A ferroelectric DRAM cell for high-density NVRAMs

The operation of a ferroelectric DRAM (dynamic random access memory) cell for nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) applications is described. Because polarization reversal only occurs during nonvolatile store/recall operations and not during read/write operations, ferroelectric fatigue is not a serious endurance problem. For a 3-V power supply, the worst-case effective silicon dioxide thickness of the unoptimized lead zirconate titanate film studied is less than 17 AA. The resistivity and endurance properties of ferroelectric films can be optimized by modifying the composition of the film. This cell can be the basis of a very-high-density NVRAM with practically no read/write cycle limit and at least 10/sup 10/ nonvolatile store/recall cycles.<
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