Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to an element isolating method for providing isolation between elements mounted in a semiconductor integrated circuit device, and more particularly to an element isolating method in a semiconductor integrated circuit device in which a semiconductor element such as a nonvolatile memory to which a high voltage is applied and a semiconductor element such as a logical circuit to which a low voltage is applied are mounted together.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    A semiconductor integrated circuit device in recent years does not have features such as a CPU, logical circuit and memory as individual units, but a tendency is accelerated toward SOC (System On Chip) in which those features are mounted on a single chip to constitute one system.  
           [0005]    As a memory mounted on such a semiconductor integrated circuit device, a flash EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) which facilitates a higher degree of integration with nonvolatility is used, for example.  
           [0006]    The flash EEPROM which is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory and allows electrical writing/reading of data has, for example, a known structure which includes a plurality of cell transistors each having a floating gate electrode and a control gate electrode at memory cell portions for storing data and transistors for control such as a high voltage transistor or a select transistor for controlling/selecting the cell transistors.  
           [0007]    Since a relatively high voltage of 10 V to 20 V is applied to some of such cell transistors or control transistors for writing or erasing data, it is necessary that a field oxide film formed in an element isolating area for providing isolation between such elements has a thickness of 400 to 500 nm.  
           [0008]    On the other hand, a transistor for a logical circuit used in a semiconductor integrated circuit device in recent years tends to have lower withstand voltage with its increasingly finer size, and a power supply voltage is reduced. A thickness of approximately 100 to 200 nm is sufficient for a field oxide film formed in an element isolating area for providing isolation between such elements (at a power supply voltage of 2.5 to 5.0 V).  
           [0009]    Conventionally, a semiconductor integrated circuit device which has plural types of semiconductor elements with different applied voltages mounted therein employs a method (hereinafter referred to as “first prior art”) in which trenches with a uniform depth (hereinafter referred to as “STI (Shallow Trench Isolation)”) are formed in an element isolating area and an oxide film is filled therein for providing isolation between elements, or a method (hereinafter referred to as “second prior art”) in which STI with a desired depth is first formed only in a region requiring high withstand voltage and then STI with a smaller depth is formed in a region in which logical circuits are formed and oxide films are filled therein with appropriate thicknesses for the respective regions for providing isolation between elements.  
           [0010]    Description is made for the procedure to manufacture a semiconductor integrated circuit device with these element isolating methods of the first prior art and the second prior art. It should be noted that in the following description, a region in which a nonvolatile memory is formed is referred to as “nonvolatile memory region”, a region in which a transistor requiring high withstand voltage is formed as “high voltage transistor region”, and a region in which a transistor requiring low withstand voltage such as a transistor for a logical circuit is formed as “logical circuit region”.  
           [0011]    First, the manufacturing procedure of a semiconductor integrated circuit device with the element isolating method of the first prior art is described with reference to FIG. 1.  
           [0012]    As shown in FIG. 1, in the first prior art, silicon oxide (SiO 2 ) film  302  with a thickness of approximately 10 nm is first deposited on Si substrate  301 , and silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) film  303  with a thickness of approximately 150 nm is deposited thereon. Subsequently, photoresist  304  is deposited on silicon nitride film  303  and photoresist  304  is patterned in order to form element isolating areas using a photolithography technique (FIG. 1( a )).  
           [0013]    Next, the parts of silicon nitride film  303  and silicon oxide film  302  are removed in the openings in photoresist  304  with a plasma etching process, respectively, and Si substrate  301  is etched, thereby forming isolating trenches  305  with a depth of approximately 500 nm (FIG. 1( b )). Then, photoresist  304  on silicon nitride film  303  is removed, and inside wall thermal oxide film  305   a  with a thickness of approximately 20 to 30 nm is formed on the bottom surfaces and side surfaces of isolating trenches  305  with a thermal oxidation process.  
