A novel DRAM cell technology consisting of an n-channel access transis
tor and a bootstrapped storage capacitor with an integrated breakdown
diode is proposed. This design offers considerable resistance to singl
e event cell errors; The informational charge packet is shielded from
the single event by placing the vulnerable node in a self-compensating
state while the cell is in standby mode. The proposed cell is compara
ble in size to a conventional DRAM cell, and computer simulations show
an improvement in critical charge of two orders of magnitude over Con
ventional 1-T DRAM cells.