Negative resistance device
AssigneeNational University of Ireland, Cork
InventorsRussell Duane, Alan Mathewson, Ann Concannon
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A negative resistance device (NRD) has a MOSFET-like structure, and is biased by shorting the gate and source together at a fixed applied potential and applying a different fixed potential to the drain, and sweeping the bulk potential towards the drain potential, causing the bulk current to exhibit a negative resistance characteristic. The NRD may be used in a memory circuit (10) in which a resistor (R) is connected between the bulk (2) and a fixed potential. Two States of the circuit at which the current through the resistor matches that through the bulk of the NRD are stable, providing for bistable memory operation.
Claims14
A negative resistance device comprising:
- a semiconductor structure comprising a semiconductor region of one conductivity type termed the bulk, a semiconductor region of second conductivity type termed the source wholly or partially contained in the bulk, a semiconductor region of second conductivity type termed the drain wholly or partially contained in the bulk, and a gate over at least part of the bulk and being insulated from the bulk;
- a bias means comprising means for biasing the structure to exhibit negative resistance characteristics, in which
- the source and the gate are each held at a fixed applied potential with respect to a bulk initial bias, and the gate to source applied potential difference is not greater than the threshold voltage of the structure;
- the drain is held at a fixed applied potential which is of greater magnitude than both the gate applied potential and the source applied potential;
- and
- a variable bias potential is applied to the bulk so that as it is swept towards the source applied potential the bulk current exhibits a negative resistance characteristic.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.