Memory device

A memory device, comprising:

• a semiconductor substrate;
• isolation structures disposed in the semiconductor substrate, wherein active regions separated from one another are defined in the semiconductor substrate by the isolation structures, and each of the active regions is elongated in a first direction;
• an erase gate disposed on the semiconductor substrate and elongated in a second direction, wherein the erase gate is disposed on the active regions and the isolation structures, and the erase gate is partly disposed in a recess within each of the isolation structures;
• floating gates disposed on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the floating gates are arranged in the second direction and separated from one another;
• a mask layer disposed on the floating gates and elongated in the second direction;
• and
• a dielectric layer disposed between the mask layer and each of the floating gates in a vertical direction, wherein the dielectric layer is directly connected with the mask layer.