Variable-resistance memory device and its operation method
AssigneeSony Corporation
InventorsMakoto Kitagawa, Tsunenori Shiimoto
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Abstract
Disclosed herein is a variable-resistance memory device including a first common line; a second common line; a storage element connected between the first common line and the second common line to serve as a storage element whose resistance changes in accordance with a voltage applied to the storage element; and a driving control circuit.
Claims13
A variable-resistance memory device comprising:
- a first common line;
- a second common line;
- a storage element connected between said first common line and said second common line to serve as a storage element whose resistance changes in accordance with a voltage applied to said storage element;
- and
- a driving control circuit for starting a resistance reduction operation of driving said storage element to make a transition from a high-resistance state to a low-resistance state by changing an electric potential appearing on said second common line, for controlling an element current flowing through said storage element by adjusting an electric potential appearing on said first common line during said resistance reduction operation and for terminating said resistance reduction operation by making said electric potential appearing on said first common line equal to said electric potential appearing on said second common line after the lapse of a period enabling said storage element to make said transition from said high-resistance state to said low-resistance state;
- and
- wherein an electric charge accumulated on the first common line is electrically discharged to the second common line through an equalization path, other than a current path of the storage element, before the resistance reduction operation.
An operation method for operating a variable-resistance memory device including a first common line, a second common line and a storage element connected between said first common line and said second common line to serve as an element having a resistance varying in accordance with a voltage applied to said element, said operation method comprising:
- starting a resistance reduction operation of driving said storage element to make a transition from a high-resistance state to a low-resistance state by changing an electric potential appearing on said second common line;
- controlling an element current flowing through said storage element by adjusting an electric potential appearing on said first common line during said resistance reduction operation;
- terminating said resistance reduction operation by making said electric potential appearing on said first common line equal to said electric potential appearing on said second common line after the lapse of a period enabling said storage element to make said transition from said high-resistance state to said low-resistance state;
- and,
- electrically discharging, to the second common line, an electric charge accumulated on the first common line through an equalization path, other than a current path of the storage element, before the resistance reduction operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.