Two-terminal diode steering element for 3D X-bar memory

We review recent progress in the application of the two-terminal diode steering element for 3D crossbar (X-bar) memory. Such architecture is emerging as one of the strong candidates for non-volatile memory to enable mobile computing with high speed, low power, and low cost. We address process, integration, and device scaling requirements of the steering element for fabricating PCRAM and metal oxide ReRAM cells. We also discuss in detail integration of ion implantation and activation to achieve the 50nm tall diode pillar needed for sub-2xnm 3D X-Bar memory.