Ovonyx Technology- 2007 revision.ppt [Read-Only] · High endurance, low power, nonvolatile RAM ......

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OUM

Ovonyx Non-Confidential

Ovonic Unified Memory

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Introduction

Ovonic Unified Memory technology

OUM advantages

Risk factors

Product/manufacturing technology

Conclusion

Outline

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Ovonic Unified Memory is a new approach to high-speed,non-volatile memory

Reduced cost/bit

High endurance, low power, nonvolatile RAM

Readily scaled – avoids scaling barriers of DRAM/Flash

Merged memory/logic simplified

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Introduction

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Ovonic Unified Memory is a new semiconductor memory technology, originally invented by Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD), andnow licensed exclusively to Ovonyx, Inc.

OUM uses a reversible structural phase-change --from the amorphous phase to a crystalline phase --in a thin-film chalcogenide alloy material as the data storage mechanism.

The small volume of active media in each memory cell acts as a fast programmable resistor, switching between high and low resistance with >40X dynamic range.

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Phase-change technology is well established, and is the basis for the current CD RW, PD, DVD-RAM and DVD+RW optical disk memory products.

OUM offers advantages in cost and performance over conventional DRAM and Flash memories, and it is compatible with merged memory/logic.

OUM technology uses a conventional CMOS processwith the addition of a few additional layers to form thethin-film memory element.

OUM products are now being commercialized througha number of licensing agreements and jointdevelopment programs with Ovonyx.

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Technology

Material Science and Device Physics

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Binary Ternary QuaternaryGa Sb Ge2Sb2Te5 Ag In Sb TeIn Sb In Sb Te (Ge Sn)Sb TeIn Se Ga Se Te Ge Sb (Se Te)Sb2 Te3 Sn Sb2 Te4 Te81Ge15Sb2S2

Ge Te In Sb Ge Ge2Sb2Te5:OGe Sb Ga Sb Te Ge2Sb2Te5:N

Many phase-change alloys have been described in the technical literature

OUM Devices typically use the GeSbTe alloy system

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Congruent Crystallization in the GexSbyTez System

Rapid, reversible changes between the disordered andordered atomic structure can be made to happen forcompositions along the pseudobinary tie-line shown above.

Te Ge

Sb

Sb Te2 3

GeTe

147

225

124

415

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Amorphous Phase Crystalline Phase

TEMImages

ElectronDiffractionPatterns

Material CharacteristicsShort-range atomic orderLow free electron densityHigh activation energyHigh resistivity

Long-range atomic orderHigh free electron densityLow activation energyLow resistivity

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X-ray Diffraction of Ge2Sb2Te5(one minute isochronal anneals)

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Annealing Dependence of Ge2Sb2Te5Electrical Resistivity

1E+0

1E+1

1E+2

1E+3

1E+4

150 170 190 210 230 250

Ea = 0.21eV

Vitreous State Crystalline State

Ea = 0.02 eV

Annealing Temperature ( C)o

Rel

ativ

e R

esis

tivity

(ten minute isochronal anneal)

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Phase-Change Properties of “tie-line” GeSbTeAlloys From DTA Measurements

Alloy System GeSb2Te4 Ge2Sb2Te5 Ge2Sb2.Te5 Ge4SbTe5

solid -> liquid:melting point: (oC) 617 632 634 690 heat of fusion: (J/cm3) 587 622 559 576

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Thermal and Mechanical Propertiesof Ge2Sb2Te5 Alloys

Thermal Conductivity (W/m K): 0.3 (amorph)0.45 – 0.95 (fcc) 1.4 – 1.53 (hcp)

Heat Capacity (J/cm3K): 1.25

Density (g/cm3): 6.20 (fcc)

Linear Thermal ExpansionCoefficient (K-1) [300K - 900K] 23.5 ppm

H.K. Lyeo et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 89 (2006) 151904

Kuo/Favro WSU Thermal Wave Laboratory measurement

N. Nobokuri et. al, J. Appl. Phys. 78, 690 (1995)

W. Porter ORNL

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Selected Material Properties

Material

Thermal Conductivity

K (J/cm K s)

Specific Heat

C (J/cm3 K)

Thermal Diffusivity

α (cm2/s)

Electrical Resistivity

ρ (Ω cm)

Thermal Expansion Coefficient

(ppm/K)

