Abstract:
Non-volatile memory devices include a substrate with first and second semiconductor active regions therein. These active regions are separated from each other by a trench isolation region, which has a recess therein that extends along its length. First and second floating gate electrodes are provided. These first and second floating gate electrodes extend on the first and second semiconductor active regions, respectively. A control electrode is provided that extends between the first and second floating gate electrodes and into the recess in the trench isolation region. The recess in the trench isolation region is sufficiently deep so that the control electrode, which extends into the recess, operates to reduce (e.g., block) a parasitic coupling capacitance between the first and second floating gate electrodes.

Description:
REFERENCE TO PRIORITY APPLICATION 
     This U.S. non-provisional patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Korean Patent Application No. 2006-101966, filed Oct. 19, 2006, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to memory devices and methods of forming same and, more particularly, to non-volatile memory devices and methods of forming non-volatile memory devices. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Semiconductor memory devices are generally classified as volatile memory devices and nonvolatile memory devices. Volatile memory devices lose stored data when power is turned off, but nonvolatile memory devices retain stored data even after power is turned off. Flash memory devices, like general nonvolatile memory devices, can be classified into a floating gate type and a charge trap type, depending on the kinds of data storage layers constituting a unit cell. 
       FIG. 1  is a partial schematic perspective view of a floating gate type flash memory device, illustrating a relationship between a floating gate voltage (Vfg) and parasitic capacitances (C FGA , C FGW ). Referring to  FIG. 1 , a tunnel oxide layer  17 , a floating gate  19 , an inter-gate insulating layer  27  and a control gate  29  are sequentially formed over an active region  9  to thereby define a device isolation layer  13  formed on a semiconductor substrate  1 . Here, the inter-gate insulating layer  27  may be formed as an oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO) layer. The active region  9  extends in a first direction (DA), which is a bitline direction, and the control gate  29  extends in a second direction (DW), which is a word line direction. An interlayer insulating layer  27  is interposed between the floating gates  19 , as illustrated. 
     Reference symbols V and C illustrated in  FIG. 1  show voltage and capacitance references. V FG  denotes a voltage of the floating gate disposed in a central position (hereinafter, the central floating gate) among nine floating gates. V A  denotes voltages of the floating gates adjacent in the first direction (DA) with respect to the central floating gate, and V W  denotes voltage of the floating gate adjacent in the second direction (DW) with respect to the central floating gate. C FGA  denotes a parasitic capacitance caused between the floating gates adjacent in the first direction (DA), and C FGW  denotes a parasitic capacitance caused between the floating gates adjacent in the second direction (DW). As understood by those skilled in the art, the parasitic capacitances increase as the high integration of the memory devices is increased. As a distance between the active region  9  and an inter-gate insulating layer  27  is shortened, charges in the active region  9  may be trapped in the inter-gate insulating layer  27  and cause malfunction of a memory cell. Therefore, reliability and operational characteristics of the memory device may be degraded. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention include non-volatile memory devices that are configured to have reduced parasitic capacitance between floating gate electrodes. According to some of these embodiments, a non-volatile memory device is provided having a substrate with first and second semiconductor active regions therein. These active regions are separated from each other by a trench isolation region, which has a recess therein that extends along its length. First and second floating gate electrodes are also provided. These first and second floating gate electrodes extend on the first and second semiconductor active regions, respectively. A control electrode is provided that extends between the sidewalls of the first and second floating gate electrodes and into the recess in the trench isolation region. In particular, the recess in the trench isolation region is sufficiently deep so that the control electrode, which extends into the recess, operates to reduce (e.g., block) a parasitic coupling capacitance between the sidewalls of the first and second floating gate electrodes. For example, the recess may be sufficiently deep so that a first portion of the trench isolation region extends between a first sidewall of the control electrode (in the recess) and a sidewall of the first floating gate electrode and a second portion of the trench isolation region extends between a second sidewall of the control electrode (in the recess) and a sidewall of the second floating gate electrode. 
     According to aspects of these embodiments, a first sidewall of the trench isolation region defines an interface with a first sidewall of the first floating gate electrode and a width of the first floating gate electrode is tapered to be narrower at its top relative to its bottom. According to additional aspects of these embodiments, a width of the first floating gate electrode is greater than a width of the first semiconductor active region. 
