Patent ID: 7629245

Claim:
A method of forming a non-volatile memory device, comprising the steps of: forming a gate insulating layer, a first conductive layer, a tunneling layer, a trap nitride layer, a blocking oxide layer, and a capping layer over a semiconductor substrate of a peripheral region; forming a first contact hole in the capping layer by etching a contact region of the capping layer; forming a spacer on sidewalls of the first contact hole; forming a second contact hole in the blocking oxide layer by etching the blocking oxide layer using the spacer and the capping layer as a mask; forming a third contact hole in the trap nitride layer by simultaneously etching to remove portions of the trap nitride layer and the blocking oxide layer, and to remove the spacer using the capping layer as a mask, wherein a size of the third contact hole becomes the same as the size of the second contact hole; and forming a fourth contact hole to expose the first conductive layer by etching the tunneling layer and the blocking oxide layer using the capping layer as a mask, thereby forming a contact hole including the first, second, third, and fourth contact holes.