• International Journal of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.6-11
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• 2018

As embedded memory technology evolves, the traditional Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) technology has reached the end of development. For deepening the manufacturing process technology, the next generation memory technology is highly required because of the exponentially increasing leakage current of SRAM. Non-volatile memories such as STT-MRAM (Spin Torque Transfer Magnetic Random Access Memory), PCM (Phase Change Memory) are good candidates for replacing SRAM technology in embedded memory systems. They have many advanced characteristics in the perspective of power consumption, leakage power, size (density) and latency. Nonetheless, nonvolatile memories have two major problems that hinder their use it the next-generation memory. First, the lifetime of the nonvolatile memory cell is limited by the number of write operations. Next, the write operation consumes more latency and power than the same size of the read operation.These disadvantages can be solved using the compiler. The disadvantage of non-volatile memory is in write operations. Therefore, when the compiler decides the layout of the data, it is solved by optimizing the write operation to allocate a lot of data to the SRAM. This study provides insights into how these compiler and architectural designs can be developed.

• IEMEK Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.67-78
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• 2016

The emerging Spin-Transfer Torque RAM (STT-RAM) is a promising component that can be used to improve the efficiency as a result of its high storage density and low leakage power. However, the state-of-the-art STT-RAM is not ready to replace SRAM technology due to the negative effect of its write operations. The write operations require longer latency and more power than the same operations in SRAM. Therefore, a hybrid cache with SRAM and STT-RAM technologies is proposed to obtain the benefits of STT-RAM while minimizing its negative effects by using SRAM. To efficiently use of the hybrid cache, it is important to place write intensive data onto the cache. Such data should be placed on SRAM to minimize the negative effect. Thus, we propose a technique that optimizes placement of data in main memory. It drives the proper combination of advantages and disadvantages for SRAM and STT-RAM in the hybrid cache. As a result of the proposed technique, write intensive data are loaded to SRAM and read intensive data are loaded to STT-RAM. In addition, our technique also optimizes temporal locality to minimize conflict misses. Therefore, it improves performance and energy consumption of the hybrid cache architecture in a certain range.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.386-386
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• 2012

We studied a bilateral switching device for spin transfer torque (STT-MRAM) based on 3D device simulation. Metal/P/N+or Metal/N/P+ junction device with $30{\times}30nm2$ area which is composed of one side schottky junction at Metal/P/N+ and Metal/N/P+ provides sufficient bidirectional current flow to write data by a drain induced barrier lowering (DIBL). In this work, Junction device confirmed that write current is more than 30 uA at 2 V, It is also has high on-off ratio over 105 under read operation. Junction device has good process feasibility because metal material of junction device could have been replaced by bottom layer of MTJ. Therefore, additional process to fabricate two outer terminals is not need. so, it provides simple fabrication procedures. it is expected that Metal/P/N+ or Metal/N/P+ structure with one side schottky junction will be a promising switch device for beyond 30 nm STT-MRAM.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.7-11
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• 2007

We confirm the validity of the analytic expression for the temperature of the Joule heated nano-wire [C.-Y. You et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 222513 (2006)] with finite element method. The temperature of the Joule heated nano-wire is essential information for the research of the current induced domain wall movement. The analytic expression includes an adjustable parameter which must be determined. Since the physical origin of the adjustable parameter is simplification of the heat source profile, the validity of the analytic expression must be examined for wide range of the nano-wire structure. By comparison with this analytic expression with the results of full numerical finite element method, the adjustable parameter has been determined. The numerically confirmed adjustable parameter values are in the range of 0.60$\sim$0.69, which is well matched with the theoretically expected one. Furthermore, it is found that the adjustable parameter is a slow varying function of the nano-wire geometry. Based on this numerical confirmation, we can apply the analytic expression for the wide range of the nano-wire geometry with proper adjustable parameters.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.306.2-306.2
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• 2014

