Read only memory using static induction transistor

A read only memory comprising:

• a semiconductor substrate having one conductivity type and a major surface;
• an epitaxial semiconductor layer formed on the major surface of said semiconductor substrate and having the same conductivity type as that of said semiconductor substrate and a lower impurity density than that of said semiconductor substrate;
• a plurality of word lines formed in a surface portion of said epitaxial layer and comprising regions of semiconductor material having a conductivity type opposite to that of said semiconductor substrate, said word lines being disposed generally parallel in a regular array and each having a plurality of openings therethrough extending down to said epitaxial layer and filled with epitaxial layer material, wherein the openings through said word lines are regularly spaced along the lengths of said word lines and are positioned opposite each other so as to be relatively disposed in a regular matrix of locations;
• regions of semiconductor material having the same conductivity type as that of said semiconductor substrate formed within selected openings through said word lines at the epitaxial layer surface and within the epitaxial layer material filling the selected openings, wherein each region of semiconductor material formed in the selected opening is a static induction transistor drain, the epitaxial layer material in which said region of semiconductor material is formed is the channel of the static induction transistor, the portion of the word line surrounding the opening filled with the epitaxial layer material is the gate of the static induction transistor, and said substrate is the source of said static induction transistor;
• and
• a plurality of bit lines disposed regularly spaced overlying and intersecting said word lines and contacting said regions of semiconductor material comprising the drains of the respective static induction transistors, wherein the memory content of the read only memory is determined by at which of the openings through said word lines a static induction is formed, and the read only memory is read out by electrically biasing said word lines to render the static induction transistors conductive and change the potentials of the bit lines according to the memory content of the read only memory.