Structure and method for preventing silicide contamination during the manufacture of micro-processors with embedded flash memory

A method, comprising:

• forming a first floating gate over a substrate, and a control gate over the first floating gate;
• forming an aperture extending through the control gate and exposing a portion of the first floating gate;
• forming a silicide protection layer over a surface of the control gate exposed by the forming the aperture;
• and
• forming a silicide contact terminal on the portion of the first floating gate exposed by the forming the aperture.

A method, comprising:

• forming a monitor cell on a semiconductor wafer, including:
• forming a floating gate;
• forming a control gate over the floating gate;
• exposing a portion of the floating gate by forming an aperture through one or more structures over the floating gate;
• forming a silicide protection layer directly on a sidewall of the aperture;
• and
• forming an electrode that extends in the aperture and through the silicide protection layer.