Write driver circuits for resistive random access memory (RAM) arrays

• US 9,583,171 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2015
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Kim, Jung Pill, Kim, Sungryul, Kim, Taehyun
• Primary Examiner(s): ALROBAIE, KHAMDAN N
• Application Number:
  US14/644,631
• Publication Number:
  US 20160267959A1
• Time in Patent Office: 720 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/1653 Address circuits or decoders
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/1655 Bit-line or column circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/1659 Cell access
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/1675 Writing or programming circuits or methods
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 13/0023 Address circuits or decoders
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 13/0026 Bit-line or column circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 13/0069 Writing or programming circuits or methods
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2013/0073 Write using bi-directional cell biasing
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2213/79 Array wherein the access device being a transistor
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2213/82 Array having, for accessing a cell, a word line, a bit line and a plate or source line receiving different potentials

Abstract

Aspects disclosed in the detailed description include write driver circuits for resistive random access memory (RAM) arrays. In one aspect, a write driver circuit is provided to facilitate writing data into a resistive RAM array in a memory system. The write driver circuit is coupled to a selector circuit configured to select a memory bitcell(s) in the resistive RAM array for a write operation. An isolation circuit is provided in the write driver circuit to couple a current source to the selector circuit to provide a write voltage during the write operation and to isolate the current source from the selector circuit when the selector circuit is not engaged in the write operation. By isolating the selector circuit from the current source when the selector circuit is on standby, it is possible to reduce leakage current in the selector circuit, thus reducing standby power consumption in the memory system.

Claims

1. A write driver circuit for writing data to a resistive random access memory (RAM) array, comprising:

an isolation circuit coupled to;

a current source; and

a selector circuit configured to select one or more resistive RAM bitcells in a resistive RAM array for a write operation; and

a precharging circuit coupled to a precharge voltage source and the selector circuit;

wherein the isolation circuit is configured to;

receive a control signal;

couple the current source to the selector circuit to provide a write voltage to the one or more resistive RAM bitcells selected by the selector circuit if the control signal indicates a write state for the write operation; and

decouple the current source from the selector circuit if the control signal does not indicate the write state;

wherein the precharging circuit is configured to;

couple the precharge voltage source to the selector circuit to provide a precharge voltage to a plurality of coupling elements in the selector circuit if the control signal indicates a precharge state for precharging the selector circuit; and

decouple the precharge voltage source from the plurality of coupling elements in the selector circuit if the control signal does not indicate the precharge state for precharging the selector circuit.

2. The write driver circuit of claim 1, wherein

each of the plurality of coupling elements comprises:

a bit line (BL) transistor coupled to a respective BL in the resistive RAM array; and

a source line (SL) transistor coupled to a respective SL in the resistive RAM array.

3. The write driver circuit of claim 2, wherein the isolation circuit is further configured to:

couple the current source to one or more BL transistors and one or more SL transistors in the selector circuit to provide the write voltage to the one or more resistive RAM bitcells selected by the selector circuit if the control signal indicates the write state; and

decouple the current source from the one or more BL transistors and the one or more SL transistors in the selector circuit if the control signal does not indicate the write state.

4. The write driver circuit of claim 2, wherein the isolation circuit is further configured to:

couple a BL current source and an SL current source to one or more BL transistors and one or more SL transistors in the selector circuit, respectively, to provide the write voltage to the one or more resistive RAM bitcells selected by the selector circuit if the control signal indicates the write state; and

decouple the BL current source and the SL current source from the one or more BL transistors and the one or more SL transistors in the selector circuit, respectively, if the control signal does not indicate the write state.

5. The write driver circuit of claim 2, wherein the precharging circuit is further configured to:

couple the precharge voltage source to each BL transistor and each SL transistor in the selector circuit if the control signal indicates the precharge state; and

decouple the precharge voltage source from each BL transistor and each SL transistor in the selector circuit if the control signal does not indicate the precharge state.

6. The write driver circuit of claim 2, wherein the write voltage is greater than the precharge voltage.

7. The write driver circuit of claim 2, further comprising an inverter configured to:

receive the control signal that indicates the write state; and

generate an inverted control signal to decouple the precharging circuit from the selector circuit.

