Oxide semiconductor gain cell-embedded memory: materials and integration strategies for next generation on-chip memory

The data processing demands of the digital era have exposed limitations in conventional memory architectures. Gain cell-embedded dynamic random-access memory based on oxide semiconductors is emerging as a solution, addressing scalability, power efficiency, and integration density challenges. Our review highlights that oxide semiconductors offer exceptional properties for gain cell memory applications, including ultra-low leakage currents and wide bandgap characteristics, while their advanced structures like gate-all-around and channel-all-around stacked architectures demonstrate the potential for high-density integration. While challenges in manufacturing and reliability persist, this paradigm shift in memory design holds promise for reshaping computing systems for artificial intelligence and advanced computing applications. The growing data demands of the digital era reveal the limits of embedded memory. Sang Won Chung and colleagues advance in oxide semiconductor gain cell embedded dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), outlining materials and integration toward power efficient, back-end-of-line (BEOL) compatible memories for AI and edge computing.