Optimized MRAM Design for Reduced Power and Chip Area
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Summary
Problems
Current magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) devices face issues such as high chip area, high cost, high power consumption, and sensitivity to temperature variations, which limit their effectiveness and efficiency.
Innovation solutions
A semiconductor device design incorporating a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) between metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors with symmetrical interlayer dielectric (ILD) and liner structures, eliminating unnecessary isolation structures and using conductive materials for electrodes and ferromagnetic layers to optimize magnetic field interactions.
TRIZ Analysis
Specific contradictions:
General conflict description:
Principle concept:
If conventional MRAM devices use traditional magnetic field sensor technologies (AMR sensors, GMR sensors, MTJ sensors), then magnetic field sensing capability is achieved, but chip area increases, cost increases, power consumption increases, and temperature stability deteriorates
Why choose this principle:
The patent combines the magnetic field sensing function directly into the MRAM memory cell structure by integrating MTJ elements with transistor circuits. The MTJ-based sense amplifier shares the same chip area with storage elements, eliminating the need for separate magnetic field sensor devices. This merging approach achieves magnetic field sensing capability while reducing overall chip area compared to conventional separate sensor implementations.
Principle concept:
If conventional MRAM devices use traditional magnetic field sensor technologies, then magnetic field sensing capability is achieved, but power consumption increases
Why choose this principle:
The sense amplifier and magnetic field sensing function are integrated into the same circuit structure as the memory storage elements. The MTJ-based sense amplifier uses the same read current paths and transistor components as normal memory operations, allowing magnetic field sensing to occur during standard read operations without requiring additional power consumption beyond what is already needed for memory access.
Application Domain
Data Source
AI summary:
A semiconductor device design incorporating a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) between metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors with symmetrical interlayer dielectric (ILD) and liner structures, eliminating unnecessary isolation structures and using conductive materials for electrodes and ferromagnetic layers to optimize magnetic field interactions.
Abstract
A semiconductor device includes: a first metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor and a second MOS transistor on a substrate; a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) between the first MOS transistor and the second MOS transistor; a first interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer on one side of the MTJ and above the first MOS transistor; and a second ILD layer on another side of the MTJ and above the second MOS transistor.