Integrated circuitry components, switches, and memory cells

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9368581-B2
Application number	US-201213400518-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 20, 2012
Priority date	Feb 20, 2012
Publication date	Jun 14, 2016
Grant date	Jun 14, 2016

Abstract

A switch includes a graphene structure extending longitudinally between a pair of electrodes and being conductively connected to both electrodes of said pair. First and second electrically conductive structures are laterally outward of the graphene structure and on opposing sides of the graphene structure from one another. Ferroelectric material is laterally between the graphene structure and at least one of the first and second electrically conductive structures. The first and second electrically conductive structures are configured to provide the switch into “on” and “off” states by application of an electric field across the graphene structure and the ferroelectric material. Other embodiments are disclosed, including components of integrated circuitry which may not be switches.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A switch comprising:
a base substrate;
a pair of electrodes supported above and by the base substrate, one of the electrodes being elevationally outward of the other of the electrodes relative to the base substrate;
a graphene structure extending longitudinally and vertically between the pair of elevationally spaced electrodes and being electrical conductively connected to both electrodes of said pair;
first and second electrically conductive structures supported above and by the base substrate laterally outward of the vertically extending graphene structure and on opposing sides of the vertically extending graphene structure, the first and second electrically conductive structures comprising elevational thicknesses that vertically overlap in a horizontal plane; and
vertically extending ferroelectric material laterally between the vertically extending graphene structure and at least one of the first and second electrically conductive structures, the first and second electrically conductive structures comprising circuitry to apply a voltage to the first electrically conductive structure that is different from an applied voltage to the second electrically conductive structure in the horizontal plane to provide the switch into “on” and “off” states by application of a programming electric field across the graphene structure and the ferroelectric material in the horizontal plane due to said different applied voltages which changes a polarization state of the ferroelectric material.

2. A switch comprising:
a graphene structure extending longitudinally between a pair of electrodes and being electrical conductively connected to both electrodes of said pair;
first and second electrically conductive structures laterally outward of the graphene structure and on opposing sides of the graphene structure from one another, the first electrically conductive structure being electrical conductively connected to one of the electrodes and the second electrically conductive structure being electrical conductively connected to the other of the electrodes; and
ferroelectric material laterally between the graphene structure and at least one of the first and second electrically conductive structures, the first and second electrically conductive structures being configured to provide the switch into “on” and “off” states by application of an electric field across the graphene structure and the ferroelectric material.

3. The switch of claim 1 wherein the ferroelectric material on one side of the graphene structure has a minimum lateral thickness which is less than that of the graphene of the graphene structure.

4. The switch of claim 1 wherein the ferroelectric material on one side of the graphene structure has a maximum lateral thickness which is less than that of the graphene of the graphene structure.

5. The switch of claim 1 wherein the ferroelectric material on one side of the graphene structure has a minimum lateral thickness of from about 1 nanometer to about 10 nanometers.

6. The switch of claim 5 wherein the ferroelectric material on one side of the graphene structure has a minimum lateral thickness of from about 3 nanometers to about 5 nanometers.

7. A switch comprising:
a base substrate;
a pair of electrodes supported above and by the base substrate, one of the electrodes being elevationally outward of the other of the electrodes relative to the base substrate;
a graphene structure extending longitudinally and vertically between the pair of elevationally spaced electrodes and being electrical conductively connected to both electrodes of said pair, the graphene structure comprising two physically contacting layers of graphene;
first and second electrically conductive structures supported above and by the base substrate laterally outward of the vertically extending graphene structure and on opposing sides of the vertically extending graphene structure, the first and second electrically conductive structures comprising elevational thicknesses that vertically overlap in a horizontal plane; and
vertically extending ferroelectric material laterally between the vertically extending graphene structure and at least one of the first and second electrically conductive structures, the first and second electrically conductive structures being configured to provide the switch into “on” and “off” states by application of a programming electric field across the graphene structure and the ferroelectric material in the horizontal plane which changes a polarization state of the ferroelectric material.

8. A switch comprising:
at least two graphene structures extending longitudinally between a pair of electrodes and being electrical conductively connected to both electrodes of said pair, the two graphene structures being laterally spaced apart relative one another by solid dielectric material;
first and second electrically conductive structures laterally outward of the graphene structure and on opposing sides of the graphene structure from one another, the first and second electrically conductive structures comprising elevational thicknesses that vertically overlap in a horizontal plane; and
ferroelectric material laterally between the graphene structure and at least one of the first and second electrically conductive structures, the first and second electrically conductive structures comprising circuitry to apply a voltage to the first electrically conductive structure that is different from an applied voltage to the second electrically conductive structure in the horizontal plane to provide the switch into “on” and “off” states by application of an electric field across the graphene structure and the ferroelectric material in the horizontal plane due to said different applied voltages.

9. The switch of claim 1 wherein the ferroelectric material is directly against graphene of the graphene structure.

10. The switch of claim 1 wherein the ferroelectric material is everywhere spaced from graphene of the graphene structure.

11. The switch of claim 10 wherein the minimum lateral spacing of the ferroelectric material from the graphene is no more than about 1 nanometer.

12. The switch of claim 1 wherein ferroelectric material is laterally between the graphene structure and only one of the first and second electrically conductive structures on one of the opposing sides of the graphene structure.

13. The switch of claim 1 wherein ferroelectric material is laterally between the graphene structure and both of the first and second electrically conductive structures on the opposing sides of the graphene structure.

14. The switch of claim 13 wherein the ferroelectric material on the opposing sides is of the same composition.

15. The switch of claim 13 wherein the ferroelectric material on one of the opposing sides is different in composition from the ferroelectric material on the other of the opposing sides.

16. The switch of claim 13 wherein the ferroelectric material on one of the opposing sides is directly against graphene of the graphene structure and the ferroelectric material on the other of the opposing sides is everywhere spaced from graphene of the graphene structure.

17. The switch of claim 13 wherein the ferroelectric material on both of the opposing sides is directly against graphene of the graphene structure.

18. The switch of claim 13 wherein the ferroelectric material on both of the opposing sides is everywhere spaced from graphene of the graphene structure.

19. The switch of claim 1 wherein the ferroelectric material is

Assignees

• Sandhu Gurtej S
• Micron Technology Inc

Inventors

• Sandhu Gurtej S

Classifications

• H10D30/477

  Vertical HEMTs or vertical HHMTs · CPC title

• H10D64/685

  being perpendicular to the channel plane · CPC title

• H10D64/689 Primary

  having ferroelectric layers · CPC title

• H10D62/882

  Graphene · CPC title

• H10D30/701 Primary

  IGFETs having ferroelectric gate insulators, e.g. ferroelectric FETs · CPC title