     According to additional embodiments of the invention, a non-volatile memory device is provided with a semiconductor substrate having a trench therein that is at least partially filled with an electrically insulating trench isolation region. The trench isolation region has a trench-shaped recess therein that extends along its length. A first floating gate electrode extends on a first portion of the semiconductor substrate extending adjacent the trench isolation region and a control electrode is provided that extends in the trench-shaped recess and on the first floating gate electrode. A second floating gate electrode is also provided on a second portion of the semiconductor substrate, which extends adjacent the trench isolation region. According to aspects of these embodiments, the first and second floating gate electrodes have opposing sidewalls and a center of the trench-shaped recess is located about equidistant from the opposing sidewalls. 
     Still further embodiments of the present invention include methods of forming non-volatile memory devices. Some of these methods include forming first and second trench isolation regions at side-by-side locations in a semiconductor substrate to thereby define a semiconductor active region therebetween. A floating gate electrode is formed on an upper surface of the semiconductor active region and an electrically insulating layer is formed on sidewalls and an upper surface of the floating gate electrode. The electrically insulating layer is etched back to define sidewall insulating spacers on sidewalls of the floating gate electrode. The upper surfaces of the first and second trench isolation regions are selectively etched-back to define trench-shaped recesses therein. This etching step is performed using the sidewall insulating spacers as an etching mask. These methods also include removing the sidewall insulating spacers to expose the sidewalls of the floating gate electrode and etching back the sidewalls of the floating gate electrode for a sufficient duration so that the floating gate electrode is tapered to be narrower at its top relative to its bottom. Alternative methods may also include removing the sidewall insulating spacers to expose the sidewalls of the floating gate electrode and lining the trench-shaped recesses with an inter-gate dielectric layer. The trench-shaped recesses are filled with portions of a control electrode, which operates to block parasitic capacitance (in the word line direction) between adjacent floating gate electrodes. 
     Still further embodiments of the invention include forming a mask pattern on a surface of a semiconductor substrate and selectively etching the surface of the semiconductor substrate to thereby define first and second trenches at side-by-side locations in the semiconductor substrate, using the mask pattern as an etching mask. The first and second trenches and openings in the mask pattern are then filled with first and second trench isolation regions, respectively. The mask pattern is removed to expose sidewalls of the first and second trench isolation regions. The exposed sidewalls of the first and second trench isolation regions are then recessed. First and second floating gate electrodes are formed against the recessed sidewalls of the first and second trench isolation regions, respectively. The upper surfaces of the first and second trench isolation regions are etched-back to expose sidewalls of the first and second floating gate electrodes. An electrically insulating layer is formed on the exposed sidewalls and upper surfaces of the first and second floating gate electrodes. The electrically insulating layer is then etched back to define sidewall insulating spacers on sidewalls of the first and second floating gate electrodes. Upper surfaces of the first and second trench isolation regions are then selectively etched to define trench-shaped recesses therein. This etching step uses the sidewall insulating spacers as an etching mask. According to some additional embodiments of the invention, the sidewall insulating spacers are removed to expose the sidewalls of the floating gate electrode and the sidewalls of the floating gate electrode are etched back for a sufficient duration so that the floating gate electrode is tapered to be narrower at its top relative to its bottom. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a non-volatile memory device having an array of floating gate electrodes therein that are capacitively coupled together in a word line direction (DW) and a bit line direction (DA). 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of a non-volatile memory device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a non-volatile memory device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of a non-volatile memory device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 5-11  are cross-sectional views of intermediate structures that illustrate additional methods of forming the non-volatile memory device of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure that illustrates fabrication steps associated with the manufacture of the non-volatile memory device of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIGS. 13-15  are cross-sectional views of intermediate structures that illustrate additional methods of forming the non-volatile memory device of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIGS. 16-20  are cross-sectional views of intermediate structures that illustrate methods of forming the non-volatile memory device of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be constructed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art. 
