Patent ID: 8198159

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor memory device, comprising: forming a first insulation film on a semiconductor substrate; forming a first conductive layer on the first insulation film; forming a second insulation film containing a metal element on the first conductive layer; forming a second conductive layer containing a silicon element on the second insulation film; annealing the semiconductor substrate to form a silicate layer as a mutual diffusion layer at an interface between the second insulation film and the second conductive layer, by reacting the silicon element contained in the second conductive layer with the metal element contained in the second insulating film, at a temperature which is not lower than a crystallization temperature of the second insulating film; and etching the second conductive layer, the mutual diffusion layer, the second insulating film, the first conductive layer, and the first insulating film, to provide a plurality of memory cells, after the annealing.