Hafnium-based ferroelectric memory and electronic equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory and electronic equipment, the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory comprises a plurality of memory units which are divided into a working group and a recovery group, the memory units in the working group are in a working state, and the memory units in the recovery group are in a recovery state or an available state. The states of the storage units in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory are periodically switched by taking a preset duration as a period, and the state switching comprises the following steps: switching a preset number of storage units in a working group from a working state to a recovery state, and switching a preset number of storage units in an available state in a recovery group to the working state, the read-write information of the preset number of storage units in the working group is migrated to the preset number of storage units in the available state. According to the embodiment of the invention, the service life of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory can be prolonged, the storage units in the working group can continuously maintain the working state with stable capacity, and the read-write efficiency and the working stability are relatively high.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of storage technology, and in particular to a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FeRAM) is a non-volatile memory technology with the following advantages:

[0003] 1. High-speed performance: FeRAM has very fast read and write speeds. Compared with traditional flash memory and DRAM, it has faster access speeds and can complete data read and write operations within nanosecond response time.

[0004] 2. Long life: FeRAM's memory cells use ferroelectric materials, which have extremely high durability and stability, allowing FeRAM to be written up to 10^13 times, far exceeding other memory technologies.

[0005] 3. Low power consumption: FeRAM has relatively low power consumption. It does not require regular data refresh and does not require large amounts of power for write operations.

[0006] 4. High reliability: FeRAM can withstand the influence of external environmental factors such as high temperature, voltage and radiation, and has good anti-interference ability and stability.

[0007] 5. Compatibility: FeRAM is compatible with existing logic integrated circuit processes, easy to integrate with other memory technologies, and convenient for application in various electronic devices.

[0008] In summary, FeRAM has the advantages of high-speed performance, long life, low power consumption, high reliability and compatibility, making it an emerging memory solution with the potential to replace traditional memory technology.

[0009] However, hafnium-based ferroelectric materials have the defect of low read and write endurance. If they are used in storage circuit design, they need to achieve higher service life and data accuracy. Summary of the invention

[0010] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory is provided, the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory comprising a plurality of memory cells, the plurality of memory cells being divided into a working group and a recovery group, the memory cells in the working group being in a working state, the memory cells in the recovery group being in a recovery state or an available state, the working state comprising a state in which the memory cell performs a read operation or a write operation, the recovery state comprising a state in which the memory cell performs a ferroelectric polarization strength recovery operation, the available state indicating that the memory cell has completed the ferroelectric polarization strength recovery operation and can enter the working state,

[0011] wherein the storage units in the recovery group are switched from the recovery state to the available state after the recovery operation is completed,

[0012] Among them, the state of the storage unit in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory is periodically switched with a preset time period as a period, and each state switch includes: a preset number of storage units in the working group are switched from the working state to the recovery state, a preset number of storage units in the recovery group that are in the available state are switched to the working state, and the read and write information of the preset number of storage units in the working group are migrated to the preset number of storage units in the recovery group that are in the available state.

[0013] In a possible implementation manner, if the time taken for the storage unit to complete the recovery operation is less than the shortest working life of the storage unit, the preset time is:

[0014] t swap =L×Q×T,

[0015] Wherein, L represents the read and write life of the storage unit, T represents the working clock cycle of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory, and Q represents the ratio of the duration of the recovery operation to the shortest working life.

[0016] In a possible implementation manner, the working group includes W storage units, and the recovery group includes R storage units, wherein W>R and W and R are both positive integers, and the preset number is R.

[0017] In a possible implementation manner, if the time taken for the storage unit to complete the recovery operation is greater than or equal to the shortest working life of the storage unit, the preset time is:

[0018] t swap =L×T,

[0019] Wherein, L represents the read and write life of the storage unit, and T represents the working clock cycle of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory.

[0020] In a possible implementation manner, the working group includes W storage units, and the recovery group includes Q c ×W storage units, Q c A value representing the ratio of the duration of the recovery operation to the shortest working life rounded upwards, wherein the preset number is W.

