PURPOSE: To prevent a bird's beak and provide a method for forming a field oxide film which allows less leakage current between elements.
CONSTITUTION: For manufacturing a semiconductor device whose element isolation area is constituted of a thick silicon oxide film, a silicon oxide film 44, a polycrystal silicon film 45 and an oxidation-resistant first silicon nitride film 46 are formed on a silicon semiconductor substrate 41. After patterning the silicon nitride film, a second silicon nitride film is formed, a silicon nitride side wall 50 is formed on the sidewall of the first silicon nitride film by the reactive ion etching of the second silicon nitride film and a thick field oxide film is formed on the surface of the silicon semiconductor substrate by thermal oxidation.