William E Warren

US Patent:

63046660, Oct 16, 2001

Filed:

Oct 7, 1998

Appl. No.:

9/167772

Inventors:

William L. Warren - Arlington VA
Roderick A. B. Devine - Paris, FR

Assignee:

The United States of America as represented by the United States Department
of Energy - Washington DC

International Classification:

G06K 928

US Classification:

382124

Abstract:

An array of nonvolatile field effect transistors used to sense electric potential variations. The transistors owe their nonvolatility to the movement of protons within the oxide layer that occurs only in response to an externally applied electric potential between the gate on one side of the oxide and the source/drain on the other side. The position of the protons within the oxide layer either creates or destroys a conducting channel in the adjacent source/channel/drain layer below it, the current in the channel being measured as the state of the nonvolatile memory. The protons can also be moved by potentials created by other instrumentalities, such as charges on fingerprints or styluses above the gates, pressure on a piezoelectric layer above the gates, light shining upon a photoconductive layer above the gates. The invention allows sensing of fingerprints, handwriting, and optical images, which are converted into digitized images thereof in a nonvolatile format.

US Patent:

61598291, Dec 12, 2000

Filed:

Apr 22, 1998

Appl. No.:

9/064488

Inventors:

William L. Warren - Arlington VA
Karel J. R. Vanheusden - Albuquerque NM
Daniel M. Fleetwood - Albuquerque NM
Roderick A. B. Devine - 38950 St. Martin le Vinoux, FR
Leo B. Archer - Garland TX
George A. Brown - Arlington TX
Robert M. Wallace - Richardson TX

International Classification:

H01L 21425

US Classification:

438530

Abstract:

An enhancement of an electrically written memory element utilizing the motion of protons within a dielectric layer surrounded by layers on either side to confine the protons within the dielectric layer with electrode means attached to the surrounding layers to change the spatial position of the protons within the dielectric layer. The device is preferably constructed as a silicon-silicon dioxide-silicon layered structure with the protons being introduced to the structure during an anneal in an atmosphere containing hydrogen gas. Device operation is enhanced by concluding this anneal step with a sudden cooling. The device operates at low power, is preferably nonvolatile, is radiation tolerant, and is compatible with convention silicon MOS processing for integration with other microelectronics elements on the same silicon substrate.