           [0014]    Next, plasma oxide film  308  is deposited with a plasma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) process such that plasma oxide film  308  is embedded in isolating trenches  305  (FIG. 1( c )). The top surface of embedded plasma oxide film  308  is planarized with a CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) process to expose silicon nitride film  303  (FIG. 1( d )). In addition, silicon nitride film  303  and silicon oxide film  302  on Si substrate  301  are removed with a wet etching process, respectively (FIG. 1( e )). In this manner, field oxide films with an equal film thickness are formed in respective element isolating areas in a nonvolatile memory region, a high voltage transistor region, and a logical circuit region.  
           [0015]    When the element isolation with the field oxide films is completed, tunneling oxide film  309 , floating gate electrode  310  and ONO (Oxide Nitride oxide) film  311  which is an insulating film for insulating floating gate electrode  310  from a control gate electrode are formed for a cell transistor in the nonvolatile memory region, and gate oxide films  313  for respective transistors are formed in the high voltage transistor region and the logical circuit region. Also, control gate electrode  312  for a cell transistor is formed, and gate electrodes  314  for transistors are formed in the high voltage transistor region and the logical circuit region (FIG. 1( f )). Subsequently, impurity diffusion layers, not shown, which are to serve as sources and drains for respective transistors, are formed, and wiring steps follow.  
           [0016]    In the first prior art, since all isolating trenches  305  are formed to have uniform depths (approximately 500 nm) in accordance with the element isolating performance required in the nonvolatile memory region and the high voltage transistor region, the element isolating width in the logical circuit region is approximately 0.5 μm similarly to the nonvolatile memory region and the high voltage transistor region. The width of the field oxide film formed in the element isolating area is determined by the embedding properties of the oxide film, and controlled by the depth of isolating trench  305  formed with the plasma etching. When the depth of isolating trench  305  is determined in accordance with the element isolating performance required in the logical circuit region, the element isolating width is 0.2 to 0.3 μm if the depth of the isolating trench is 200 to 300 nm in consideration of a reduction in the film thickness in subsequent steps, for example.  
           [0017]    Next, the manufacturing procedure of a semiconductor integrated circuit device with the element isolating method of the second prior art is described with reference to FIG. 2.  
           [0018]    As shown in FIG. 2, in the second prior art, silicon oxide film  402  with a thickness of approximately 10 nm is first deposited on Si substrate  401  similarly to the first prior art, and then silicon nitride film  403  with a thickness of approximately 150 nm is deposited thereon (FIG. 2( a )). Subsequently, first photoresist  404  is deposited on silicon nitride film  403 , and first photoresist  404  is patterned in order to form element isolating areas in a nonvolatile memory region and a high voltage transistor region using a photolithography technique (FIG. 2( b )).  
           [0019]    Next, the parts of silicon nitride film  403  and silicon oxide film  402  are removed in the openings in first photoresist  404  with the plasma etching process, respectively, and Si substrate  401  is etched, thereby forming first isolating trenches  405  with a thickness of approximately 500 nm (FIG. 2( c )).  
           [0020]    Subsequently, after first photoresist  404  on silicon nitride film  403  is removed, second photoresist  406  is deposited on silicon nitride film  403  such that first isolating trenches are embedded. Then, second photoresist  406  is patterned in order to form an element isolating area in a logical circuit region using a photolithography technique (FIG. 2( d )).  
           [0021]    Next, the parts of silicon nitride film  403  and silicon oxide film  402  are removed in the openings in second photoresist  406  with the plasma etching process, respectively, and Si substrate  401  is etched, thereby forming second isolating trenches  407  with a thickness of approximately 300 nm (FIG. 2( e )).  
           [0022]    Subsequently, second photoresist  406  on silicon nitride film  403  is removed, and inside wall thermal oxide films  405   a  and  407   a  are deposited with a thickness of 20 to 30 nm on the bottom surfaces and side surfaces of first isolating trenches  405  and second isolating trenches  407  with the thermal oxidation process, respectively. Then, plasma oxide film  408  is deposited with the plasma CVD process such that plasma oxide film  408  is embedded in first isolating trenches  405  and second isolating trenches  407 , respectively (FIG. 2( f )).  
