SBIR Phase II: A Novel Memory Having Both Volatile and Non-Volatile Modes For High Performance, Low Power Applications

这个小型企业创新研究第二阶段项目旨在通过与商业代工合作伙伴的合作，继续开发一种具有易失性和非易失性功能的新型单晶体管存储器件。这种存储器结合了非易失性存储器在没有电源的情况下保留信息的能力（如闪存）和易失性存储器（如静态随机存取存储器（SRAM））的快速访问速度和可靠性。除了存储器单元的开发和优化之外，还将开发存储器块，以启动存储器技术的商业化工作。这个项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是使节能计算应用程序和移动设备成为可能。例如，它可以用于降低数据中心的功耗。据估计，数据中心的年能耗为1500亿千瓦时，大约是目前美国太阳能电池板容量的两倍。本提案中提出的节能型内存可以将整个数据中心的功耗降低高达75%。另一个应用是提供集成内存解决方案。许多电子设备目前采用多种类型的存储器，由于他们自己独特的特点。该器件将能够将不同类型的存储器组合到一个存储器中，从而简化嵌入式存储器的制造过程。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project seeks to continue the development of a novel one-transistor memory device, which has both volatile and non-volatile functionality, through collaboration with a commercial foundry partner. Such memory combines the non-volatile memory's ability to retain information in the absence of power (such as Flash memory) and the fast access speed and reliability of a volatile memory (such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM)). In addition to the memory cell development and optimization, a memory block will also be developed to initiate commercialization effort of the memory technology.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to enable power-efficient computing applications and mobile devices. For example, it can be used to reduce power consumptions in data centers. Data centers' annual energy consumption is estimated to be 150 billion kWh, about twice the capacity of the current US solar panel. A power-efficient memory such as the one proposed in this proposal can reduce the overall data centers' power consumption by up to 75%. Another application is to provide an integrated memory solution. Many electronic devices currently employ multiple types of memory, due to their own distinct characteristics. The proposed device will be able to combine the different types of memory into a single memory device, simplifying the manufacturing process for embedded memories.