Design and scalability of a memory array utilizing anchor-free nanoelectromechanical nonvolatile memory device

• Main Authors: Vaddi, Ramesh, Pott, Vincent, Chua, Geng Li, Lin, Julius Tsai Ming, Kim, Tony Tae-Hyoung
• Other Authors: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/97897; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/11330
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This letter explains a nanoelectromechanical (NEM) nonvolatile memory (NVM) architecture employing an anchor-free electrode (shuttle) structure. The proposed NEM device utilizes adhesion forces to achieve bistable mechanical states for nonvolatile data storage. The anchor-free electrode facilitates better scalability compared to conventional anchored NEM devices, which is desirable for circuit applications. The structure is electrostatically actuated and has low operating voltage. A novel memory cell consisting of the proposed NEM memory device and two MOS transistors (1NEM-2T) is proposed for array implementation. The scalability analysis of the proposed NEM NVM array is also presented.