Patent ID: 7502257

Claim:
A semiconductor device having a memory array including a plurality of nonvolatile memory cells formed in a semiconductor substrate, the memory array comprising: a first nonvolatile memory cell having a first charge storage layer and a first gate electrode; and a second nonvolatile memory cell having a second charge storage layer and a second gate electrode, wherein the second nonvolatile memory cell is arranged so that the first nonvolatile memory cell is adjoined in a first direction; wherein the first and second electrodes extend in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the first electrode has a first contact section extending toward the second electrode in the first direction, wherein the second electrode has a second contact section extending toward the first electrode in the first direction, wherein the first and second contact positions are shifted in the second direction, respectively, and wherein the first electrode and the first contact section are electrically separated from the second electrode and the second contact section.