Design consideration of ferroelectric field-effect-transistors with metal–ferroelectric–metal capacitor for ternary content addressable memory

Abstract

The performance of ferroelectric field-effect transistor (FeFET)-based ternary content addressable memory (TCAM) is examined to optimize the metal-ferroelectric-metal (MFM) capacitor of FeFET through a compact model based on the multi-domain Preisach theory. To reduce the search delay of the FeFET-based TCAM, the area of the MFM capacitor should be reduced, therefore enhancing polarization. Further, the effect of the polarization properties of ferroelectric material on the performance of the FeFET-based TCAM is explored. The increase in the polarization of ferroelectric material leads to better performance; however, the coercive voltage should also be optimized. As a result, to improve the performance of a circuit using FeFETs, simulations using reliable compact models are required. The results of this study can provide directions for developing ferroelectric materials.