Reliability characterization of Phase Change Memory

Phase Change Memory (PCM) has emerged as an attractive candidate for next-generation non-volatile memory devices. For these applications, reliability is determined by the ability to retain the state of data in the device and support a specified number of re-writes without failure. In PCM technologies, retention is limited by the meta-stable amorphous state of the cell. For cycling endurance (re-writes), failure occurs due to either void formation in the active material or contamination of the heating element of the cell. With optimized process integration and cell programming, large array devices based on a 90nm PCM technology are able to support data retention to 10 years at 85 °C and greater than 106 write cycles.

[1]  S. Lai,et al.  OUM - A 180 nm nonvolatile memory cell element technology for stand alone and embedded applications , 2001, International Electron Devices Meeting. Technical Digest (Cat. No.01CH37224).

[2]  Roberto Bez,et al.  Introduction to flash memory , 2003, Proc. IEEE.

[3]  D. Ielmini,et al.  Reliability study of phase-change nonvolatile memories , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability.

[4]  R. Bez,et al.  Current status of chalcogenide phase change memory , 2005, 63rd Device Research Conference Digest, 2005. DRC '05..

[5]  Kinarn Kim,et al.  Reliability investigations for manufacturable high density PRAM , 2005, 2005 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium, 2005. Proceedings. 43rd Annual..

[6]  Seung-Yup Lee,et al.  Crystallization Behavior and Physical Properties of Sb-Excess Ge2Sb2 + x Te5 Thin Films for Phase Change Memory (PCM) Devices , 2006 .

[7]  B. Gleixner,et al.  A 90nm Phase Change Memory Technology for Stand-Alone Non-Volatile Memory Applications , 2006, 2006 Symposium on VLSI Technology, 2006. Digest of Technical Papers..

[8]  B. Gleixner,et al.  Evolution of phase change memory characteristics with operating cycles: Electrical characterization and physical modeling , 2007 .

[9]  B. Gleixner,et al.  Data Retention Characterization of Phase-Change Memory Arrays , 2007, 2007 IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings. 45th Annual.

[11]  J. Rodgers,et al.  A 4-Mb Non-volatile Chalcogenide Random Access Memory designed for space applications: Project status update , 2008, 2008 9th Annual Non-Volatile Memory Technology Symposium (NVMTS).

[12]  Guido Torelli,et al.  A Bipolar-Selected Phase Change Memory Featuring Multi-Level Cell Storage , 2009, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[13]  Sean Eilert,et al.  Phase Change Memory: A New Memory Enables New Memory Usage Models , 2009, 2009 IEEE International Memory Workshop.