Nanoelectromechanical nonvolatile memory device incorporating nanocrystalline Si dots

Abstract

A nanoelectromechanical device incorporating the nanocrystalline silicon ͑nc-Si͒ dots is proposed for use as a high-speed and nonvolatile memory. The nc-Si dots are embedded as charge storage in a mechanically bistable floating gate. Position of the floating gate can therefore be switched between two stable states by applying gate bias. Superior on-off characteristics are demonstrated by using an equivalent circuit model which takes account of the variable capacitance due to the mechanical displacement of the floating gate. Mechanical property analysis conducted by using the finite element method shows that introduction of nc-Si dot array into the movable floating gate results in reduction of switching power. High switching frequency over 1 GHz is achieved by decreasing the length of the floating gate to the submicron regime. We also report on experimental observation of the mechanical bistability of the SiO 2 beam fabricated by using the conventional silicon etching processes.

Reduction of acoustic-phonon deformation potential in one-dimensional array of Si quantum dot interconnected with tunnel oxides

“…Therefore, the conclusions in this paper would also be applicable to the systems mentioned in the Introduction. 2,4,6,7 In addition, the similar reduction of the ADP scattering potential might emerge in other structures, such as the SiQW embedded in SiO 2 and a silicon slab sandwiched by SiO 2 . As electrons travel only within Si region in these cases, the reduction of the ADP scattering potential might lead to significant mobility enhancement.…”

“…6 Another report proposes a nano electromechanical memory device using nc-Si dots embedded in a self-supporting SiO 2 beam. 7 However, the electrical/ mechanical properties of such systems have yet to be well understood. In particular, the electron-phonon interaction is of great importance because it is the main concern for roomtemperature device operation.…”

Microwave absorption measurements using a broad-band meanderline approach

“…By virtue of their extremely small size, these nanometer scale structures possess unique properties that differ from their parent bulk material͑s͒, [1][2][3][4] which make them potential candidates for various advanced magnetoelectronic devices. [5][6][7][8] Further device development may well depend on a better understanding of various dynamic magnetic phenomena in such nanostructures.…”

Minimal energy control of a nanoelectromechanical memory element

“…The feasibility of the use of a nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) as a memory element has been demonstrated in a number of experimental investigations [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] . It has been suggested that in order to increase the frequency of operation, oscillatory states (cycles) should be used as the stationary states of memory elements, with consequential switching between two cycles.…”

“…Such oscillatory states are principally different from the stationary states, i.e. fixed points -traditionally used in the majority of digital processing and storage devices 2,3,9 , and the analysis of the oscillatory states is much more challenging 10,11 .…”