region. The split charge-trapping region includes a first charge-trapping layer comprising a nitride closer to the tunnel oxide, and a second charge-trapping layer comprising a nitride overlying the first charge-trapping layer. The multi-layer blocking dielectric comprises at least a high-K dielectric layer. | 07-11-2013 |
20130178030 | METHOD OF ONO INTEGRATION INTO LOGIC CMOS FLOW - An embodiment of a method of integration of a non-volatile memory device into a logic MOS flow is described. Generally, the method includes: forming a pad dielectric layer of a MOS device above a first region of a substrate; forming a channel of the memory device from a thin film of semiconducting material overlying a surface above a second region of the substrate, the channel connecting a source and drain of the memory device; forming a patterned dielectric stack overlying the channel above the second region, the patterned dielectric stack comprising a tunnel layer, a charge-trapping layer, and a sacrificial top layer; simultaneously removing the sacrificial top layer from the second region of the substrate, and the pad dielectric layer from the first region of the substrate; and simultaneously forming a gate dielectric layer above the first region of the substrate and a blocking dielectric layer above the charge-trapping layer. | 07-11-2013 |
20130178031 | INTEGRATION OF NON-VOLATILE CHARGE TRAP MEMORY DEVICES AND LOGIC CMOS DEVICES - An embodiment of a method of integrating a non-volatile memory device into a logic MOS flow is described. Generally, the method includes: forming in a first region of a substrate a channel of a memory device from a semiconducting material overlying a surface of the substrate, the channel connecting a source and a drain of the memory device; forming a charge trapping dielectric stack over the channel adjacent to a plurality of surfaces of the channel, wherein the charge trapping dielectric stack includes a blocking layer on a charge trapping layer over a tunneling layer; and forming a MOS device over a second region of the substrate. | 07-11-2013 |
20130210209 | METHOD OF INTEGRATING A CHARGE-TRAPPING GATE STACK INTO A CMOS FLOW - Embodiments of a method of integration of a non-volatile memory device into a MOS flow are described. Generally, the method includes: forming a dielectric stack on a surface of a substrate, the dielectric stack including a tunneling dielectric overlying the surface of the substrate and a charge-trapping layer overlying the tunneling dielectric; forming a cap layer overlying the dielectric stack; patterning the cap layer and the dielectric stack to form a gate stack of a memory device in a first region of the substrate and to remove the cap layer and the charge-trapping layer from a second region of the substrate; and performing an oxidation process to form a gate oxide of a MOS device overlying the surface of the substrate in the second region while simultaneously oxidizing the cap layer to form a blocking oxide overlying the charge-trapping layer. Other embodiments are also disclosed. | 08-15-2013 |
20130306975 | Nonvolatile Charge Trap Memory Device Having A Deuterated Layer In A Multi-Layer Charge-Trapping Region - Scaling a charge trap memory device and the article made thereby. In one embodiment, the charge trap memory device includes a substrate having a source region, a drain region, and a channel region electrically connecting the source and drain. A tunnel dielectric layer is disposed above the substrate over the channel region, and a multi-layer charge-trapping region disposed on the tunnel dielectric layer. The multi-layer charge-trapping region includes a first deuterated layer disposed on the tunnel dielectric layer, a first nitride layer disposed on the first deuterated layer and a second nitride layer disposed | 11-21-2013 |
20130307052 | SONOS ONO STACK SCALING - A method of scaling a nonvolatile trapped-charge memory device and the device made thereby is provided. In an embodiment, the method includes forming a channel region including polysilicon electrically connecting a source region and a drain region in a substrate. A tunneling layer is formed on the substrate over the channel region by oxidizing the substrate to form an oxide film and nitridizing the oxide film. A multi-layer charge trapping layer including an oxygen-rich first layer and an oxygen-lean second layer is formed on the tunneling layer, and a blocking layer deposited on the multi-layer charge trapping layer. In one embodiment, the method further includes a dilute wet oxidation to densify a deposited blocking oxide and to oxidize a portion of the oxygen-lean second layer. | 11-21-2013 |
20130307053 | MEMORY TRANSISTOR WITH MULTIPLE CHARGE STORING LAYERS AND A HIGH WORK FUNCTION GATE ELECTRODE - A semiconductor devices including non-volatile memories and methods of fabricating the same to improve performance thereof are provided. Generally, the device includes a memory transistor comprising a polysilicon channel region electrically connecting a source region and a drain region formed in a substrate, an oxide-nitride-nitride-oxide (ONNO) stack disposed above the channel region, and a high work function gate electrode formed over a surface of the ONNO stack. In one embodiment the ONNO stack includes a multi-layer charge-trapping region including an oxygen-rich first nitride layer and an oxygen-lean second nitride layer disposed above the first nitride layer. Other embodiments are also disclosed. | 11-21-2013 |
20130309826 | RADICAL OXIDATION PROCESS FOR FABRICATING A NONVOLATILE CHARGE TRAP MEMORY DEVICE - A method for fabricating a nonvolatile charge trap memory device is described. The method includes subjecting a substrate to a first oxidation process to form a tunnel oxide layer overlying a polysilicon channel, and forming over the tunnel oxide layer a multi-layer charge storing layer comprising an oxygen-rich, first layer comprising a nitride, and an oxygen-lean, second layer comprising a nitride on the first layer. The substrate is then subjected to a second oxidation process to consume a portion of the second layer and form a high-temperature-oxide (HTO) layer overlying the multi-layer charge storing layer. The stoichiometric composition of the first layer results in it being substantially trap free, and the stoichiometric composition of the second layer results in it being trap dense. The second oxidation process can comprise a plasma oxidation process or a radical oxidation process using In-Situ Steam Generation. | 11-21-2013 |