Al 0.56 2.43 0.230 3 x 10-6 23.6

*Si 1.41 1.61 0.870 doping dependent 2.33

*Poly Si 0.34 1.61 0.185 doping dependent 2.33

TiW 0.6 2.04 0.290 7 x 10-5

TiAlN 0.3 0.7 0.420 2 x 10-3

*Si1.0N1.1 0.02 1.4 0.014 comp. dependent 3.0

*SiO2 0.014 3.1 0.004 1 x 1016 0.6

(ZnS).8 – (SiO2).2 0.0066 2.04 0.003 1 x 1015 (est)

BCB 0.0015 0.7 0.002 1 x 1019 52

Polyimide 0.0016 0.7 (est) 0.002 4 x 1016

* C.H. Mastrangelo PhD Thesis “Thermal Applications of Microbridges” UCB (1991)

Selected Material Properties

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V thV h

V O LTA G E

CU

RR

EN

T

Ith

Threshold Switching in Chalcogenide Alloys

Chalcogenide alloys (alloys that contain elements such as Se and Te from Group VI of the Periodic Table) exhibitelectronic threshold switching.This phenomenon allows GeSbTe – based OUM cells to be programmed at low voltage whether they are in the resistive or conductive state.

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The OUM cell is programmed by application of a current pulse at a voltage above the switchingthreshold.

The programming pulse drives the memory cell into a high or low resistance state, depending on currentmagnitude.

Information stored in the cell is read out by measurement of the cell’s resistance.

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Programming of OUM Device

Time

Tem

pera

ture

Ta

T

T

m

x

AmorphizingRESET Pulse

Crystallizing(SET) Pulse

t1

t2

(schematic)

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OUM devices are programmed by electricallyaltering the structure (amorphous or crystalline)of a small volume of chalcogenide alloy.

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Data Storage Region in a Planar OUM Memory Cell

ResitiveElectrode

Amorphous Chalcogenide

Crystalline Chalcogenide

OUM device whenprogrammed to theRESET or(high-resistance) state.

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ActualSchematic

Cur

rent

Voltage

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SiO2

TiWTi A lN

SiO2

SiO2

TiW

TiW

GeTeSb Phase Change Alloy

Simple planar offset structures have been used to investigate basic device physics

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Programming Curves for Planar Offset Device

1E+3

1E+4

1E+5

1E+6

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0

Programming Current (mA)

Res

ultin

g Pr

ogra

mm

ed R

esis

tanc

e (O

hms)

Device Voltage (V)

Cur

rent

(mA

)

Programming CurrentRange

Read VoltageRange

1.2

0.8

0.4

1.6

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

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Programming Curves for Low Current Device

Programming Current (µA)

Res

ultin

g Pr

ogra

mm

e d R

esis

tanc

e (O

h ms)

Device Voltage (V)

Cur

rent

(µA

)

0

50

100

150

200

250

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2

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Temperature Dependence ofProgramming Characteristics

1.E+02

1.E+03

1.E+04

1.E+05

1.E+06

0 50 100 150

Operating Temperature (oC)

Res

ista

nce

(Ohm

s)

The high resistance, “Reset,” state shows activated, semiconductor – like behavior while the low resistance, “Set,” state shows essentially temperature independent metallic behavior

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Excellent data retention has been reported on large arrays of OUM devices :

B. Gleixner, A. Pirovano, I. Sarkur, F. Ottogalli, E. Tortorelli, M. Tosi, and R. Bez, “Data Retention Characterization of Phase-Change Memory Arrays,” Proc. Intl. Rel. Phys. Symp. 542 (2007).

Array data shows intrinsic retention failure < 1 PPB at 85C for 1E5 hours – adequate for high-density array applications.

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B. Gleixner, et al. Proc. Intl. Rel. Phys. Symp. 542 (2007).

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OUM cells can have extraordinary cycle life – single cells have been tested to more than 1013 write/erase cycles without failure.

.

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Cycle Life > 1013 Write/Erase CyclesLo

g D

evic

e R

esis

tanc

e

Log Number of Programming Cycles

6

3

5

4

2108 12 14642

Programming Pulse Width: 50 nsec

Programming Current: 1 and 1.7 mA

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OUM devices have a very large dynamic rangeand can be programmed to intermediateresistance values for multi-state data storage.

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Multi-State Storage

Multiple-bit storage in each memory cell (10 pulses per step, repeated ten times.)

1E+3

1E+4

1E+5

1E+6

2.202.322.442.562.682.802.923.043.163.283.403.523.643.763.884.00

PROGRAMMING CURRENT (mA)

DEV

ICE

RES

ISTA

NC

E (o

hms)

1E+3

1E+4

1E+5

1E+6

2.202.322.442.562.682.802.923.043.163.283.403.523.643.763.884.00

PROGRAMMING CURRENT (mA)

DEV

ICE

RES

ISTA

NC

E (o

hms)

1.42

1 .51

1.60

1.70

1.79

1.88

1.98

2.07

2.16

2.26

2.35

2.45

2.54

2.63

2.7 3

2.82

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Technology

Device Modeling

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Simple analytical models are used to show trends with material properties and size for spherical equivalent structure.

