A Novel Self-Reference Technique for STT-RAM Read and Write Reliability Enhancement

Abstract

Spin-transfer torque random access memory (STT-RAM) has demonstrated great potential in embedded and stand-alone applications. However, process variations and thermal fluctuations greatly influence the operation reliability of STT-RAM and limit its scalability. In this paper, we propose a new field-assisted access scheme to improve the read/write reliability and performance of STT-RAM. During read operations, an external magnetic field is applied to a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) device, generating a resistive sense signal without referring to other devices. Such a self-reference scheme offers a very promising alternative approach to overcome the severe cell-to-cell variations at highly scaled technology node. Furthermore, the external magnetic field can be used to assist the MTJ switching during write operations without introducing extra hardware overhead.