This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-052709 filed on Mar. 16, 2016 in Japan, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments described herein relate generally to a resistive change element, a non-volatile storage device, and a programmable logic device.
A programmable logic device is a semiconductor integrated circuit in which rewriting of the circuit after production of a chip is possible. The programmable logic device includes a plurality of wiring lines and makes two wiring lines selected from these wiring lines into an electrically connected state or non-connected state. A switching circuit is used to perform control in such a manner that the two selected wiring lines become the connected state or the non-connected state. In the switching circuit, a transistor and a memory are used. This memory can be electrically programmed and on/off of the transistor is switched based on programmed information. Also, what uses a two-terminal resistive change element as a memory and realizes the above switching circuit only with this memory is also known. This resistive change element includes two electrodes and a resistive change layer provided between these two electrodes. By applying predetermined voltage between the two electrodes, it is possible to change a resistive state of the resistive change layer and to switch electrical resistance between the two electrodes into a low resistive state or a high resistive state.
As described later, in a case where a resistive change element having a cross point structure is used as a switching circuit in a programmable logic device, it is necessary that the element has a low forming voltage and high off-resistance.
However, a resistive change element having a low forming voltage and high off-resistance is not known yet.
A programmable logic device according to an embodiment includes: a plurality of first wiring lines; a plurality of second wiring lines intersecting with the first wiring lines; a plurality of resistive change elements disposed in cross regions of the plurality of first wiring lines and the plurality of second wiring lines, each of the resistive change elements including a first electrode containing Ni and connected to corresponding one of the first wiring lines, a second electrode containing TiN and connected to corresponding one of the second wiring lines, a resistive change layer containing a hafnium oxide and arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode, and an insulation layer arranged between the resistive change layer and the second electrode, the insulation layer including at least one of an aluminum oxide, an iron oxide, a titanium oxide, a copper oxide, a nickel oxide, a tantalum oxide, a tungsten oxide, a chromium oxide, a rhenium oxide, and a hafnium oxynitride, and in each of the resistive change elements, a resistive state between the first electrode and the second electrode being changeable from one of a first resistive state and a second resistive state having a resistance value larger than that of the first resistive state to the other; a first driver connected to the plurality of first wiring lines; and a second driver connected to the plurality of second wiring lines.
Before a description of embodiments of the present invention, how the present invention is invented will be described.
A programmable logic device includes a switching circuit. In this switching circuit, for example, a resistive change element is used as a memory element. A switching circuit in which a resistive change element is used as a memory element is shown in
In the switching circuit shown in
An example of a well-known resistive change element is shown in
As the resistive change element 2, there are a unipolar-type memory element and a bipolar-type memory element. In the unipolar-type resistive change element, a polarity of a set voltage and that of the reset voltage are identical.
For example, when voltage higher than voltage applied to an electrode 2a is applied to an electrode 2c in a case of setting a resistive change element 2, the voltage higher than the voltage applied to the electrode 2a is also applied to the electrode 2c in a case of resetting.
On the other hand, in the bipolar-type resistive change element, a polarity of a set voltage and that of a reset voltage are opposite. For example, when voltage higher than voltage applied to an electrode 2a is applied to an electrode 2c in a case of setting a resistive change element, voltage lower than the voltage applied to the electrode 2a is applied to the electrode 2c in a case of resetting.
It is determined whether a resistive change element is a unipolar-type or a bipolar-type according to a material included in an electrode or a resistive change layer or a voltage condition in forming, that is, a voltage condition or the like in operation of a memory function by application of predetermined voltage between electrodes of the resistive change element after production. Similarly, a polarity of a set voltage or reset voltage is determined according to a material included in an electrode or a resistive change layer, a voltage condition in forming, or the like.
Once a type of a resistive change element and polarities of a set voltage and a reset voltage are determined, these are not changed thereafter. Thus, in order to perform setting and resetting of the resistive change element 2 correctly, it is necessary that the electrode 2a and the electrode 2c are clearly distinguished from each other. In the present specification, one of the electrode 2a and the electrode 2c to which one high voltage is applied in resetting of the resistive change element 2 is referred to as an anode, and the other is referred to as a cathode. When a resistive change element 2 is the bipolar-type, higher voltage is applied to a cathode than to an anode, whereby setting is performed. On the other hand, when a resistive change element is the unipolar-type, higher voltage is applied to an anode than to a cathode, whereby setting is performed.
