Patent ID: 8450713

Claim:
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device comprising a three-dimensional memory cell array where memory cells with two terminals are aligned in a three-dimensional matrix where a first direction, a second direction and a third direction are perpendicular to each other, the memory cells each having a nonvolatile variable resistive element of which resistive properties change when a voltage is applied, wherein two or more plate electrodes are layered in the third direction with interlayer insulating films in between, the plate electrodes being formed of conductors or semiconductors in plate form that expand planewise in the first and second directions, a number of through holes are created in each of the plate electrodes, the through holes penetrating through the two or more layered plate electrodes and the interlayer insulating films between the plate electrodes in the third direction, columnar electrodes formed of conductors in columnar form extend in the third direction and penetrate through the through holes without making contact with the plate electrodes, each annular portion sandwiched between one of the plate electrodes and one of the columnar electrodes corresponds to one of the memory cells, a variable resistive material that becomes the variable resistive element is formed in annular form in the annular portion so that an outer peripheral surface of the variable resistive material in annular form is electrically connected to each of the plate electrodes and an inner peripheral surface is electrically connected to each of the columnar electrodes, and thus the variable resistive element is formed for each of the memory cells, the memory cells aligned at a same point in the third direction are connected to each other via one of the plate electrodes, the memory cells aligned at a same point in the first and second directions are connected to each other via one of the columnar electrodes, an interface with a Schottky junction is formed on either the outer peripheral surface or the inner peripheral surface of the variable resistive material in the annular portion, and at least part of the variable resistive material on a Schottky junction side is formed so as to be separate in the third direction, the variable resistive element is converted to an active state, in which a switching operation is possible, by initialization operation, at least part of the variable resistive material on the Schottky junction side is separate in the third direction with a non-active region formed of a same material as the variable resistive material in between, and the non-active region is a region of the variable resistive material which is not converted to the active state by the initialization operation.