Latch-Based RAMs and the Hidden Capacitor

Ron Neale, Independent Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Professional
EETimes (12/31/2016 10:13 AM EST)

Is there a place for a volatile DRAM replacement? While the VLT as a DRAM replacement might be attractive, any success hinges on effective and innovative solutions to some major problems.

The use of latched threshold switching devices to replace a DRAM, where the off and latched states are used as the two memory logic states, is a recent proposal. With the apparent advantages of no requirement for a new technology, for a dynamic refresh cycle or a separate capacitor.

Two types of device offer this latched memory DRAM replacement possibility. One is based on a single crystal thyristor structure of the type proposed by Kilopass using their vertical layer thyristor structure VLT-RAM, illustrated in Figure 1, for which they have reported at MemCon 2016 significant progress.¹ The second latching memory possibility could be achieved by the use of an amorphous film threshold switch, the latter offering the intriguing possibility of a high-density thin film 3D stacked structure.

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