Analog Workshop 2023

Single Event Error: A Must-Addressed Challenge for RRAM-Based Space Applications

The resistive random-access memory (RRAM), a metal-ion-based emerging non-volatile memory, is a potential candidate to replace the conventional charge-based memories in the space application because the RRAM’s memory state is intrinsically less sensitive to space radiation. However, the total ionizing dose (TID) and single-event errors (SEE) can still be observed in a one-transistor-one-RRAM (1T1R) memory cell because the access transistor still suffers from the injection of cosmic rays and energic particles. Although the TID effect on the access transistors can be eliminated using enclosed layout transistors (ELT), volatile and non-volatile single-event upset (SEU), as types of SEEs, change temporally or permanently the memory state of 1T1R, respectively. In order to predict the functionalities of the 1T1R array in a radiation environment, comprehensive modeling of the SEEs on 1T1R read/write circuits are highly required and enables a proper radiation-hardening circuit design. This presentation aims to overview the memory issues in a radiation environment, explains modeling methods for SEEs to verify the robustness of the memory cell to SEE, and discusses recent radiation-hardening techniques for the design of a high-reliability memory cell to mitigate SEE errors. This presentation aims to point out the current research gap for the radiation-hardening RRAM cell design and discuss our research direction in this field.