| 摘要 |
Very thin tunnel oxides are used in conventional non-volatile memories to obtain a sufficiently strong tunnelling current to or from the floating gate. Usual thicknesses of the tunnel oxide lie in the 8-10 nm range. The invention renders it possible to use tunnel oxides of a much greater thickness, for example of the order of 20 nm, for comparable tunnelling current values. According to the invention, the tunnelling effect is enhanced by implantation of a heavy, high-energy ion, for example As, into a comparatively thin poly layer of the oxide. During this, Si atoms are propelled from the polylayer into the oxide, so that the oxide is enriched with Si, which causes a major change in the tunnelling characteristics. The same oxide which functions as a gate oxide elsewhere may be used for the tunnel oxide. An important advantage of the invention is that direct contact between the tunnel oxide and photoresist layers necessary during the process is avoided, so that the properties of the tunnel oxide are not or at least substantially not impaired by the photoresist.
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