8. The write driver circuit of claim 2, further comprising an inverter configured to:

receive the control signal that indicates the precharge state; and

generate an inverted control signal to couple the precharging circuit to the selector circuit.

9. The write driver circuit of claim 1, wherein the resistive RAM array is a magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) array.

10. A means for writing data to a resistive random access memory (RAM) array, comprising:

a means for isolation coupled to;

a current source; and

a selector circuit configured to select one or more resistive RAM bitcells in a resistive RAM array for a write operation; and

a precharging circuit coupled to a precharge voltage source and the selector circuit;

wherein the means for isolation is configured to;

receive a control signal;

couple the current source to the selector circuit to provide a write voltage to the one or more resistive RAM bitcells selected by the selector circuit if the control signal indicates a write state for the write operation; and

decouple the current source from the selector circuit if the control signal does not indicate the write state;

wherein the precharging circuit is configured to;

couple the precharge voltage source to the selector circuit to provide a precharge voltage to a plurality of coupling elements in the selector circuit if the control signal indicates a precharge state for precharging the selector circuit; and

decouple the precharge voltage source from the plurality of coupling elements in the selector circuit if the control signal does not indicate the precharge state for precharging the selector circuit.

11. A method for providing a write voltage to a resistive random access memory (RAM) array during a write operation, comprising:

receiving a control signal by an isolation circuit;

coupling a current source to a selector circuit if the control signal indicates a write state, wherein the current source is configured to provide the write voltage to one or more resistive RAM bitcells selected by the selector circuit for the write operation;

decoupling the current source from the selector circuit if the control signal does not indicate the write state;

coupling a precharging circuit to the selector circuit to provide a precharge voltage to the selector circuit if the control signal indicates a precharge state; and

decoupling the precharging circuit from the selector circuit if the control signal does not indicate the precharge state.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein:

coupling the current source to the selector circuit comprises coupling the current source to one or more bit line (BL) transistors and one or more source line (SL) transistors in the selector circuit; and

decoupling the current source from the selector circuit comprises decoupling the current source from the one or more BL transistors and the one or more SL transistors in the selector circuit.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising decoupling the isolation circuit from the selector circuit and coupling the precharging circuit to the selector circuit simultaneously in response to receiving the control signal that indicates the precharge state.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising decoupling the precharging circuit from the selector circuit and coupling the isolation circuit to the selector circuit simultaneously in response to receiving the control signal that indicates the write state.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing the write voltage greater than the precharge voltage to the resistive RAM array in response to receiving the control signal that indicates the write state.

16. A resistive random access memory (RAM) system, comprising:

a resistive RAM array comprising a plurality of resistive RAM bitcells arranged into M rows and N columns, wherein M and N are finite integers;

wherein each of the M rows comprises N resistive RAM bitcells coupled to a respective word line (WL);

wherein each of the N columns comprises M resistive RAM bitcells coupled to a respective bit line (BL) and a respective source line (SL);

a selector circuit comprising N coupling elements, wherein each of the N coupling elements is configured to be coupled to a respective column among the N columns in the resistive RAM array for a write operation;

a write driver circuit comprising an isolation circuit coupled to the selector circuit and a current source;

wherein the isolation circuit is configured to;

receive a control signal;

couple the current source to the selector circuit to provide a write voltage to one or more resistive RAM bitcells selected by the selector circuit if the control signal indicates a write state for the write operation; and

decouple the current source from the selector circuit if the control signal does not indicate the write state;

a precharging circuit coupled to the N coupling elements in the selector circuit;

a precharge voltage source coupled to the precharging circuit; and

an inverter, comprising;

an input (I) terminal coupled to the isolation circuit; and

an output (O) terminal coupled to the precharging circuit.

17. The resistive RAM system of claim 16, wherein each coupling element among the N coupling elements in the selector circuit comprises:

a BL transistor, comprising;

a BL transistor gate (G) terminal;

a BL transistor source (S) terminal coupled to the isolation circuit; and

a BL transistor drain (D) terminal coupled to the respective BL in the respective column of the resistive RAM array; and

an SL transistor, comprising;

an SL transistor G terminal;

an SL transistor S terminal coupled to the isolation circuit; and

an SL transistor D terminal coupled to the respective SL in the respective column of the resistive RAM array.

