Abstract: A method, and structure resulting therefrom, of forming a metal silicide at a shallow junction of a diode in a single crystalline substrate without encroaching on the shallow junction by forming a metal layer on the substrate over the junction followed by forming a layer of a silicon material which reacts with the metal faster than the silicon in the single crystal substrate. Titanium is the preferred metal and amorphous silicon is the preferred silicon layer and is of a thickness to react with most of the titanium. The two layers are rapid thermal annealed to form titanium silicide. A second rapid thermal anneal is performed which converts the majority of the C49 phase of the titanium silicide to a less resistive and a more stable and conductive C54 phase and causes a silicon epitaxial layer to form between silicon substrate and the titanium silicide.

Abstract: A nonvolatile memory structure is disclosed. The nonvolatile memory structure includes a substrate, a heavily doped drain junction disposed in the substrate, and a lightly doped source junction disposed in the substrate. The source junction is diffused more deeply than the drain junction. The nonvolatile memory structure also includes a gate structure. The gate structure has a floating gate capacitively coupled to the substrate and a control gate capacitively coupled to the floating gate. The heavily doped drain junction has a central portion proximate to the gate structure. The lightly doped source junction also has a central portion proximate to the gate structure. At least the central portion of the lightly doped source junction is more lightly doped than the central portion of the heavily doped drain junction.

Abstract: A method, and structure resulting therefrom, of forming a metal silicide at a shallow junction in a single crystal substrate without encroaching on the shallow junction by forming a metal layer on the substrate over the junction followed by forming a layer of a silicon material which reacts with the metal faster than the silicon in the single crystal substrate. Titanium is the preferred metal and amorphous silicon is the preferred silicon layer and is of a thickness to react with all of the titanium. The two layers are rapid thermal annealed to form titanium silicide. A second rapid thermal anneal is performed which converts the majority of the C49 phase of the titanium silicide to a less resistive and more conductive C54 phase and causes a silicon epitaxial layer to form between silicon substrate and the titanium silicide.

Abstract: A program voltage of a first level is applied to the control gate of a PMOS floating gate memory cell to realize an injection of hot electrons induced by band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) into the floating gate of the cell. As the threshold voltage of the cell increases due to the accumulation of charge on the floating gate, the injection of BTBT induced hot electrons subsides. The program voltage is reduced to a second level which induces the injection of channel hot electrons (CHE) into the floating gate, thereby boosting the rate of charge accumulation on the floating gate.

Abstract: A nonvolatile memory array is disclosed which includes a plurality of PMOS two-transistor (2T) memory cells. Each 2T cell includes a PMOS floating gate transistor and a PMOS select transistor and is connected between a bit line and a common source line. The select gate and the control gate of each 2T cell in a common row are connected to a word line and to a control gate line, respectively. The 2T cells of the array are programmed using a combination of FN tunneling and BTBT induced hot electron injection, and are erased using FN tunneling. In some embodiments, the array is divided into sectors, where each sector is defined by an n- well region and includes a predetermined number of rows of the 2T cells. Here, the source of each 2T cell in a sector is coupled to a common source line of the sector. In other embodiments, the bit lines of the array are segmented along sector boundaries.

Abstract: A flash EEPROM cell array is erased by applying a relatively high positive voltage to the source region of the cell and a ground potential to the control gate of the cell while allowing the voltage of the drain region and the substrate region of the cell to float. By floating the substrate, the source current during erase is greatly reduced since the only DC current path is between the control gate and the source region. Since the source current is small, a double-diffused junction is not required so that the cell can occupy a minimum area for a given design rule and the cell fabrication process is simplified. In addition, the generation of high energy holes is suppressed and improved performance may be obtained. Because the source current is small during the erase operation, the high positive voltage at the source region can be generated by an on chip charge pump from a supply voltage as low as +3 V. This simplifies the design of memory boards on which many flash EEPROM chips are to be placed.

Abstract: A method for programing a cell in an array of flash memory cells connected to a bit line using hot-electron injection. In the method, a negative word line voltage is applied to unselected cells connected to the bit line to create a negative gate to source voltage in the unselected cells. The negative gate to source voltage in the unselected cells is provided to prevent overerased cells, or cells which have a negative threshold, from turning on to reduce bit line leakage current.

