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I work on ferroelectric hafnium, which looks promising with regards to CMOS compatibility. It's non-volatile, though I guess you could also use it like DRAM. En
by MayeulC 5y ago
I work on ferroelectric hafnium, which looks promising with regards to CMOS compatibility. It's non-volatile, though I guess you could also use it like DRAM. Endurance is an issue for now though (it's approaching RAM use-cases, but not SRAM yet).
As you said, I'm not sure about the density part. Unless it's completely done in BEOL, I don't see designers trade precious chip real estate for memory (unless pin or power-limited, of course).
- baybal2 5y agoHafnium? Is it something FRAM related? What do you think on FRAM vs. next generation MRAM?
- MayeulC 5y agoI don't know much about STT-MRAM, so I'll avoid making a fool of myself. Looking more into the details is on my TODO. Look at the datasheets and make your choice, as usual. I am not sure how the situation will evolve on either side, my understanding is that FRAM could be more energy-efficient. Well, hafnium can be used to make ferroelectric crystals, that are necessary for ferroelectric memories (FRAM). The most used ferroelectric material is PZT, which has lead, and is a nightmare for CMOS compatibility due to contamination issues, and temperatures. It's a bit light on the details, but maybe I should point you towards the video that explains our project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8tL-nN7G-A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8tL-nN7G-A The most exciting part might not be the performance (though it looks good), but the way ferroelectrics can be used for new circuits (variable treshold transistors thanks to FeFETs). Hafnium has been used in gate oxides for a few years now so it's quite compatible with CMOS.