Test Characterization And Optimization Of Resistive Memory And Dynamic Random Access Memory For Embedded Applications

With the development of large and very large scale integrated circuit these years, embedded system has been widely used because of its high integration, fast running, low power consumption and good reliability. As the essential part of hardware in embedded system, embedded memories perform an important role in semiconductor chips and directly decide the performance of the system. With the research of digital and analog circuit, different kinds of novel memories also emerge continually, improving the performance of the whole system.Aimed at the application in embedded memories, a resistive random access memory and two dynamic random access memories are developed by our group. This paper focuses on the performance optimization with characterizing and testing methods of these novel memories according to their principle. The characterization is given and the mechanism is analyzed after the chip test. To meet the need of actual application, the performance, such as yield rate, retention time and manufacturability, is greatly improved with the optimization of process, design and operation parameters.In addition, the radiation tolerance of random access memory is also presented for its application under the radiation environment. As radiation-induced defects would degrade the performance of devices, or even cause failure of the system, it is necessary to bring up another characterizing method for this special application. The experiment results prove that the novel memory has strong radiation tolerance while the peripheral circuits still need some reinforcing measures.