NONVOLATILE NANOTUBE DIODES AND NONVOLATILE NANOTUBE BLOCKS AND SYSTEMS USING SAME AND METHODS OF MAKING SAME

• US 20090194839A1
• Filed: 11/19/2008
• Published: 08/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nantero Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Nantero Incorporated
• Inventors: Manning, H. M., Ghenciu, Eliodor G., Bertin, Claude L., Rueckes, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 8,183,665 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/476
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 13/003 Cell access
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 13/025 using fullerenes, e.g. C60, or nanotubes, e.g. carbon or silicon nanotubes
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2213/19 Memory cell comprising at least a nanowire and only two terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2213/71 Three dimensional array
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2213/72 Array wherein the access device being a diode
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2213/78 Array wherein the memory cells of a group share an access device, all the memory cells of the group having a common electrode and the access device being not part of a word line or a bit line driver
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/8221 Three dimensional integrated circuits stacked in different levels
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/80001 by connecting a bonding area directly to another bonding area, i.e. connectorless bonding, e.g. bumpless bonding
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/5256 comprising fuses, i.e. connections having their state changed from conductive to non-conductive
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/0688 Integrated circuits having a three-dimensional layout
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1021 including diodes only
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1203 the substrate comprising an insulating body on a semiconductor body, e.g. SOI three-dimensional layout H01L27/0688
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/1606 Graphene
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00011 Not relevant to the scope of the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/943 Information storage or retrieval using nanostructure

Abstract

A high-density memory array. A plurality of word lines and a plurality of bit lines are arranged to access a plurality of memory cells. Each memory cell includes a first conductive terminal and an article in physical and electrical contact with the first conductive terminal, the article comprising a plurality of nanoscopic particles. A second conductive terminal is in physical and electrical contact with the article. Select circuitry is arranged in electrical communication with a bit line of the plurality of bit lines and one of the first and second conductive terminals. The article has a physical dimension that defines a spacing between the first and second conductive terminals such that the nanotube article is interposed between the first and second conducive terminals. A logical state of each memory cell is selectable by activation only of the bit line and the word line connected to that memory cell.

Claims

1. A non-volatile composite nanotube switch, comprising:

a first conductive terminal;

a composite article comprising a plurality of nanoscopic particles having a predefined composition, at least a portion of the article in electrical contact with at least a portion of the first conductive terminal;

a second conductive terminal, at least a portion of the second conductive terminal being in contact with at least a portion of the article, wherein the article is physically and electrically interposed between the first and second conductive terminals; and

control circuitry in electrical communication with and capable of applying electrical stimulus to the first and second conductive terminals,

wherein the article is capable of switching among a plurality of electronic states in response to a corresponding plurality of electrical stimuli applied by the control circuitry to the first and second conductive terminals, and

wherein, for each electronic state, the article provides an electrical pathway of corresponding resistance between the first and second conductive terminals.

2. The switch of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nanoscopic particles having a predefined composition comprises a first quantity of nanotubes and a second quantity of additional nanoscopic particles, a ratio between the first quantity and the second quantity being predefined.

3. The switch of claim 2, wherein the ratio of the first quantity to the second quantity is predefined in accordance with the type of nanotubes, the type of nanotubes including one or more of single-walled, multi-walled, semiconducting, and metallic.

4. The switch of claim 2, wherein the ratio of the first quantity to the second quantity is predefined in accordance with at least one attribute of the additional nanoscopic particles, the at least one attribute including one or more of physical dimensions, material type, and uniformity among particles.

5. The switch of claim 2, wherein the ratio of the first quantity to the second quantity is predefined to tune the switching among a plurality of electronic states in response to the corresponding plurality of electrical stimuli applied by the control circuitry.

6. The switch of claim 1, wherein substantially the entire article is positioned over substantially the entire first conductive terminal, and wherein substantially the entire second conductive terminal is positioned over substantially the entire article.

7. The switch of claim 1, where the article comprises a substantially thin layer of the plurality of nanoscopic particles, the plurality of nanoscopic particles including carbon nanotubes.

8. The switch of claim 7, wherein the plurality of nanoscopic particles further includes amorphous carbon and wherein the predefined composition includes a predefined ratio of carbon nanotubes to amorphous carbon.

