New innovations in non-volatile memory technology

Non-volatile memory has become one of the fastest growing markets because of increasing applications ranging from mobile communication to digital still and video cameras. Over 90/spl deg//sub o/ of NVM memory shipped today uses floating gate devices. However, the need for data retention dictates that the tunneling oxide must be thicker than about 7nm. Consequently, floating gate devices face severe scaling challenges below /spl sim/90nm node. Facing this seemingly insurmountable barrier, many potential solutions are being developed to continue the Moore's law path. These range from multiple bits per physical device (e.g. MLC and NBit) to new materials and new devices (e.g. MRAM and phase-change memory). Each new technology has its own promises and challenges. This work attempts to present a comprehensive analysis of new approaches and to elucidate future NVM scenarios beyond 90nm node.