Yoshio Kawashima

Demonstration of high-density ReRAM ensuring 10-year retention at 85°C based on a newly developed reliability model

A new oxygen diffusion reliability model for a high-density bipolar ReRAM is developed based on hopping conduction in filaments, which allows statistical predication of activation energy. The filament in the active cells is confirmed by EBAC and TEM directly for the first time. With optimized filament size, a 256-kbit ReRAM with long-term retention exceeding 10 years at 85°C is successfully demonstrated.

Fast switching and long retention Fe-O ReRAM and its switching mechanism

A novel iron oxide (Fe-O) ReRAM is proposed and its high-speed resistance-switching of 10 ns is demonstrated. The switching mechanism is confirmed as a redox reaction between Fe₃O₄ and y-Fe₂O₃. Based on this model, we have achieved long-retention characteristics by introducing Zn atoms to suppress the reduction process.

Conductive filament scaling of TaO x bipolar ReRAM for long retention with low current operation

We demonstrate for the first time that the density of oxygen vacancy in a conductive filament plays a key role in ensuring data retention. We achieve very good retention results up to 100 hours at 150°C even under the low current operation due to the scaling of conductive filament size while retaining sufficiently high density of oxygen vacancy.

Retention Model for High-Density ReRAM

A retention model for both the high resistance state and low resistance state of the bipolar ReRAM is developed. Degradation of resistance is caused by the oxygen vacancy profile in filament changing due to oxygen diffusion.

Thermally stable exchange-biased magnetic tunnel junctions over 400 °C

Exchange-biased magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with interposed Fe1−xPtx metal alloy layers between the Al oxide barrier and the ferromagnetic electrodes maintain large tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) after thermal treatment in excess of 400 °C, owing to an improved barrier interface. After 400 °C annealing, TMRs of MTJs with Fe1−xPtx (x=0.1–0.2) exhibit over 40% and retain 30% TMR after 420 °C annealing. The tunnel barrier height derived from the current–voltage curve fitted to the Simmons equation increases with richer Pt content. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy depth profiles and cross-section transmission electron micrographs of MTJs with Fe0.85Pt0.15 show a clear interface around the Al oxide barrier even after annealing at 400 °C.