BeyondCMOSWhitePaper

Beyond-CMOS White Paper

1. Emerging Research Devices (ERD) in ITRS 2.0
Emerging Research Devices (ERD) will be the core of the beyond CMOS focus team (FT) in
ITRS 2.0. The beyond CMOS FT will cover emerging memory, logic, and architectures that ERD
has traditionally focused on. In addition, new areas of emerging technologies relevant to new
application drivers will be explored. ERD is an established and respected brand name from ITRS;
therefore, it is important for ERD to continue its activities as a technology working group. Beyond
CMOS will be a focused task that ERD is undertaking in ITRS 2.0. ERD provides a unique function
as an interface between industry and academic research. It also serves as a guideline for funding
agencies. The focus on beyond CMOS in the future direction will enhance this function and keep
ERD aligned with new application drivers.

System
integration

Outside
system
connectivity

Application drivers;
Performance
requirements

ERD: Beyond CMOS

Integration and
manufacturability
requirements

Heterogeneous
integration

Heterogeneous
components
Assessment &
transition criteria

More Moore

Manufacturing

Figure 1 The role of ERD and interaction with other focus teams in ITRS 2.0

ERD and the beyond CMOS FT will closely interact with the other six FTs in ITRS 2.0, as
illustrated in Fig. 1. The beyond CMOS FT receives inputs regarding application drivers and
performance requirements from the system integration and outside system connectivity FTs. It
also interacts with the heterogeneous components and more Moore FTs to both receive
assessment/transition criteria and provide inputs of emerging components that may be adopted by
these FTs in the future. This is similar to the relationship that ERD has had with FEP and PIDS.
Interaction with the manufacturing and heterogeneous integration FTs will help the beyond
CMOS FT to consider manufacturing and integration feasibility of emerging technologies.
This white paper will outline the proposed scope of beyond CMOS by the ERD group.
2. Difficult Challenges
ERD has traditionally focused on novel memory and information processing devices based on
alternative materials and mechanisms to extend ultimately scaled CMOS. With application drivers

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broaden from computing/communication to IoT (Internet of Things), cloud computing, and big data,
there are new functionalities and performance requirements for emerging devices.
Table 1. Summary of difficult challenges in beyond CMOS technology options
Difficult challenges
High-performance and high-density memory
solutions for embedded and standalone
applications; devices and architectures for
storage-class memories.

Extend CMOS scaling with alternative channel

materials and device structures

Beyond-CMOS devices with substantially

improved performance and/or functionality

Emerging architectures to improve information

processing and utilize novel characteristics of
emerging device

Invent and reduce to practice long term

alternative solutions to technologies that
address functionality requirements in new
application drivers including mobile, IoT, cloud
computing, etc.

Opportunities and issues

A range of new memory concepts (mostly based on resistance change
in two-terminal structures) with promising characteristics to meet
requirement from working memory to storage applications
Most emerging memories are BEOL devices: integration and
processing issues
High-density memory arrays require functional selector devices in
addition to memory elements
Reliability issues of these emerging memories have to be identified
and addressed early in the technology development
Novel channel materials with better transport properties are actively
explored, e.g., III-V, Ge, carbon nanotube, 2D materials
Electrostatics can be better controlled in gate-all-around nanowire
devices
Integration of heterogeneous materials is challenging
Control variability of critical dimensions and statistical distributions
(e.g., gate length, channel thickness, S/D doping concentrations, etc.)
Novel mechanisms and alternative state variables have been utilized
to develop charge and non-charge based beyond-CMOS devices
While beyond-CMOS devices may achieve lower power, overall
performance has rarely exceed that of CMOS; energy-delay tradeoff
continues to exist
Unique characteristics (e.g., nonvolatility) may enable new designs
that are not possible in CMOS to improve performance on circuit and
system levels.
A variety of architecture solutions are actively explored to overcome
the limitation of von Neumann architecture and conventional CMOS
New architecture solutions may circumvent limitations of emerging
devices (e.g., speed) and utilize their advantages (e.g., low power) to
improve overall performance
New architectures may enable application-specific optimization
Lack of clear correlation between emerging architectures and devices
Architecture-level assessment and benchmark require different
approaches from device-level assessment
The industry faces an increasing importance of a new trend where
added value to devices is provided by incorporating functionalities
that do not necessarily scale according to "Moore's Law.
Heterogeneous integration of digital and non-digital functionalities
into compact systems that will be the key driver for a wide variety of
application fields, such as communication, automotive,
environmental control, healthcare, security and entertainment.
Some key attributes pursued by ERD devices continue to be critical
for new application drivers, e.g., low-power, scalability, etc.
New application drivers require new characteristics and capabilities,
e.g., sensing, security, etc.

