Large-scale read/write margin measurement in 45nm CMOS SRAM arrays

Abstract

Distributions of read and write noise margins in large CMOS SRAM arrays are investigated by directly measuring the bit-line current during bitline / wordline (write) or cell supply (read) voltage sweep in a 768Kb 45nm CMOS SRAM test-chip. Good correlation between write/read margin estimates through the bit-line measurements and the DC read SNM (RSNM) and IW measurements in small on-chip SRAM macros with wired-out storage nodes are demonstrated. Four common writeability metrics are correlated and compared. Array-level characterization of SRAM cell read stability and writeability allow fast and accurate characterization of high-density SRAM arrays is scalable for capturing up to 6 standard deviations of parameter variations.