Circular Printed Memory Device Misalignment Tolerance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current printed memory devices with linear electrodes have a low tolerance for misalignment, leading to errors when electrical contact is made, and if one contact fails, the entire line of cells may fail, resulting in multiple bit errors.
Innovation Solution
A circular printed memory device with a base substrate, bottom electrodes arranged in a circular pattern, a ferroelectric layer, and a single top electrode that contacts each bottom electrode via the ferroelectric layer, providing a higher contact area and reducing misalignment errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If linear electrodes are used in printed memory devices, then the device structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the tolerance for misalignment is low leading to errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces linear electrode patterns with circular electrode patterns. The circular shape provides a larger effective contact area and greater tolerance for misalignment during the printing process, as small deviations from the intended position still result in adequate contact between electrodes and pins, thereby resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and manufacturing precision
2Area of stationary object
If linear electrode patterns are used, then the contact area is small, but the device occupies less area
Solution Approach 1:
The circular electrode pattern increases the effective contact area between electrodes and reading pins compared to linear patterns. This enhanced contact area improves electrical contact reliability while the circular arrangement is efficiently packed to minimize the overall device footprint, thus resolving the contradiction between contact reliability and device area
3Device complexity
If linear electrodes are used, then the device layout is simple, but one contact failure causes entire line of cells to fail
Solution Approach 1:
The circular electrode pattern changes the geometric arrangement from linear rows to circular distributions. This configuration ensures that each electrode contacts pins at multiple points around the circle, so a single contact failure does not result in complete line failure as would occur with linear arrangements, thereby improving reliability while maintaining relatively simple device structure
Solution Approach 2:
The circular electrode pattern can be viewed as segmenting the contact points around the circumference, where each segment independently contacts pins. This segmentation ensures that failure at one location does not propagate to adjacent contacts along a line, isolating errors to individual contact points rather than entire lines
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The circular design increases the latitude for misalignment during electrical contact, reduces bit errors, and allows for more efficient packing of memory cells in a smaller area, with only one contact error potentially causing a single bit fault rather than multiple errors.
Implementation Method 1
a ferroelectric layer on top of the plurality of bottom electrodes
Data Source
AI summary
A circular printed memory device and a method for fabricating the circular printed memory device are disclosed. For example, the circular printed memory device includes a base substrate, a plurality of bottom electrodes arranged in a circular pattern on the base substrate, a ferroelectric layer on top of the plurality of bottom electrodes and a single top electrode on the ferroelectric layer that contacts each one of the plurality of bottom electrodes via the ferroelectric layer.