Defect and Fault Modeling Framework for STT-MRAM Testing

Lizhou Wu, Siddharth Rao, Mottaqiallah Taouil, Guilherme Cardoso Medeiros, Moritz Fieback, Erik Jan Marinissen, Gouri Sankar Kar, Said Hamdioui

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)
162 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

STT-MRAM mass production is around the corner as major foundries worldwide invest heavily on its commercialization. To ensure high-quality STT-MRAM products, effective yet cost-efficient test solutions are of great importance. This article presents a systematic device-aware defect and fault modeling framework for STT-MRAM to derive accurate fault models which reflect the physical defects appropriately, and thereafter optimal and high-quality test solutions. An overview and classification of manufacturing defects in STT-MRAMs are provided with an emphasis on those related to the fabrication of magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) devices, i.e., the data-storing elements. Defects in MTJ devices need to be modeled by adjusting the affected technology parameters and subsequent electrical parameters to fully capture the defect impact on both the device's electrical and magnetic properties, whereas defects in interconnects can be modeled as linear resistors. In addition, a complete single-cell fault space and nomenclature are defined, and a systematic fault analysis methodology is proposed. To demonstrate the use of the proposed framework, resistive defects in interconnect and pinhole defects in MTJ devices are analyzed for a single 1T-1MTJ memory cell. Test solutions for detecting these defects are also discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Article number8935208
Pages (from-to)707-723
Number of pages17
JournalIEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computing
Volume9
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 17 Dec 2019

Keywords

  • fault models
  • manufacturing defects
  • STT-MRAM
  • test development

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