           [0023]    Next, plasma oxide film  408  is planarized with the CMP process to expose silicon nitride film  403  (FIG. 2( g )), and finally, silicon nitride film  403  and silicon oxide film  402  on Si substrate  401  are removed with the wet etching process, respectively (FIG. 2( h )).  
           [0024]    In this manner, field oxide films with appropriate thickness for the respective element isolating areas are formed in the nonvolatile memory region, the high voltage transistor region, and the logical circuit region.  
           [0025]    When the element isolation with the field oxide films is completed, tunneling oxide film  409 , floating gate electrode  410  and ONO film  411  which is an insulating film for insulating floating gate electrode  410  from a control gate electrode are formed for a cell transistor in the nonvolatile memory region, and gate oxide films  413  for respective transistors are formed in the high voltage transistor region and the logical circuit region. Then, control gate electrode  412  for a cell transistor is formed, and gate electrodes  414  for transistors are formed in the high voltage transistor region and the logical circuit region (FIG. 2( i )). Subsequently, impurity diffusion layers, not shown, which are to serve as sources and drains for respective transistors, are formed, and wiring steps follow.  
           [0026]    Of the aforementioned element isolating methods for a semiconductor integrated circuit device of the prior arts, in the element isolating method of the first prior art, when the isolating trenches are formed to have uniform depths in accordance with the element isolating performance in the nonvolatile memory region and the high voltage transistor region as described above, the existing manufacturing process of logical circuits requires modifications and reconfiguration.  
           [0027]    In addition, associated therewith, it is necessary to increase the element isolating width in the logical circuit region in view of the issue of the embedding properties of the plasma oxide film in the isolating trench. This causes the problem of a reduced degree of integration in the logical circuit region and the problem of the inability to use design resources in the existing logical circuit portion.  
           [0028]    In contrast, when the isolating trenches are formed to have uniform depths in accordance with the element isolating performance in the logical circuit region, it is necessary to increase the element isolating width for ensuring the element isolating performance in the nonvolatile memory region and the high voltage transistor region. This leads to an increased area occupied by the nonvolatile memory region and the high voltage transistor region to cause the problem of a reduced degree of integration.  
           [0029]    Another approach is contemplated in which the field oxide films are reduced in thickness in the nonvolatile memory region and the high voltage transistor region by applying a lower voltage to the nonvolatile memory and the high voltage transistor to eliminate the need for high withstand voltage. This approach, however, inevitably involves deteriorated performance of the nonvolatile memory due to an increase in time for writing data to and erasing data from a memory cell.  
           [0030]    On the other hand, in the element isolating method of the second prior art, the formation of two lower components on a single Si substrate increases misalignment of masks for exposure, and particularly, the problem of a significantly smaller manufacturing margin (margin for misalignment) occurs at the formation of an upper component (for example, a contact for connecting a wiring pattern with an electrode for a transistor).  
           [0031]    Specifically, in the element isolating method of the first prior art, since the field oxide films can be formed at a time in the nonvolatile memory region, high voltage transistor region and logical circuit region, floating gate electrode  310  and control gate electrode  312  for a memory cell, gate electrode  314  of a transistor for a logical circuit, and contact  317  are formed within uniform errors, respectively, with respect to the position of isolating trenches  305  as shown in FIG. 3. The arrows in FIG. 3 indicate errors due to misalignment of positions where the respective components are formed. Therefore, even with a normal manufacturing margin, floating gate electrode  310  and control gate electrode  312  for a memory cell, or gate electrode  314  of a transistor for a logical circuit and contact  317  are formed not to overlap each other. In addition, upper electrode  318  serving as wiring formed on interlayer insulating film  316  is connected reliably to contact  317 .  
