Low Power Phase Change Memory at High Endurance With a Slice Bottom Electrode

Abstract

Phase change memory (PCM) is a promising candidate for nonvolatile data storage and reconfigurable electronics, but the high programming current presents a challenge to realize low-power operation. In this paper, PCM cells based on a new bottom electrode contact (BEC) structure called the slice BEC are introduced to reduce the programming current. Compared with T-shaped PCM cells, the RESET current was found to be significantly reduced for cells with slice bottom electrodes, which is consistent with the simulation results. The dynamic resistances for cells with different electrodes during RESET programming were also studied. The theoretical calculations showed that the power was greatly reduced by using the slice bottom electrode. The endurance characteristics of the new type cells were investigated to evaluate the cell performance.