전자기기의 휴대성과 이동성이 강조되고 있는 현대사회에서 비휘발성 메모리는 메모리 산업에 있어 매우 매력적인 동시에 커다란 잠재성을 지닌다. 이미 공정의 한계에 부딪힌 Flash 메모리를 대신하여 10nm 이하의 공정이 가능한 상변화 메모리(Phase-Change Memory, PRAM), 스핀 주입 자화 반전 메모리(Spin Transfer Torque-Magnetic RAM, STT-MRAM), 저항 변화 메모리(Resistive Random Access Memory, ReRAM)가 차세대 비휘발성 메모리 후보로서 거론되고 있으며, 그 중에서도 ReRAM은 빠른 속도와 낮은 소비 전력, CMOS 공정 호환성, 그리고 비교적 단순한 3차원 적층 구조의 특성으로 인해 활발히 연구되고 있다. 특히 최근에는 질화물 또는 질소를 도핑한 산화물을 저항변화 물질로 사용하는 ReRAM이 보고되고 있는데, 이들은 동작전압이 낮을 뿐만 아니라 저항 변화(Resistive Switching, RS) 과정에서 일어나는 계면 산화를 방지할 수 있으므로 ReRAM의 저항 변화 재료로서 각광받고 있다. 그러나 Cell 단위의 ReRAM 소자를 Crossbar Array 구조에 적용시켰을 때 주변 Cell과의 저항 상태 차이로 인해 전류가 낮은 저항 상태(LRS)의 Cell로 흘러 의도치 않은 동작을 야기한다. 이와 같이 누설 전류(Leakage Current)로 인한 상호간의 간섭이 일어나는 Cross-talk 현상이 존재하며, 공정의 간소화와 집적도를 유지하면서 이 문제를 해결하는 것은 실용화하기에 앞서 매우 중요한 문제이다. 따라서, 본 논문에서는 Read 동작 시 발생하는 Cell과 Cell 사이의 Cross-talk 문제를 해결하기 위해 자가 정류 특성(Self-Rectifying)을 가지는 실리콘 질화물/알루미늄 질화물 이중층(Si3N4/AlN Bi-layer)으로 구성된 ReRAM 소자 구조를 제안하였으며, Sputtering 방법을 이용하여 제안된 소자를 제작하였다. 전압-전류 특성 실험결과, 제안된 구조에 대한 에너지 밴드 다이어그램 시뮬레이션 결과와 동일하게 Positive Bias 영역에서 자가 정류 특성을 획득하였고, 결과적으로 Read 동작 시 발생하는 Cross-talk 현상을 차단할 수 있는 결과를 확보하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.403-404
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• 2013

최근 scaling down의 한계에 부딪힌 DRAM과 Flash Memory를 대체하기 위한 차세대 메모리(Next Generation Memory)에 대한 연구가 활발히 진행되고 있다. ITRS (international technology roadmap for semiconductors)에 따르면 PRAM (phase change RAM), RRAM (resistive RAM), STT-MRAM (spin transfer torque magnetic RAM) 등이 차세대 메모리로써 부상하고 있다. 그 중 RRAM은 간단한 구조로 인한 고집적화, 빠른 program/erase 속도 (100~10 ns), 낮은 동작 전압 등의 장점을 갖고 있어 다른 차세대 메모리 중에서도 높은 평가를 받고 있다 [1]. 현재 RRAM은 주로 금속-산화물계(Metal-Oxide) 저항 변화 물질을 기반으로 연구가 활발하게 진행되고 있다. 하지만 근본적으로 공정 과정에서 산소에 의한 오염으로 인해 수율이 낮은 문제를 갖고 있으며, Endurance 및 Retention 등의 신뢰성이 떨어지는 단점이 있다. 따라서, 본 연구진은 산소 오염에 의한 신뢰성 문제를 근본적으로 해결할 수 있는 다양한 금속-질화물(Metal-Nitride) 기반의 저항 변화 물질을 제안해 연구를 진행하고 있으며, 우수한 열적 안정성($>450^{\circ}C$, 높은 종횡비, Cu 확산 방지 역할, 높은 공정 호환성 [2] 등의 장점을 가진 WN 박막을 저항 변화 물질로 사용하여 저항 변화 메모리를 구현하기 위한 연구를 진행하였다. WN 박막은 RF magnetron sputtering 방법을 사용하여 Ar/$N_2$ 가스를 20/30 sccm, 동작 압력 20 mTorr 조건에서 120 nm 의 두께로 증착하였고, E-beam Evaporation 방법을 통하여 Ti 상부 전극을 100 nm 증착하였다. I-V 실험결과, WN 기반의 RRAM은 양전압에서 SET 동작이 일어나며, 음전압에서 RESET 동작을 하는 bipolar 스위칭 특성을 보였으며, 읽기 전압 0.1 V에서 ~1 order의 저항비를 확보하였다. 신뢰성 분석 결과, $10^3$번의 Endurance 특성 및 $10^5$초의 긴 Retention time을 확보할 수 있었다. 또한, 고저항 상태에서는 Space-charge-limited Conduction, 저저항 상태에서는 Ohmic Conduction의 전도 특성을 보임에 따라 저항 변화 메카니즘이 filamentary conduction model로 확인되었다 [3]. 본 연구에서 개발한 WN 기반의 RRAM은 우수한 저항 변화 특성과 함께 높은 재료적 안정성, 그리고 기존 반도체 공정 호환성이 매우 높은 강점을 갖고 있어 핵심적인 차세대 메모리가 될 것으로 기대된다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.448-448
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• 2010