           [0032]    In the element isolating method of the second prior art, however, isolating trenches  407  in the logical circuit region are formed with a predetermined positional error with respect to the positions of isolating trenches  405  in the nonvolatile memory region and high voltage transistor region as shown in FIG. 4, and gate electrode  414  of a transistor for a logical circuit and contact  417  are formed with a predetermined positional error with respect to those isolating trenches  407  in the logical circuit region. Therefore, with a normal manufacturing margin, floating gate electrode  410  and control gate electrode  412  for a memory cell may be formed to overlap contact  417  (shown as “X” in FIG. 4).  
           [0033]    When the contacts in the two regions are individually formed to avoid the overlap between contact  417  and control gate electrode  412 , a poor connection may occur between upper electrode  418  serving as wiring formed on interlayer insulating film  416  and contact  417  to result in an increased rate of occurrence of defective products at the manufacturing.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0034]    In view of the aforementioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an element isolating method in a semiconductor integrated circuit device which involves no deterioration of performance of transistors for a nonvolatile memory or logical circuits, maintains the existing design scheme in transistors for logical circuits, and allows a finer size of the nonvolatile memory or high voltage transistors without impairing a manufacturing margin.  
           [0035]    To achieve the aforementioned object, in the present invention, a first isolating trench with a predetermined depth is formed in a region where high voltage semiconductor elements are formed on a semiconductor substrate, and a portion of the walls of the first isolating trench is etched corresponding to a depth of a second isolating trench shallower than the first isolating trench to form a third isolating trench. An oxide film filled into the third isolating trench provides isolation between the high voltage semiconductor elements. Then, the second isolating trench is formed in a region where low voltage semiconductor elements are formed, and an oxide film filled into the second isolating trench is used to provide isolation between the low voltage semiconductor elements.  
           [0036]    With such a configuration, since it is possible to form field oxide films. comprising oxide films with desired thicknesses respectively in the region where the high voltage semiconductor elements are formed, the element isolating performance can be maintained even in the region requiring high withstand voltage. In addition, since a field oxide film in a low voltage semiconductor element such as a transistor for a logical circuit can be set to have the existing thickness, the element isolating steps need not be changed and a reduced degree of integration can be prevented, thereby allowing the existing manufacturing process and existing design resources to be utilized. Moreover, the positions of respective element isolating areas are determined by the positions of the simultaneously formed second isolating trenches, and the increased number of lower components causes no increase in misalignment of masks for exposure. Thus, a smaller manufacturing margin can be prevented.  
           [0037]    In addition, in the present invention, a polysilicon film serving as an electrode and an oxide film with a predetermined thickness on the polysilicon film are filled into the isolating trench, and the isolation between the semiconductor elements is provided by the polysilicon film to which a predetermined voltage is applied and the oxide film.  
           [0038]    With this configuration, it is possible to significantly enhance withstand voltage for isolation between semiconductor elements as compared with the case where only the oxide film is provided, and predetermined element isolating performance can be obtained even with a thinner oxide film formed in the element isolating area.  
           [0039]    The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate examples of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0040]    [0040]FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a semiconductor integrated circuit device illustrating an element isolating method of a first prior art;  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of a semiconductor integrated circuit device illustrating an element isolating method of a second prior art;  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view showing enlarged main portions of the semiconductor integrated circuit device of the first prior art;  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view showing enlarged main portions of the semiconductor integrated circuit device of the second prior art;  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of a semiconductor integrated circuit device illustrating a first embodiment of an element isolating method of the present invention; and  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of a semiconductor integrated circuit device illustrating a second embodiment of the element isolating method of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0046]    (First Embodiment)  
         [0047]    A first embodiment of an element isolating method in a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to the present invention is hereinafter described with reference to FIG. 5.  
