High-Performance and Radiation-Hard Carbon Nanotube Complementary Static Random-Access Memory

Significant progess on carbon-nanotube (CNT) electronics means that they are a serious candidate for use in high-performance integrated circuits (ICs). However, few works have focused on fabricating and exploring CNT complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) static random-access memory (SRAM), which is an integral part of most digital ICs. High-performance complementary top-gated field-effect transistors (FETs) are fabricated through a doping-free technology based on solution-derived CNT films and are used in SRAM cells with a high yield and high uniformity. CNT CMOS-architecture 6-transistor (6-T) SRAM exhibits read/write margins as high as approximate to 0.4 V with a supply voltage of 1.0 V and stable dynamic properties. Furthermore, the effects of radiation the CNT CMOS FETs and SRAM ICs are explored. Owing to the robust C-C bonds in the CNTs, the ultrathin gate insulator layer in the devices, and a lack of a requirement for an isolation region, CNT FETs and SRAM cells can withstand a 2.2 Mrad total ionizing dose (TID) with a high rate of 560 rad s(-1), indicating that they could be used as radiation-hard ICs for applications in hostile environments. TID hardness of CNT-based SRAM ICs is reported for the first time, and a dose of 2.2 Mrad is the highest measured radiation dose for CNT FETs and ICs.