Non-volatile double schottky barrier memory cell

Abstract

A three terminal ReRAM device, which combines a Schottky barrier transistor and a Schottky barrier ReRAM into a single device is provided. The Schottky transistor memory device includes a source region, a drain region, and a gate electrode. Between the source and drain regions, the ReRAM material is present. The ReRAM material can include a metal oxide, such as zinc or hafnium oxide. A Schottky barrier forms naturally between the drain region and the ReRAM material. As voltage is applied to the gate electrode and the source region, the Schottky barrier breaks down, leading to the formation of a filament across the drain region and the ReRAM material. The filament is non-volatile and short-circuits the reverse-biased barrier, keeping the device in a low resistance state. The filament can be removed by reversing the polarity of the voltage such that the device switches back to a high resistance state.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.