9. The switch of claim 1, wherein the first conductive terminal comprises a portion of a first conductive trace and the second conductive terminal comprises a portion of a second conductive trace.

10. The switch of claim 6, wherein the first conductive trace and the second conductive trace are aligned in an orientation substantially perpendicular to one another.

11. The switch of claim 6, wherein the first and second conductive terminals and the nanotube article each have a lateral dimension between about 200 nm and about 10 nm.

12. The switch of claim 6, wherein the first and second conductive terminals and the article each have lateral dimension of less than about 10 nm.

13. The switch of claim 1, wherein the article has a thickness between about 10 nm and about 200 nm.

14. The switch of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry includes a diode in direct physical contact with the first conductive terminal.

15. The switch of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry includes a diode in direct physical contact with the second conductive terminal

16. The switch of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electronic states comprises a low resistance state and a high resistance state.

17. The switch of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electronic states comprises three or more resistance states.

18. The switch of claim 14, wherein the diode comprises a layer of N+ polysilicon, a layer of N polysilicon, and a layer of conductor.

19. The switch of claim 14, wherein the diode comprises a layer of N+ polysilicon, a layer of N polysilicon, and a layer of P polysilicon.

20. The switch of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry includes a semiconductor field effect transistor in contact with the first conductive terminal.

21. The switch of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nanoscopic particles comprises an electrically conductive, active carbon material.

22. The switch of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nanoscopic particles comprises an electrically non-conductive, active carbon material.

23. The switch of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nanoscopic particles comprises an electrically non-conductive, inert additional material.

24. The switch of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nanoscopic particles forming the article vary between electrically conductive and electrically non-conductive states in response to plurality of electrical stimuli applied by the control circuitry to the first and second conductive terminals.

25. The switch of claim 1 wherein the plurality of nanoscopic particles comprise carbon having one or more allotropic forms.

26. The switch of claim 25, wherein the one or more allotropic forms include amorphous carbon, graphite, graphene, Buckminster-fullerenes C60, C70, C540, carbon nanotubes, diamond and combinations thereof.

27. The switch of claim 1 wherein the article comprising the plurality of nanoscopic particles includes silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and mixtures thereof.

28. The switch of claim 27, wherein the plurality of nanoscopic particles and the silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or mixtures thereof form either a substantially homogeneous mixture or a substantially heterogeneous mixture.

29. The switch of claim 1 wherein the article is capable of switching among a plurality of electronic states in response to a corresponding plurality of electrical stimuli less than approximately 5 V

30. A high-density composite memory array, comprising:

a plurality of word lines and a plurality of bit lines;

a plurality of memory cells, each memory cell comprising;

a first conductive terminal;

a composite article in physical and electrical contact with the first conductive terminal, the article comprising a plurality of nanoscopic particles of a predefined composition;

a second conductive terminal in physical and electrical contact with the article and in electrical communication with a word line of the plurality of word lines; and

select circuitry in electrical communication with a bit line of the plurality of bit lines and one of the first and second conductive terminals,

wherein the article has a physical dimension that defines a spacing between the first and second conductive terminals such that the nanotube article is interposed between the first and second conducive terminals, and

wherein a logical state of each memory cell is selectable by activation only of the bit line and the word line connected to that memory cell.

31. The switch of claim 30, wherein the plurality of nanoscopic particles having a predefined composition comprises a first quantity of nanotubes and a second quantity of additional nanoscopic particles, a ratio between the first quantity and the second quantity being predefined.

32. The switch of claim 31, wherein the ratio of the first quantity to the second quantity is predefined in accordance with the type of nanotubes, the type of nanotubes including one or more of single-walled, multi-walled, semiconducting, and metallic.

33. The switch of claim 31, wherein the ratio of the first quantity to the second quantity is predefined in accordance with at least one attribute of the additional nanoscopic particles, the at least one attribute including one or more of physical dimensions, material type, and uniformity among particles.

34. The switch of claim 31, wherein the ratio of the first quantity to the second quantity is predefined to tune the switching among a plurality of electronic states in response to the corresponding plurality of electrical stimuli applied by the control circuitry.

35. The array of claim 30, wherein the plurality of nanoscopic particles comprises an electrically conductive, active carbon material.

