Emerging Non-Volatile Memory Devices and Circuit Design

The functionality and performance of ULSI systems are increasingly dependent upon the characteristics of the memory subsystem. This course starts off where EE 309A leaves, and introduces students to various emerging non-volatile memory devices: metal oxide resistive switching memory (RRAM), nanoconductive bridge memory (CBRAM), phase change memory (PCM), magnetic tunnel junction memory, spin-transfer-torque random access memory (MRAM, STT-RAM), ferroelectric memory (FRAM) and ferroelectric transistor (FeFET). For each of these memories, the course will cover basic operation principles, device design considerations, device scaling, device fabrication, memory array architecture, and addressing and readout circuits. The course will also introduce students to recent in-memory computing research using these memory technologies. Pre-requisite: EE 216. Preferred: EE 316, EE 309A.