Design Article
Tell us What You Think
We want to know what you thought about this Design. Let us know by adding a comment.
Alternative NVM technologies require new test approaches, part 2
Peter Hulbert, Keithley Instruments Inc.
11/20/2012 9:00 AM EST
Characterizing endurance
The endurance test shows the reduction in the polarization charge as the number of pulses applied increases. For some devices, the polarization charge may increase slightly during the initial pulse stress, before declining with an even larger number of stresses.1 Figure 12 shows example endurance results for QSW and PSW. The degradation in QSW begins at 11 million cycles. The rate of change of QSW and PSW as well as the difference between the two parameters can assist in understanding the degradation mechanisms in the material. The onset of degradation is a strong function of the pulse amplitude, so different materials and PUND voltages can provide significantly different degradation curves.
Figure 12: FRAM endurance curves show the degradation in PSW and QSW. This data was taken by the Model 4225-PMU with Model 4225-RPMs.
Many materials and technologies are currently under investigation for NVM, and each has unique aspects for the physical memory behavior. Electrical characterization is crucial to a better understanding of the physical aspects of the underlying technology. Regardless of the particular memory technology under investigation, pulsing is required to exercise the switching behavior. All candidate NVM materials require multi-level and multi-pulse waveforms, requiring test instrumentation that can output these complicated waveforms in a single shot, reducing characterization time for read, write and endurance behaviors. Most importantly, pulsing with simultaneous current and voltage measurement provides the data necessary to understand the dynamic behavior of the switching mechanism.
References
1. F. Chu and T. Davenport, “The Endurance Performance of 0.5 m FRAM Products.”
About the author
Peter J. Hulbert is a product and applications development engineer for Keithley Instruments (Cleveland, Ohio), which is part of the Tektronix test and measurement portfolio. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Washington State University. His career in measurement instrumentation has overlapped a good portion of the electromagnetic spectrum—from ionizing radiation to the far infrared.
Did you find this article of interest? Then visit the Memory Designline, where we update daily with design, technology, product, and news articles tailored to fit your world. Too busy to go every day? Sign up for our newsletter to get the week's best items delivered to your inbox. Just click here and choose the "Manage Newsletters" tab.
The endurance test shows the reduction in the polarization charge as the number of pulses applied increases. For some devices, the polarization charge may increase slightly during the initial pulse stress, before declining with an even larger number of stresses.1 Figure 12 shows example endurance results for QSW and PSW. The degradation in QSW begins at 11 million cycles. The rate of change of QSW and PSW as well as the difference between the two parameters can assist in understanding the degradation mechanisms in the material. The onset of degradation is a strong function of the pulse amplitude, so different materials and PUND voltages can provide significantly different degradation curves.
Click image to enlarge.
Figure 12: FRAM endurance curves show the degradation in PSW and QSW. This data was taken by the Model 4225-PMU with Model 4225-RPMs.
Many materials and technologies are currently under investigation for NVM, and each has unique aspects for the physical memory behavior. Electrical characterization is crucial to a better understanding of the physical aspects of the underlying technology. Regardless of the particular memory technology under investigation, pulsing is required to exercise the switching behavior. All candidate NVM materials require multi-level and multi-pulse waveforms, requiring test instrumentation that can output these complicated waveforms in a single shot, reducing characterization time for read, write and endurance behaviors. Most importantly, pulsing with simultaneous current and voltage measurement provides the data necessary to understand the dynamic behavior of the switching mechanism.
References
1. F. Chu and T. Davenport, “The Endurance Performance of 0.5 m FRAM Products.”
About the author
Peter J. Hulbert is a product and applications development engineer for Keithley Instruments (Cleveland, Ohio), which is part of the Tektronix test and measurement portfolio. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Washington State University. His career in measurement instrumentation has overlapped a good portion of the electromagnetic spectrum—from ionizing radiation to the far infrared.
_________________________
Did you find this article of interest? Then visit the Memory Designline, where we update daily with design, technology, product, and news articles tailored to fit your world. Too busy to go every day? Sign up for our newsletter to get the week's best items delivered to your inbox. Just click here and choose the "Manage Newsletters" tab.
|
|
|
|
|
Navigate to related information