A Polarization-Switching, Charge-Trapping, Modulated Arithmetic Logic Unit for In-Memory Computing Based on...

Area of Science:

• Semiconductor device physics
• Materials science
• Non-von Neumann computing

Background:

• Nonvolatile logic devices are essential for next-generation computing architectures.
• Ferroelectric field-effect transistors (Fe FETs) offer nonvolatile memory and low power consumption.
• Single Fe FETs struggle with nonlinear logic functions due to unipolar characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a single Fe FET capable of performing complex logic functions.
• To overcome the limitations of unipolar characteristics in traditional Fe FETs.
• To enable reconfigurable logic gates for advanced computing.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a multi-field-effect transistor (PS-CT FinFET) using 10 nm node fin field-effect transistors.
• Integration of polarization-switching (PS) and charge-trapping (CT) effects in a single device.
• Utilizing 9 nm thick Hf_0.5Zr_0.5O₂ films for hybrid effects.

Main Results:

• A single PS-CT FinFET demonstrated eight Boolean logic functions.
• Two complementary PS-CT FinFETs achieved 16 Boolean logic functions with three operations.
• Reconfigurable full 1-bit adder and subtractor functions were realized using only four PS-CT FinFET devices.

Conclusions:

• The hybrid PS and CT effects in a single FinFET enable diverse logic operations.
• This technology shows significant promise for future logic-in-memory (LiM) applications.
• The developed PS-CT FinFETs offer a pathway towards efficient non-von Neumann computing.