20140235046 | METHOD OF INTEGRATING A CHARGE-TRAPPING GATE STACK INTO A CMOS FLOW - A method of fabricating a memory device is described. Generally, the method includes: forming on a surface of a substrate a dielectric stack including a tunneling dielectric and a charge-trapping layer overlying the tunneling dielectric; forming a cap layer overlying the dielectric stack, wherein the cap layer comprises a multi-layer cap layer including at least a first cap layer overlying the charge-trapping layer, and a second cap layer overlying the first cap layer; patterning the cap layer and the dielectric stack to form a gate stack of a memory device; removing the second cap layer; and performing an oxidation process to oxidize the first cap layer to form a blocking oxide overlying the charge-trapping layer, wherein the oxidation process consumes the first cap layer. Other embodiments are also described. | 08-21-2014 |
20140239374 | EMBEDDED SONOS BASED MEMORY CELLS - Memory cells including embedded SONOS based non-volatile memory (NVM) and MOS transistors and methods of forming the same are described. Generally, the method includes: forming a dielectric stack on a substrate, the dielectric stack including a tunneling dielectric on the substrate and a charge-trapping layer on the tunneling dielectric; patterning the dielectric stack to form a gate stack of a NVM transistor of a memory device in a first region of the substrate while concurrently removing the dielectric stack from a second region of the substrate; and performing a gate oxidation process of a baseline CMOS process flow to thermally grow a gate oxide of a MOS transistor overlying the substrate in the second region while concurrently growing a blocking oxide overlying the charge-trapping layer. In one embodiment, Indium is implanted to form a channel of the NVM transistor. | 08-28-2014 |
20140264550 | Nonvolatile Charge Trap Memory Device Having a Deuterated Layer in a Multi-Layer Charge-Trapping Region - A nonvolatile charge trap memory device is described. The device includes a substrate having a channel region. A gate stack is disposed above the substrate over the channel region. The gate stack includes a multi-layer charge-trapping region having a first deuterated layer. The multi-layer charge-trapping region may further include a deuterium-free charge-trapping layer. | 09-18-2014 |
20140264551 | MEMORY TRANSISTOR WITH MULTIPLE CHARGE STORING LAYERS AND A HIGH WORK FUNCTION GATE ELECTRODE - A memory device is described. Generally, the device includes a memory transistor and a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) logic transistor. The memory transistor includes: a channel region electrically connecting a source region and a drain region, the channel region comprising polysilicon; an oxide-nitride-nitride-oxide (ONNO) stack disposed above the channel region, the ONNO stack comprising a multi-layer charge-trapping region including an oxygen-rich first nitride layer and an oxygen-lean second nitride layer disposed above the first nitride layer; and a gate electrode comprising doped polysilicon formed over a surface of the ONNO stack. The MOS logic transistor includes a gate oxide and a gate electrode comprising doped polysilicon. Other embodiments are also described. | 09-18-2014 |
20140284696 | OXIDE-NITRIDE-OXIDE STACK HAVING MULTIPLE OXYNITRIDE LAYERS - A method of fabricating a memory device is described. Generally, the method includes: forming a tunneling layer on a substrate; forming on the tunneling layer a multi-layer charge storing layer including at least a first charge storing layer comprising an oxygen-rich oxynitride overlying the tunneling layer, and a second charge storing layer overlying the first charge storing layer comprising a silicon-rich and nitrogen-rich oxynitride layer that is oxygen-lean relative to the first charge storing layer and comprises a majority of charge traps distributed in the multi-layer charge storing layer; and forming a blocking layer on the second oxynitride layer; and forming a gate layer on the blocking layer. Other embodiments are also described. | 09-25-2014 |
20140374813 | SONOS Stack With Split Nitride Memory Layer - A semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same are provided. In one embodiment, semiconductor device includes a first oxide layer overlying a channel connecting a source and a drain formed in a substrate, a first nitride layer overlying the first oxide layer, a second oxide layer overlying the first nitride layer and a second nitride layer overlying the second oxide layer. A dielectric layer overlies the second nitride layer and a gate layer overlies the dielectric layer. The second nitride layer is oxygen-rich relative to the second nitride layer and includes a majority of the charge traps. Other embodiments are also described. | 12-25-2014 |
20150041880 | MEMORY TRANSISTOR WITH MULTIPLE CHARGE STORING LAYERS AND A HIGH WORK FUNCTION GATE ELECTRODE - A semiconductor device includes an oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO) dielectric stack on a surface of a substrate, and a high work function gate electrode formed over a surface of the ONO dielectric stack. The ONO dielectric stack includes a multi-layer charge storage layer including a silicon-rich, oxygen-lean top silicon nitride layer and an oxygen-rich bottom silicon nitride layer. The high work function gate electrode includes a P+ doped polysilicon layer. | 02-12-2015 |
20150041881 | Embedded SONOS Based Memory Cells - A memory device that includes a non-volatile memory (NVM) transistor which has an indium doped channel and a gate stack overlying the channel formed in a first region of a substrate and a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor formed in a second region of the substrate in which the gate oxide of the MOS and the oxide layer of the NVM transistor are formed concurrently. | 02-12-2015 |