A polysilicon resistor with an irreversible resistance transition and its application to electrically programmable memory cell

An electrically programmable memory cell using a polysilicon resistor with irreversible resistance transition as memory element is proposed. On the basis of the experimental results, the resistor dimensions, doping concentration, and film thickness of polysilicon are determined for the transition voltage and current to 12 V and 20 mA, respectively. The ratio of resistance before and after transition is on the order of 500. A proposed memory cell is fabricated, and an analysis of this cell is given.<>