Title :
A Bistable Silicon Nanofin: An Ideal Device for Nonvolatile Memory Applications
Author :
Bo Woon Soon ; Singh, Navab ; Tsai, Jui-che ; Chengkuo Lee
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Nat. Univ. of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
Abstract :
We present a silicon nanofin (Si-NF) that can be actuated bidirectionally by electrostatic force between two contact surfaces. The switch is able to maintain its contact leveraging on van der Waals force, which holds the Si-NF to either terminal without an on-hold bias, thus exhibiting bistable hysteresis behavior. The measured pull-in voltage (VPI) and reset voltage (VRESET) are 10 and -12 V, respectively, confirming that the switch can be reset by the opposite electrode. Since the switch toggles between two stable states, it can be an ideal device for nonvolatile memory (NVM) applications.
Keywords :
electrodes; elemental semiconductors; nanoelectronics; random-access storage; semiconductor switches; silicon; van der Waals forces; NVM applications; Si; VPI; VRESET; bistable hysteresis behavior; bistable silicon nanofin; contact surfaces; electrostatic force; measured pull-in voltage; nonvolatile memory applications; on-hold bias; opposite electrode; reset voltage; switch toggles; van der Waals force; voltage -12 V; voltage 10 V; Nanomaterials; Nonvolatile memory; Silicon; Surface treatment; Voltage measurement;
Journal_Title :
Nanotechnology Magazine, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/MNANO.2013.2260461