On a micro-electro-mechanical nonvolatile memory cell

An integrated nonvolatile memory cell based on microelectromechanics is investigated. It consists of a thin micromachined bridge elastically deformed in such a way that it has two stable mechanical states to which the logical levels 0 and 1 are assigned. The state of the bridge can be changed using electrostatic forces and it may be read out by sensing the corresponding capacitance. The performance of such a device has been roughly estimated by a simple analytical model, and experimental samples have been fabricated using a slightly adapted MOS IC process. The memory cells occupy an area about 10 times larger than the cells of a conventional random access memory and are completely immune to electromagnetic fields and mechanical shocks, and the stored data are retained for an unlimited time. Switching voltages around 30 V have been achieved, and a huge number of write cycles with low read/write times are expected.<
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