Design of MEMS based XOR and AND gates for rad-hard and very low power LSI mechanical processors

Abstract

Design and calculations for a novel MEMS based logic gate (XOR and AND) is presented. Applications include computational circuits that require low operational power consumption (leakage current & power <10−9 A, <1µW), low operational voltage (∼2V), and harsh environment (radiation hard and high temperatures) operations. The device relies on an innovative Si 3 N 4 /PolySi cross-bridge platform with patterned metal (W) contacts to form single device logic gates. These functional structures reduce device count (6–14 for a single logic gate in the preceding configuration) leading to denser circuits, improved reliability, better speed and fabication yield. We examine Si 3 N 4 , PolySi, and W as bridge materials and the resulting gate speed and transition voltages. XOR and AND gates are specifically discussed.