Patent ID: 8426906

Claim:
A charge storage device comprising: a semiconductor substrate having a surface region; a charge trapping material overlying and in direct contact with the surface region of the semiconductor substrate, the charge trapping material being characterized by a first dielectric constant which is higher than a dielectric constant associated with silicon oxide, the charge trapping material being also characterized by a first charge trapping capability; a dielectric material being formed by converting a portion of the charge trapping material, the charge trapping material and the dielectric material forming a composite dielectric characterized by a second charge trapping capability, the second charge trapping capability being higher than the first charge trapping capability; and a conductive material overlying the dielectric material, the conductive material being capable of receiving an electrical signal to cause electrical charges being trapped in the charge storage device; wherein the first and the second charge trapping capabilities are associated with threshold voltage shifts caused by electrical charges being trapped in the charge storage device.