IOP Publishing, Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 4S(53), p. 04ED13, 2014
Full text: Download
This paper discusses the optimal combination of 1 transistor (T) and 1 magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) type cell for spin transfer torque memory. Taking into consideration of current magnitude for both the T and the MTJ, either PMOS-bottom pin structure or NMOS-top pin structure can be a promising choice. Focusing on the PMOS-bottom pin structure from the viewpoint of avoiding process difficulty, we clarified the condition that the structure would be effective. In order to verify the structure's effectiveness, a stand-alone MTJ test element group and a 1 kbit memory array chip were designed and fabricated with 90nm CMOS/100nm MTJ process. With the pass bit percentage measurement of the memory chip, we successfully demonstrated that 1-PMOS and 1-bottom-pin-MTJ has the wide operation margin of 100% pass at near 1.6V. It will be an effective solution for 1T-1MTJ memories. (C) 2014 The Japan Society of Applied Physics