     It will be understood that, although the terms first, second and the like may be used herein to describe various regions, layers, and the like, these regions, layers, and the likes should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one region, layer, and the like from another region, layer, and the like. It will also be understood that when a layer is referred to as being “on” another layer or substrate, it can be directly on the other layer or substrate, or a third layer between intervening layers may also be present. In the drawings, the thicknesses of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity. 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of a nonvolatile memory device according to an embodiment of the present invention, taken along a word line direction. Referring to  FIG. 2 , a device isolation layer  113  in a semiconductor substrate  101  defines active regions  109  of the device. This device isolation layer  113  is illustrated as including a plurality of trench isolation regions that fill respective trenches  107 . A gate insulating layer  117  and a floating gate electrode  119  are formed on the active region  109 . A width of the floating gate  119  may be greater than an upper surface of the active region  109 . The gate insulating layer  117  may be formed as a tunnel oxide layer. 
     The device isolation layer  113  may include a lower insulating pattern  111  and an upper insulating pattern  112 . The lower insulating pattern  111  and the upper insulating pattern  112  may be formed of materials having different electrical, chemical or other physical characteristics. For example, the lower insulating pattern  111  may include a material having excellent gap-filling performance and the upper insulating pattern  112  may include a material that is highly resistant to wet etching using an etchant such as phosphoric acid and/or hydrofluoric acid. 
     The upper insulating pattern  112  includes a recess region  125  disposed between the floating gates  119 . As illustrated, the upper insulating pattern  112  is interposed between sidewalls of the recess region  125  and the floating gate  119  (or gate insulating layer  117 ). A bottom surface of the upper insulating pattern  112  may be lower than that of the gate insulating layer  117  and a bottom surface of the recess region  125  may be lower than that of the floating gates  119 . 
     An inter-gate insulating layer  127  is disposed along both sidewalls and the bottom surface of the recess region  125 , an upper surface of the upper insulating pattern  112 , and sidewalls and upper surfaces of the floating gates  119 . A word line  129  crosses over the active regions  109  and extends on the inter-gate insulating layer  127 . The word line  129  extends downward between the floating gates  119 . A protrusion portion  130  of the word line  129  is inserted into the recess region  125  of the upper insulating pattern  112 . A bottom surface of the protrusion portion  130  may be lower than that of the floating gate  119 . The word line  129  functions as a control electrode with respect to the floating gate  119 . 
     This protrusion portion  130  of the word line  129  operates to reduce a parasitic coupling capacitance between adjacent floating gate electrodes  119  by blocking direct capacitive coupling between opposing sidewalls of adjacent floating gate electrodes  119 . 
     Furthermore, increased lifetime of the non-volatile memory device can be achieved by providing portions of the insulating pattern  112  between the recess  125  and the active regions  109 . These portions of the insulating pattern  112  operate to block parasitic charge transfer from the active regions  109  to the inter-gate insulating layer  127  during repeated program and erase operations. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a nonvolatile memory device according to an additional embodiment of the present invention is illustrated as being similar to the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , however, the shape of the floating gate electrode  119  is modified to include a lower conductive pattern  119 _ 1  and an upper conductive pattern  119 _ 2 . As illustrated by  FIG. 3 , a width of the lower conductive pattern  119 _ 1  is greater than a width of the active region  109  and greater than a width of the upper conductive pattern  119 _ 2 . To sustain high performance device characteristics, a width of the upper conductive pattern  119 _ 2  is in a range from about 0.5 times to about 0.7 times a width of the lower conductive pattern  119 _ 1 . By forming the upper conductive patterns  119 _ 2  to be narrower patterns, the parasitic gate-to-gate capacitance between adjacent floating gate electrodes  119  can be reduced without significantly reducing the inter-gate coupling between each floating gate electrode  119  and an overlapping word line/control gate  129 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , a nonvolatile memory device according to an additional embodiment of the present invention is illustrated as similar to the embodiment of  FIG. 3 , however, a lower conductive pattern  119 _ 1  is illustrated as having an equivalent width to the active region  109 . Moreover, the sidewalls of the active region  109  are self-aligned to the sidewalls of the lower conductive pattern  119 _ 1 . This self-alignment is achieved using the fabrication techniques illustrated by  FIGS. 16-20 , which are described more fully hereinbelow. 
