Memory arrays based on molecular RTD devices

Recently, molecular devices have been fabricated which exhibit I-V characteristics similar to those of solid-state resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs), including negative differential resistance (NDR). These molecular devices very well could overcome many of the limitations of their solid-state counterparts while also offering promise for the future of VLSI technology. In this paper we examine the operation of an RTD based circuit, often called a Goto pair, which can be used to latch digital data. We focus on a first-in first-out (FIFO) memory architecture where no devices are required to select individual bits in the memory array and only the molecular devices and their interconnect are required for the memory core. Some design considerations and methodologies are also described along with two methods for implementing control logic for the FIFO. Although a long term goal would be to use nanoelectronic components, we describe here how CMOS can be used for control logic as part of a CMOS/Nano co-design methodology.