[0021] In a possible implementation manner, in each state switching, the preset number of storage units is selected by selecting a preset number of storage units with the least number of state switching times in the working group.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the recovery operation includes: applying at least one recovery pulse to the hafnium-based ferroelectric material.

[0023] In a possible implementation manner, the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory includes:

[0024] The controller is connected to each storage unit included in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory and is used to periodically switch the state of the storage unit in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory with a preset time period as a period.

[0025] In a possible implementation, if a preset number of storage units in the recovery group that are in the available state are switched to the working state, the preset number of storage units in the available state continue to use the storage addresses of the preset number of storage units in the working group before the state switching.

[0026] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, the electronic device comprising the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory.

[0027] The disclosed embodiment divides a plurality of storage cells in a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory into a working group and a recovery group. On the one hand, in the recovery group, the storage cells can be restored to restore their durability, thereby improving the service life of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory. On the other hand, by periodically switching the states of the storage cells in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory with a preset time period as a period, the storage cells in the working group can continuously maintain a working state with a stable capacity to perform read and write operations, thereby improving the read and write efficiency and working stability of the memory.

[0028] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and do not limit the present disclosure. Other features and aspects of the present disclosure will become clear from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] The drawings herein are incorporated into the specification and constitute a part of the specification. These drawings illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and are used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present disclosure together with the specification.

[0030] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0031] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing an initial state of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory in a first example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing a first state switching of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory in a first example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing a second state switching of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory in a first example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing a third state switching of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory in a first example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing an initial state of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory in a second example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0036] Figure 7 A schematic diagram showing a first state switching of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory in a second example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] Figure 8 A schematic diagram showing a second state switching of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory in a second example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Various exemplary embodiments, features and aspects of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the accompanying drawings represent elements with the same or similar functions. Although various aspects of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale unless otherwise specified.

[0039] In the description of the present disclosure, it should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present disclosure and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present disclosure.

[0040] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present disclosure, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0041] In the present disclosure, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0042] The word “exemplary” is used exclusively herein to mean “serving as an example, example, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

[0043] The term "and / or" herein is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the term "at least one" herein represents any combination of at least two of any one or more of a plurality of. For example, including at least one of A, B, and C can represent including any one or more elements selected from the set consisting of A, B, and C.

[0044] In addition, in order to better illustrate the present disclosure, numerous specific details are given in the following specific embodiments. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present disclosure can also be implemented without certain specific details. In some examples, methods, means, components and circuits well known to those skilled in the art are not described in detail in order to highlight the subject matter of the present disclosure.

[0045] As mentioned above, due to the defect of low read and write endurance of hafnium-based ferroelectric materials, the service life and data accuracy of ferroelectric random access memory are low, which restricts the application of hafnium-based ferroelectric memory. At present, although there is a description of durability recovery of storage units of ferroelectric memory in related technologies, however, related technologies first need to use special circuits to perform durability tests on storage units, and perform durability recovery when the durability test needs to be recovered. However, in the related technologies, the ongoing work of the storage units that need to be restored cannot be continued, resulting in low storage efficiency of the memory and inability to achieve stable capacity read and write operations.

[0046] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0047] like Figure 1 As shown, the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory includes a plurality of memory cells, and the plurality of memory cells are divided into a working group 10 and a recovery group 20. The memory cells in the working group 10 are in a working state (Work), and the memory cells in the recovery group 20 are in a recovery state (Recovery) or a usable state (Ready). The working state includes a state in which the memory cell performs a read operation or a write operation, and the recovery state includes a state in which the memory cell performs a ferroelectric polarization strength recovery operation. The usable state indicates that the memory cell has completed the ferroelectric polarization strength recovery operation and can enter the working state.

[0048] The storage units in the recovery group 20 are switched from the recovery state to the available state after the recovery operation is completed.

[0049] Among them, the state of the storage unit in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory is periodically switched with a preset time period as a period, and each state switch includes: a preset number of storage units in the working group 10 are switched from the working state to the recovery state, a preset number of storage units in the recovery group 20 that are in the available state are switched to the working state, and the read and write information of the preset number of storage units in the working group 10 are migrated to the preset number of storage units in the recovery group 20 that are in the available state.

