Samsung researchers announced the development of a new ferroelectric transistor (FeFET)-based memory technology that can offer higher storage capacity than currently widely used NAND flash memory without consuming nearly any energy. This revolutionary technology offers potential energy savings of up to 96% compared to traditional NAND in an array structure.

Samsung Develops New Memory Technology

With the rapid spread of data-centric computing and artificial intelligence technologies, the need for high-capacity, low-power storage is increasing. However, current NAND flash memory suffers from high power consumption due to its array architecture, where numerous cells are connected in a cascade.

To read data from a cell, a voltage must be applied to the cells in front of and behind it. This phenomenon, called the “gate voltage,” leads to increased power consumption as the number of cells increases. Furthermore, when the gate voltage is lowered, the signal difference between the cells narrows, making multi-level storage difficult.

To overcome these structural limitations, Samsung researchers have designed a new FeFET-based memory using ferroelectric materials. Ferroelectric materials can be used in memory applications because their polarization direction can be reversed by an externally applied voltage and can maintain this state for extended periods even after the voltage is removed.

The research team developed a new FeFET by combining a zirconium-doped hafnium ferroelectric and an oxide semiconductor channel. Memory using this new FeFET can stably store up to 5 bits of data per cell, even when the transition voltage is reduced to nearly zero.

The researchers state that this performance is equal to or superior to existing commercial NAND solutions. This technology, which enables the storage of much more data with virtually no energy consumption, is crucial for applications such as artificial intelligence servers, mobile devices, and edge computing, where energy efficiency is critical.

The team demonstrated that the FeFET they developed can be successfully applied to vertically stacked three-dimensional structures, similar to existing NAND. Its stable operation even in cells with extremely small channel lengths of 25 nm demonstrates that high-density memory production is not an obstacle.