Abstract: A pre-charge circuit for a memory device having a sense amplifier shared between right and left banks of memory cells and a method of pre-charging the shared sense amplifier. The circuit is operated according to the method of the invention such that the sense amplifier is always pre-charged from the side that was previously active. The circuit includes right and left bank isolation transistor pairs connected between the shared sense amplifiers and the right and left banks. The isolation transistor pairs are controlled by a flip flop having a left bank state and a right bank state and complementary left and right outputs that turn off the left isolation transistor pair and turn on the right pair during row operations to the right and vice-versa.

Abstract: A process for fabricating a gate oxide of a vertical transistor. In a first step, a trench is formed in a substrate, the trench extending from a top surface of the substrate and having a trench bottom and a trench side wall. The trench side wall comprises a <100> crystal plane and a <110> crystal plane. Next, a sacrificial layer having a uniform thickness is formed on the trench side wall. Following formation of the sacrificial layer, nitrogen ions are implanted through the sacrificial layer such that the nitrogen ions are implanted into the <110> crystal plane of the trench side wall, but not into the <100> crystal plane of the trench side wall. The sacrificial layer is then removed and the trench side wall is oxidized to form the gate oxide.