[0050] The disclosed embodiment divides a plurality of storage cells in a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory into a working group 10 and a recovery group 20. On the one hand, the storage cells can be restored in the recovery group 20 to restore their durability, thereby improving the service life of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory. On the other hand, by periodically switching the states of the storage cells in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory with a preset time period as a period, the storage cells in the working group 10 can continuously maintain a working state with a stable capacity to perform read and write operations, thereby improving the read and write efficiency and working stability of the memory.

[0051] The disclosed embodiment does not limit the specific implementation of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory, the specific number of storage units, and the specific division method of the working group 10 and the recovery group 20. Those skilled in the art can set them according to actual conditions and needs.

[0052] Exemplarily, the basic storage component in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory may be composed of a ferroelectric capacitor and a transistor, and a basic storage component may be programmed to store two different states (logic 1, logic 0). For example, the charge representing the logical state may be stored in the ferroelectric capacitor by closing the transistor, that is, different charge levels of the ferroelectric capacitor may represent different logical states. Of course, the specific implementation of the basic storage component in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and those skilled in the art may refer to the relevant technical implementation. Exemplarily, the transistor may be one or more of a variety of switching devices such as a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), a bipolar junction transistor (BJT), an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), a silicon carbide (SiC) power tube, etc., and the embodiments of the present disclosure will not list them one by one. Exemplarily, the ferroelectric capacitor may specifically include a unit plate and a unit bottom, and the unit plate and the unit bottom may be capacitively coupled through a ferroelectric material located between the unit plate and the unit bottom. The ferroelectric material is characterized by a spontaneous electric polarization, that is, it maintains a non-zero electric polarization in the absence of an electric field. The ferroelectric material may include hafnium-based oxides, and may also include barium titanate (BaTiO3), lead titanate (PbTiO3), lead zirconate titanate (PZT), and strontium bismuth tantalate (SBT), etc., which are not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0053] In the implementation of the memory, the division of the size of the memory unit is affected by various factors. As far as the embodiments of the present disclosure are concerned, a smaller memory unit capacity means a finer grouping of circuit states, which can improve the memory utilization efficiency, but it also means a more complex control circuit. Therefore, the specific capacity size of the memory unit can be set according to the actual situation and the adaptability of the comprehensive efficiency, circuit complexity, etc. required, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit it. That is, the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the number of basic storage components included in the memory unit, and those skilled in the art can set it according to the actual situation and needs. For example, the memory unit can include one basic storage component, or it can include more than two basic storage components.

[0054] Exemplarily, the read and write capacity of each storage unit in the embodiment of the present disclosure is preferably set to be the same. Assuming that the read and write capacity of a storage unit is m bits, then in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the total capacity of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory that can continue to work (perform read operations or write operations) is W×m bits. Exemplarily, a basic storage component can correspond to a storage address, then a storage unit can include m addresses, and the memory address space in which the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory can continue to work (perform read operations or write operations) can be [0~(m×W-1)] or [1~(m×W)].

[0055] The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the arrangement of the basic storage components. For example, the basic storage components can form an array of multiple rows and columns. Accordingly, operations such as reading and writing can be performed on the ferroelectric memory cell by activating or selecting word lines (WL) (also known as access lines), bit lines (BL) (also known as digital lines) and plate lines (WL). Exemplarily, the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory may include multiple storage circuit interfaces, which are respectively connected to each word line and bit line to apply voltage or read signals. For example, the storage circuit interface may include interfaces such as read request (Read), write request (Write), read address (Raddr), write address (Waddr), data read signal line (DataOUT), data write signal line (DataIN), etc. Of course, only an example is proposed here, and the specific implementation scheme of the connection and interface is determined by the actual circuit bus communication protocol.

[0056] The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the switching method and identification method of the working state, recovery state, and available state. Those skilled in the art can set them according to actual conditions and needs. For example, different identification information can be set for storage units in different states, and the corresponding states can be calibrated using the identification information, or they can be distinguished based on address information.