Abstract: A method of converging threshold voltages of memory cells in a flash EEPROM array after the memory cells have been erased, the method including applying a gate voltage having an initial negative value which is increased to a more positive value in steps during application of a drain disturb voltage. By applying a gate voltage with an initial negative value, leakage current during convergence is reduced enabling all cells on bit lines of the array to be converged in parallel.

Abstract: A flash EEPROM cell array is erased by applying a relatively high positive voltage to the source region of the cell and a ground potential to the control gate of the cell while allowing the voltage of the drain region and the substrate region of the cell to float. By floating the substrate, the source current during erase is greatly reduced since the only DC current path is between the control gate and the source region. Since the source current is small, a double-diffused junction is not required so that the cell can occupy a minimum area for a given design rule and the cell fabrication process is simplified. In addition, the generation of high energy holes is suppressed and improved performance may be obtained. Because the source current is small during the erase operation, the high positive voltage at the source region can be generated by an on chip charge pump from a supply voltage as low as +3 V. This simplifies the design of memory boards on which many flash EEPROM chips are to be placed.

Abstract: A flash EPROM circuit for providing a tight erase threshold voltage distribution. The circuit includes an array of memory cells having gates, sources and drains. Bit lines are coupled to the drains of a column of cells in the memory array. A plurality of word lines are each coupled to the gates of a row of cells in the memory array. A first voltage source is coupled to the bit lines to converge threshold voltages of erased memory cells. A second voltage source is coupled to the word lines to control the threshold voltages of the erased memory cells.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for improving the reliability of floating gate transistors used in memory cell applications by controlling the electric field induced across the tunnel oxide region of the floating gate transistor when discharging electrons from floating gate is provided. The invention comprises method and apparatus for varying the resistance applied to the drain electrode of the floating gate device and/or varying the voltage applied to the source electrode of the floating gate device to control the electric field in the tunnel oxide region of the floating gate device. In the preferred embodiment of the invention utilized in an EEPROM memory cell, both a method and an apparatus applying a variable resistance and a method and an apparatus applying a variable voltage are utilized simultaneously. The method and apparatus provide an optimal electric field intensity to control electron tunneling in the tunnel region of the floating gate device during discharge of electrons from the floating gate.

Abstract: An improved method of programming EEPROM cells in a memory array, wherein a cell page can be programmed and erased without disturbing other cell pages in the array, and further, an individual cell can be reprogrammed without disturbing other cells in the array. The user can selectively erase and program cells in the array by controlling the operating conditions of the word lines, bit lines, and Vss lines coupled to those cells according to the method of the present invention.

Abstract: A non-volatile memory apparatus having a plurality of memory cells, each memory cell including a floating gate tunnel device (130) having a drain (134) and a floating gate read transistor (140) having a source (142) and a drain (144), the tunnel device and read transistor in each respective cell having a common floating gate (138, 148) and a common control gate (136, 146).

Abstract: A four device cell for an electrically erasable programmable logic device includes a floating gate tunnel device (sometimes referred to as a tunnel capacitor), a floating gate read transistor having its floating gate and control gate connected respectively to the floating gate and control gate of the tunnel capacitor, a read select transistor for selectively coupling the drain of the floating gate read transistor to a product term output in response to an input term, and a write select transistor for selectively coupling the drain of the floating gate tunnel capacitor to a write data line in response to the signal on a write select line. During sensing, the control gates of all the floating gate tunnel capacitors are kept at a constant voltage V.sub.cg. The drains of all of the floating gate tunnel capacitors are also kept at a constant voltage V.sub.WDL chosen to minimize read disturb on the tunnel capacitor. Preferably V.sub.WDL =V.sub.cg. V.sub.

Abstract: A four device cell is disclosed for an electrically erasable programmable logic device. The four devices include a floating gate tunnel capacitor, a floating gate read transistor having its floating gate and control gate connected respectively to the floating gate and control gate of the tunnel capacitor, a read select transistor for selectively coupling the drain of the floating gate read transistor to a product term output in response to an input term, and a write select transistor for selectively coupling the drain of the floating gate tunnel capacitor to a write data line in response to the signal on a write select line. During sensing, the control gates of all the floating gate tunnel capacitors are kept at a constant voltage V.sub.cg. The drains of all of the floating gate tunnel capacitors are also kept at a constant voltage V.sub.WDL chosen to minimize read disturb on the tunnel capacitor. Preferably V.sub.WDL =V.sub.cg .multidot.V.sub.