Apparatus and method to optimize STT-MRAM size and write error rate
View Patent ↗Described is an apparatus comprising: a first select-line; a second select-line; a bit-line; a first bit-cell including a resistive memory element and a transistor, the first bit-cell coupled to the first select-line and the bit-line; a buffer with an input coupled to the first select-line and an output coupled to the second select-line; and a second bit-cell including a resistive memory element and a transistor, the second bit-cell coupled to the second select-line and the bit-line. Described is a magnetic random access memory (MRAM) comprising: a plurality of rows, each row including: a plurality of bit-cells, each bit-cell having an MTJ device coupled to a transistor; and a plurality of buffers, each of which to buffer a select-line signal for a group of bit-cells among the plurality of bit-cells; and a plurality of bit-lines, each row sharing a single bit-line among the plurality of bit-cells in that row.
1. An apparatus comprising:
a first select-line;
a second select-line;
a bit-line;
a first bit-cell including a resistive memory element and a transistor, the first bit-cell coupled to the first select-line and the bit-line;
a buffer with an input coupled to the first select-line and an output coupled to the second select-line, the buffer to regenerate a signal from the first select-line to the second select-line; and
a second bit-cell including a resistive memory element and a transistor, the second bit-cell coupled to the second select-line and the bit-line.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first bit-cell includes:
a first terminal coupled to the bit-line;
a second terminal coupled to the first select-line; and
a third terminal coupled to a word-line.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second bit-cell includes:
a first terminal coupled to the bit-line;
a second terminal coupled to the second select-line; and
a third terminal coupled to a word-line.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the resistive memory elements of the first and second bit-cells includes an MTJ device with one its terminals coupled to the bit-line.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the bit-line is a continuous bit-line that couples to the first and second bit-cells.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the buffer comprises:
a first inverter with an input coupled to the first select-line; and
a second inverter with an input coupled to an output of the first inverter, the second inverter coupled to the second select-line.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first and second select-lines and the bit-line extend in a direction which are parallel to one another.
8. A system comprising:
a memory;
a processor coupled to the memory, the processor including another memory which comprises:
a first select-line;
a second select-line;
a bit-line;
a first bit-cell including a resistive memory element and a transistor, the first bit-cell coupled to the first select-line and the bit-line;
a buffer with an input coupled to the first select-line and an output coupled to the second select-line, the buffer to regenerate a signal from the first select-line to the second select-line; and
a second bit-cell including a resistive memory element and a transistor, the second bit-cell coupled to the second select-line and the bit-line; and
a wireless interface for allowing the processor to communicate with another device.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the first bit-cell includes:
a first terminal coupled to the bit-line;
a second terminal coupled to the first select-line; and
a third terminal coupled to a word-line.
10. A method comprising:
forming rows of bit-lines;
forming rows of a plurality of select-lines, each row having multiple select-lines from the plurality of select-lines;
forming a plurality of resistive memory element based bit-cells, respective ones of the respective memory element based bit-cells in a same row being coupled to one of the rows of bit-lines and one of the multiple select-lines of the same row; and
forming a plurality of buffers, each buffer coupled to respective multiple select-lines of a same row, the buffers comprising respective circuits to regenerate respective signals from a respective first of the multiple select-lines of a same row to a respective second of the multiple select lines of a same row.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein each of the rows of bit-lines is a continuous bit-line extending in a first direction.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein each of the plurality of select-lines extends in the first direction.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein contacts to the plurality of buffers are placed in a diagonal position in an array of plurality of resistive memory element based bit-cells.
14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of resistive memory element based bit-cells is a plurality of MTJ based bit-cells.