         [0048]    As shown in FIG. 5, in the first embodiment, silicon oxide film  2  with a thickness of approximately 10 nm is first deposited on Si substrate  1 , and silicon nitride film  3  with a thickness of approximately 150 nm is deposited thereon. Subsequently, first photoresist  4  is deposited on silicon nitride film  3 , and first photoresist  4  is patterned in order to form isolating trenches with a depth required for a nonvolatile memory region and a high voltage transistor region using a photolithography technique. First photoresist  4  is patterned to form the openings of a smaller width than a desired element isolating width. For example, when a desired element isolating width is 0.5 μm, the openings are formed with a width of approximately 0.3 μm.  
         [0049]    Next, the parts of silicon nitride film  3  and silicon oxide film  2  in the openings in photoresist  4  are removed with a plasma etching process, respectively, and Si substrate  1  is etched, thereby forming first isolating trenches  5  with a thickness of approximately 200 nm (FIG. 5( a )).  
         [0050]    Subsequently, first photoresist  4  is removed and second photoresist  6  is deposited on silicon nitride film  3 . Then, second photoresist  6  is patterned in order to form element isolating areas in the nonvolatile memory region, the high voltage transistor region and a logical circuit region using a photolithography technique (FIG. 5( b )). The openings in second photoresist  6  are formed to have a width set to be substantially the same as a desired element isolating width. For example, the element isolating width in the nonvolatile memory region and high voltage transistor region is set to approximately 0.5 μm, and the element isolating width in the logical circuit region is set to approximately 0.3 μm.  
         [0051]    Next, the parts of silicon nitride film  3  and silicon oxide film  2  in the openings in second photoresist  6  are removed with the plasma etching process, respectively, and Si substrate  1  is etched, thereby forming second isolating trenches  7  with a thickness of approximately 300 nm (FIG. 5( c )). At this point, in the nonvolatile memory region and high voltage transistor region, third isolating trenches  5   a  are formed with a total depth of first isolating trench  5  and second isolating trench  7 .  
         [0052]    Subsequently, second photoresist  6  is removed, and inside wall thermal oxide films  5   b  and  7   a  with a thickness of 20 to 30 nm are deposited on the bottom surfaces and side surfaces of the respective isolating trenches with a thermal oxidation process. Then, plasma oxide film  8  is deposited with a plasma CVD process such that plasma oxide film  8  is embedded in the respective isolating trenches (FIG. 5( d )).  
         [0053]    Next, plasma oxide film  8  is planarized with a CMP process to expose patterned silicon nitride film  3  (FIG. 5( e )), and finally, silicon nitride film  3  and silicon oxide film  2  on Si substrate  1  are removed with a wet etching process (FIG. 5( f )).  
         [0054]    With the aforementioned steps, field oxide films are formed with thicknesses appropriate respectively for the element isolating areas in the nonvolatile memory region, high voltage transistor region and logical circuit region.  
         [0055]    When the element isolation with the field oxide films is completed, tunneling oxide film  9 , floating gate electrode  10  and ONO film  11  serving as an insulating film for insulating floating gate electrode  10  from a control gate electrode are formed for a cell transistor in the nonvolatile memory region, and gate oxide films  13  for respective transistors are formed in the high voltage transistor region and logical circuit region. Then, control gate electrode  12  for a cell transistor is formed, and gate electrodes  14  for transistors are formed in the high voltage transistor region and logical circuit region, respectively (FIG. 5( g )). Subsequently, impurity diffusion layers, not shown, which are to serve as sources and drains for respective transistors, are formed, and wiring steps follow.  
         [0056]    Therefore, since the field oxide films comprising the oxide films with desired thicknesses can be formed in the nonvolatile memory region and high voltage transistor region by manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device in accordance with the steps of the embodiment, the element isolating performance can be maintained even in the region which requires high withstand voltage.  
         [0057]    In addition, since the field oxide film of a transistor for a logical circuit can be formed to have the existing thickness, the element isolating steps need not be changed and a reduced degree of integration can be prevented, thereby allowing the existing manufacturing process and existing design resources to be utilized.  
