Patent ID: 7317634

Claim:
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device comprising: first and second diffusion layers each disposed on the surface of a semiconductor substrate with a first conduction type as layers each having a second conduction type; a first electrode disposed over said semiconductor substrate between said first and second diffusion layers, with a first insulator film portion being sandwiched by said first electrode and said semiconductor substrate, said first electrode having a region overlapping said first diffusion layer; a first storage node disposed adjacent to said first electrode over said semiconductor substrate between said first and second diffusion layers, with a second insulator film portion being sandwiched by said first storage node and said semiconductor substrate, said first storage node being enclosed by another insulator film provided in a region surrounding said first storage node, and said first storage node having a region overlapping said second diffusion layer, said nonvolatile semiconductor memory device carrying out a programming operation in which said semiconductor substrate is set at 0 V, said first diffusion layer is set at a voltage B with a second sign, said first electrode is set at a voltage I having said second sign, and said second diffusion layer is set at a voltage E with a first sign different from said second sign to inject hot carriers, generated in a border region between a surface of said semiconductor substrate in close proximity to said first electrode and a surface of said semiconductor substrate in close proximity to said first storage node, into said first storage node.