Back-End-of-Line Nanoelectromechanical Switches

Nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switches offer an energy-efficient, scalable alternative to traditional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistors for both logic and memory applications. NEM switches are made using the copper interconnects of a standard CMOS back-end-of-line (BEOL) process, allowing for dense hybrid CMOS-NEM circuits. To date, standalone cantilevers oriented vertically or horizontally have been experimentally demonstrated, as well as 4x2 CMOS-NEM hybrid look-up tables. This presentation discusses future augmentations and applications for NEM switches. First, the benefits of NEMS/MEMS computing and the need for CMOS integration will be introduced, followed by an overview of the device fabrication flow. Then, future device applications will be introduced, including NEMS-based non-volatile crosspoint memory arrays having energy consumption nearly three orders of magnitude smaller than existing embedded memories. Finally, the negative capacitance effect found in ferroelectric will be introduced, and its usage to lower the actuation voltage of NEM switches will be analyzed.

Speaker: Colin Finnan, UC Berkeley

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