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM) has made a prominent progress in memory performance and has brought a bright prospect for the next generation nonvolatile memory technologies due to its excellent advantages. Dry etching process of magnetic thin films is one of the important issues for the magnetic devices such as magnetic tunneling junctions (MTJs) based MRAM. CoFeB is a well-known soft ferromagnetic material, of particular interest for magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) and other devices based on tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR), such as spin-transfer-torque MRAM. One particular example is the CoFeB - MgO - CoFeB system, which has already been integrated in MRAM. In all of these applications, knowledge of control over the etching properties of CoFeB is crucial. Recently, transferring the pattern by using milling is a commonly used, although the redeposition of back-sputtered etch products on the sidewalls and the low etch rate of this method are main disadvantages. So the other method which has reported about much higher etch rates of >$50{\AA}/s$ for magnetic multi-layer structures using $Cl_2$/Ar plasmas is proposed. However, the chlorinated etch residues on the sidewalls of the etched features tend to severely corrode the magnetic material. Besides avoiding corrosion, during etching facets format the sidewalls of the mask due to physical sputtering of the mask material. Therefore, in this work, magnetic material such as CoFeB was etched in an ICP etching system using the gases which can be expected to form volatile metallo-organic compounds. As the gases, carbon monoxide (CO) and ammonia ($NH_3$) were used as etching gases to form carbonyl volatiles, and the etched features of CoFeB thin films under by Ta masking material were observed with electron microscopy to confirm etched resolution. And the etch conditions such as bias power, gas combination flow, process pressure, and source power were varied to find out and control the properties of magnetic layer during the process.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.122-125
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• 2013

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) is the phenomenon of magnetic thin film which is preferentially magnetized in a direction perpendicular to the film's plane. Amorphous multilayer with PMA has been studied as the good candidate to realization of high density STT-MRAM (Spin Transfer Torque-Magnetic Random Access Memory). The current issue of high density STT-MRAM is a decrease in the switching current of the device and an application of amorphous materials which are most suitable devices. The amorphous ferromagnetic material has low saturated magnetization, low coercivity and high thermal stability. In this study, we presented amorphous ferromagnetic multilayer that consists of an amorphous alloy CoSiB and a nonmagnetic material Pd. We investigated the change of PMA of the $[CoSiB\;t_{CoSiB}/Pd\;1.3nm]_5$ multilayer ($t_{CoSiB}$ = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6 nm, and $t_{Pd}$ = 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6 nm) and $[CoSiB\;0.3nm/Pd\;1.3nm]_n$ multilayer (n = 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13). This multilayer is measured by VSM (Vibrating Sample Magnetometer) and analyzed magnetic properties like a coercivity ($H_c$) and a magnetization ($M_s$). The coercivity in the $[CoSiB\;t_{CoSiB}\;nm/Pd\;1.3nm]_5$ multi-layers increased with increasing $t_{CoSiB}$ to reach a maximum at $t_{CoSiB}$ = 0.3 nm and then decreased for $t_{CoSiB}$ > 0.3 nm. The lowest saturated magnetization of $0.26emu/cm^3$ was obtained in the $[CoSiB\;0.3nm/Pd\;1.3nm]_3$ multilayer whereas the highest coercivity of 0.26 kOe was obtained in the $[CoSiB\;0.3nm/Pd\;1.3nm]_5$ mutilayer. Additional Pd layers did not contribute to the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The single domain structure evolved in to a striped multi-domain structure as the bilayer repetition number n was increased above 7 after which (n > 7) the hysteresis loops had a bow-tie shapes.