# US 4,397,887 A · Postponed ROM programming

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- Number: US 4,397,887 A
- Document ID: US4397887A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 06/409,010
- Filed: 1982-08-18
- Granted: 1983-08-09
- Earliest claimed: 1982-08-18
- Assignees: National Semiconductor Corporation
- Inventors: Haluk M. Aytac; John F. MacDonald
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US4397887A

## CPC

- H10B 20/383: {Channel doping programmed}
- G11C 17/08: using semiconductor devices, e.g. bipolar elements (G11C17/06, G11C17/14 take precedence)
- H10B 20/00: Read-only memory [ROM] devices
- H10B: ELECTRONIC MEMORY DEVICES
- G11C: STATIC STORES (semiconductor memory devices H10B)

## Abstract

A process to program ROM's after the insulation, gates, and interconnect circuitry have been formed by using a contact mask to define openings at the depletion cells, which openings extend beside the gates to the sources and drain so as to allow phosphorus dopant to be diffused sideways under the gates to short out the cell.

## Claims

### Claim 1

In the fabrication of a silicon semiconductor field effect memory device wherein spaced apart source and drain areas are formed on a substrate with a channel extending therebetween and a control gate is formed above the channel with an oxide insulating layer covering the gate and device, an improvement to the process that allows the device to be converted into a normally conducting device late in the fabrication process comprising:
masking and etching the device so as to create openings to the source and drain areas on the substrate beside the control gate; and
doping said source and drain areas through said openings so as to expand said areas toward each other, under said gate, until they form a continuous conduction path.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The process of claim 1 in which said source and drain areas are additionally doped by forming a doped oxide insulating layer on said device and in said opening.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The process of claim 2 in which said doped oxide comprises silicon oxide with about 8 percent phosphorus therein.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The process of claim 1 in which the source and drain areas are additionally doped with phosphorus through said openings and thereafter an insulating oxide layer is formed on said device and in said openings.