Ferroelectric memory cell recovery
AssigneeMicron Technology, Inc.
InventorsMarcello Mariani, Giorgio Servalli, Andrea Locatelli
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Abstract
Methods, systems, and devices for recovering fatigued ferroelectric memory cells are described. Recovery voltages may be applied to a ferroelectric memory cell that is fatigued due to repeated access (read or write) operations. The recovery voltage may have a greater amplitude than the access voltage and may include multiple voltage pulses or a constant voltage. The recovery operation may be performed in the background as the memory array operates, or it may be performed when a host device is not actively using the memory array. The recovery operations may be performed periodically or may include discrete series of pulses distributed among several instances.
Claims26
A method, comprising:
- applying a first voltage to a ferroelectric memory cell of a memory array during each cycle of a plurality of access cycles;
- determining that the ferroelectric memory cell has reached a fatigue threshold based at least in part on applying the first voltage for the plurality of access cycles;
- and
- applying a second voltage to the ferroelectric memory cell based at least in part on determining that the ferroelectric memory cell has reached the fatigue threshold, wherein an amplitude of the second voltage is greater than an amplitude of the first voltage, and wherein the second voltage is applied for a time period or a number of repetitions that is based at least in part on the fatigue threshold of the ferroelectric memory cell.
A memory device, comprising:
- a memory array comprising a plurality of ferroelectric memory cells;
- and
- a counter that is resettable based at least in part on a fatigue recovery operation performed on at least one ferroelectric memory cell of the plurality of ferroelectric memory cells.
An electronic circuit, comprising:
- a memory array comprising a plurality of ferroelectric memory cells;
- a plurality of conductive terminals in electronic communication with the memory array;
- and
- a recovery terminal that supports a fatigue recovery operation of the plurality of ferroelectric memory cells, wherein the plurality of conductive terminals comprises the recovery terminal, and wherein the fatigue recovery operation comprises:
- a recovery voltage applied to at least one ferroelectric memory cell of the plurality based at least in part on a determination that the at least one ferroelectric memory cell has reached a fatigue threshold, wherein an amplitude of the recovery voltage is greater than an amplitude of an access voltage, and wherein the recovery voltage is applied for a time period or a number of repetitions that is based at least in part on the fatigue threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.