18. The resistive RAM system of claim 17, wherein the BL transistor and the SL transistor are core transistors.

19. The resistive RAM system of claim 17, wherein the precharging circuit comprises a precharge transistor comprising:

a precharge transistor G terminal coupled to the O terminal of the inverter;

a precharge transistor S terminal coupled to the precharge voltage source; and

a precharge transistor D terminal coupled to the BL transistor S terminal and the SL transistor S terminal in each of the N coupling elements of the selector circuit.

20. The resistive RAM system of claim 19, wherein the isolation circuit comprises an isolation transistor, the isolation transistor comprising:

an isolation transistor G terminal coupled to the I terminal of the inverter;

an isolation transistor S terminal coupled to the current source; and

an isolation transistor D terminal coupled to the BL transistor S terminal and the SL transistor S terminal in each of the N coupling elements of the selector circuit.

21. The resistive RAM system of claim 16, wherein the precharging circuit comprises:

a BL precharge transistor, comprising;

a BL precharge transistor gate (G) terminal coupled to the O terminal of the inverter;

a BL precharge transistor source (S) terminal coupled to the precharge voltage source, wherein the precharge voltage source is configured to receive a precharge voltage; and

a BL precharge transistor drain (D) terminal coupled to a BL transistor S terminal in each of the N coupling elements of the selector circuit; and

an SL precharge transistor, comprising;

an SL precharge transistor G terminal coupled to the O terminal of the inverter;

an SL precharge transistor S terminal coupled to the precharge voltage source, wherein the precharge voltage source is configured to receive the precharge voltage; and

an SL precharge transistor D terminal coupled to an SL transistor S terminal in each of the N coupling elements of the selector circuit.

22. The resistive RAM system of claim 16, wherein the current source comprises:

a current mirror circuit;

a BL current source comprising a BL current source transistor, wherein the BL current source transistor comprises;

a BL current source transistor gate (G) terminal coupled to the current mirror circuit;

a BL current source transistor source (S) terminal coupled to a write voltage source, wherein the BL current source transistor S terminal is configured to receive a BL write voltage; and

a BL current source transistor drain (D) terminal; and

an SL current source comprising an SL current source transistor, wherein the SL current source transistor comprises;

an SL current source transistor G terminal coupled to the current mirror circuit;

an SL current source transistor S terminal coupled to the write voltage source, wherein the SL current source transistor S terminal is configured to receive an SL write voltage; and

an SL current source transistor D terminal.

23. The resistive RAM system of claim 22, wherein the isolation circuit comprises:

a BL isolation transistor, comprising;

a BL isolation transistor G terminal coupled to the I terminal of the inverter;

a BL isolation transistor S terminal coupled to the BL current source transistor D terminal; and

a BL isolation transistor D terminal coupled to a BL transistor S terminal in each of the N coupling elements of the selector circuit; and

an SL isolation transistor, comprising;

an SL isolation transistor G terminal coupled to the I terminal of the inverter;

an SL isolation transistor S terminal coupled to the SL current source transistor D terminal; and

an SL isolation transistor D terminal coupled to an SL transistor S terminal in each of the N coupling elements of the selector circuit.

24. The resistive RAM system of claim 16, wherein the resistive RAM array comprises N write current sinks coupled to a bottom of the N columns in the resistive RAM array, respectively.

25. The resistive RAM system of claim 24, wherein each of the N write current sinks comprises:

a first write current sink transistor, comprising;

a first write current sink transistor gate (G) terminal coupled to the respective SL of the respective column among the N columns;

a first write current sink transistor source (S) terminal coupled to the respective BL of the respective column among the N columns; and

a first write current sink transistor drain (D) terminal coupled to ground (GND); and

a second write current sink transistor, comprising;

a second write current sink transistor G terminal coupled to the respective BL of the respective column among the N columns;

a second write current sink transistor S terminal coupled to the respective SL of the respective column among the N columns; and

a second write current sink transistor D terminal coupled to the GND.

26. The resistive RAM system of claim 16, wherein the selector circuit is a multiplexer (MUX) circuit.