Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique

Stmicroelectronics (Rousset) Sas

Université´ D'aix-Marseille

Stmicroelectronics (Crolles 2) Sas

Stmicroelectro (Crolles 2) Sas

Jean-Pierre Walder

Philippe Boivin

Jean-Michel Portal

Vincenzo Della Marca

Julien Gasquez

A method for operating a sense amplifier in a one-switch one-resistance (1S1R) memory array, includes: generating a regulated full voltage and a regulated half voltage; applying the regulated full voltage and regulated half voltage to selected and unselected bit lines of the 1S1R memory array during read operations as an applied read voltage; and inducing and compensating for a sneak-path current during read operations by adjusting the applied read voltage based on the cell state of an accessed bit cell and an amplitude of the sneak-path current.

Self-referenced and regulated sensing solution for phase change memory with ovonic threshold switch

Memory devices such as phase change memory (PCM) devices utilizing Ovonic Threshold Switching (OTS) selectors may be used to fill the gap between dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and mass storage and may be incorporated in high-end microcontrollers. Since the programming efficiency and reading phase efficiency of such devices is directly linked to the leakage current of the OTS selector as well as sneak-path management, a sense amplifier disclosed herein generates an auto-reference that takes into account the leakage currents of unselected cells and includes a regulation loop to compensate for voltage drop due to read current sensing. This auto-referenced sense amplifier, built utilizing the principle of charge-sharing, may be designed on a 28 nm fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) technology, provides robust performance for a wide range of sneak-path currents and consequently for a large range of memory array sizes, and is therefore suitable for use in embedded memory in high-end microcontroller.

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Marseilles, France

Jean-Pierre Walder