Memory device

This application claims the priority benefit of Chinese Application serial no. 201811591546.3, filed Dec. 25, 2018, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to a memory device. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a phase change memory device.

In memory technology, a resistive random-access memory includes a phase change memory (PCM), which can change a resistance value of a component by a crystal phase change of the material thereof, so as to store information by a change in resistance value. When the material in the memory element is crystalline, it exhibits a low resistance value, and conversely, when the material in the memory element is in an amorphous state, it exhibits a high resistance value, thereby storing data such as “1” or “0”.

In the prior art, when reading the data of the memory unit in the memory device, the single memory unit is turned on, and the current corresponding to the single memory unit is compared with the reference current to determine whether a single data stored in the memory unit is “1” or “0”. However, comparisons with current values may cause errors due to different bias voltages. Furthermore, the judgment of data reading with a single memory unit is liable to cause errors.

For details, reference is made to FIG. 1 . In the prior art, a row decoding circuit (row decoder) and a column decoding circuit (column decoder) are located at a periphery of a cell array, and a read/write circuit (R/W circuit), which includes the sense amplifier circuit (sense amplifier) for reading the bit data, is located at a periphery of a column decoding circuit. When reading the resistive random-access memory component, the current of the memory element and the reference current are compared by the sense amplifier circuit to determine whether the information of the memory element is “1” or “0”. Existing memory architectures include at least two major problems: (1) the reference circuit is located in the read/write circuit, in which typically a transistor is configured to generate the reference current. The position difference between the location of the transistor and the location of the memory cell is too large, and the magnitude of the currents generated at different positions of different memory cells are slightly different, which causes different noise margins for determining logic “1” or “0” of each cell and makes the optimization of memory performance be unreachable. The best memory effect is unable to produce. Furthermore, the reference current is generated by the transistor, but the current of the resistive random-access memory cell is determined by the effective resistance of memory cell. The process variation mechanism of the memory cell is different from that of the transistor, so the reference current cannot accurately adapt to the variation of the memory cell. (2) In the prior art, since the read/write circuit is located at the periphery of the column decoding circuit, when reading the memory unit, due to the loading effect of the bit line, the reading speed of the memory unit farthest from the reading circuit is the slowest. The pickup speed is the slowest, and the specification speed of the entire memory is decided by the slowest memory unit.

An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide A memory device includes a first memory array, a second memory array, a first bit line driving circuit, a second bit line driving circuit, a first word line driving circuit, a second word line driving circuit, a read/write circuit, a controller, a first reference driving circuit, and a second reference driving circuit. The first memory array includes a plurality of first memory units. The second memory array includes a plurality of second memory units. The first bit line driving circuit is configured to interpret a first memory bit line address and to drive a first bit line. The second bit line driving circuit is configured to interpret a second memory bit line address and to drive a second bit line. The first word line driving circuit is configured to interpret a first memory word line address and to drive a first word line. The second word line driving circuit is configured to interpret a second memory word line address and to drive a second word line. The read/write circuit is coupled to the first bit line driving circuit and the second bit line driving circuit, and configured to read, write or reset the first memory units and the second memory units. The controller is configured to switch the first memory array and the second memory array to work in a single memory unit mode or a dual memory unit mode. The first reference driving circuit is configured to drive a first reference line, the reference line comprises a plurality of first reference units, and the first reference line and the first reference units are located in the first memory array. The second reference driving circuit is configured to drive a second reference line, the reference line comprises a plurality of second reference units, and the second reference line and the second reference units are located in the second memory array.

In sum, embodiments of this disclosure are to provide a memory device, and in particular, a phase change memory device. After the chip is completed, the user is still able to adopt single memory unit mode or dual memory unit mode according to his own needs. When the memory is operated in the single memory unit mode, the memory may obtain the maximum design capacity; in addition, since the reference current is generated by using the reference resistor, and the reference resistor is formed by the same material and process of the resistive random-access element, therefore, the process variation mechanism of the reference resistor is the same as that of the resistive random-access element of the memory unit. Therefore, the resistance variation of the resistive random-access element may be almost the same as the variation of the process, which results in more reading accuracy than the prior art. When operating in the dual memory unit mode, the data stored in the dual memory unit is read to determine whether the data stored in the memory unit is “1” or “0” so as to increase the accuracy of the data of the memory unit. The dual memory operation mode eliminates the loading effect of the memory unit, thus improving the reading speed of the memory.