     Methods of forming the nonvolatile memory device of  FIG. 2  will now be described more fully with reference to  FIGS. 5-11 . In particular,  FIG. 5  illustrates the steps of forming a pad oxide layer and a mask layer on a semiconductor substrate  101  and then photolithographically patterning these layers to define a pad oxide pattern  103  and a mask pattern  105 . The pad oxide layer may be formed as a thermal oxide layer, which operates to inhibit interface stress at a surface of the semiconductor substrate  101 . The mask layer may be formed as a polysilicon layer, an antireflective coating layer, a silicon nitride layer or a composite of these layers, for example. An etching step is then performed to define a plurality of isolation trenches  107  in the substrate  101 . These trenches  107  may be stripe-shaped trenches that extend in a third dimension (not shown). This etching step, which is preferably performed using the pad oxide pattern  103  and the mask pattern  105  as an etching mask, also results in the definition of a plurality of active regions  109  having expose sidewalls. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , lower and upper electrically insulating patterns  111  and  112  are then deposited, in sequence, in the trenches  107 . These lower insulating patterns  111  may be formed of a material having good gap-filling characteristics (i.e., low tendency to void formation) and the upper insulating patterns  112  may be formed of a material that is highly resistant to etching (e.g., wet etching). Such etching steps may include exposing the upper insulating patterns  112  to a wet etchant such as phosphoric acid or hydrofluoric acid. The lower insulating patterns  111  may be formed by filling the isolation trenches  107  with an undoped silicate glass (USG) layer and then recessing (e.g., etching back) the USG layer to thereby define the lower insulating patterns  112 . A high density plasma (HDP) oxide layer may then be deposited on the lower insulating patterns  111  and then planarized for a sufficient duration to expose upper surfaces of the mask pattern  105 , and thereby define the upper insulating patterns  112 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , an etching process is performed to remove the mask pattern  105  and the pad oxide pattern  103  in sequence and thereby define a plurality of gap regions  115  that expose upper surfaces of the active regions  109 . As illustrated, this etching process may result in the lateral etching of the upper insulating patterns  112 , which means the gap regions  115  may have a larger width than the upper surfaces of the active regions  109 . Thereafter, as illustrated by  FIG. 8 , a plurality of gate insulating layers  117  (e.g., tunnel oxide layers) and a plurality of floating gate electrodes  119  are formed in the gap regions  115 . These gate insulating layers  117  may be formed by performing a thermal oxidation process on the exposed upper surfaces of the active regions  109 . The floating gate electrodes  119  may be formed by depositing a polysilicon layer into the gap regions  115  and then planarizing the polysilicon layer to expose the upper insulating patterns  112 . 
     As illustrated by  FIG. 9 , an etching step is then performed to etch-back the upper insulating patterns  112  so that upper sidewalls of the floating gate electrodes  119  are exposed. A molding insulating layer  121  is then conformally deposited on the upper surfaces and sidewalls of the floating gate electrodes  119  and on upper surfaces of recessed upper insulating patterns  112 . The molding insulating layer  121  may be formed of a material having an etching selectively with respect to the upper insulating patterns  112 . For example, the molding insulating layer  121  may be formed of a nitride layer or an oxide layer that is more susceptible to a wet etchant relative to the upper insulating patterns  112 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 10-11 , the molding insulating layer  121  of  FIG. 9  is anisotropically etched to define a plurality of molding spacers  122  that cover portions of the sidewalls of the floating gate electrodes  119 . The definition of these molding spacers  122  also results in the exposure of the upper insulating patterns  112 . These exposed portions of the upper insulating patterns  112  are then etched using the molding spacers  122  as an etching mask. This etching results in the formation of recesses  125  in upper portions of the upper insulating patterns  112 . As illustrated, these recesses  125  may have bottoms that are below the lower surfaces of the floating gate electrodes  119 . The molding spacers  122  are then removed (at least partially) using an etching process that exposes the sidewalls of the floating gate electrodes  119 . This etching process is preferably performed using an etchant (e.g., isotropic wet etchant) that does not significantly etch sidewalls of the recesses  125  in the upper portions of the upper insulating patterns  112 . For example, in the event the molding spacers  122  are formed of a nitride layer, the etching process can include an etchant containing phosphoric acid and the upper insulating patterns  112  can include a material that is relatively resistant to phosphoric acid. However, in the event the molding spacers  122  are formed of an oxide layer, the etching process can include an etchant containing hydrofluoric acid and the upper insulating patterns  112  can include a material that is relatively resistant to hydrofluoric acid. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 2 , an inter-gate insulating layer  127  is then conformally deposited on the intermediate structure of  FIG. 11 . As illustrated, this inter-gate insulating layer  127  is deposited on the floating gate electrodes  119  (upper surfaces and sidewalls) and the tipper insulating patterns  112 . This inter-gate insulating layer  127  also extends into the recesses  125 , as illustrated. The inter-gate insulating layer  127  may be formed as a composite of an oxide layer/nitride layer/oxide layer (i.e., ONO layer). A conductive layer is then deposited on the inter-gate insulating layer  127  and patterned to define a word line/control gate pattern  129 . This patterning of the word line/control gate pattern  129  may include patterning the floating gate pattern  119  into a plurality of floating gate electrodes  119  having dimensions that are self-aligned to the word line/control gate pattern  129 . As illustrated, the word line/control gate pattern  129  extends downward between the floating gates  119 . In particular, protruding portions  130  of the word line/control gate pattern  129  extend into the recesses  125 . The word line/control gate pattern  129  may be formed as a polysilicon layer, a metal layer and/or a silicide layer. 