36. The array of claim 30, wherein the plurality of nanoscopic particles comprises an electrically non-conductive, active carbon material.

37. The array of claim 30, wherein the plurality of nanoscopic particles comprises an electrically non-conductive, inert additional material.

38. The array of claim 30, wherein the plurality of nanoscopic particles vary between an electrically conductive and an electrically non-conductive state in response to plurality of electrical stimuli applied by the control circuitry to the first and second conductive terminals.

39. The array of claim 30, wherein the select circuitry, the first and second conductive terminals, and the article comprising a plurality of nanoscopic particles each have a lateral dimension between about 200 nm and about 10 nm.

40. The array of claim 39, wherein the select circuitry comprises one of a diode and a semiconductor field-effect transistor.

41. The array of claim 39, wherein adjacent memory cells comprising the array are spaced from each other by between about 220 nm and about 10 nm.

42. The array of claim 30, wherein the plurality of nanoscopic particles includes carbon having one or more allotropic forms.

43. The array of claim 42, wherein the one or more allotropic forms of carbon include amorphous carbon, graphite, graphene, Buckminster-fullerenes C60, C70, C540, carbon nanotubes, diamond and combinations thereof.

44. The array of claim 30, wherein the article comprises an additional material including at least one of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and mixtures thereof.

45. The array of claim 30, wherein at least some memory cells of the array are laterally spaced relative to each other, and wherein other memory cells of the array are vertically stacked on top of each other.

46. The array of claim 45, wherein some of the memory cells of the array that are vertically stacked on top of each other share a bit line.

47. The array of claim 46, wherein some of the memory cells of the array that are laterally spaced relative to each other share a word line.

48. The array of claim 30, wherein the plurality of word lines are substantially perpendicular to the plurality of bit lines.

49. The array of claim 30, wherein the geometric dimension comprises a thickness of the composite nanotube article between about 10 nm and about 200 nm.

50. The array of claim 30, wherein for each memory cell, the article is capable of switching among a plurality of electronic states is responsive to a corresponding plurality of electrical stimuli less than approximately 5 V.

51. A method of making a composite nanoscopic particle switch, comprising:

providing a substrate having a first conductive terminal;

depositing a composite layer of nanoscopic particles over the conductive terminal, the nanoscopic particles having a predefined composition;

depositing a second conductive terminal over the layer of nanoscopic particles, the layer having a thickness, density, and composition of nanoscopic particles selected to prevent direct physical and electrical contact between the first and second conductive terminals.

52. The switch of claim 51, wherein the layer of nanoscopic particles having a predefined composition comprises a first quantity of nanotubes and a second quantity of additional nanoscopic particles, a ratio between the first quantity and the second quantity being predefined.

53. The switch of claim 52, wherein the ratio of the first quantity to the second quantity is predefined in accordance with the type of nanotubes, the type of nanotubes including one or more of single-walled, multi-walled, semiconducting, and metallic.

54. The switch of claim 52, wherein the ratio of the first quantity to the second quantity is predefined in accordance with at least one attribute of the additional nanoscopic particles, the at least one attribute including one or more of physical dimensions, material type, and uniformity among particles.

55. The switch of claim 52, wherein the ratio of the first quantity to the second quantity is predefined to tune the composite nanoscopic particle switch to have an electrically controllable resistance between the first and second conductive terminals.

56. The method of claim 51, wherein the layer of nanoscopic particles comprises a substantially thin layer of nanoscopic particles.

57. The method of claim 51, wherein depositing a composite layer of nanoscopic particles comprises a single deposition step and wherein the composite layer of nanoscopic particles is a substantially thick layer.

58. The method of claim 51, wherein the first conductive terminal comprises a portion of a first conductive trace and the second conductive terminal comprises a portion of a second conductive trace.

59. The method of claim 58, wherein the first conductive trace and the second conductive trace are aligned in an orientation substantially perpendicular to one another.

60. The method of claim 51, further comprising patterning the second conductive terminal and the layer of nanoscopic particles such that the second conductive terminal and the layer of nanoscopic particles each have a lateral dimension between about 200 nm and about 10 nm.

61. The method of claim 51, further comprising patterning the second conductive terminal and the layer of nanoscopic particles such that the second conductive terminal and the layer of nanoscopic particles each have a lateral dimension of less than about 10 nm.

