Patent · US Active

Phase-change memory device and method of writing a phase-change memory device

US7502251B2 · kind B2 · utility

15Cited by
5References
24Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 11, 2006
Grant dateMar 10, 2009
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 26, 2026

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C2013/0092
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A phase-change cell memory device includes a plurality of phase-change memory cells, an address circuit, a write driver, and a write driver control circuit. The phase-change memory cells each include a volume of material that is programmable between amorphous and crystalline states. The address circuit selects at least one of the memory cells, and the write driver generates a reset pulse current to program a memory cell selected by the address circuit into the amorphous state, and a set pulse current to program the memory cell selected by the address circuit into the crystalline state. The write driver control circuit varies at least one of a pulse width and a pulse count of at least one of the reset and set pulse currents according to a load between the write driver and the memory cell selected by the address circuit.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.