A capacitance-coupling memory cell operating with a single power supply

A capacitance-coupling (CC) memory cell structure is proposed that operates with a single power supply and provides larger storage capacitance than the conventional CC cell. This structure uses triple polysilicon technology and a self-aligned positioning technique. To obtain single-power-supply operation, two word lines are used for reading and writing. The p-channel MOSFET and the junction FET, which are included in the memory cell and are merged in one device area, are extensively studied to estimate the capability of the cell. Experimental memory cells with 1-μm design rule were fabricated that showed complete memory operation and sufficient 0/1 readout-current ratio, and also confirmed the estimated capability results