A silicon double switching inversion-controlled switch for multiple-valued logic applications

A device with the structure of metal/thin insulator/crystalline silicon (n/sup +/-p)/thin insulator/metal (MISSIM) has been demonstrated to possess a double switching characteristics, which is expected to generate multiple stable states easier than the conventional resonant tunneling devices with multiple negative resistance for multiple-valued logic applications. Based on current-voltage measurements with or without light irradiation, and under the negative gate-biased condition, the operation mechanism of the MISSIM structure is proposed and illustrated in detail.>