Patent ID: 7847343

Claim:
A semiconductor device, comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a first isolation field oxide film formed over the semiconductor substrate; a second isolation field oxide film formed over the semiconductor substrate; a first gate electrode formed over the semiconductor substrate via a first insulating film; a second gate electrode formed over the semiconductor substrate via a second insulating film and adjacent to the first gate electrode; a first diffusion layer formed in the semiconductor substrate; and a second diffusion layer formed in the semiconductor substrate such that the first gate electrode and the second gate electrode are disposed between the first diffusion layer and the second diffusion layer, wherein: the second insulating film has a charge storage film; the first gate electrode is formed over the first isolation field oxide film; the second gate electrode is formed over the second isolation field oxide film; the surface of the second isolation field oxide film is retreated from the surface of the first isolation field oxide film; the semiconductor substrate has a convex shaped semiconductor region; and the convex shaped semiconductor region projects into the second gate electrode at the second channel region.