A thin film lithium niobate ferroelectric transistor

Abstract

The incorporation of a thin film of LiNbO$\sb3$ in a conventional MOS (metal-oxide-semiconductor) structure gives the possibility of two fundamentally different types of computer memory architectures. One, based on ferroelectric switching, involves the reorganization of charge in the transistor channel to compensate for the change in surface polarization. Another, based on the bulk photovoltaic effect, creates a change in the threshold of the transistor when exposed to incident light. With the use of a molybdenum liftoff process, such ferroelectric transistors have been realized. The properties of these transistors have been measured before and after exposure to laser illumination, and before and after the application of voltage pulses.