Nanotechnology enables a new memory growth model

As we enter the nanotechnology era, a big shift in paradigm comes to the memory industry. The traditional computer industry for dynamic RAM is expected to mature its memory-bit consumption with a relatively low growth rate. Meanwhile, the memory consumption and high-density memory usage in mobile handsets and digital consumer applications will grow very fast. For these new applications, NAND Flash memory will be the key enabling technology and its easy scaling and multibit/cell capabilities require a new memory growth model. The well-known Moore's law still holds for most cases after the quarter-century history of the integrated circuit industry. However, the paradigm shift in the memory industry requires a new memory growth model: "a twofold increase per year in memory density." This paper will cover some details of recent memory technologies, application trends, and the proposed new memory growth model.

[1]  H.S. Kim,et al.  A novel robust TiN/AHO/TiN capacitor and CoSi/sub 2/ cell pad structure for 70nm stand-alone and embedded DRAM technology and beyond , 2002, Digest. International Electron Devices Meeting,.

[2]  Jong-Wook Park,et al.  A 3.3 V 128 Mb multi-level NAND flash memory for mass storage applications , 1996 .

[3]  Chang-Gyu Hwang,et al.  Semiconductor memories for IT era , 2002, 2002 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference. Digest of Technical Papers (Cat. No.02CH37315).

[4]  D. Kim,et al.  The breakthrough in data retention time of DRAM using Recess-Channel-Array Transistor(RCAT) for 88 nm feature size and beyond , 2003, 2003 Symposium on VLSI Technology. Digest of Technical Papers (IEEE Cat. No.03CH37407).

[5]  Byung-Soon Choi,et al.  A 1.8 V 2 Gb NAND flash memory for mass storage applications , 2003, 2003 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, 2003. Digest of Technical Papers. ISSCC..

[6]  Young-Ho Lim,et al.  A 3.3 V 32 Mb NAND flash memory with incremental step pulse programming scheme , 1995 .

[7]  Donggun Park,et al.  A 2 Gb NAND flash memory with 0.044 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ cell size using 90 nm flash technology , 2002, Digest. International Electron Devices Meeting,.

[8]  S.H. Hong,et al.  Highly manufacturable 90 nm DRAM technology , 2002, Digest. International Electron Devices Meeting,.