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Title: A hybrid magnetic/complementary metal oxide semiconductor three-context memory bit cell for non-volatile circuit design

Abstract

After decades of continued scaling to the beat of Moore's law, it now appears that conventional silicon based devices are approaching their physical limits. In today's deep-submicron nodes, a number of short-channel and quantum effects are emerging that affect the manufacturing process, as well as, the functionality of the microelectronic systems-on-chip. Spintronics devices that exploit both the intrinsic spin of the electron and its associated magnetic moment, in addition to its fundamental electronic charge, are promising solutions to circumvent these scaling threats. Being compatible with the CMOS technology, such devices offer a promising synergy of radiation immunity, infinite endurance, non-volatility, increased density, etc. In this paper, we present a hybrid (magnetic/CMOS) cell that is able to store and process data both electrically and magnetically. The cell is based on perpendicular spin-transfer torque magnetic tunnel junctions (STT-MTJs) and is suitable for use in magnetic random access memories and reprogrammable computing (non-volatile registers, processor cache memories, magnetic field-programmable gate arrays, etc). To demonstrate the potential our hybrid cell, we physically implemented a small hybrid memory block using 45 nm × 45 nm round MTJs for the magnetic part and 28 nm fully depleted silicon on insulator (FD-SOI) technology for the CMOS part. We also reportmore » the cells measured performances in terms of area, robustness, read/write speed and energy consumption.« less

Authors:
;  [1]
  1. LIRMM—University of Montpellier 2/UMR CNRS 5506, 161 Rue Ada, 34095 Montpellier (France)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22273661
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Applied Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 115; Journal Issue: 13; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; DENSITY; ELECTRONS; ENERGY CONSUMPTION; MAGNETIC FIELDS; MAGNETIC MOMENTS; METALS; PERFORMANCE; SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS; SEMICONDUCTOR STORAGE DEVICES; SILICON; SPIN; SUPERCONDUCTING JUNCTIONS; TUNNEL EFFECT

Citation Formats

Jovanović, B., E-mail: bojan.jovanovic@lirmm.fr, E-mail: lionel.torres@lirmm.fr, Brum, R. M., and Torres, L. A hybrid magnetic/complementary metal oxide semiconductor three-context memory bit cell for non-volatile circuit design. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4870599.
Jovanović, B., E-mail: bojan.jovanovic@lirmm.fr, E-mail: lionel.torres@lirmm.fr, Brum, R. M., & Torres, L. A hybrid magnetic/complementary metal oxide semiconductor three-context memory bit cell for non-volatile circuit design. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4870599
Jovanović, B., E-mail: bojan.jovanovic@lirmm.fr, E-mail: lionel.torres@lirmm.fr, Brum, R. M., and Torres, L. 2014. "A hybrid magnetic/complementary metal oxide semiconductor three-context memory bit cell for non-volatile circuit design". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4870599.
@article{osti_22273661,
title = {A hybrid magnetic/complementary metal oxide semiconductor three-context memory bit cell for non-volatile circuit design},
author = {Jovanović, B., E-mail: bojan.jovanovic@lirmm.fr, E-mail: lionel.torres@lirmm.fr and Brum, R. M. and Torres, L.},
abstractNote = {After decades of continued scaling to the beat of Moore's law, it now appears that conventional silicon based devices are approaching their physical limits. In today's deep-submicron nodes, a number of short-channel and quantum effects are emerging that affect the manufacturing process, as well as, the functionality of the microelectronic systems-on-chip. Spintronics devices that exploit both the intrinsic spin of the electron and its associated magnetic moment, in addition to its fundamental electronic charge, are promising solutions to circumvent these scaling threats. Being compatible with the CMOS technology, such devices offer a promising synergy of radiation immunity, infinite endurance, non-volatility, increased density, etc. In this paper, we present a hybrid (magnetic/CMOS) cell that is able to store and process data both electrically and magnetically. The cell is based on perpendicular spin-transfer torque magnetic tunnel junctions (STT-MTJs) and is suitable for use in magnetic random access memories and reprogrammable computing (non-volatile registers, processor cache memories, magnetic field-programmable gate arrays, etc). To demonstrate the potential our hybrid cell, we physically implemented a small hybrid memory block using 45 nm × 45 nm round MTJs for the magnetic part and 28 nm fully depleted silicon on insulator (FD-SOI) technology for the CMOS part. We also report the cells measured performances in terms of area, robustness, read/write speed and energy consumption.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4870599},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22273661}, journal = {Journal of Applied Physics},
issn = {0021-8979},
number = 13,
volume = 115,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Apr 07 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Mon Apr 07 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}