The present disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows:

FIG. 1 is a current technology.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a memory device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a read/write circuit in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a reference unit in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a memory unit in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

In order to make the description of the disclosure more detailed and comprehensive, reference will now be made in detail to the accompanying drawings and the following embodiments. However, the provided embodiments are not used to limit the ranges covered by the present disclosure; orders of step description are not used to limit the execution sequence either. Any devices with equivalent effect through rearrangement are also covered by the present disclosure.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” or “includes” and/or “including” or “has” and/or “having” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

In this document, the term “coupled” may also be termed as “electrically coupled,” and the term “connected” may be termed as “electrically connected.” “Coupled” and “connected” may also be used to indicate that two or more elements cooperate or interact with each other.

Reference is made to FIG. 2 . FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a memory device 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Take phase change memory (PCM) for example, as illustrated in FIG. 2 , the memory device 100 includes the memory arrays 110 A, 110 B, the bit line driving circuits 130 A, 130 B, the word line driving circuits 150 A, 150 B, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D, the interpret circuits 160 A, 160 B, and the controller 170 . The memory array 110 A includes several memory units P 11 A to PNMA, the memory array 110 B includes several memory units P 11 B to PNMB.

In the connection configuration, the word line driving circuit 150 A is coupled to several word lines W 1 A to WNA, the word line driving circuit 150 B is coupled to several word lines W 1 B to WNB. The bit line driving circuit 130 A is coupled to several bit lines B 1 A to BMA, and the bit line driving circuit 130 B is coupled to several bit lines B 1 B to BMB. Each of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA couples to the word line driving circuit 150 A through one of the word lines W 1 A to WNA, and each of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA couples to the bit line driving circuit 130 A through one of the bit lines B 1 A to BMA. Each of the memory units P 11 B to PNMB couples to the word line driving circuit 150 B through one of the word lines W 1 B to WNB, and each of the memory units P 11 B to PNMB couples to the bit line driving circuit 130 B through one of the bit lines B 1 B to BMB.

The controller 170 couples to the interpret circuits 160 A, 160 B and the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D. The read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D couple to the bit line driving circuits 130 A, 130 B. The interpret circuit 160 A couples to the word line driving circuit 150 A and the bit line driving circuit 130 A, and the interpret circuit 160 B couples to the word line driving circuit 150 B and the bit line driving circuit 130 B. The bit line driving circuit 130 A couples to the reference line 115 A through the reference bit line RBA, and the bit line driving circuit 130 B couples to the reference line 115 B through the reference bit line RBB.

The bit line driving circuit 130 A is configured to decode the read and/or write addresses inputted to the memory units P 11 A to PNMA and to drive one of the bit lines B A to BMA, and the bit line driving circuit 130 B is configured to decode the read and/or write address inputted to the memory units P 11 B to PNMB and to drive one of the bit lines B 1 B to BMB. The word line driving circuit 150 A is configured to decode the read and/or write address inputted to the memory units P 11 A to PNMA and to drive one of the word lines W 1 A to WNA, and the word line driving circuit 150 B is configured to decode the read and/or write address inputted to the memory units P 11 B to PNMB and to drive one of the word lines W 1 B to WNB.

The controller 170 is configured to distinguish the bit address from the word address inputted to the memory read write address, and to control the read/write circuit. The controller 170 is further configured to switch the memory arrays 110 A, 110 B to work in the single memory unit mode or in the dual memory unit mode. The read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D are configured to read, set or reset the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB.

Furthermore, the interpret circuit 160 A is configured to interpret the word address and the bit address of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA. The interpret circuit 160 B is configured to interpret the word address and the bit address of the memory units P 11 B to PNMB.

