Toward Nanocomputers
November 2001
James C. Ellenbogen, The MITRE Corporation
Greg Y. Tseng, Department of Physics, Stanford University
ABSTRACT
This paper proposes and explains a design for a digital electronic
memory cell that is built solely from molecular
electronic devices. The molecular-scale memory cell is modeled after
the much larger, micron-scale cell in solidstate
nanoelectronic tunneling static random access memory (TSRAM), which
has been demonstrated recently.
The underlying elements concerning both molecular-scale electronic devices
and microelectronic memory
architecture are reviewed en route to their synthesis in the design
of the molecular electronic TSRAM (i.e., METSRAM)
cell. Quantitative theoretical analysis is performed on the proposed
ME-TSRAM memory cell, which is a
simple planar aromatic molecule measuring only 8 nm by 5 nm. Specifically,
ab initio quantum mechanical
calculations are performed to estimate the capacitances of the various
components of the proposed memory cell.
On that basis, it is concluded that if it were fabricated, the ME-TSRAM
cell would be likely to function as desired.
Finally, various fundamental molecular memory cell design issues and
architectural challenges are enumerated
and discussed. In making and analyzing these specific design proposals
for molecular-scale electronic memory,
this work attempts to explore the ultimate limits of electronic memory
circuit miniaturization.
» Download Paper [PDF, 481KB]
Publication
Science, 294, 1293-1294 (November 2001).
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