         [0058]    Moreover, the positions of the element isolating areas in the nonvolatile memory region, high voltage transistor region and logical circuit region are determined by the positions of the simultaneously formed second isolating trenches, and the increased number of lower components causes no increase in misalignment of masks for exposure. Thus, a smaller manufacturing margin can be prevented.  
         [0059]    (Second Embodiment)  
         [0060]    Next, a second embodiment of the element isolating method in a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to the embodiment is described with reference to FIG. 6.  
         [0061]    The element isolating method in a semiconductor integrated circuit device of the embodiment is an approach preferable for use in element isolation in a nonvolatile memory region and a high voltage transistor region which require high withstand voltage, in which polysilicon films serving as electrodes are embedded in isolating trenches provided in element isolating areas and a predetermined potential is applied to the polysilicon films to improve element isolating performance. The element isolating method of the embodiment may be used for a logical circuit region to which a normal power supply voltage is applied.  
         [0062]    As shown in FIG. 6, in the second embodiment, silicon oxide film  102  with a thickness of approximately 10 nm is first deposited on Si substrate  101 , and first photoresist  104  is deposited thereon. First photoresist  104  is then patterned in order to form element isolating areas in a nonvolatile memory region and a high voltage transistor region using a photolithography technique. Subsequently, the part of silicon oxide film  102  in the openings in first photoresist  104  is removed with the plasma etching process, and Si substrate  101  is etched, thereby forming first isolating trenches  105  with a depth of approximately 500 nm in the nonvolatile memory region and high voltage transistor region (FIG. 6( a )). The width of the openings in first photoresist  104  is set to approximately 0.5 μm required for obtaining the depth of first isolating trenches  105 .  
         [0063]    Next, first photoresist  104  is removed, and inside wall thermal oxide film  105   b  with a thickness of 20 to 30 nm is deposited on the bottom surfaces and side surfaces of first isolating trenches  105  with the thermal oxidation process (FIG. 6( b )). Then, polysilicon film  115  is deposited over Si substrate  101  with the CVD process such that polysilicon film  115  is embedded in first isolating trenches  105  (FIG. 6( c )). Subsequently, etchback is performed to expose silicon oxide film  102  while polysilicon film  115  remains in first isolating trenches  105  (FIG. 6( d )).  
         [0064]    Next, silicon oxide film  102  with a thickness of approximately 10 nm is further deposited to cover polysilicon film  115  embedded in first isolating trenches  105 , and silicon nitride film  103  with a thickness of approximately 150 nm is deposited thereon (FIG. 6( e )).  
         [0065]    Subsequently, second photoresist  106  is deposited on silicon nitride film  103 , and second photoresist  106  is patterned in order to form element isolating areas in the nonvolatile memory region and high voltage transistor region using a photolithography technique. At this point, second photoresist  106  also covers a portion where a contact is formed for connecting polysilicon film  115  embedded in first isolating trench  105  with upper wiring to be formed on an interlayer insulating film at a later step (hereinafter, a region including the portion where a contact is formed is referred to as “contact region”) (FIG. 6( f )). The width of the openings in second photoresist  106  is set to be larger than the opening width in first photoresist  104 , for example, approximately 0.7 μm.  
         [0066]    Next, the parts of silicon nitride film  103  and silicon oxide film  102  in the openings in second photoresist  106  are removed, and polysilicon film  115  and Si substrate  101  are etched, respectively, thereby forming second isolating trenches  107  with a depth of approximately 300 nm. Then, second photoresist  106  is removed (FIG. 6( g )).  
         [0067]    Subsequently, inside wall thermal oxide film  107   a  with a thickness of 20 to 30 nm is deposited on the bottom surfaces and side surfaces of second isolating trenches  107  with the thermal oxidation process, and then plasma oxide film  108  is deposited with the plasma CVD process such that plasma oxide film  108  is embedded in the respective isolating trenches (FIG. 6( h )).  
         [0068]    Next, plasma oxide film  108  is planarized with the CMP process to expose patterned silicon nitride film  103 , and finally, silicon nitride film  103  and silicon oxide film  102  on Si substrate  101  are removed, respectively, with the wet etching process (FIG. 6( i ).)  
