Panasonic Corporation

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Koichi Osano

Shunsaku Muraoka

Hiroshi Sakakima

Satoru Fujii

Satoru Mitani

Ken Takahashi

Kumio Nago

Kazuhiko Shimakawa

Masafumi Shimotashiro

Keita Ihara

Takeshi Takagi

Mitsuo Satomi

Koichi Kugimiya

Yuji Omata

Hitoshi Yamanishi

Kenji Hasegawa

Nozomu Matsukawa

Yoshihiko Kanzawa

Koji Katayama

Masayoshi Hiramoto

Ryoko Miyanaga

Masaya Sakaguchi

Yoshiaki Mizoh

Isamu Aokura

Hiroshi Seki

Eisuke Sawai

Akinaga Natsui

Kunio Tanaka

Yuuji Omata

Toshiyuki Suemitsu

Youichi Ohnishi

Yasushi Inoue

Noboru Itoh

Fumio Sakai

Syouzou Ninomiya

A nonvolatile memory element of the present invention comprises a first electrode (), a second electrode (), and a resistance variable layer () disposed between the first electrode () and the second electrode (), a resistance value of the resistance variable layer varying reversibly according to an electric signal applied between the electrodes (), (), and the resistance variable layer () comprises at least a tantalum oxide, and is configured to satisfy 0&#x3c;x&#x3c;2.5 when the tantalum oxide is represented by TaOx.

Nonvolatile memory element, nonvolatile memory apparatus, nonvolatile semiconductor apparatus, and method of manufacturing nonvolatile memory element

A nonvolatile memory apparatus includes a first electrode, a second electrode, a variable resistance layer, a resistance value of the variable resistance layer reversibly varying between a plurality of resistance states based on an electric signal applied between the electrodes. The variable resistance layer includes at least a tantalum oxide, and is configured to satisfy 0 &#x3c;x&#x3c;2.5 when the tantalum oxide is represented by TaOx; and wherein when a resistance value between the electrodes is in the low-resistance state is RL, a resistance value between the electrodes is in the high-resistance state is RH, and a resistance value of a portion other than the variable resistance layer in a current path connecting a first terminal to a second terminal via the first electrode, the variable resistance layer and the second electrode, is R, Rsatisfies RL &#x3c;R.

Nonvolatile memory element having a tantalum oxide variable resistance layer

A nonvolatile memory element comprises a first electrode layer (), a second electrode (), and a resistance variable layer () which is disposed between the first electrode layer () and the second electrode layer (), a resistance value of the resistance variable layer varying reversibly according to electric signals having different polarities which are applied between the electrodes (), (), wherein the resistance variable layer () has a first region comprising a first oxygen-deficient tantalum oxide having a composition represented by TaOx (0&#x3c;x&#x3c;2.5) and a second region comprising a second oxygen-deficient tantalum oxide having a composition represented by TaOy (x&#x3c;y&#x3c;2.5), the first region and the second region being arranged in a thickness direction of the resistance variable layer.

Nonvolatile memory element, manufacturing method thereof, and nonvolatile semiconductor apparatus using the nonvolatile memory element

A thin film storage device includes a first electrode (), a first variable resistance thin film (), and a second electrode (). The first electrode () is formed over a surface of a substrate (). The first variable resistance thin film () is formed over a surface of the first electrode (). The second electrode () is formed over a surface of the first variable resistance thin film (). The first variable resistance thin film () comprises a material whose resistance in a bulk state changes in accordance with at least one of a lattice strain and a change of charge-order.

Thin film memory device having a variable resistance

A nonvolatile memory apparatus includes a first electrode, a second electrode, a variable resistance layer, a resistance value of the variable resistance layer reversibly varying between a plurality of resistance states based on an electric signal applied between the electrodes. The variable resistance layer includes at least a tantalum oxide, and is configured to satisfy 0&#x3c;x&#x3c;2.5 when the tantalum oxide is represented by TaOx; and wherein when a resistance value between the electrodes is in the low-resistance state is RL, a resistance value between the electrodes is in the high-resistance state is RH, and a resistance value of a portion other than the variable resistance layer in a current path connecting a first terminal to a second terminal via the first electrode, the variable resistance layer and the second electrode, is R, Rsatisfies RL&#x3c;R

A nonvolatile memory apparatus includes a first electrode (), a second electrode (), a variable resistance layer () which is disposed between the electrodes, a resistance value of the variable resistance layer reversibly varying between a plurality of resistance states based on an electric signal applied between the electrodes, a first terminal () connected to the first electrode, and a second terminal () connected to the second terminal. The variable resistance layer comprises at least a tantalum oxide, and is configured to satisfy 0&#x3c;x&#x3c;2.5 when the tantalum oxide is represented by TaOx; and wherein when a resistance value between the electrodes in a state where the variable resistance layer is in the low-resistance state is RL, a resistance value between the electrodes in a state where the variable resistance layer is in the high-resistance state is RH, and a resistance value of a portion other than the variable resistance layer in a current path connecting the first terminal to the second terminal via the first electrode, the variable resistance layer and the second electrode, is R, Rsatisfies RL&#x3c;R