In some embodiments, the memory device 100 further includes the reference driving circuits 152 A, 152 B. The reference driving circuit 152 A is coupled to the reference line 115 A and is configured to drive the reference line 115 A. The reference driving circuit 152 B is coupled to the reference line 115 B and is configured to drive the reference line 115 B. The reference line 115 A includes several reference units RU 1 A to RUMA. The reference line 115 B includes several reference units RU 1 B to RUMB. In some embodiments, the reference line 115 A and the reference units RU 1 A to RUMA are located in the memory array 110 A, and the reference line 115 B and the reference units RU 1 B to RUMB are located in the memory array 110 B.

All of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB include a memory element or a memory layer (not shown). The memory element or the memory layer are formed by specific material, in which the specific material may change its internal component status based on external operating conditions (for example: crystalline, amorphous, magnetic field, etc.) and includes different electrical properties. Thus, according to different electrical properties (for example: resistance, magnetoresistance, etc.). The memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB store different data equivalently.

Furthermore, all of the reference units RU 1 A to RUMA and RU 1 B to RUMB include a reference element or a memory layer (not shown). The material and the structure of the reference elements or the memory layers are the same as the material and the structure of the memory elements mentioned above.

In some embodiments, the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB and the reference units RU 1 A to RUMA, RU 1 B to RUMB are phase change random access memory unit, in which the memory elements or the memory layers are realized by a material such as chalcogenide, but the embodiments or the present disclosure are not limited thereto. The memory layer includes different crystallization states at different operating temperatures to store different data equivalently.

The types of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB, reference units RU 1 A to RUMA, RU 1 B to RUMB mentioning above are merely examples. Other forms of memory that can be used to implement the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB, reference units RU 1 A to RUMA, RU 1 B to RUMB, for example, such as variable resistance random access memory (ReRAM), magneto resistive random access memory (MRAM), etc., are within the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

The memory device 100 in FIG. 2 is for illustrative purposes only, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. For example, the number of the bit lines B 1 A to BMA, B 1 B to BMB, word lines W 1 A to WNA, W 1 B to WNB, memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB and the reference units RU 1 A to RUMA, RU 1 B to RUMB are for illustrative purposes only, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

Furthermore, in FIG. 2 , the reference line 115 A is located at the top of the memory array 110 A, and the reference line 115 B is located at the bottom of the memory array 110 B, but the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the reference lines 115 A, 115 B can be respectively located at the top, the bottom or the middle of the memory array.

For ease of explanation, the following paragraphs are explained by implementing the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB by phase change memory units, but as described above, the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB of the present disclosure are not limited to phase change memory units.

In some embodiments, take the phase change memory as an example, when reading the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB, a read pulse is applied to the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB, and the current values of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB are read so as to identify whether the stored data is data “1” or data “0”.

Furthermore, if a reset pulse is applied to the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB, the operating voltage of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB may increase rapidly. Therefore, the temperature of the phase change materials of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB rise to the molten state accordingly, and then the operating voltage is rapidly dropped so that the phase change materials of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB become amorphous. Under the condition, the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB are of high resistance.

On the other hand, if a set pulse is applied to the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB, the operating temperature of the memory layer of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB exceeds a specific temperature within a certain period of time as the voltage of the set pulse rises. The set pulse set the state of the memory layer to be crystalline. Under the condition, the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB are of low resistance values.

In some embodiments, the data corresponding to the high resistance value is logic “1”, and the data corresponding to the low resistance value is logic “0”. In some other embodiments, the data corresponding to the high resistance value is logic “0”, and the data corresponding to the low resistance value is logic “1”.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the memory device 100 may be operated in the dual memory unit mode or the single memory unit mode. The dual memory unit mode refers to the mode of operation in which a data unit is stored in two memory units, as described in the previous paragraph. On the other hand, single memory unit mode refers to an operation mode in which a data is stored in a single memory unit, which will be described in the following paragraphs.

When the memory device 100 is operated in the dual memory unit mode, one of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA and one of the memory units P 11 B to PNMB form a memory unit group, which is configured to represent a data.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2 , the memory unit P 11 A and the memory unit P 11 B form a memory unit group PG 11 , and the memory unit group PG 11 is configured to represent a data. The memory unit PNMA and the memory unit PNMB form a memory unit group PGNM, and the memory unit group PGNM is configured to represent a data, and so on.

