A new approach to cell size scaling with a multi-dual cell and a buffer/background programming of unified RAM

New investigations are presented here on a high-density and DRAM-like high-speed non-volatile memory (NVM) application of unified RAM (URAM). For a high-density application of URAM, multiple data storage is demonstrated with a multi-dual cell (MDC). Because each NVM state can be split by programming with a one-transistor (1T) DRAM without a capacitor, the total number of memory states can be doubled. Furthermore, a high-speed DRAM-level NVM scheme is proposed for the joint operation of 1T DRAM buffer programming and NVM post-background programming. The MDC and the proposed scheme are unique URAM properties that can extend the application range of memory devices.