Abstract:
A memory cell (2) integrated in a semiconductor substrate (3) and comprised of a MOS device (4) connected in series to a capacitive element (5), wherein
the MOS device (4) has first and second conduction terminals (6), the capacitive element (5) has a lower electrode (16) covered with a layer (17) of a dielectric material and coupled capacitively to an upper electrode (18), said MOS device (4) is overlaid by at least one metallization layer (10,13), which metallization layer (10,13) is covered with at least one top insulating layer (11,14), that the capacitive element (5) is formed on the top insulating layer (11,14), and that said metallization layer (10,13) extends only between said MOS device (4) and said capacitive element (5).
Abstract:
A semiconductor memory, particularly of the electrically programmable and erasable type such as a flash memory, comprises at least one two-dimensional array (SCT) of memory cells (MC) with a plurality of rows (row0-row511) and a plurality of columns (COL) of memory cells. The columns of the two-dimensional array are grouped in a plurality of packets (CP0-CP1), and the memory cells belonging to the columns of each packet are formed in a respective semiconductor region (4) with a first type of conductivity, this region (4) being distinct from the semiconductor regions (4) with the first type of conductivity in which the memory cells belonging to the columns of the remaining packets are formed. The semiconductor regions with the first type of conductivity divide the set of memory cells belonging to each row into a plurality of subsets of memory cells that constitute elemental memory units which can be modified individually. It is thus possible to produce memory units of very small dimensions (for example, bytes, words, or long words) which can be erased individually, without excessive overhead in terms of area.