Combination of volatile and non-volatile functions in a single memory cell and its scalability

A single memory cell which combines volatile memory and non-volatile memory functions has been demonstrated with an independent asymmetric dual-gate structure. Owing to the second gate whose dielectric is composed of oxide/nitride/oxide layers, floating body effect was observed even on a fully depleted silicon-on-insulator device and the non-volatile memory function was measured. In addition, read retention characteristics of the volatile memory function depending on the non-volatile memory state were evaluated and analyzed. Further scalability in body thickness was also verified through simulation studies. These results indicate that the proposed device is a promising candidate for high-density embedded memory applications.