Patent · US Expired

Semiconductor storage element

US6680505B2 · kind B2 · utility

41Cited by
1References
22Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 28, 2002
Grant dateJan 20, 2004
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 28, 2022

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH10D64/035
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A nonvolatile semiconductor storage element which has a charge stored layer as a floating gate, and whose storage time is made sufficiently long. The storage element comprises a channel region formed between a source region and a drain region; first and second tunnel insulator layers formed over the channel region and through which electrons can directly tunnel quantum-mechanically; and a conductive particle layer which is sandwiched in between the first and second tunnel insulator layers; the charge stored layer being formed on the second tunnel insulator layer. An energy level at which the information electron in the charge stored layer is injected is lower than the energy level of a conduction band edge in the channel region.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.