3. Methodology
3.1 Technology entry selection, categorization, and tabulation
ERD has well-defined approaches to select, categorize, and tabulate emerging technology entries,
which will continue to be the main methodology used in beyond CMOS. Consistent and rigorous
criteria will be used to select a new technology entry and remove an existing entry. Currently, a new

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technology will be introduced into ERD only if at least two research groups are actively working on it
or one group has published extensively on it. Technology entries will be categorized for clarity and
tracking. For example, emerging memory devices are divided into volatile and nonvolatile, with
further categories based on maturity. Emerging logic devices are divided into three groups based on
novelty and state of variables. With the long-term research nature, emerging technologies are
difficult to be roadmapped as yearly projections. Instead, ERD tabulate technology entries with best
available demonstrated and projected parameters for assessment. One of the challenges is to balance
the best value of individual parameters and the tradeoff among parameters. A collection of the best
parameters of a technology from different publications and implementations may not provide a
realistic assessment of a technology.
3.2 Technology assessment and critical review
Key assessment parameters for emerging memory and logic devices include energy/power, speed,
scalability, endurance, and gain (for logic) or on/off ratio (for memory). ERD has traditionally
tracked device-level parameters. Recently, circuit-level parameters have become increasingly
important; however, tracking circuit-level parameters involves more complexity and variety of circuit
implementations that are difficult to manage. Nevertheless, ERD has gradually started including
some circuit-level performance metrics.
ERD has carried out critical reviews based on the survey in the ERD group to evaluate memory
and logic devices using eight criteria. It provides useful opinion-based assessment and the survey
results (plotted as spider charts) have been widely cited in research papers, reports, and presentations.
In the context of ITRS 2.0 with new application drivers, these criteria need to be re-designed to
ensure their relevance. Another challenge is to increase the statistical base of the survey to enhance
the validity of the critical review.
4. Proposed scope of Beyond CMOS
4.1 Emerging memory/logic devices and architectures
Table 2 is a summary of the entries of emerging memory/logic devices and architectures in the
2013 ERD chapter. The beyond CMOS chapter will continue to cover similar topics with updates
based on technology progress. Emerging memory/logic devices and architectures will still be the
most important sections with the new focus on beyond CMOS.
Among emerging memory devices, molecular memory has shown limited progress and may be
considered to transition out of the chapter. The macromolecular memory has raised many questions
on the real function of polymer materials in the switching mechanism. A possible arrangement is to
categorize macromolecular memory as a type of resistive memory featuring polymer materials.
MRAM (Magnetic RAM) / STTRAM (Spin Torque Transfer RAM) has transitioned from the ERD
chapter to the PIDS chapter, and the ERM chapter continues tracking perpendicular MTJ (Magnetic
Tunnel Junction) materials. However, some recent development (e.g., giant spin-Hall-effect, voltagecontrolled magnetic anisotropy) may enable novel STTRAM devices and structures. A novel
MRAM/STTRAM memory entry may be introduced in the chapter.
Among emerging logic devices, atomic switch and excitonic FET are two possible entries to be
removed from the chapter, due to limited progress. Atomic switch is essentially a logic application of
CBRAM(Conductive Bridging RAM)-type of memories. If it is removed from the logic tables, it

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may be discussed in the CBRAM category as its logic application and in the reconfigurable
architecture section. The n-Ge and p-IIIV FETs have been considered for transition because of its
relative more mature nature than the other beyond-CMOS devices. BisFET (Bilayer pseudo-spin
Field Effect Transistor) is going through major changes from its original concept and the ERD entry
will be revised accordingly. Several new logic devices have been proposed recently and will be
evaluated as possible new logic entries, e.g., 2D channel FET, pizeotronic transistors.
The emerging architecture section currently covers a broad range of interesting concepts;
however, it lacks consistent organization and clear link with device entries. This section will be reorganized to both reflect the most advanced progress in emerging architectures and also correlate
these architecture concepts with device options. An emerging architecture-device mapping workshop
is planned in early 2015 to explore this correlation and help revising this section.
Table 2. Emerging memory/logic devices and architectures in 2013 ERD chapter
Emerging memory devices
Emerging logic devices
Emerging architectures
Emerging ferroelectric memory
o FeFET
o FE tunnel junction

