New bistable proton-electron hybrid memory element

The leakage current in ultra-thin dielectrics and low capacitance are challenging tasks for the technology of nanosized memory elements. We approach the challenges inherent in memory element minimization by developing a new bistable proton-electron hybrid memory element, which utilizes a self-assembling "defect-free" technology of electrical double-layers. The footprint of such devices can be smaller than 50nm times 50nm, while the reading time could be shorter than 1mus and writing time shorter then 80mus. The memory element consists of a Schottky or p-i-n nanoneedle diode that is immersed into an ionic medium and whose bias is determined by the built-in potential of a double-layer based transition region formed around the depletion and bulk (electrode) regions of the nanodiode. We show that charging and discharging processes of the transition region are determined by the surface curvature of electrodes as well as by the properties of the ionic medium. Under certain conditions, the transition region can be considered as a semiconductor diode, with protons as majority charge carriers, that is, connected in series with two double-layer capacitors. We have used this feature to build bistable memory elements that possess low and high dynamic resistance at the low and high binary positions, respectively