摘要 |
<p>In a semiconductor fabrication technique, a first patterned layer (16) of nonmonocrystalline semiconductor material is created on a substructure (10, 12, and 14). An insulating layer (22) is thermally grown along the patterned layer in such a way that the upper edge of the remainder (16A) of the patterned layer forms an asperity (24). A blanket layer 26, preferably consisting of nonmonocyrstalline semiconductor material, is formed over the insulating layer. Using an etchant that attacks the blanket and patterned layers more than the insulating layer, a selective etch is performed to remove a section of the blanket layer. The etch is continued past the blanket layer to remove the underlying portion of the insulating layer located along the asperity and then, importantly, to remove the so exposed part of the asperity. The remainder (26A) of the blanket layer overlies the remainder (24A) of the asperity. The technique is particularly useful in manufacturing a floating-gate FET for an electrically erasable programmable device. The remainder of the asperity facilitates tunneling during erasure.</p> |