7 research outputs found

    Design techniques for dense embedded memory in advanced CMOS technologies

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    University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. February 2012. Major: Electrical Engineering. Advisor: Chris H. Kim. 1 computer file (PDF); viii, 116 pages.On-die cache memory is a key component in advanced processors since it can boost micro-architectural level performance at a moderate power penalty. Demand for denser memories only going to increase as the number of cores in a microprocessor goes up with technology scaling. A commensurate increase in the amount of cache memory is needed to fully utilize the larger and more powerful processing units. 6T SRAMs have been the embedded memory of choice for modern microprocessors due to their logic compatibility, high speed, and refresh-free operation. However, the relatively large cell size and conflicting requirements for read and write make aggressive scaling of 6T SRAMs challenging in sub-22 nm. In this dissertation, circuit techniques and simulation methodologies are presented to demonstrate the potential of alternative options such as gain cell eDRAMs and spin-torque-transfer magnetic RAMs (STT-MRAMs) for high density embedded memories.Three unique test chip designs are presented to enhance the retention time and access speed of gain cell eDRAMs. Proposed bit-cells utilize preferential boostings, beneficial couplings, and aggregated cell leakages for expanding signal window between data `1' and `0'. The design space of power-delay product can be further enhanced with various assist schemes that harness the innate properties of gain cell eDRAMs. Experimental results from the test chips demonstrate that the proposed gain cell eDRAMs achieve overall faster system performances and lower static power dissipations than SRAMs in a generic 65 nm low-power (LP) CMOS process. A magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) scaling scenario and an efficient HSPICE simulation methodology are proposed for exploring the scalability of STT-MRAMs under variation effects from 65 nm to 8 nm. A constant JC0*RA/VDD scaling method is adopted to achieve optimal read and write performances of STT-MRAMs and thermal stabilities for a 10 year retention are achieved by adjusting free layer thicknesses as well as projecting crystalline anisotropy improvements. Studies based on the proposed methodology show that in-plane STT-MRAM will outperform SRAM from 15 nm node, while its perpendicular counterpart requires further innovations in MTJ material properties in order to overcome the poor write performance from 22 nm node

    Non-volatile organic memory devices: from design to applications

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    The research activity described in the attached dissertation focused on the development, fabrication and characterization of new non-volatile memory elements based on organic technology. During the last few decades, organic materials based devices have attracted considerable interest due to their great potential for future electronic systems. Low fabrication costs, high mechanical flexibility and versatility of the chemical structure, good scalability and easy processing are the unique advantages of organic electronics. As memory devices are essential elements of any kind of electronic system, the development of organic memory devices is fundamental in order to extend the application of organic materials to different electronic circuits. Research on organic electronic memories is currently at a rapid growth stage, since it is recognized that they may be an alternative or supplementary to the conventional memory technologies. Despite considerable progress in the advancement of novel memory technologies in recent years, some challenging tasks still need to be resolved. The Ph.D. research activity of this thesis is related to the still -opened challenges in the organic memories technologies. In particular, it focused mainly on the study, development, fabrication and characterization of new non-volatile organic memory elements based on resistive switching. The activity has been carried out in the frame of the European project “HYbrid organic/inorganic Memory Elements for integration of electronic and photonic Circuitry” (HYMEC), which involved the University of Cagliari during the last three years. The project goal was to realize new hybrid inorganic/organic resistive memory devices with functionality far beyond the state of the art. A complementary activity on transistor-based organic memory devices has been also carried out and described in this thesis. As regards resistive memory devices, the research activity included design, fabrication and testing of a novel non-volatile memory device based on the combination of an air-stable organic semiconductor and metal nanoparticles. This topic required the development of technology and procedures for easy and reliable production of devices as well as the definition of measurement protocols. The proposed structure was thoroughly characterized by morphological techniques, which allowed to interpret the resistive switching mechanisms in terms of formation and rupture of metallic filaments inside the organic layer assisted by the metal NPs. The obtained performances are the best reported so far in literature, and, to our knowledge, the statistics analysis is the largest ever reported for organic-based resistive memories. The developed technology was then successfully applied on flexible plastic substrates. The definition of technological processes for the reliable fabrication of high performance printed organic memory devices was also carried out: this work clearly demonstrates the real possibility of fabricating high performance printed memory elements. A significant effort was also devoted to the development of basic memory/sensor systems entirely fabricated on plastic substrates. The suitability of organic non-volatile memory devices for the detection and the storage of external parameters was demonstrated. The results definitely demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed technology for the fabrication of systems including organic memories for their final application in different industrial processes, including e-textile and smart packaging. As regards transistor memory devices, highly flexible Organic Field-Effect Transistor (OFET)-based memory elements with excellent mechanical stability and high retention time were developed. As main innovation with respect to the state of the art, low voltage operation of the OFET-based memory was investigated. Such an activity was also related to the development of reliable measurement procedure