The switching circuit in the cross point structure which circuit is shown in
In the switching circuit shown in
The bit line BLj (j=1, . . . , n) is connected to an output of the inverter 10j through the transistor 12j a gate of which is connected to a wiring line CL1. This transistor 12j (j=1, . . . , n) is to block voltage, which is to program the resistive change element 12ij (i=1, . . . , m), from the inverter 10j. The transistor 12j (j=1, . . . , n) is turned off in a case of programming (setting or resetting) the resistive change element 2ij. However, in a case where a program voltage of the resistive change element is low, there may not be the transistor 12j (j=1, . . . , n). Also, in
On the other hand, the word line WLi (i=1, . . . , m) is connected to an input of the inverter 22i through the transistor 20i a gate of which is connected to a wiring line CL2. This transistor 20i (i=1, . . . , m) is also to block voltage, which is to program the resistive change element 2ij, from the inverter 22i. The transistor 20i (i=1, . . . , m) is turned off in a case of programming (setting or resetting) the resistive change element.
However, in a case where a program voltage of the resistive change element is low, there may not be the transistor 20i (i=1, . . . , m). Also, in
Moreover, the transistors 12j (j=1, . . . , n) and 20i (i=1, . . . , m) are respectively provided on an input side and an output side of a signal in
For example, in
Also, for example, in a case where resistive change elements 211 and 221 are in the LRS and resistive change elements 212, 213, . . . , and 21n, and 222, 223, . . . , and 22n are in the HRS in
As described above, it is considered as an example of a pattern of switching of a wiring line that a signal input into one input line is output from a plurality of output lines. However, it is not considered that signals input into a plurality of input lines are output from one output line. In other words, there is a case where a plurality of resistive change elements among resistive change elements connected to the same input line is in the LRS. However, there is not a case where a plurality of resistive change elements among resistive change elements connected to the same output line is in the LRS.
Next, a case where the resistive change element 211 is formed in the switching circuit shown in
0 V is applied to the bit line BL1 and a forming voltage VFORM is applied to the word line WL1. Accordingly, since the forming voltage VFORM is applied between terminals of the resistive change element 211, forming is generated in the resistive change element 211. On the other hand, voltage, which is between 0 V and the forming voltage VFORM, such as VFORM/2 is applied to the other bit lines BL2 to BLn and the other word lines WL2 to WLm. This is to prevent a program disturbance (setting disturbance or resetting disturbance) of a not-selected resistive change element.
However, in a case where VFORM/2 is higher than a set voltage Vset necessary for setting a resistive change element in the forming, a voltage difference Δ V applied to a not-selected resistive change element such as a resistive change element 2i1 (i=2, . . . , m) becomes the voltage VFORM/2 and erroneous-setting is generated. Thus, there is a problem that an arbitrary rewriting operation cannot be performed.
Also, in a case where the forming voltage VFORM is high, there is possibility that a gate insulation film of the transistor 201 gets broken. There is a problem that a high-voltage transistor having a large area is used as the transistor 20i (i=1, . . . , m) in order to prevent this and occupies a large area in a chip.
Also, when off-resistance of a resistive change element is low, current easily flows. Thus, there is a problem that power consumption is increased.
Thus, the present inventors have made efforts on a research and have found a resistive change element having a low forming voltage and high off-resistance. This resistive change element will be described as a first embodiment.
A resistive change element according to the first embodiment is shown in
As the resistive change layer 3b, a hafnium oxide, that is, HfOx (0<x<2) is used. As the insulation layer 3c, at least one of an aluminum oxide (such as AIO2), an iron oxide (such as Fe2O3, Fe3O4, Fe4O2, or Fe4O6), a titanium oxide (such as TiO2), a copper oxide (such as Cu2O2, Cu2O3, or Cu2O4), a nickel oxide (such as NiO2), a tantalum oxide (such as Ta2O5), a tungsten oxide (WO3), a chromium oxide (CrO3), a rhenium oxide (such as ReO3), and a hafnium oxynitride is used. In the insulation layer 3c, an oxygen deficiency is preferably included for forming of a filament to conduct an electron.
The resistive change element 3 of this first embodiment and a resistive change element of a comparison example in which element an insulation layer 3c is not arranged in the resistive change element of the first embodiment are manufactured and forming voltages of these are investigated. A result of that is shown in
Next, a reason why the forming voltage of the resistive change element 3 of the first embodiment configured in such a manner becomes low will be described.
An energy band diagram in a case where voltage of 3 V is applied to the Ni electrode 3a and voltage of 0 V is applied to the TiN electrode 3d in the resistive change element 3 of the first embodiment is shown in
Since the insulation layer 3c having such a characteristic is arranged between the resistive change layer 3b and the TiN electrode 3d, when a forming voltage is applied, an electron from the TiN electrode 3d exceeds an energy barrier between the bottom of a conduction band Ec2 of the insulation layer 3c and the Fermi level Ef1 of the TiN electrode 3d and an energy barrier between the bottom of a conduction band Ec1 of HfOx and the bottom of a conduction band Ec2 of the insulation layer 3c, and is conducted to the Ni electrode 3a through the insulation layer 3c and the resistive change layer 3b. Note that in
On the other hand, when a forming voltage is applied in the resistive change element of the comparison example, an electron from a TiN electrode 3d exceeds an energy barrier between a bottom of a conduction band Ec1 of HfOx and a Fermi level Ef1 of the TiN electrode 3d and is conducted to an Ni electrode 3a through a resistive change layer 3b.
