Polymer Solid-Electrolyte Switch Embedded on CMOS for Nonvolatile Crossbar Switch

A polymer solid-electrolyte (PSE) switch has been embedded in a 90-nm-node CMOS featuring a forming-less programming and extremely high on/off ratio of 105. A fast programming of 10 ns is also demonstrated for 50-nmΦ 1 k-b array by introducing the PSE switches integrated with a fully logic compatible process below 350°C. A high free volume in the PSE is supposed to result in the smooth formation of the Cu bridge without destroying the electrolyte, thereby also resulting in forming-less programming and high breakdown voltage. High disturbance reliability (T₅₀; 50% fail) is extracted to be over 10 years at operation condition. The improved switching characteristics enable us to accurately program the crossbar circuit in a practical scale (32 × 32) without cell transistors. The developed switch is a strong candidate for realizing a low-power and low-cost nonvolatile programmable logic.