Non-volatile storage element with suspended charge storage region

摘要

Suspended charge storage regions are utilized for non-volatile storage to decrease parasitic interferences and increase charge retention in memory devices. Charge storage regions are suspended from an overlying intermediate dielectric material. The charge storage regions include an upper surface and a lower surface that extend in the row and column directions. The upper surface of the charge storage region is coupled to the overlying intermediate dielectric material. The lower surface faces the substrate surface and is separated from the substrate surface by a void. The charge storage region includes a first vertical sidewall and a second vertical sidewall that extend in the column direction and a third vertical sidewall and fourth vertical sidewall that extend in the row direction. The first, second, third, and fourth vertical sidewall are separated from neighboring features of the non-volatile memory by the void. The void may include a vacuum, air, gas, or a liquid.

主权项

1. A non-volatile semiconductor memory, comprising:
a substrate; a plurality of non-volatile storage elements arranged into rows and columns above a surface of the substrate, each non-volatile storage element including a suspended charge storage region having a bottom surface separated from the surface of the substrate by a void; a plurality of isolation regions formed in the substrate between a plurality of active areas of the substrate; a plurality of support pillars formed in each isolation region; a plurality of dielectric strips including a dielectric strip formed for each row of non-volatile storage elements, each dielectric strip having a lower surface coupled to an upper surface of a support pillar in each isolation region; and a plurality of control gates including a control gate formed over each row of non-volatile storage elements, each control gate being separated from underlying charge storage regions of the row by the dielectric strip for the row.