II. Project Summary
Technical Abstract
The driving force behind the semiconductor industry is twofold:
(1) Develop new material systems which exhibit novel or superior properties which can be exploited in various applications and devices.
(2) Decrease the size of constituent devices in order to make them more powerful and accessible to society.
The industry is currently facing barriers which will stall the scaling of memory and storage. In order to overcome these barriers, new materials and methods must be considered. Modern computers allocate separate space for information storage and information processing, the hard-drive and RAM respectively. Computer quality is directly related to the performance of these elements.
Resistive Random Access Memory, or ReRAM, shows superior switching speeds, requires less power, exhibits high endurance, and is compatible with current CMOS manufacturing processes. This proposal describes a method for the fabrication of ReRAM cells for use within single-site information storage and processing elements. By taking advantage of indefinite retention times, ReRAM can be used to store information. A read mechanism which does not alter the logic state of the ReRAM cell allows for information processing. The Phase I research program details the fabrication of hafnium oxide based ReRAM which will enable Single-Site Storage and Processing (S3P) technology.
Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications
The scaling of both memory and storage elements has facilitated advances within aerospace, medicine, defense, and consumer electronics for several decades. These advances can be attributed to augmented processing power and product mobility as well as decreased power consumption. Companies are currently redirecting research efforts toward ReRAM for next generation Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) due to superior switching speed, lower power requirements, indefinite retention, and CMOS processing compatibility. The technology described in this proposal exploits these same characteristics in order to achieve Single-Site Storage and Processing (S3P). S3P technology as enabled by ReRAM will result in a drastic increase in electronic performance. Consolidation of the hard-drive and RAM eliminates the need for load times (programs will be executed at the site of storage), removes parasitic power losses associated with transferring information between the two elements, and decreases the amount of packaging required to house a chip. This translates as high speed, low power, and high mobility. S3P technology will be geared towards highly mobile and performance dependent tasks, such as those present in on-site medical treatment, military expeditions, and remote information processing. Applications will also be found in consumer electronics, particularly those centered on gaming and telecommunications. The proposed research program will focus on component development. The final product of Phase I will be a Process of Record (POR) which will be incorporated into the design of the S3P proof-of-concept to be developed in Phase II.