An atomistic simulation study of carbon nanotube electromechanical memory

A nanoelectromechanical memory device of carbon-nanotube-bridge was investigated by atomistic simulations based on empirical potentials. The carbon-nanotube-bridge nanoelectromechanical memory was operated under the electrostatic, the elastostatic, and the van der Waals forces. For the carbon-nanotube-bridge nanoelectromechanical memory, the electrical-induced potential energy was changed to the mechanical energy and the van der Waals interactions between the carbon-nanotube-bridge and the oxide were very important. As the distance between the carbon-nanotube-bridge and the oxide decreased and the van der Waals interaction energy increased, the pull-in bias of the carbon-nanotube-bridge decreased and the nonvolatility of the nanoelectromechanical memory device increased while the pull-out voltages increased. In order that the nanoelectromechanical memory could be worked as a nonvolatile memory, the oxide materials should be carefully selected.