Download 7-6 Modeling CBRAM Operation

Modeling CBRAM Operation: CBRAM (conductive-bridge RAM) is a promising non-volatile memory technology offering lowpower operation, fast switching, high endurance and scalability. The basic principle is that amorphous insulating materials containing
relatively large amounts of metal can sometimes behave as solid electrolytes, because the metal ions they contain can form a
conductive pathway when voltage is applied. The process is reversible, enabling the reading and writing of memory data as the
material switches back and forth between insulator and conductor. Accurate computer models and simulations of CBRAM operation
are essential for a better understanding of this process and as design tools. However, it’s challenging to characterize the growth and
expansion of the filament during the set/reset process, and to correlate it with material properties. Researchers from Peking University
and partners, though, developed and verified a compact computer modeling framework based on the essential physics which does
exactly that. The outcomes of this method are then used to develop a SPICE model for the co-design of individual devices and circuits.
The figure above is a computer simulation the researchers created to model the switching behavior of the conductive filament.
(Paper #7.6, “A Physics-Based Compact Model for Material- and Operation-Oriented Switching Behaviors of CBRAM,” Y.D. Zhao et al, Peking
University/ Innovation Center for MicroNanoelectronics and Integrated System (China)/Hong Kong Polytechnic University)