[0057] See also Figure 2 , Figure 2A schematic diagram showing an initial state of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory in a first example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0058] For example, Figure 2 As shown, in the initial state, the identification information of the storage unit in the work group 10 can be "Work Group" or "Work" or "W", etc., and the addresses of the corresponding storage units are storage addresses 1 to 12, then storage unit 1 to storage unit 12 are marked as working state, and normal read and write operations can be performed.

[0059] For example, Figure 2 As shown, in the initial state, the identification information of the storage units of the recovery group 20 can be "Recovery Group" or "Recovery", etc., then the storage units 13 to 18 are marked as recovery states, and normal recovery operations can be performed. Of course, it can be understood that in the initial state, the durability of the storage units in the recovery group 20 can be considered to be full, and no recovery operation is required, that is, in the initial state, the storage units in the recovery group 20 can be directly marked as available states, and the available states can be identified, for example, by "Ready Group" or "Ready", etc. In this way, when a preset number of storage units in the working group 10 are switched from the working state to the recovery state, a preset number of storage units in the recovery group 20 that are in the available state can be directly switched to the working state.

[0060] In a possible implementation, if a preset number of storage units in the recovery group that are in the available state are switched to the working state, the preset number of storage units in the available state continue to use the storage addresses of the preset number of storage units in the working group before the state switching.

[0061] See also Figure 3 , Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing the first state switching of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory in a first example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0062] For example, Figure 3 As shown, storage units 1 to 6 (corresponding to storage addresses 1 to 6) are switched from a working state to a recovery state, and storage units 13 to 18 are switched from an available state to a working state. In this case, the storage information in storage units 1 to 6 is transferred to storage units 13 to 18, and storage units 13 to 18 and storage units 7 to 12 form a working group 10 to continue to perform read and write operations, and storage units 1 to 6 are subjected to a recovery operation. When storage units 1 to 6 complete the recovery operation, their states are switched from the recovery state to the available state.

[0063] Exemplarily, according to "if a preset number of storage cells in the recovery group that are in the available state are switched to the working state, the preset number of storage cells in the available state continue to use the storage addresses of the preset number of storage cells in the working group before the state switching", when storage cells 13 to 18 are switched to the working state, their addresses can be set to storage address 1 to storage address 6. In this way, when the state is switched, the storage addresses of the various storage cells in the working group 10 remain unchanged, and the corresponding storage cells can be directly addressed externally through word lines and bit lines. For the external control terminal that needs to perform read and write operations, the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory of the disclosed embodiment has never changed.

[0064] Exemplarily, before the storage unit performs a state transition, the internally stored data needs to be migrated to the target storage unit. Ideally, the data migration can be completed without affecting the operation of the memory. Similarly, the data hot migration algorithm means a more complex control circuit. Therefore, in actual implementation, the memory can suspend external data reading and writing when the storage unit content is migrated, and continue to work after the data migration is completed. It can be seen that the embodiment of the present disclosure only requires a short state switching and data migration time to achieve long-term stable operation of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory.

[0065] Of course, the method of address management of each storage unit in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory disclosed in the present invention is not limited, and those skilled in the art can refer to the address page table conversion technology or other technologies in the related art to achieve it according to actual conditions and needs.

[0066] The disclosed embodiment of the present invention does not limit the specific implementation method of periodically switching the state of the storage unit in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory with a preset time period as a period, and does not limit the size of the preset time period and the size of the preset number. Those skilled in the art can set it according to actual conditions and needs, and an exemplary introduction is given below.

[0067] For example, assuming that the read and write life of each storage unit in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory is L cycles, and the read and write clock cycle is recorded as T, then the shortest working life of the storage unit is t work =L×T. Let the operation time for each storage unit in the recovery state to recover durability be t recovery , where L is a positive integer and T is a positive number).

[0068] Then the relationship between the number of N storage units in the hafnium-based ferroelectric storage circuit proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure conforms to the following formula 1:

[0069]

[0070] R represents the number of storage units in the recovery group 20 , W represents the number of storage units in the working group 10 , N=W+R, and both R and W are positive integers.

[0071] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, different preset time lengths may be determined according to the relationship between the time length for the storage unit to complete the recovery operation and the shortest working life of the storage unit.