Variable resistance nonvolatile memory apparatus

A resistance variable element of the present invention and a resistance variable memory apparatus using the resistance variable element are a resistance variable element () including a first electrode, a second electrode, and a resistance variable layer () provided between the first electrode () and the second electrode () to be electrically connected to the first electrode () and the second electrode (), wherein the resistance variable layer () contains a material having a spinel structure represented by a chemical formula of (ZnFe)FeO, and the resistance variable element () has a feature that an electrical resistance between the first electrode () and the second electrode () increases by applying a first voltage pulse to between the first electrode () and the second electrode (), and the electrical resistance between the first electrode () and the second electrode () decreases by applying a second voltage pulse whose polarity is the same as the first voltage pulse to between the first electrode () and the second electrode (), and a resistance variable memory apparatus using the resistance variable element ().

Resistance variable element and resistance variable memory apparatus

A resistance variable element (), a resistance variable memory apparatus, and a resistance variable apparatus, comprise a first electrode (), a second electrode (), and a resistance variable layer () which is disposed between the first electrode () and the second electrode () and is electrically connected to the first electrode () and to the second electrode (), wherein the resistance variable layer () contains a material having a spinel structure which is expressed as a chemical formula of (NiFe) FeO, X being not smaller than 0.35 and not larger than 0.9, wherein the resistance variable element has a characteristic in which an electric resistance between the first electrode () and the second electrode () decreases by application of a first voltage pulse having a first voltage between the first electrode () and the second electrode () and increases by application of a second voltage pulse having a second voltage which is different in polarity from the first voltage between the first electrode () and the second electrode ().

Resistance variable element, resistance variable memory apparatus, and resistance variable apparatus

A memory element comprises a first electrode, a second electrode, and a resistance variable filmwhich is disposed between the first and second electrodes to be connected to the first and second electrodes, a resistance value of the resistance variable filmvarying based on voltage applied between the first and second electrodes, the resistance variable filmincludes a layermade of FeOand a layermade of FeOor a spinel structure oxide which is expressed as MFeO(M: metal element except for Fe); and the layermade of FeOis thicker than the layermade of FeOor the spinel structure oxide.

Memory element, memory apparatus, and semiconductor integrated circuit

A nonvolatile memory element () of the present invention includes a resistance variable layer () which intervenes between a first electrode () and a second electrode () and is configured to include at least an oxide of a metal element of VI group, V group or VI group, and when an electric pulse of a specific voltage is applied between the first voltage () and the second voltage (), the resistance variable layer is turned to have a first high-resistance state or a second high-resistance state in which its resistance value is a high-resistance value R, or a low-resistance state in which its resistance value is a low-resistance value R

Nonvolatile memory element, nonvolatile semiconductor memory apparatus, and reading method and writing method therefor

A resistance variable element comprises a first electrode (), a second electrode (), and a resistance variable layer () which is disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, and electrically connected to the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the resistance variable layer comprises material including TaO(1.6&#x2266;X&#x2266;2.2), an electric resistance between the first electrode and the second electrode is lowered by application of a first voltage pulse having a first voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the electric resistance between the first electrode and the second electrode is increased by application of a second voltage pulse having a second voltage of the same polarity as the first voltage, between the first electrode and the second electrode.

Resistance variable element, nonvolatile switching element, and resistance variable memory apparatus

A memory device including a plurality of electric elements corresponding to a plurality of transistors on a one-to-one basis; a word line driver for driving a plurality of word lines; and a bit line/plate line driver for driving a plurality of bit lines and a plurality of plate lines. Each of the plurality of electric elements includes a first electrode connected to one of the transistors corresponding to the electric element, a second electrode connected to one of the plate lines corresponding to the electric element, and a variable-resistance film connected between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the variable-resistance film includes FeOas a constituent element and has a crystal grain size of 5 nm to 150 nm.

Electric element, memory device, and semiconductor integrated circuit

An initialization method of the present invention is a method for initializing a material (variable-resistance material) () whose resistance value increases/decreases according to the polarity of an applied electric pulse. An electric pulse having a first polarity is applied at least once between first and second electrodes () connected to the variable-resistance material () such that the potential of the first electrode is higher than that of the second electrode.

Method for initializing resistance-variable material, memory device containing a resistance-variable material, and method for initializing nonvolatile memory circuit including variable resistor

An electric element includes a first electrode (), a second electrode (), and a variable-resistance film () connected between the first electrode () and the second electrode (). The variable-resistance film () contains Fe (iron) and O (oxygen) as constituent elements. The content of oxygen in the variable-resistance film () is modulated along the film thickness direction.

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Osaka, Japan

Koichi Osano