Non-volatile (NV)-content addressable memory (CAM) (NV-CAM) cells employing differential magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) sensing for increased sense margin
US9728259B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignees
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 15, 2016 |
| Grant date | Aug 8, 2017 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 15, 2036 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11C15/02
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Non-volatile (NV)-content addressable memory (CAM) (NV-CAM) cells employing differential magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) sensing for increased sense margin are disclosed. By the NV-CAM cells employing MTJ differential sensing, differential cell voltages can be generated for match and mismatch conditions in response to search operations. The differential cell voltages are amplified to provide a larger match line voltage differential for match and mismatch conditions, thus providing a larger sense margin between match and mismatch conditions. For example, a cross-coupled transistor sense amplifier employing positive feedback may be employed to amplify the differential cell voltages to provide a larger match line voltage differential for match and mismatch conditions. Providing NV-CAM cells that have a larger sense margin can mitigate sensing issues for increased search operation reliability. One non-limiting example of an NV-CAM cell that employs MTJ differential sensing is a ten (10) transistor (10T)-four (4) MTJ (10T-4MTJ) NV-TCAM cell.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.