ONO fabrication process for reducing oxygen vacancy content in bottom oxide layer in flash memory devices
US6803275B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 3, 2002 |
| Grant date | Oct 12, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 31, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/02274
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Process for fabricating a SONOS flash memory device, including in one embodiment, forming a bottom oxide layer of an ONO structure on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the bottom oxide layer has a first oxygen vacancy content; treating the bottom oxide layer to decrease the first oxygen vacancy content to a second oxygen vacancy content; and depositing a dielectric charge-storage layer on the bottom oxide layer. In another embodiment, a process for fabricating a SONOS flash memory device includes forming a bottom oxide layer of an ONO structure on the semiconductor substrate under strongly oxidizing conditions, wherein the bottom oxide layer has a super-stoichiometric oxygen content and an oxygen vacancy content reduced relative to a bottom oxide layer formed by a conventional process; and depositing a dielectric charge-storage layer on the bottom oxide layer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.