Non-volatile digital memory including thin film resistors

摘要

A non-volatile digital memory includes: a plurality of thin film resistors; and a control circuit adapted to: program, during a first programming phase, the thin film resistors with a plurality of bits of data by passing a current through at least one of the thin film resistors to reduce its resistance; and read, during a restoration phase, the plurality of bits of data stored by the thin film resistors by generating an electrical signal associated with each thin film resistor and comparing each electrical signal with a reference signal.

主权项

1. A non-volatile digital memory comprising:
a plurality of thin film resistors; a control circuit adapted to:
program, during a first programming phase, said thin film resistors with a plurality of bits of data by passing a current through at least one of said thin film resistors and reducing a resistance of the at least one of said thin film resistors; andread, during a restoration phase, the plurality of bits of data stored by the thin film resistors by generating electrical signals associated respectively with the thin film resistors and comparing each electrical signal with a reference signal; and a reference circuit configured to generate the reference signal, the reference circuit including a reference thin film resistor having a resistance between an initial resistance of the at least one thin film resistor and a reduced resistance of the at least one thin film resistor after being programmed, wherein the control circuit is further adapted, during a second programming phase, to:
program said thin film resistors with a further plurality of bits of data by passing a current through the at least one of the thin film resistors to reduce its resistance to a level lower than said reduced resistance; andreduce the resistance of the reference thin film resistor.