[0072] For example, in a possible implementation, if the time taken for the storage unit to complete the recovery operation is less than the shortest working life of the storage unit, the preset time may be:

[0073] t swap =L×Q×T,

[0074] Wherein, L represents the read and write life of the storage unit, T represents the working clock cycle of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory, and Q represents the ratio of the duration of the recovery operation to the shortest working life.

[0075] In a possible implementation manner, the working group 10 includes W storage units, and the recovery group 20 includes R storage units, wherein W>R and W and R are both positive integers, and the preset number is R.

[0076] For example, in a possible implementation, if the time taken for the storage unit to complete the recovery operation is greater than or equal to the shortest working life of the storage unit, the preset time may be:

[0077] t swap =L×T,

[0078] Wherein, L represents the read and write life of the storage unit, and T represents the working clock cycle of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory.

[0079] In a possible implementation manner, the working group 10 includes W storage units, and the recovery group 20 includes Q c ×W storage units, Q c A value representing the ratio of the duration of the recovery operation to the shortest working life rounded upwards, wherein the preset number is W.

[0080] In a possible implementation manner, in each state switching, the preset number of storage units is selected by selecting a preset number of storage units with the least number of state switching times in the working group 10 .

[0081] An exemplary introduction is given below.

[0082] As an example, the endurance recovery time of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory is less than its read-write working life, which is reflected in the embodiment of the present disclosure as W>R. If the memory has only W memory cells in the working circuit part (working group 10), one case is that each memory cell in the working group 10 is uniformly worn out in reading and writing, then at t work =L×T time later, all W storage units have reached the end of their working life, data read and write errors occur, and accuracy can no longer be guaranteed, so a recovery operation is required.

[0083] In order to achieve high availability of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory and ensure that it is always in a readable and writable state with a stable capacity, the embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a working scheme of periodically switching the state with a preset time period as a period.

[0084] Exemplarily, the storage unit is in a recovery state during the recovery operation, and enters a usable state after the recovery operation is completed. In the initial state of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure, W storage units enter a working state, and R storage units are in a usable state (not yet worn out by reading or writing, and no recovery operation is required). These storage units are denoted as R0. Figure 2 As shown, as an example, W=12, R=6, wherein storage units 1 to 12 are marked as working state, that is, working group 10 includes storage units 1 to 12, and the corresponding addresses (Address) are storage address 1 to storage address 12, and recovery group 20 includes storage units 13 to 18, and in the initial state, storage units 13 to 18 are marked as available state.

[0085] For example, If Q<1 (the time it takes for the memory cell to complete the recovery operation is less than the shortest working life of the memory cell), then at the time when the memory starts working, swap =L×Q×T (preset duration) time later, R storage cells are selected from the W storage cells of the working group 10, denoted as storage cells W1, and the contents of the storage cells W1 are respectively migrated to the R available storage cells (denoted as R0) of the recovery group 20, and the migrated storage cells R0 take over the address of the storage cells W1 to perform read and write operations, and the replaced storage cells W1 are switched to a recovery state, denoted as R1.

[0086] For example, Figure 3 As shown, when the memory working time reaches the preset time t swapAfter that, storage units 1 to 6 (corresponding to storage addresses 1 to 6) are switched from the working state to the recovery state, storage units 13 to 18 are switched from the available state to the working state, and the storage information in storage units 1 to 6 is transferred to storage units 13 to 18. Storage units 13 to 18 and storage units 7 to 12 form a working group 10 to continue to perform read and write operations, and storage units 1 to 6 are subjected to the recovery operation. When storage units 1 to 6 complete the recovery operation, their states are switched from the recovery state to the available state, as shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, in this example, after the first switching operation, the working group 10 includes storage units 13 to 18 (corresponding to storage addresses 1 to 6) and storage units 7 to 12, and the recovery group 20 includes storage units 1 to 6.

[0087] For example, after a preset time t swap After a certain time, R storage cells are selected from the remaining storage cells that have not been replaced in the working group 10, and are recorded as storage cells W2. Subsequently, the disclosed embodiment migrates the data content of storage cell W2 to storage cell R1, and storage cell R1 takes over the address of storage cell W2 for read and write operations, and storage cell W2 enters a recovery state, which is recorded as storage cell R2.

