Semiconductor memory device with variable resistance elements

• US 8,059,448 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2007
• Issued: 11/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Tanigami, Hiroki, Saitoh, Masahiro, Taniguchi, Takayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): HUR, JUNG H
• Application Number:
  US12/440,207
• Publication Number:
  US 20090161408A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,447 Days
• Field of Search: 365/163, 365/159, 365/148, 365/158, 365/189.16
• US Class Current: 365/148
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 13/0007 comprising metal oxide memory material, e.g. perovskites
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 13/0064 Verifying circuits or methods
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 13/0069 Writing or programming circuits or methods
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2013/0088 Write with the simultaneous writing of a plurality of cells
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2013/009 Write using potential difference applied between cell electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2213/15 Current-voltage curve
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2213/32 Material having simple binary metal oxide structure
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2213/34 Material includes an oxide or a nitride
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2213/79 Array wherein the access device being a transistor

Abstract

A semiconductor memory device comprises a memory cell array including memory cells arranged in matrix each having a selective transistor and a variable resistance element having an electric resistance changed from a first state to a second state by applying a first write voltage and from the second state to the first state by applying a second write voltage. A first write current for a first writing operation to change the electric resistance from the first state to the second state is larger than a second write current for a second writing operation to change it from the second state to the first state. A second memory cell number of memory cells subjected to the second writing operation at a time is greater than a first memory cell number of memory cells subjected to the first writing operation at a time. At least the second memory cell number is plural.

Claims

1. A semiconductor memory device comprising:

a memory cell array having memory cells each composed of a variable resistance element and a switching element, the variable resistance element having a two-terminal structure and storing information when an electric resistance is changed from a first state to a second state in response to application of a first write voltage of a first polarity applied to both ends and when the electric resistance is changed from the second state to the first state in response to application of a second write voltage of a second polarity different from the first polarity applied to both ends, the switching element having one end electrically connected to one end of the variable resistance element, the memory cells being arranged in a row direction and in a column direction; and

a writing unit configured to select one or more memory cells to be written from the memory cell array, and execute a first writing operation to change the electric resistance from the first state to the second state by applying the first write voltage to both ends of the variable resistance element of each of the selected memory cells and a second writing operation to change the electric resistance from the second state to the first state by applying the second write voltage to both ends of the variable resistance element of each of the selected memory cells,

wherein the variable resistance element is configured such that (i) a same first write current flows in response to the application of the first write voltage and a same second write current flows in response to the application of the second write voltage both when the variable resistance element is in the first state and when the variable resistance element is in the second state and (ii) when a voltage of the first polarity whose absolute value is smaller than that of the first write voltage is applied, and when a voltage of the second polarity whose absolute value is smaller than that of the second write voltage is applied, a current flowing through the variable resistance element varies depending on whether the variable resistance element is in the first state or in the second state,

a second memory cell number, which is a maximum number of the memory cells where the second writing operation is executed by the writing unit at the same time, is greater than a first memory cell number, which is a maximum number of the memory cells where the first writing operation is executed by the writing unit at the same time, in one part or all of the memory cells in the memory cell array,

at least the second memory cell number of the first memory cell number and the second memory cell number is a plural number, and

the second memory cell number is set to be not less than a write current ratio provided by dividing the first write current by the second write current.

2. The semiconductor memory device according to claim 1, wherein

when one of the first memory cell number and the second memory cell number is set to a predetermined value, a memory cell number ratio provided by dividing the second memory cell number by the first memory cell number is set such that a difference between the memory cell number ratio and a write current ratio provided by dividing the first write current by the second write current is minimized.

3. The semiconductor memory device according to claim 1, wherein

each of the first memory cell number and the second memory cell number is a plural number.

4. The semiconductor memory device according to claim 1, wherein

an absolute value of the first write voltage is greater than an absolute value of the second write voltage.

5. The semiconductor memory device according to claim 1, wherein

the switching element is a selective transistor composed of an MOSFET, and one end of the switching element electrically connected to one end of the variable resistance element is a source or a drain of the selective transistor.