    Crystal-Amorphous Transformation Via Defect-Templating in Phase-Change Materials

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    Phase-change materials (PCM) such as GeTe and Ge-Sb-Te alloys are potential candidates for non-volatile memory applications, because they can reversibly and rapidly transform between a crystalline phase and an amorphous phase with medium-range order. Traditionally, crystal-amorphous transformation in these materials has been carried out via melt-quench pathway, where the crystalline phase is heated beyond its melting point by the rising edge of an electric pulse, and the melt phase is quenched by the falling edge into a glassy phase. Formation of an intermediate melt phase in this transformation pathway requires usage of large switching current densities, resulting in energy wastage, and device degradation issues. Furthermore, melt-quench pathway is a brute force strategy of amorphizing PCM, and does not utilize the peculiar structural properties in crystalline phase. It will be beneficial from a device perspective that crystal-amorphous transformation is carried out via subtler solid-state pathways. Single-crystalline nanowire phase-change memory, owing to its lateral geometry and large volumes of active material, offers a platform to construct a crystal-amorphous transformation pathway via gradually increasing disorder in the crystalline phase, and study it. Using in situ transmission electron microscopy on GeTe and Ge2Sb2Te5 systems, we showed that the application of an electric pulse (heat-shock) creates dislocations in the PCM that migrate with the hole-wind force, and interact with the already existing ferroelectric boundaries in case of GeTe, changing their nature. We adapted novel tools such as optical second harmonic generation polarimety to carefully study these defect interactions. These defects accumulate at a region of local inhomogeneity, and upon addition of defects beyond a critical limit to that region via electrical pulsing, an amorphous phase nucleates . We also studied the effect of defect dynamics on carrier transport using temperature dependent transport measurements in GeTe, which transforms from a metal to a weakly localized metal to finally an Andersons insulator, upon defect accumulation, prior to amorphization. Taking lessons from these fundamental studies, we defect-engineered GeTe into insulating crystalline states as the starting crystalline states, and demonstrated orders of magnitude drop in the power densities required for switching, compared with those required for melt-quench pathway

    A Study of the Scaling and Advanced Functionality Potential of Phase Change Memory Devices

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    As traditional volatile and non-volatile data storage and memory technologies such as SRAM, DRAM, Flash and HDD face fundamental scaling challenges, scientists and engineers are forced to search for and develop alternative technologies for future electronic and computing systems that are relatively free from scaling issues, have lower power consumptions, higher storage densities, faster speeds, and can be easily integrated on-chip with microprocessor cores. This thesis focuses on the scaling and advanced functionality potential of one such memory technology i.e. Phase Change Memory (PCM), which is a leading contender to complement or even replace the above mentioned traditional technologies. In the first part of the thesis, a physically-realistic Multiphysics Cellular Automata PCM device modelling approach was used to study the scaling potential of conventional and commercially-viable PCM devices. It was demonstrated that mushroom-type and patterned probe PCM devices can indeed be scaled down to ultrasmall (single-nanometer) dimensions, and in doing so, ultralow programming currents (sub-20 μA) and ultrahigh storage densities (~10 Tb/in2) can be achieved via such a scaling process. Our sophisticated modelling approach also provided a detailed insight into some key PCM device characteristics, such as amorphization (Reset) and crystallization (Set) kinetics, thermal confinement, and the important resistance window i.e. difference in resistances between the Reset and Set states. In the second part of the thesis, the aforementioned modelling approach was used to assess the feasibility of some advanced functionalities of PCM devices, such as neuromorphic computing and phase change metadevices. It was demonstrated that by utilizing the accumulation mode of operation inherent to phase change materials, we can combine a physical PCM device with an external comparator-type circuit to deliver a ‘self-resetting spiking phase change neuron’, which when combined with phase change synapses can potentially open a new route for the realization of all-phase change neuromorphic computers. It was further shown that it is indeed feasible to design and ‘electrically’ switch practicable phase change metadevices (for absorber and modulator applications, and suited to operation in the technologically important near-infrared range of the spectrum). Finally, it was demonstrated that the Gillespie Cellular Automata (GCA) phase change model is capable of exhibiting ‘non-Arrhenius kinetics of crystallization’, which were found to be in good agreement with reported experimental studies

    Maritime expressions:a corpus based exploration of maritime metaphors

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    This study uses a purpose-built corpus to explore the linguistic legacy of Britain’s maritime history found in the form of hundreds of specialised ‘Maritime Expressions’ (MEs), such as TAKEN ABACK, ANCHOR and ALOOF, that permeate modern English. Selecting just those expressions commencing with ’A’, it analyses 61 MEs in detail and describes the processes by which these technical expressions, from a highly specialised occupational discourse community, have made their way into modern English. The Maritime Text Corpus (MTC) comprises 8.8 million words, encompassing a range of text types and registers, selected to provide a cross-section of ‘maritime’ writing. It is analysed using WordSmith analytical software (Scott, 2010), with the 100 million-word British National Corpus (BNC) as a reference corpus. Using the MTC, a list of keywords of specific salience within the maritime discourse has been compiled and, using frequency data, concordances and collocations, these MEs are described in detail and their use and form in the MTC and the BNC is compared. The study examines the transformation from ME to figurative use in the general discourse, in terms of form and metaphoricity. MEs are classified according to their metaphorical strength and their transference from maritime usage into new registers and domains such as those of business, politics, sports and reportage etc. A revised model of metaphoricity is developed and a new category of figurative expression, the ‘resonator’, is proposed. Additionally, developing the work of Lakov and Johnson, Kovesces and others on Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), a number of Maritime Conceptual Metaphors are identified and their cultural significance is discussed
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