[0088] See also Figure 4 , Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing a second state switching of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory in a first example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0089] For example, Figure 4 As shown, when the memory working time reaches the preset time t again swap After that, among the remaining storage units that have not been replaced in the working group 10, R storage units are selected for state switching. The current working group 10 includes storage units 13 to 18 (corresponding to storage addresses 1 to 6) and storage units 7 to 12, wherein storage units 7 to 12 have not been replaced. Therefore, storage units 7 to 12 (corresponding to storage addresses 7 to 12) are switched from the working state to the recovery state, and storage units 1 to 6 are switched from the available state to the working state. The storage information in storage units 7 to 12 is transferred to storage units 1 to 6. Storage units 13 to 18 and storage units 1 to 6 form the working group 10 and continue to perform read and write operations. Storage units 7 to 12 are subjected to recovery operations. When storage units 7 to 12 complete the recovery operations, their states are switched from the recovery state to the available state. Figure 4As shown, in this example, after the second switching operation, the working group 10 includes storage units 13 to 18 (corresponding to storage addresses 1 to 6) and storage units 1 to 6 (corresponding to storage addresses 7 to 12), and the recovery group 20 includes storage units 7 to 12.

[0090] See also Figure 5 , Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing the third state switching of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory in the first example according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0091] For example, by analogy, every time t swap A replacement operation is performed inside the time memory, such as Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the third state switching is shown. After the third switching operation, the working group 10 includes storage units 7 to 12 (corresponding to storage addresses 1 to 6) and storage units 1 to 6 (corresponding to storage addresses 7 to 12), and the recovery group 20 includes storage units 13 to 18.

[0092] In this way, the disclosed embodiment can ensure that the working time of each of the N memory cells in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory will not exceed its working life and enter the recovery state by periodically switching the state of the memory cells in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory with a preset time period. Before the entire hafnium-based ferroelectric memory reaches its maximum usable life, the entire memory circuit is highly usable and stable.

[0093] For example, if Q ≥ 1 (the time taken for the storage unit to complete the recovery operation is greater than or equal to the shortest working life of the storage unit), Q is rounded up to an integer and recorded as Then the preset duration of the memory is t swap =t work , at this time, the number of storage units in the recovery group 20 is R = Q c ×W.

[0094] See also Figure 6 , Figure 6 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an initial state of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory in a second example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0095] like Figure 6 As shown, if 1≤Q≤2, then Q cis 2, accordingly, the number of storage cells in the recovery group 20 is twice the number of storage cells in the working group 10, and the storage cells in the recovery group 20 can be further divided into two sub-groups, and the number of storage cells in each sub-group is equal to the number of storage cells in the working group 10. In the initial state, the storage cells of the two sub-groups in the recovery group 20 are marked as available.

[0096] See also Figure 7 , Figure 8 , Figure 7 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a first state switching of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory in a second example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 8 A schematic diagram showing a second state switching of a hafnium-based ferroelectric memory in a second example according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0097] For example, after the memory starts working from the initial state, every time t work At the time, W storage cells marked as available are selected in the recovery group 20 (denoted as R0) to replace the W storage cells in the working group 10 (denoted as W1). R0 takes over the address of W1 for read and write operations, and W1 enters the recovery state.

[0098] For example, Figure 7 As shown, since the number of storage cells in each subgroup in the recovery group 20 and the number of storage cells in the working group 10 are both W, and they are all storage cells in an available state, the W storage cells (W1) in the working group 10 can be directly replaced by the storage cells of any subgroup in the recovery group 20, and the W storage cells (W1) in the working group 10 are switched to a recovery state.

[0099] For example, after t work At the same time, W memory cells marked as available are continuously selected in the recovery group 20, which are recorded as R1. R1 takes over the addresses of the W memory cells in the working state to perform read and write operations.

[0100] For example, Figure 8 As shown, since the time length for the storage unit to complete the recovery operation in this example is greater than or equal to the shortest working life of the storage unit, t work The storage units in the recovery state in the post-recovery group 20 have not yet completed the recovery operation, so the W storage units in the working group 10 can be directly replaced by storage units in another subgroup in the recovery group 20. At this time, both subgroups in the recovery group 20 are in the recovery state.