Numerical model includes complete device geometry and detailed mesh evaluation.

Device Modeling

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Numerical simulation is used to predict the behavior of OUM devices

Chalcogenide behavior is based on bulkproperties of the alloy.Bulk properties can be quantified.

ObjectiveModel well-understood bulk properties.Predictive capability for alternate device structures.Sensitivity analysis of device structure variations.

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Model Considerations

Phase-change

Electrical

Thermal

NucleationCrystal growthHeat of fusion

Electric fieldCurrent densityPercolation conduction

Heat equationsPercolation conduction

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Crystalline volume fraction as a function oftemperature and time is given by theJohnson-Mehl- Avrami equation.

Ea: activation energy T: temperature

p: nucleation rate t: time

Ko scaling factor0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

-10

-9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Log t (sec)

400 C

200 C

250 C

300 C

Crystalline Volume Fraction vs. Log (t)

350 C

150 C

to = 2E-36 secp = 1Ea = 3.7 eV

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Both electrical and thermal conductivity aredescribed by a two-component percolationsystem.

ratio=6

ratio=104

electricalconductivity

thermal conductivity

(σ)

(k)

1E4

1E3

1E2

1E1

1E00 20 40 60 80 100

17%

Volume Fraction of High Conductivity Component

Ove

rall

Con

duct

ivity

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The device can be broken into a mesh, with finite differencecalculations performed at each mesh point.

The mesh has variable spacing to allow both detailed electricalanalysis and accurate thermal accounting with the least number ofmesh points.

The mesh has variable spacing to allow both detailedelectrical analysis and accurate thermal accountingwith the least number of mesh points.

The device can be broken into a mesh, withfinite difference calculations performed ateach mesh point.

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Initial Conditions

Increment Time

ComputeElectrical Solutionof Array

Iterate Heat Equation for this Timestep

Modify Heat- TimeDependent Variables

Significant Change?

Yes No

Implicit electrical solution of the mesh followed by explicit calculation of temperature allows time/temperature/ electrical phase-dependent properties to be varied in time.

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Speed Power Tradeoff

1.E-12

1.E-11

1.E-10

1.E-09

1.E-08

1.E-05 1.E-04 1.E-03 1.E-02

Power to reset in 5ns (W)

Que

nch

time

(s)


1.E-12

1.E-11

1.E-10

1.E-09

1.E-08

1.E-05 1.E-04 1.E-03 1.E-02

Power to reset in 5ns (W)

Que

nch

time

(s)

SiOBPSG

SiN

Polymer

100

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1500

1900

.

Simulation results for different device structure and dielectric materials and scaling the device equivalent spherical diameter from 1,900 to 100 A.Scaling results in lower power and faster memory operation.


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Strong Ovonyx Proprietary Position

020406080

100120140160180200220

'99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06

Patents Issued Applications Filed

Licensable Patents (115 issued + 81 filed) as of Dec06

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Ovonyx Ranked 8th Worldwide in Semiconductor Manufacturing Category in 2006 by IEEE Spectrum in terms of Originality, Growth, Generality and Impact of IP.

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Advantages

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Cost/Bit Reduction

Small active storage medium

Small cell size – small die size

Simple manufacturing process – low step count

Simple planar device structure

Low voltage – single supply

Reduced assembly and test costs

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Non-volatileHigh endurance – >1013 demonstratedLong data retention – >10 yearsStatic – no refresh overhead penaltyRandom accessible – read and writeHigh switching speedNon-destructive readDirect overwrite capabilityLow standby current (<1µA)Large dynamic range for data (>40X)Actively driven digit-line during readGood array efficiency expectedNo memory SER – RAD hardNo charge loss failure mechanisms

Near-Ideal Memory Qualities

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Highly Scalable

Performance improves with scaling

Only lithography limited

Low voltage operation

Multi-state demonstrated

3D multi-layer potential with thin films

Small storage active medium

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Logic Process Compatible

Late low-temperature processing– Doesn’t compromise P-channel devices

Adds 2 to 4 mask steps to conventional CMOS logicprocess with low topography

Low-voltage operation

Enables economic merged memory/logic

Enables realistic System-On-a-Chip (SOC) products:– Logic/Non-volatile memory/Data memory/Linear