         [0069]    With the aforementioned steps, field oxide films comprising the polysilicon films and plasma oxide films embedded in the isolating trenches are formed in the nonvolatile memory region and high voltage transistor region.  
         [0070]    When the element isolation with the field oxide films are completed, tunneling oxide film  109 , floating gate electrode  110  and ONO film  111  serving as an insulating film for insulating floating gate electrode  110  from a control gate electrode are formed for a cell transistor in the nonvolatile memory region, and gate oxide films  113  for respective transistors are formed in the high voltage transistor region and logical circuit region. In addition, control gate electrode  112  for a cell transistor is formed, and gate electrodes  114  for transistors are formed in the high voltage transistor region and logical circuit region, respectively (FIG. 6( j )). Then, impurity diffusion layers, not shown, which are to serve as sources and drains of respective transistors, are formed.  
         [0071]    Interlayer insulating film  116  is deposited to cover them, and contact  117  is formed to connect an electrode of each transistor or polysilicon film  115  embedded in the isolating trench with the surface of interlayer insulating film  116 , and finally, upper electrode  188  is formed (FIG. 6( k )).  
         [0072]    It should be noted that while FIG. 6 illustrates only the manufacturing procedure of the nonvolatile memory region and the contact region where contact  117  is formed, the high voltage transistor region can also be formed similarly to the nonvolatile memory region.  
         [0073]    In addition, while FIG. 6 illustrates an example in which plasma oxide film  108  is formed on polysilicon film  115 , the film is not limited to the plasma oxide film, and an oxide film formed from another process (for example, a thermal oxide film) may be used.  
         [0074]    As in the embodiment, the polysilicon film is embedded in the isolating trenches provided in the element isolating areas, and a ground potential or a negative voltage is applied to the polysilicon film serving as an electrode (when an N-channel transistor with high withstand voltage is formed in a P-well), thereby making it possible to significantly enhance withstand voltage for isolation between elements as compared with the case where only the oxide film is provided. When a P-channel transistor with high withstand voltage is formed in an N-well, a positive voltage may be applied to the polysilicon film embedded in the isolating trenches.  
         [0075]    Typically, the method of obtaining desired withstand voltage for isolation with the aid of the thickness of the oxide film formed in the element isolating area requires greater depths of isolating trenches as a voltage applied to a semiconductor element is higher. Since the width of the openings of the isolating trenches is determined by the embedding properties of the oxide film and increased in proportion to the depth of the isolating trenches, a greater element isolating width is required for enhancing withstand voltage for isolation, resulting in a reduced integration degree of the elements.  
         [0076]    In the structure in which the polysilicon film is embedded in the isolating trenches as in the embodiment, desired withstand voltage for isolation can be obtained only by adjusting a voltage applied to the polysilicon film in accordance with the magnitude of a voltage applied to a semiconductor element.  
         [0077]    Therefore, desired element isolating performance can be obtained even with a reduced thickness of the oxide film formed in the element isolating area. Thus, even in a semiconductor element to which a higher voltage is applied, for example even when a field oxide film with a thickness of approximately 900 nm is required in the element isolating area, the element isolating performance can be ensured by STI of approximately 500 nm.  
         [0078]    In addition, when logical circuits are mounted together, the field oxide film of transistors for the logical circuits can be formed with the existing thickness as in the first embodiment. Thus, the element isolating steps need not be changed and a reduced degree of integration can be prevented to allow the existing manufacturing process and existing design resources to be utilized.  
         [0079]    Moreover, the positions of the element isolating areas in the nonvolatile memory region, high voltage transistor region and logical circuit region are determined by the positions of the simultaneously formed second isolating trenches, and the increased number of lower components causes no increase in misalignment of masks for exposure. Thus, a smaller manufacturing margin can be prevented.  
         [0080]    While the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.

Technology Category: 5