[0101] Generally speaking, the time taken by the storage unit to complete the recovery operation is less than twice the shortest working life of the storage unit. Therefore, when the next switching operation is performed, the storage unit W1 of the first state switch in the recovery group 20 must have completed the recovery operation and been marked as available. Therefore, each time a switching operation is performed, there must be a subgroup and each storage unit in the subgroup is in an available state.

[0102] In this way, whenever the memory cell in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory of the embodiment of the present disclosure reaches the end of its read / write life, it can find a restored memory cell to take over its work.

[0103] The disclosed embodiment makes full use of the performance advantages of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory, overcomes its low read and write life defects through recovery operations, and realizes a high-availability memory circuit design. It should be pointed out that the disclosed embodiment does not limit the specific implementation method of selecting a storage unit for state switching from the working group 10, and the storage unit selection algorithm (for example, the operation of selecting R from W working storage units) can be flexibly designed according to the actual circuit application scenario, and possible selection algorithms include: sequential selection, average hash selection, random selection, etc.

[0104] The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific implementation of the recovery operation. Those skilled in the art may refer to relevant technical implementations according to actual conditions and needs. For example, a voltage pulse or a constant voltage may be applied to the storage unit to implement the recovery operation. Of course, those skilled in the art may set the specific number, amplitude, frequency and other parameters of the voltage pulse according to actual conditions and needs. As a preferred example, in a possible implementation, the recovery operation may include: applying at least one recovery pulse to the hafnium-based ferroelectric material, and the recovery pulse may include 10 10 ±1.6V / 100ns pulse per cycle.

[0105] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one recovery pulse is applied to a storage unit prepared from a hafnium-based ferroelectric material, wherein the recovery pulse comprises 10 10 The ±1.6V / 100ns pulse of 1 cycle can improve or restore the residual polarization of the ferroelectric material in the memory cell, restore the durability of the memory cell, and make the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory circuit reach 5.0×10 13 Read and write cycles, life expectancy reaches more than 10 years.

[0106] In a possible implementation manner, the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory includes:

[0107] The controller is connected to each storage unit included in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory and is used to periodically switch the state of the storage unit in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory with a preset time period as a period.

[0108] The disclosed embodiment can set a controller in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory to perform the aforementioned state switching operation. Of course, the disclosed embodiment does not limit the specific implementation of the controller, and those skilled in the art can set it according to actual conditions and needs. For example, the controller includes but is not limited to a separate processor, or discrete components, or a combination of a processor and discrete components. The processor may include a controller with an execution instruction function in an electronic device, and the processor may be implemented in any appropriate manner, for example, by one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors or other electronic components. Inside the processor, the executable instructions may be executed by hardware circuits such as logic gates, switches, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic controllers, and embedded microcontrollers.

[0109] The disclosed embodiment may set a controller in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory to perform the aforementioned state switching operation. Of course, the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory may also receive external control instructions to implement state switching of each storage unit, which is not limited by the disclosed embodiment.

[0110] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, designs are proposed for the two cases of Q<1 and Q≥1 respectively. In practical applications, the results obtained based on experimental test data are generally that Q<1, that is, in a high-availability hafnium-based ferroelectric memory circuit, only a small number of storage cells are in a durable recovery state.

[0111] The high-availability hafnium-based ferroelectric memory proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure is implemented by utilizing the physical property that the hafnium-based ferroelectric material can recover the read and write endurance through a recovery operation. The design life of the memory is to achieve the theoretical maximum read and write life of the hafnium-based ferroelectric material under the condition of recoverable endurance operation (e.g., 5.0×10 13 Read and write cycles). The memory is highly available throughout its life cycle, and each part of the circuit has been restored to its durability, giving full play to the characteristics of hafnium-based ferroelectric materials.

[0112] The hafnium-based ferroelectric memory proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure can still maintain a readable and writable state under the extreme working condition of continuous reading and writing.

