Perpendicular STT-MRAM for high speed non-volatile embedded memory application

The recent rise of mobile applications such as Internet of Things (IoT), wearable electronics, and context aware computing has renewed the search for a universal embedded memory technology [1]. Such a technology should combine fast read/write, low voltage operation, low power consumption, non-volatility, infinite endurance, with CMOS process compatibility. Magnetic Random Access Memory based on Spin Transfer Torque phenomena (STT-MRAM) has been recognized as a promising candidate. The technology is innately non-volatile, and it has been shown that STT-MRAM based on perpendicularly magnetized Magnetic Tunnel Junctions (MTJs) can be written at high speed with low power. However, two major challenges remain. The first is to design multilayered MTJs that can withstand temperatures used in CMOS backend processing without any degradation of their magnetic properties. The second challenge is that fast read/write must be achieved not only at the single device level, but on entire memory arrays which requires controlling defects and distributions of magnetic properties.