Carbon memory
Mott memory
Macromolecular memory
Molecular memory
ReRAM
o Electrochemical metallization bridge
o Metal oxide: bipolar filament
o Metal oxide: unipolar filament
o Metal oxide: bipolar non-filamentary

Carbon-based nanoelectronics
Nanowire FETs
Tunnel FET
n-Ge and p-IIIV
Spin-FET and spin-MOSFET
NEMS
Atomic switch
Mott FET
Neg-Cg ferroelectric FET
Spin wave devices
Nano-Magnet Logic
Excitonic FET
BisFET
Spin torque majority gate
All spin logic

Memory architectures for

program centric architectures
Storage Class Memories
Evolved architectures exploiting
emerging research memory
devices
Architectures that can learn
Morphic architectures
o Neuromorphic architecture
o Cellular automata architecture
o Cortical architecture

4.2 Emerging devices for RF

ERD has started a more-than-Moore (MtM) section in 2011 and the first topic was emerging
devices for analog and RF applications. Table 3 summarizes the devices categorized in the chapter.
With mobile applications identified as a key system driver, it is more important for ERD to evaluate
the potential of emerging devices for RF applications. A major weakness of the current section is the
lack of quantitative assessment of these devices, which will be addressed in 2015.
Table 3. Technology entries of emerging devices for RF application in ERD MtM section
ERD MtM devices for RF applications

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Graphene RF transistors
Spin torque oscillators
NEMS resonators
o Based on Si nanowires, CNT and graphene
o Based on resonant gate or vibrating body transistors

RF mixers
o Resonant tunneling diodes
o Single electron transistors
o Graphene and CNT transistors

4.3 Emerging devices for sensor applications

With the potential application drivers of mobile, IoT, and cloud computing, sensors have become
key components in ITRS 2.0 and are a major focus of the heterogeneous components FT. The
beyond CMOS FT will explore emerging devices suitable for sensor applications. This new
category for ERD requires new expertise to be added in the group. It is also important for ERD to
follow the methodology and assessment criteria developed by the heterogeneous components FT to
track emerging candidates for sensor applications.
4.4 Emerging devices with learning capabilities
The 2013 ERD chapter added devices with learning capabilities as a sub-category of MtM
section. It roughly divided learning devices into two types: learning through re-configuration and
learning by examples. Bio-inspired intelligent and efficient computing is considered an important
future direction. Therefore, this section will be further expanded into more detailed device categories
with assessment. These devices will also be discussed in the context of architectures with learning
capabilities.
4.5 Emerging devices for security
Security is a critical requirement for all the major application drivers identified for ITRS 2.0.
Current security solutions are often realized by software and algorithms. However, increasing
research effort has focused on security solutions that can be implemented in hardware. Physically
unclonable functions (PUFs), as an example, utilize intrinsic variability in IC and devices to generate
security primitives. Some emerging devices may be more robust against side-channel attack and
temper-resistant. The randomness in some emerging device characteristics can be utilized to realize
random number generators. These security features on the device level could be utilized for efficient
hardware security solutions. ERD plans to explore security applications of emerging devices in
beyond CMOS.
4.6 Flexible electronics
Flexible electronics may provide low-cost solutions (e.g., printing) and useful candidates for
wearable electronics. Some emerging devices have attractive features that are potentially useful for
flexible electronics, e.g., macromolecular devices, thin-film transistors, some resistive memories, etc.
Exploring this new category of emerging devices will require assessment criteria different from
conventional memory/logic devices.
5. Summary

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The ERD group will focus on beyond CMOS technology options for ITRS 2.0. The traditional
ERD focus on memory and logic devices will continue to be the major part in the chapter. Emerging
architectures have become increasingly important in beyond-CMOS research. Clear mapping
between devices and architecture concepts will provide more useful research guidelines. Significant
expansion of the ERD chapter is planned under the scope of beyond CMOS, including emerging
device for sensor applications, emerging devices for security applications, flexible electronics. The
expansion will require new expertise in the ERD group. ERD group will closely collaborate and
coordinate with other FTs and TWGs to deliver the future technology options in ITRS 2.0.