Nonvolatile single-ion memory with picosecond switching

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel single-ion memory device using monolayer hexagonal boron nitride that achieves picosecond switching speeds and ultra-low energy consumption, promising significant advancements in memory technology.

Contribution

The study proposes a new single-ion transport mechanism for nonvolatile memory, demonstrating experimental ultra-fast switching and low energy use in a 2D material-based device.

Findings

Achieved 20 ps switching speed in single-ion memory.

Demonstrated ultra-low energy consumption of 310 aJ/bit.

Validated the resistive switching mechanism via first-principles calculations.

Abstract

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and edge computing applications has posed severe challenges to conventional memory technologies in terms of density, speed, and energy consumption. Herein, a single-ion transport mechanism is proposed to achieve picosecond (ps) switching capability. For monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with single-atom vacancy defects, first-principles calculations reveal that single-ion penetration across the BN plane dominates the resistive switching. The trapping and release of a single ion correspond to different states of the memory device for one bit of information. Experimentally fabricated single-ion memory exhibits nonvolatile resistive switching with ultra-fast switching speed of 20 ps and ultra-low energy consumption of 310 aJ/bit. This high performance is attributed to the extremely short distance for the single ion to travel through. Such devices pave the way for the realization of high-performance nonvolatile memory with ultra-fast speed, ultra-low energy consumption, and high storage density, that is called the "Unified Memory" long desired by the whole industry.