Enhancement of refresh time in quasi-nonvolatile memory by the density of states engineering

Abstract

Abstract The recently reported quasi-nonvolatile memory based on semi-floating gate architecture has attracted extensive attention thanks to its potential to bridge the large gap between volatile and nonvolatile memory. However, the further extension of the refresh time in quasi-nonvolatile memory is limited by the charge leakage through the p–n junction. Here, based on the density of states engineered van der Waals heterostructures, the leakage of electrons from the floating gate to the channel is greatly suppressed. As a result, the refresh time is effectively extended to more than 100 s, which is the longest among all previously reported quasi-nonvolatile memories. This work provides a new idea to enhance the refresh time of quasi-nonvolatile memory by the density of states engineering and demonstrates great application potential for high-speed and low-power memory technology.