Post-Moore Memory Technology: Sneak Path Current (SPC) Phenomena on RRAM Crossbar Array and Solutions

• Main Authors: Ying-Chen Chen, Chao-Cheng Lin, Yao-Feng Chang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-01-01
• Series: Micromachines
• Subjects: selectorless; resistive switching; sneak path current; volatile; resistive random access memory (RRAM)
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/12/1/50

The sneak path current (SPC) is the inevitable issue in crossbar memory array while implementing high-density storage configuration. The crosstalks are attracting much attention, and the read accuracy in the crossbar architecture is deteriorated by the SPC. In this work, the sneak path current problem is observed and investigated by the electrical experimental measurements in the crossbar array structure with the half-read scheme. The read margin of the selected cell is improved by the bilayer stacked structure, and the sneak path current is reduced ~20% in the bilayer structure. The voltage-read stress-induced read margin degradation has also been investigated, and less voltage stress degradation is showed in bilayer structure due to the intrinsic nonlinearity. The oxide-based bilayer stacked resistive random access memory (RRAM) is presented to offer immunity toward sneak path currents in high-density memory integrations when implementing the future high-density storage and in-memory computing applications.