Low power thermal imager
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsKota V R M Murali, Karthik Venkataraman
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Abstract
A low power thermal imager is disclosed. In one embodiment, the thermal imager comprises a cross-bar architecture having a plurality of horizontal lines each arranged in a row, a plurality of vertical lines each arranged in a column, and a plurality of cross-points each formed at an intersection between one of the plurality of horizontal lines and one of the plurality of vertical lines; and a plurality of tunnel junction structures each located at one of the plurality cross-points, each tunnel junction structure including a first metal layer disposed over one of the plurality of vertical lines, an insulator layer disposed over the first metal layer, and a second metal layer disposed over the insulator layer and underneath one of the plurality of horizontal lines.
Claims18
A thermal imager, comprising:
- a cross-bar architecture having a plurality of horizontal lines each arranged in a row, a plurality of vertical lines each arranged in a column, and a plurality of cross-points each formed at an intersection between one of the plurality of horizontal lines and one of the plurality of vertical lines;
- and
- a plurality of tunnel junction structures each located at one of the plurality of crosspoints, each tunnel junction structure including a first metal layer disposed over one of the plurality of vertical lines, an insulator layer disposed over the first metal layer, and a second metal layer disposed over the insulator layer and underneath one of the plurality of horizontal lines;
- wherein each tunnel junction structure further includes an inter-layer thermally insulating dielectric layer disposed against each side of the tunnel junction structure extending from the first metal layer up to the second metal layer.
A method, comprising:
- forming a cross-bar architecture having a plurality of horizontal lines each arranged in a row, a plurality of vertical lines each arranged in a column, and a plurality of cross-points each formed at an intersection between one of the plurality of horizontal lines and one of the plurality of vertical lines;
- forming a plurality of tunnel junction structures each located at one of the plurality of cross-points, each tunnel junction structure including a first metal layer disposed over one of the plurality of vertical lines, an insulator layer disposed over the first metal layer, and a second metal layer disposed over the insulator layer and underneath one of the plurality of horizontal lines;
- and
- forming an inter-layer thermally insulating dielectric layer against each side of the tunnel junction structure extending from the first metal layer UP to the second metal layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.