Patent ID: 7951679

Claim:
A method for fabricating a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of: (a) forming, on a semiconductor region of a first conductivity type, a trapping film including a silicon nitride layer serving as a charge accumulation layer for storing information by accumulating charges; (b) forming a plurality of openings in the trapping film and implanting impurity ions of a second conductivity type into the semiconductor region through the formed openings, thereby forming a plurality of diffused layers of the second conductivity type in portions of the semiconductor region located below the openings, respectively; (c) directly thermally oxidizing exposed edges of the silicon nitride layer serving as the charge accumulation layer included in the trapping film located toward the openings to selectively form protection films of silicon oxide by a thermal oxidation method using a pyrogenic oxidation method of an internal combustion system in which water vapor is produced by hydrogen and oxygen introduced onto the semiconductor region; (d) subjecting the semiconductor region to a thermal process in an atmosphere containing oxygen to oxidize upper portions of the diffused layers, thereby forming insulating oxide films in the upper portions of the diffused layers, respectively; and (e) forming a conductive film on the trapping film including the edges thereof to form an electrode, wherein the protection film formed in the step (c) hinders the charge accumulation layer from coming into direct contact with the electrode in the step (e).