The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 30, 2000
Filed:
Sep. 15, 1997
Charles Thomas Black, White Plains, NY (US);
Jeffrey John Welser, Stamford, CT (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
The present invention proposes a new type of single-transistor memory device, which stores information using the polarization of a ferroelectric material. The device is a floating-gate FET, with a ferroelectric material positioned between the gate and the floating gate, and a resistance, preferably in the form of a thin SiO.sub.2 dielectric between the floating gate and the transistor channel. Unlike previous designs, in this device the floating gate is both capacitively and resistively coupled to the transistor channel, which enables the device to be both read and written using low voltages. This device offers significant advantages for operation at low voltages and at high speeds, for repeated cycling of over 10.sup.10 times, since device durability is limited by the ferroelectric endurance rather than oxide breakdown, and for integration at gigabit densities.