62. The method of claim 51, wherein depositing the layer of nanoscopic particles comprises providing one or more layers of composite nanotube fabric having a cumulative thickness between about 10 nm and about 200 nm.

63. The method of claim 51, further comprising providing control circuitry to access said nanoscopic particle switch, the control circuitry including a diode in direct physical contact with one of the first and second conductive terminals.

64. The method of claim 51, further comprising providing stimulus circuitry to apply electrical stimulus to at least one of the first and second conductive terminals, the electrical stimulus selected to induce a plurality of electronic states in the nanoscopic particle switch.

65. The method of claim 64, wherein the plurality of electronic states comprises a low resistance state and a high resistance state.

66. The method of claim 64, wherein the electrical stimulus selected to induce a plurality of electronic states in the nanoscopic particle switch comprises an electrical stimuli of less than approximately 5 V.

67. The method of claim 63, wherein the diode comprises a layer of N+ polysilicon, a layer of N polysilicon, and a layer of conductor.

68. The method of claim 63, wherein the diode comprises a layer of N+ polysilicon, a layer of N polysilicon, and a layer of P polysilicon.

69. The method of claim 51, further comprising providing control circuitry to access said nanoscopic particle switch, the control circuitry including a field effect transistor in direct physical contact with one of the first and second conductive terminals.

70. The method of claim 51, wherein the layer of nanoscopic particles comprises an electrically conductive, active material.

71. The method of claim 51, wherein the layer of nanoscopic particles comprises an electrically non-conductive, active material.

72. The method of claim 51, wherein the layer of nanoscopic particles comprises an electrically non-conductive, inert additional material.

73. The method of claim 51, wherein the layer of nanoscopic particles varies in resistance between electrically conductive and electrically non-conductive in response to plurality of electrical stimuli applied by the control circuitry to the first and second conductive terminals.

74. The method of claim 51, wherein the layer of nanoscopic particles comprises carbon having one or more allotropic forms.

75. The method of claim 74, wherein the one or more allotropic forms of carbon include amorphous carbon, graphite, graphene, Buckminster-fullerenes C60, C70, C540, carbon nanotubes, diamond and combinations thereof.

76. The method of claim 51, wherein the layer of nanoscopic particles further comprises nanoscopic elements having at least one of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and mixtures thereof.

77. The method of claim 51, wherein depositing the layer of nanoscopic particles comprises providing a carbon nanotubes and additional material and subsequently providing a plurality of carbon nanotubes in the additional material to form a matrix.

78. The method of claim 51, wherein depositing the layer of nanoscopic particles comprises providing a plurality of carbon nanotubes and subsequently providing an additional material around the carbon nanotubes to form a matrix.

79. A non-volatile composite nanotube switch, comprising:

a first conductive terminal;

a composite article comprising a first plurality of nanotubes and a second plurality of nanoscopic particles, the first plurality and the second plurality selected according to a predefined ratio, at least a portion of the article in electrical contact with the first conductive terminal;

a second conductive terminal in contact with at least a portion of the article, wherein the article is physically and electrically interposed between the first and second conductive terminals; and

control circuitry in electrical communication with and capable of applying electrical stimulus to the first and second conductive terminals,

wherein the article is capable of switching among a plurality of electronic states in response to a corresponding plurality of electrical stimuli applied by the control circuitry to the first and second conductive terminals, and

wherein, for each electronic state, the article provides an electrical pathway of corresponding resistance between the first and second conductive terminals.

80. The switch of claim 79, wherein the predefined ratio is selected in accordance with at least one of the characteristics of the nanoscopic particles, the characteristics of the nanotubes characteristics of the plurality of electronic states, and the physical attributes of the composite article.

81. The switch of claim 80 wherein the characteristics of the nanoscopic particles include at least one of uniformity among particles, material composition of particles, and physical dimensions of particles.

82. The switch of claim 80 wherein the characteristics of the nanotubes include at least one of multi-walled characteristics, single-walled characteristics, semiconducting characteristics, and metallic characteristics.

83. The switch of claim 80 wherein the characteristics of the plurality of electronic states includes at least one of a substantially low operating voltage, a substantially high resistance and a substantially low resistance.

84. The switch of claim 80 wherein the physical attributes of the composite article includes a thickness of the composite article.