New approach to building resistive memories
Finnish supplier of Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) thin film coating systems, Picosun, worked with the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) in Russia to develop ReRAM (Resistance Switching Random Access Memory) non-volatile memories. These are used in data storage applications, where a combination of very large capacity and extremely fast operating speed is needed for unified memory architectures. It can also be used for low power applications.
ReRAM is fast, small and structurally simple, yielding high capacity memories that operates at low voltages. This helps reduce the device size, power consumption and response time and allows ReRAM blocks to be integrated into portable, wearable, and mobile electronics, remote sensing and IoT (Internet of Things) applications.
However, one of the main challenges has been the structure of the functional layers in the ReRAM memory cell, and Picosun has been able to accurately control the growth of the oxygen deficient oxides that are needed.
“With the Picosun ALD system we can deposit the critical material layers of our ReRAM structure with precision that allows atomic scale control of their chemical composition,” said Dr Andrey Markeev, Principal Research Scientist at the MIPT Nanotechnology Centre. “Picosun’s plasma tool allowed us to achieve a robust ALD process for depositing an oxygen-deficient TaOx film based on plasma-activated hydrogen as the reactant and the alkoxide compound Ta(OC2H5)5 as the Ta precursor, which already has a Ta-O bond in it. In this approach, the critical idea is to remove the C2H5 groups by forming volatile C2H6 or C2H5(OH) molecules via the reaction with plasma-activated hydrogen.” The research is reported in Applied Materials.
Another key factor is that ALD is already a production-proven, mature technology in semiconductor industries and simple to integrate into existing process flows.
“We have been working with MIPT for a long time so we are extremely pleased that our system has enabled their cutting-edge results in ReRAM technology,” said Juhana Kostamo, Managing Director of Picosun. “Our industrial customers include several leading memory manufacturers, and it is exciting to be a part in the development of yet more advanced data storage solutions. These will enable a whole new family of microelectronic products to improve our everyday lives, safety, and ways of communication.”
ReRAM technology is being used by Western Digital and US startup Crossbar for high speed memory and interconnect.
www.picosun.com; pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsami.7b00778
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