6. The semiconductor memory device according to claim 5, wherein

the memory cell array has a plurality of word lines extending in the row direction and a plurality of bit lines extending in the column direction,

a gate of the selective transistor of each of the memory cells in the same row is connected to a common word line,

the other end, which is not connected to one of the source and drain of the selective transistor, of the variable resistance element in each of the memory cells in the same column, or the other of the source and drain, which is not connected to the one end of the variable resistance element, of the selective transistor in each of the memory cells in the same column is connected to a common bit line,

the selective transistor is an N channel MOSFET, and

when the writing unit applies the first write voltage to the selected memory cells, a positive voltage is applied to the other end, which is not connected to the one of the source and drain of the selective transistor, of the variable resistance element in each of the selected memory cells, based on the other of the source and drain, which is not connected to the one end of the variable resistance element, of the selective transistor in each of the selected memory cells.

7. The semiconductor memory device according to claim 1, wherein

the writing unit preliminarily executes the first writing operation to set the electric resistance to the second state uniformly before executing the second writing operation for the second memory cell number of the memory cells at the same time, based on previously incorporated write control procedures.

8. The semiconductor memory device according to claim 7, wherein

the writing unit executes a reading operation for the second memory cell number of the memory cells to be subjected to the second writing operation at the same time before the preliminary first writing operation to extract the memory cell having the electric resistance not in the second state, and executes the preliminary first writing operation only for the extracted memory cell, based on the previously incorporated write control procedures.

9. A writing method of a semiconductor memory device, the semiconductor memory device comprising a memory cell array having memory cells each composed of a variable resistance element and a switching element, the variable resistance element having a two-terminal structure and storing information when an electric resistance is changed from a first state to a second state in response to application of a first write voltage of a first polarity to both ends and when the electric resistance is changed from the second state to the first state in response to application of a second write voltage of a second polarity different from the first polarity to both ends, the switching element having one end electrically connected to one end of the variable resistance element, the memory cells being arranged in a row direction and in a column direction, wherein the variable resistance element is configured such that (i) a same first write current flows in response to the application of the first write voltage and a same second write current flows in response to the application of the second write voltage both when the variable resistance element is in the first state and when the variable resistance element is in the second state and (ii) when a voltage of the first polarity whose absolute value is smaller than that of the first write voltage is applied, and when a voltage of the second polarity whose absolute value is smaller than that of the second write voltage is applied, a current flowing through the variable resistance element varies depending on whether the variable resistance element is in the first state or in the second state, the method for writing information to one part or all of the memory cells in the memory cell array comprising at least:

a first writing step for executing a first writing operation to change the electric resistance from the first state to the second state by applying the first write voltage to both ends of the variable resistance element, for at least a part of one or more memory cells to be written in the memory cell array; and

a second writing step for executing a second writing operation to change the electric resistance from the second state to the first state by applying the second write voltage to both ends of the variable resistance element, for at least another part of the memory cells to be written, wherein

a second memory cell number, which is a maximum number of the memory cells where the second writing operation is executed at the same time in the second writing step is greater than a first memory cell number, which is a maximum number of the memory cells where the first writing operation is executed at the same time in the first writing step, and

at least the second memory cell number of the first memory cell number and the second memory cell number is a plural number, and

the second memory cell number is set to be not less than a write current ratio provided by dividing the first write current by the second write current.

10. The writing method of the semiconductor memory device according to claim 9, wherein

when one of the first memory cell number and the second memory cell number is set to a predetermined value, a memory cell number ratio provided by dividing the second memory cell number by the first memory cell number is set such that a difference between the memory cell number ratio and a write current ratio provided by dividing the first write current by the second write current is minimized.

11. The writing method of the semiconductor memory device according to claim 9, further comprising

a preliminary first writing step for executing the first writing operation preliminarily to set the electric resistance to the second state uniformly before the second writing step, wherein

the preliminary first writing step, the second writing step, and the first writing step are executed sequentially based on previously incorporated write control procedures.

12. The writing method of the semiconductor memory device according to claim 11, further comprising

a preliminary reading step for executing a reading operation for the second memory cell number of the memory cells to be subjected to the second writing operation at the same time before the preliminary first writing step to extract a memory cell having the electric resistance not in the second state, wherein

the preliminary first writing operation is executed in the preliminary first writing step only for the memory cell extracted in the preliminary reading step.