Method and Apparatus for Increasing the Reliability of an Access Transistor Coupled to a Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ)

摘要

A method is disclosed for writing a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) of a magnetic memory array by switching a magnetic orientation associated with the MTJ from anti-parallel to parallel magnetic orientation. One end of the MTJ is coupled to a bit line while the opposite end of the MTJ is coupled to one end of an access transistor. The method includes the steps of applying a gate voltage that is approximately a sum of a first voltage and a second voltage to a gate of the access transistor with the second voltage being less than the first voltage; raising the bit line to the first voltage; and applying the second voltage to the opposite end of the access transistor to program the MTJ while maintaining a voltage difference between the gate and the one end of the access transistor to be less than or equal to the first voltage.

主权项

1. A method of writing to a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) of a magnetic memory array by switching a magnetic orientation associated with the MTJ from an anti-parallel to a parallel magnetic orientation, one end of the MTJ being coupled to a bit line and the opposite end of the MTJ being coupled to one of a source and a drain of an access transistor, the method comprising the steps of:
applying a gate voltage that is approximately a sum of a first voltage and a second voltage to a gate of the access transistor, the second voltage being less than the first voltage; raising the bit line to the first voltage; and applying the second voltage to the other one of the source and the drain of the access transistor to program the MTJ while maintaining a voltage difference between the gate and the one of the source and the drain of the access transistor to be less than or equal to the first voltage.