[0113] The hafnium-based ferroelectric memory proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure has different implementation methods for specific circuit implementations of different storage block selection algorithms, as well as data migration circuits, read-write control circuits, etc. in actual engineering applications. Those skilled in the art can refer to relevant technical implementations according to actual conditions and needs, which will not be elaborated here.

[0114] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, the electronic device comprising the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory.

[0115] Exemplarily, the electronic device may include a terminal device, which may be a user equipment (UE), a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a handheld device, a computing device or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. Exemplarily, some examples of terminals are: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile Internet devices (MID), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control (Industrial Control), wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids (Smart Grid), wireless terminals in transportation safety (Transportation Safety), wireless terminals in smart cities (Smart City), wireless terminals in smart homes (Smart Home), wireless terminals in Internet of Vehicles, etc. For example, the server may be a local server or a cloud server.

[0116] The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, and the above description is exemplary, not exhaustive, and is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and changes will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The selection of terms used herein is intended to best explain the principles of the embodiments, practical applications, or improvements to the technology in the market, or to enable other persons of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A hafnium-based ferroelectric memory, characterized in that: The hafnium-based ferroelectric memory comprises a plurality of memory cells, wherein the plurality of memory cells are divided into a working group and a recovery group, wherein the memory cells in the working group are in a working state, and the memory cells in the recovery group are in a recovery state or an available state, wherein the working state comprises a state in which the memory cell performs a read operation or a write operation, wherein the recovery state comprises a state in which the memory cell performs a ferroelectric polarization strength recovery operation, and wherein the available state represents that the memory cell has completed the ferroelectric polarization strength recovery operation and can enter the working state, wherein the storage units in the recovery group are switched from the recovery state to the available state after the recovery operation is completed, Among them, the state of the storage unit in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory is periodically switched with a preset time period as a period, and each state switch includes: a preset number of storage units in the working group are switched from the working state to the recovery state, a preset number of storage units in the recovery group that are in the available state are switched to the working state, and the read and write information of the preset number of storage units in the working group are migrated to the preset number of storage units in the recovery group that are in the available state.

2. The hafnium-based ferroelectric memory according to claim 1, characterized in that: If the time taken for the storage unit to complete the recovery operation is less than the shortest working life of the storage unit, the preset time is: t swap =L×Q×T, Wherein, L represents the read and write life of the storage unit, T represents the working clock cycle of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory, and Q represents the ratio of the duration of the recovery operation to the shortest working life.

3. The hafnium-based ferroelectric memory according to claim 2, characterized in that: The working group includes W storage units, and the recovery group includes R storage units, wherein W>R and W and R are both positive integers, and the preset number is R.

4. The hafnium-based ferroelectric memory according to claim 2, characterized in that: If the time taken for the storage unit to complete the recovery operation is greater than or equal to the shortest working life of the storage unit, the preset time is: t swap =L×T, Wherein, L represents the read and write life of the storage unit, and T represents the working clock cycle of the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory.

5. The hafnium-based ferroelectric memory according to claim 4, characterized in that: The working group includes W storage units, and the recovery group includes Q c ×W storage units, Q c A value representing the ratio of the duration of the recovery operation to the shortest working life rounded upwards, wherein the preset number is W.

6. The hafnium-based ferroelectric memory according to claim 1, characterized in that: In each state switching, the preset number of storage units is selected in the following manner: the preset number of storage units with the least number of state switching times are selected from the working group.

7. The hafnium-based ferroelectric memory according to claim 1, characterized in that: The recovery operation includes applying at least one recovery pulse to the hafnium-based ferroelectric material.

8. The hafnium-based ferroelectric memory according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hafnium-based ferroelectric memory comprises: The controller is connected to each storage unit included in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory and is used to periodically switch the state of the storage unit in the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory with a preset time period as a period.

9. The hafnium-based ferroelectric memory according to claim 1, characterized in that: If the preset number of storage units in the recovery group in the available state are switched to the working state, the preset number of storage units in the available state continue to use the storage addresses of the preset number of storage units in the working group before the state switching.

10. An electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises the hafnium-based ferroelectric memory according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

Images