This paper presents a read-write design solution for passive ReRAM crossbar memory arrays to overcome the sneak current paths problem. The proposed circuitry includes an auto-calibration feature to overcome the sneak current effects during the READ operation, and a WRITE protocol to minimize the current at each row and column lines. The presented circuit has been designed in 180nm standard CMOS technology based on the electrical characteristics of fabricated ReRAM devices.

In addition to scaling semiconductor devices down to their physical limit, novel devices show enhanced functionality compared to conventional CMOS. At advanced technology nodes, many devices exhibit ambipolar behavior, i.e., they show n- and p-type characteristics simultaneously. This phenomenon can be tamed using double-gate structures. In this paper, we present a complete framework relying on Double-Gate-all-around Vertically stacked NanoWire FETs (DG-NWFETs). Such device enables a compact realization of arithmetic logic functions and presents unprecedented interest for structured ASIC applications.

Vertically stacked nanowire FETs (NWFETs) with gate-all-around structure are the natural and most advanced extension of FinFETs. At advanced technology nodes, many devices exhibit ambipolar behavior, i.e., the device shows n- and p-type characteristics simultaneously. In this paper, we show that, by engineering of the contacts and by constructing independent double-gate structures, the device polarity can be electrostatically programmed to be either n- or p-type. Such a device enables a compact realization of XOR-based logic functions at the cost of a denser interconnect. To mitigate the added area/routing overhead caused by the additional gate, an approach for designing an efficient regular layout, called Sea-of-Tiles is presented. Then, specific logic synthesis techniques, supporting the higher expressive power provided by this technology, are introduced and used to showcase the performance of the controllable-polarity NWFETs circuits in comparison with traditional CMOS circuits.

The invention of the memristor enables new possibilities for computation and non-volatile memory storage. In this paper we propose a Generic Memristive Structure (GMS) for 3-D FPGA applications. The GMS cell is demonstrated to be utilized for steering logic useful for multiplexing signals, thus replacing the traditional pass-gates in FPGAs. Moreover, the same GMS cell can be utilized for programmable memories as a replacement for the SRAMs employed in the look-up tables of FPGAs. A fabricated GMS cell is presented and its use in FPGA architecture is demonstrated by the area and delay improvement for several architectural benchmarks.

Memristive devices have the potential for a complete renewal of the electron devices landscape, including memory, logic, and sensing applications. This is especially true when considering that the memristive functionality is not limited to two-terminal devices, whose practical realization has been demonstrated within a broad range of different technologies. For electron devices, the memristive functionality can be generally attributed to a material state modification, whose dynamics can be engineered to target a specific application. In this review paper, we show that trap charging dynamics can explain some of the memristive effects previously reported for Schottky-barrier field-effect Si nanowire transistors (SB SiNW FETs). Moreover, the SB SiNW FETs do show additional memristive functionality due to trap charging at the metal/semiconductor surface. The combination of these two memristive effects into multiterminal metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) devices gives rise to new opportunities for both memory and logic applications as well as new sensors based on the physical mechanism that originate memristance. In the special case of four-terminal memristive Si nanowire devices, which are presented for the first time in this paper, enhanced functionality is demonstrated. Finally, the multiterminal memristive devices presented here have the potential of a very high integration density, and they are suitable for hybrid complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) cofabrication with a CMOS-compatible process.

Next generation logic switch devices are expected to rely on radically new technologies mainly due to the increasing difficulties and limitations of state-of-the-art CMOS switches, which, in turn, will also require innovative design methodologies that are distinctly different from those used for CMOS technologies. In this paper, three alternative emerging technologies are showcased in terms of their requirements for design implementation and in terms of potential advantages. First, a CMOS evolutionary approach based on vertically-stacked gate-all-around Si nanowire FETs is discussed. Next, an alternative design methodology based on ambipolar carbon nanotube FETs is presented. Finally, a novel approach based on the recently discovered memristive devices is presented, offering the possibility of combining memory and logic functions.

This paper reports on the memory and memristive effects of Schottky barrier field effect transistors (SBFET) with gate-all-around (GAA) configuration and Si nanowire (SiNW) channel. Similar behavior has also been investigated for SBFETs with poly-Si nanowire (poly-SiNW) channel in back-gate configuration. The memristive devices presented here have the potential of a very high integration density, and they are suitable for hybrid CMOS co-fabrication with a CMOS-compatible process. We show that 2 different regimes are possible, making these devices suitable either for volatile ambipolar memory or resistive random access memory (RRAM) applications. In addition, frequency- and amplitude- dependence of the memristive behavior are reported.

This paper discusses the newly introduced vertically-stacked silicon nanowire gate-all-around field-effect-transistor technology and its advantages for higher density layout design. The vertical nanowire stacking technology allows very-high density arrangement of nanowire transistors with near-ideal characteristics, and opens the possibility for design optimization by adjusting the number of nanowire stacks without affecting the footprint area of the device. Several libraries for combinational logic synthesis have been designed and implemented for the synthesis of carry-lookahead adders, using the vertically-stacked nanowire technology. The reduction in silicon active area occupancy of vertically-stacked gates are envisaged of great significance for regular cell mapping, in disruptive future applications based on nanowire transistor arrays.