Design and Scalability of a Memory Array Utilizing Anchor-Free Nanoelectromechanical Nonvolatile Memory Device

This letter explains a nanoelectromechanical (NEM) nonvolatile memory (NVM) architecture employing an anchor-free electrode (shuttle) structure. The proposed NEM device utilizes adhesion forces to achieve bistable mechanical states for nonvolatile data storage. The anchor-free electrode facilitates better scalability compared to conventional anchored NEM devices, which is desirable for circuit applications. The structure is electrostatically actuated and has low operating voltage. A novel memory cell consisting of the proposed NEM memory device and two MOS transistors (1NEM-2T) is proposed for array implementation. The scalability analysis of the proposed NEM NVM array is also presented.