When the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D read the data stored in each of the memory unit groups, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D determine the data stored in each of the memory unit groups according to the two memory units of each of the memory unit groups.

In dual memory unit mode, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D determine a data according to a value of one of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA and a value of one of the memory units P 11 B to PNMB.

In some embodiments, in the dual memory unit mode, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D read a value of one of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA through the bit line driving circuit 130 A and read a value of one of the memory units P 11 B to PNMB through the bit line driving circuit 130 B, so as to determine a data.

For example, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D read the value of the memory unit P 11 A through the bit line driving circuit 130 A and read the value of the memory unit P 11 B through the bit line driving circuit 130 B, so as to determine a data, and so on.

In some embodiments, the data stored in the two memory units of each of the memory unit groups are complementary to each other, and a memory unit group is configured to represent a memory data. For example, when the data corresponding to the resistance value of the memory unit P 11 A is 1, and the data corresponding to the resistance value of the memory unit P 11 B is 0, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D determine that the memory data of one of the memory unit groups PG 11 to PGNM is 1. When the data corresponding to the resistance value of the memory unit P 11 A is 0, and the data corresponding to the resistance value of the memory unit P 11 B is 1, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D determine that the memory data of the one of the memory unit groups PG 11 to PGNM is 0.

On the other hand, when the memory device 100 is operated in the single memory unit mode, each of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB represents a data.

When the memory device 100 is operated in the single memory unit mode, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D determine a data according to a value of one of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB and a value of one of the reference units RU 1 A to RUMA, RU 1 B to RUMB.

In details, when reading a value of one of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA of the memory array 110 A, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D determine a data according to a value of one of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA and a value of one of the reference units RU 1 B to RUMB. On the other hand, when reading a value of one of the memory units P 11 B to PNMB of the memory array 110 B, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D determine a data according to a value of one of the memory units P 11 B to PNMB and a value of one of the reference units RU 1 A to RUMA.

For example, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D determine a data according to a value of the memory unit P 11 A and a value of the reference unit RU 1 B. Or, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D determine a data according to a value of the memory unit P 11 B and a value of the reference unit RU 1 A.

In some embodiments, in the single memory unit mode, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D read a value of one of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA through the bit line driving circuit 130 A and read a value of one of the reference units RU 1 B to RUMB through the bit line driving circuit 130 B, so as to determine a data. Or, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D read a value of one of the memory units P 11 B to PNMB through the bit line driving circuit 130 B and read a value of one of the reference units RU 1 A to RUMA through the bit line driving circuit 130 A, so as to determine a data.

For example, in the single memory unit mode, when reading a value of the memory unit P 11 A, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D read a value of the memory unit P 11 A through the bit line driving circuit 130 A and read a value of one of the reference units RU 1 B to RUMB through the bit line driving circuit 130 B, so as to determine a data. On the other hand, when reading a value of the memory unit P 11 B, the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D read a value of the memory unit P 11 B through the bit line driving circuit 130 B and read a value of one of the reference units RU 1 A to RUMA through the bit line driving circuit 130 A, so as to determine a data.

In some embodiments, the bit line driving circuits 130 A, 130 B respectively include several switches (not shown). When the memory device 100 is operated in the single memory unit mode, the several switches control the bit line driving circuit 130 A to read a data of one from the bit lines B 1 A to BMA and control the bit line driving circuit 130 B to read a reference data from one of the reference units RU 1 B to RUMB. Or, the several switches control the bit line driving circuit 130 A to read the reference data from one of the reference units RU 1 A to RUMA and control the bit line driving circuit 130 B to read a data from one of the bit lines B 1 B to BMB.

On the other hand, when the memory device 100 is operated in the dual memory unit mode, the several switches control the bit line driving circuit 130 A to read a data from one of the bit lines B 1 A to BMA and control the bit line driving circuit 130 B to read a data from one of the bit lines B 1 B to BMB.

Reference is made to FIG. 3 . FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a read/write circuit 136 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The read/write circuit 136 is configured to represent the read/write circuits 136 A to 136 D in FIG. 2 . As illustrated in FIG. 3 , the read/write circuit 136 includes a sense amplifier 137 and a write-in driver 139 .