An energy difference between the bottom of a conduction band Ec2 of the insulation layer 3c and the Fermi level Ef1 of the TiN electrode 3d is smaller than an energy difference between the bottom of a conduction band Ec1 of HfOx and the Fermi level Ef1 of the TiN electrode 3d. Thus, it is considered that an electron easily exceeds an energy barrier and that a forming voltage becomes low in the resistive change element 3 of the present embodiment compared to the resistive change element of the comparison example.
Accordingly, it is preferable that an electron affinity, that is, an energy difference between a vacuum level and a bottom of a conduction band is higher than an electron affinity (=2.65 eV) of HfOx and is lower than a work function of TiN, that is, an energy difference between a vacuum level and a Fermi level of TiN in the insulation layer 3c used in the resistive change layer of the present embodiment. This is because it becomes difficult for an electron to exceed an energy barrier compared to the present embodiment in a case where an electron affinity of an insulation layer 3e is equal to or lower than the electron affinity (=2.65 eV) of HfOx as shown in
As it is understood from the above description, the resistive change element of the present embodiment is preferably used as a unipolar-type resistive change element.
(Off-Resistance)
Next, the resistive change element of the first embodiment is manufactured, on-resistance Ron and off-resistance Roff are measured, and a result thereof is shown in
Also, the resistive change element 3 of the first embodiment has few rectification characteristics. That is, when the resistive change element 3 is in the low resistive state, a ratio I1/I2 of current I1, which flows in a case where predetermined voltage is applied to the resistive change element 3 in such a manner that current flows from the TiN electrode 3d to the Ni electrode 3a, to current I2 that flows in a case where voltage, a polarity of which is inverted from that of the predetermined voltage, is applied to the resistive change element 3 in such a manner that current flows from the Ni electrode 3a to the TiN electrode 3d is equal to or higher than 1/10 and is equal to or lower than 10.
Next, current-voltage characteristics in a case where a set operation and a reset operation of the resistive change element 3 of the first embodiment are performed are respectively shown in
In the set operation, when voltage applied to the resistive change element 3 is increased, current flowing in the resistive change element 3 is suddenly increased at certain predetermined voltage. Even when the voltage is then decreased, the current flowing in the resistive change element 3 is kept high (
In the reset operation, when voltage applied to the resistive change element 3 is increased, current flowing in the resistive change element 3 is decreased after being slightly increased. Even when the voltage is then decreased, the current flowing in the resistive change element 3 is kept low (
As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to provide a resistive change element having a low forming voltage and high off-resistance.
Next, a programmable logic device according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to
The switching circuit included in the programmable logic device of this second embodiment has a configuration in which a resistive change element 2ij (i=1, . . . , m, j=1, . . . , n) is replaced with the resistive change element 3 of the first embodiment in the switching circuit shown in
Next, a programming method in a case of changing (setting) a resistive change element 311 from an HRS to an LRS in the switching circuit shown in
An example of the method of setting the resistive change element 311 is shown in
A different example of the method of setting the resistive change element 311 is shown in
Note that in a case of programming the resistive change element, voltage applied to a plurality of word lines is controlled by a driver 100 and voltage applied to a plurality of bit lines is controlled by a driver 200.
As described above, according to the second embodiment, since the resistive change element of the first embodiment is used as a resistive change element, it is possible to provide a programmable logic device that includes a resistive change element having a low forming voltage and high off-resistance.
A non-volatile storage device according to the third embodiment is shown in
The column decoder 310 is connected to the bit lines BL1 to BLn and selects a resistive change element 3ij (i=1, . . . , m) connected to each bit line BLj (j=1, . . . , n).
The row decoder 320 is connected to the word lines WL1 to WLm and selects a resistive change element 3ij (j=1, . . . , n) connected to each word line WLi (i=1, . . . , m).
In a case of performing writing into the resistive change element, that is, in a case of setting the resistive change element, the writing is performed in a manner similar to that in the case described in the second embodiment.
For example, in a case of setting a resistive change element 311, 0 V is applied to the bit line BL1 and a program voltage Vpgm is applied to the word line WL1 as described in
Also, for example, in a case of setting the resistive change element 311, a program voltage Vpgm is applied to the bit line BL1 and 0 V is applied to the word line WL1 as described in
Note that in a case of programming the resistive change element, voltage applied to the plurality of word lines WL1 to WLm is controlled by the control circuit 600 through the row decoder 320 and voltage applied to the plurality of bit lines BL1 to BLn is controlled by the control circuit through the column decoder 310.
In the non-volatile storage device shown in
As described above, according to the third embodiment, since the resistive change element of the first embodiment is used as a memory element, it is possible to provide a non-volatile storage device that includes a resistive change element having a low forming voltage and high off-resistance.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2016-052709 | Mar 2016 | JP | national |