A semiconductor nonvolatile electron beam accessed mass memory

BEAMOS-beam addressed metal-oxide-semiconductor is a new technology for fast auxiliary memories which is expected to find important applications in military and commercial data systems. The concept is based on electron beam accessing, using a matrix lens, of a simple MOS memory chip. It has performance features which include large bit capacity per module (> 30 × 10
⁶
bits), short access time ( 10 Mbit/s), and low cost. The BEAMOS module is all electronic, rugged, and relatively insensitive to variations in temperature, making it especially attractive for military computer applications. The operating principles of the BEAMOS memory and its present state of development are described.