     Alternatively, as illustrated by  FIG. 12 , the exposed sidewalls of the floating gate patterns  119  of  FIG. 11  may be etched-back using an isotropic wet etching process. This etching process results in the formation of a floating gate pattern  119  having a lower conductive pattern  119 _ 1  and an upper conductive pattern  119 _ 2  having different widths. This etching process may include using an etchant (e.g., wet etchant) that does not appreciably etch the upper insulating patterns  112  or the sidewalls of the recesses  125 . Thereafter, as illustrated by  FIG. 3 , an inter-gate insulating layer  127  is conformally deposited on the intermediate structure of  FIG. 12 . As illustrated, this inter-gate insulating layer  127  is deposited on the floating gate pattern  119  (upper surfaces and sidewalls) and the upper insulating patterns  112 . This inter-gate insulating layer  127  also extends into the recesses  125 , as illustrated. The inter-gate insulating layer  127  may be formed as a composite of an oxide layer/nitride layer/oxide layer (i.e., ONO layer). A conductive layer is then deposited on the inter-gate insulating layer  127  and patterned to define a word line/control gate pattern  129 . This patterning of the word line/control gate pattern  129  includes patterning the floating gate pattern  119  into a plurality of floating gate electrodes  119  having dimensions that are self-aligned to the word line/control gate pattern  129 . As illustrated, the word line/control gate pattern  129  extends downward between the floating gates  119 . In particular, protruding portions  130  of the word line/control gate pattern  129  extend into the recesses  125 . The word line/control gate pattern  129  may be formed as a polysilicon layer, a metal layer and/or silicide layer. 
     Referring now to FIGS.  8  and  13 - 15 , an alternative embodiment of a method of forming the device of  FIG. 3  may include selectively etching back the upper insulating patterns  112  to expose sidewalls of the floating gate pattern  119  and then selectively etching the sidewalls of the floating gate pattern to define the lower conductive pattern  119 _ 1  and the narrower upper conductive pattern  119 _ 2 . Thereafter, as illustrated by  FIGS. 14-15 , a molding insulating layer  121  is then conformally deposited on the upper surfaces and sidewalls of the upper conductive pattern  119 _ 2  and on upper surfaces of recessed upper insulating patterns  112 . The molding insulating layer  121  may be formed of a material having an etching selectively with respect to the upper insulating patterns  112 . For example, the molding insulating layer  121  may be formed of a nitride layer or an oxide layer that is more susceptible to a wet etchant relative to the upper insulating patterns  112 . Thereafter, as illustrated by  FIG. 15 , the molding insulating layer  121  is anisotropically etched to define a plurality of molding spacers  122  that cover portions of the sidewalls of the floating gate electrodes  119 . The definition of these molding spacers  122  also results in the exposure of the upper insulating patterns  112 . These exposed portions of the upper insulating patterns  112  are then etched using the molding spacers  122  as an etching mask. This etching results in the formation of recesses  125  in upper portions of the upper insulating patterns  112 . As illustrated, these recesses  125  may have bottoms that are below the lower surfaces of the floating gate electrodes  119 . The molding spacers  122  are then removed (at least partially) using an etching process that exposes the sidewalls of the floating gate electrodes  119 . This removal of the molding spacers  122  results in the definition of the intermediate structure of  FIG. 12 , which can be further processed as illustrated by  FIG. 3 . 