The sense amplifier 137 is coupled to the bit line driving circuits 130 A, 130 B as illustrated in FIG. 2 , and the sense amplifier 137 is configured to determine the memory data according to the data transmitted from the bit line driving circuits 130 A, 130 B. In details, the first input terminal of the sense amplifier 137 is configured to receive the data transmitted from the bit line driving circuit 130 A, the second input terminal of the sense amplifier 137 is configured to receive the data transmitted from the bit line driving circuit 130 B, and the output terminal of the sense amplifier 137 is configured to output the output data DOUT after the determination.

The write-in driver 139 is coupled to the bit line driving circuits 130 A, 130 B. In operation, the write-in driver 139 receives the write-in data DWRITE, and the write-in driver 139 writes the write-in data DWRITE to the memory units P 11 A to PNMA, P 11 B to PNMB through the bit line driving circuits 130 A, and 130 B.

In details, when the memory device 100 is operated in dual memory unit mode, the write-in driver 139 writes in data to the memory units P 11 A to PNMA through the bit line driving circuit 130 A and writes in data to the memory units P 11 B to PNMB through the bit line driving circuit 130 B.

In some embodiments, the data written into the two memory units of the same memory unit group are complementary to each other. For example, the data written into the memory unit P 11 A and the data written into the memory unit P 11 B are complementary to each other, so as to represent a data. That is, when the data written into the memory unit P 11 A is 0, the data written into the memory unit P 11 B is 1. On the contrary, when the data written into the memory unit P 11 A is 1, the data written into the memory unit P 11 B is 0.

It should be noted that, the sense amplifier 137 can determine the memory data according to the received current, voltage or resistance value.

Reference is made to FIG. 4 . FIG. 4 is a reference unit RU in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The reference unit RU as illustrated in FIG. 4 may be the reference units RU 1 A to RUMA, RU 1 B to RUMB as illustrated in FIG. 2 .

The reference unit RU includes the resistor R 1 and the switch S 1 . The resistor R 1 may be the resistor formed by the set operation or the reset operation of the component of the memory layer in the reference units RU 1 to RUM. The control terminal of the switch S 1 is coupled to the reference word line RW as illustrated in FIG. 2 . The reference word line RW may be the reference word line RWA or RWB as illustrated in FIG. 2 . The first terminal of the switch S 1 is connected to ground, the second terminal of the switch S 1 is coupled to the first terminal of the resistor R 1 , and the second terminal of the resistor R 1 is coupled to the reference bit line RB. The reference bit line RB may be the reference bit line RBA or RBB in FIG. 2 .

Reference is made to FIG. 5 . FIG. 5 is a memory unit P in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The memory unit P as illustrated in FIG. 5 may be the memory units P 11 A to PNMA or P 11 B to PNMB in FIG. 2 .

The memory unit P includes the resistor R 2 and the switch S 2 . The resistor R 2 may be the resistor formed by the set operation or the reset operation of the component of the memory layer of the memory units P 11 A to PNMA or P 11 B to PNMB. The control terminal of the switch S 2 is coupled to the word line W. The first terminal of the switch S 2 is connected to ground, the second terminal of the switch S 2 is coupled to the first terminal of the resistor R 2 , and the second terminal of the resistor R 2 is coupled to the bit line B. The word line W may be the word lines W 1 A to WNA, W 1 B to WNB in FIG. 2 . The bit line B may be the bit lines B 1 A to BMA, B 1 B to BMB in FIG. 2 .

Based on the aforementioned embodiments, the present disclosure provides a memory device, and in particular, a phase change memory device. By reading the data of the dual memory unit to determine whether the data stored in the memory unit is “1” or “0”, the accuracy of the data of the memory unit is increased. Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the memory may be adjusted to the single memory operation mode as needed to increase the capacity of the memory device. That is, the user is able to adopt single memory unit mode or dual memory unit mode according to his own needs.

Although the present disclosure has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein.

In addition, the above illustrations comprise sequential demonstration operations, but the operations need not be performed in the order shown. The execution of the operations in a different order is within the scope of this disclosure. In the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the operations may be increased, substituted, changed and/or omitted as the case may be.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the present disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of the present disclosure provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.