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MDL and MFL– 16-64Mbit, .5-2M gates

Provides higher performance, reduced power, reduced package count, and increased reliability

Costly and difficult with DRAM or Flash

OUM substitutes for DRAM a/o Flash– Enabling reduction in cost/complexity

Merged Memory Logic

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System-On-a-Chip (SOC) Compatible

Linear, SRAM, DRAM, Flash, DSP, CPU, FPLD, ROM

4M to 64M, 2M gates on 100mm2 die

OUM unified solution, 24 to 26 masks with five metal layers

Reduction to realistic cost/complexity

Simplicity reduces development time– Keeps technology and products current

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Risk Factors

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Reset current < min W switch current

Standard CMOS process integration

Alloy optimization for robust high temp operation and speed

Cycle life endurance consistency

Endurance testing to 1014 – DRAM

Defect density and failure mechanisms

Risk Factors

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Product/Manufacturing Technology

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Read operations are performed at a voltage belowthe threshold voltage, Vt, to avoid upset, so control ofVt in a memory array is a critical manufacturing issue.

Vt is seen to be stable with changes in temperature of teststructures.

Vt can also be adjusted by tailoring reset current if needed.

Variations in programming characteristics due to layer thickness and compositional uniformity of the chalcogenide alloy have been investigated.

OUM arrays have demonstrated manufacturability

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0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

0 0.5 1

Device Voltage (v)

Dev

ice

Cur

rent

(mA

) 38 C60 C80 C100 C120 C140 C160 C180 C

Current - Voltage vs. Temperature

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R-I Curve & Threshold Voltage vs. Current

1E+3

1E+4

1E+5

1E+6

1E+7

0 1 2 3 4 5


Res

ista

nce

(OH

MS)

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

0 1 2 3 4 5

Reset Current (mA)

Thre

shol

d Vo

ltage

(V)

(breakdown structure)

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0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

0 0.5 1 1.5

Device Voltage (v)

Dev

ice

Cur

rent

(m

A)Current - Voltage vs. Reset

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0

0.5

1

1.5

0E+0 2E-6 4E-6 6E-6 8E-6 1E-5

Electrode Spacing (cm)

Volta

ge (v

olts

)

HOLDING

THRESHOLD

Vh and Vth vs. Electrode Spacing

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R-I Scanned Across Wafer

1E+3

1E+4

1E+5

1E+6

0 1 2 3 4


Res

ista

nce

(OH

MS)

fixed reset level(4 mA, 40 nsec)

6 die, two devices per die, scanned diagonally across 3” wafer

(non-breakdown structure)

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Compositional Dependence of Laser-Induced Crystallization Speed in GeTeSb Alloy Films

50

50

40

40

30

30

20

20

10

100

Ge Sb Te2 2 5

GeSb Te2 4

GeSb Te4 7

GeTe

Te

Sb Te2 3Sb(at%)

Ge(

at%

)

200ns

100ns70ns

50ns30ns

Noboru Yamada, “Potential of Ge-Sb-Te Phase-change Optical Disks for High-Data-Rate Recording”, pp28-37. (1997).SPIE v.3109,

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Disturb Considerations

Read Disturb– Read is performed in the OFF mode for the reset state – For the set state, read is mildly constructive – For the reset state, read current is negligibly small

– I read < I setWrite Disturb– ∆T = 20oC at 1000Å spacing – simulationConclusion– No known disturb issue with the presently-planned

array architecture and read/programming scheme as long as:

- Vread < Vth- Matchstick space > ~1000Å

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DC Read Effect

1E+3

1E+4

1E+5

1E+6

1E+7

1E+1 1E+2 1E+3 1E+4 1E+5 1E+6Time (sec)

Res

ista

nce

(ohm

s)

no set states

Vread = 0.5VVth = 0.8V

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Flash - pin compatible

FPLD, FPLA - pin compatible

DRAM - pin compatible

Embedded macros

SOC macros

SRAM -cache, battery, fast

ROM - pin compatible

Initial Target Markets

Encryption

Neural computing

Digital Signal Processing

Power switching

Smart cards

Serial EEPROM

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Conclusion

Near ideal memory qualities

Broadens system applications – Embedded, System-On-a-Chip (SOC), other products

Highly scalable

Risk factors have been identified

Time to productize

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For additional information:

Phone: 248.299.6022Fax: 248.659.1500E-mail: [email protected]: 2956 Waterview Drive; Rochester Hills, MI 48309

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Ovonyx Technology- 2007 revision.ppt [Read-Only] · High endurance, low power, nonvolatile RAM ......

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