New prospects for silicon-based terabit memories and data storage systems

Recent calculations of Fowler-Nordheim tunnelling through `crested' (graded) tunnel barriers have indicated that floating-gate structures using such barriers may combine multi-year retention time with nanosecond recharging time. This effect may be used for the implementation of terabit-scalable, non-volatile random-access memories (NOVORAM) and ultradense electrostatic data storage systems (ESTOR) which may revolutionize digital electronics. In particular, if combined with ultrafast rapid single-flux-quantum (RSFQ) logic circuits, the new memory and storage techniques may lead to the development, within a few years, of teraflops-scale desktop computers.