       FIGS. 16-20  are cross-sectional views of intermediate strictures that illustrate methods of forming the non-volatile memory device of  FIG. 4 . As illustrated by  FIG. 16 , a gate insulating layer  117  and a floating gate pattern  119  are formed in sequence on a semiconductor substrate  101 . The floating gate pattern  119  is then used as etch mask to define a plurality of trenches  107  (e.g., stripe-shaped trenches) within the semiconductor substrate  101 . These trenches  107  define a plurality of semiconductor active regions therebetween, which extend opposite corresponding portions of the floating gate pattern  119 . By using the floating gate pattern  119  as an etching mask to define a plurality of trenches  107 , the active regions become self-aligned to the floating gate pattern  119 . Referring now to  FIG. 17 , a lower insulating pattern  111  is formed within lower portions of the trenches  107  and an upper insulating pattern  112  is formed on the lower insulating pattern  111 , as illustrated. The lower insulating pattern  111  may be formed of a material having good gap-filling characteristics (i.e., low tendency to void formation) and the upper insulating pattern  112  may be formed of a material that is highly resistant to etching (e.g., wet etching), as previously described. An undoped silicate glass (USG) layer may be used for the lower insulating pattern  111  and a high-density plasma (HDP) oxide layer may be used for the floating gate pattern  119 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 18 , an etching process is performed on the intermediate structure of  FIG. 17  in order to etch-back the upper insulating layer  112  and expose upper sidewalls of the floating gate pattern  119 . A molding insulating layer  121  is then conformally deposited on the exposed upper sidewalls and upper surfaces of the floating gate pattern  119 . The molding insulating layer  121  may be formed of a material having an etch selectivity with respect to the upper insulating pattern  112 . For example, the molding insulating layer  121  may be formed as a nitride layer or an oxide layer, depending on the material of the upper insulating pattern  112 . 
     An anisotropic etching step is then performed on the molding insulating layer  121 . This etching step is performed for a sufficient duration to thereby define molding spacers  122  on sidewalls of the floating gate pattern  119 , as illustrated by  FIG. 19 . These molding spacers  122  are then used as an etching mask to selectively etch back exposed portions of the upper insulating pattern  112 . This selective etching of the upper insulating pattern  112  results in the formation of recesses  125  within the upper surfaces of the upper insulating pattern  112 , which are self-aligned to the molding spacers  122 . As illustrated, these recesses  125  may have bottoms that are lower than the underside surfaces of the floating gate pattern  119 , which interface with the gate insulating layer  117 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 20 , an etching process is performed on the intermediate structure of  FIG. 19  to thereby remove the molding spacers  122  and expose sidewalls of the floating gate pattern  119 . This etching process (e.g., isotropic wet etching) is performed using an etchant that may selectively remove the molding spacers  122  and not substantially etch the upper insulating pattern  112  or widen the recesses  125 . For example, when the molding spacers  122  are formed of a nitride layer, the wet etching process can use an etchant containing phosphoric acid. Alternatively, when the molding spacers  122  are formed of an oxide layer, the wet etching process can use an etchant containing hydrofluoric acid. 
     Thereafter, as illustrated by  FIG. 4 , an inter-gate insulating layer  127  is conformally deposited on the intermediate structure of  FIG. 20 . This inter-gate insulating layer  127  is deposited on the floating gate pattern  119  (upper surfaces and sidewalls) and the upper insulating patterns  112 . This inter-gate insulating layer  127  also extends into the recesses  125 , as illustrated. The inter-gate insulating layer  127  may be formed as a composite of an oxide layer/nitride layer/oxide layer (i.e., ONO layer). A conductive layer is then deposited on the inter-gate insulating layer  127  and patterned to define a word line/control gate pattern  129 . This patterning of the word line/control gate pattern  129  includes patterning the floating gate pattern  119  into a plurality of floating gate electrodes  119  having dimensions that are self-aligned to the word line/control gate pattern  129 . As illustrated, the word line/control gate pattern  129  extends downward between the floating gates  119 . In particular, protruding portions  130  of the word line/control gate pattern  129  extend into the recesses  125 . The word line/control gate pattern  129  may be formed as a polysilicon layer, a metal layer and/or silicide layer. 
     In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed typical preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.