Design of a Reliable Current Sense Amplifier with Dynamic Reference for Resistive Memory
Byung-Kwon An, Xueyong Zhang, Anh Tuan Do, Tony Tae-Hyoung Kim · JSTS Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science · 2024
Resistive random-access memory (RRAM) is a promising emerging non-volatile memory because it offers high density, low power, low cost, and large R-ratios (RHRS / RLRS). However, the sensing margin of RRAM is significantly degraded because of RRAM resistance variations and R-ratio degradation over usage. To overcome these challenges, this work proposes a reliable current sense amplifier assisted with dynamic reference (DR-CSA) to improve the sensing margin and robustness. The proposed sensing circuit detects a small voltage change through capacitive coupling and adjusts the reference current depending on the cell states (RHRS, RLRS) for sensing margin enhancement. It also reduces sensing delay and energy by up to 53% and 32%, respectively, compared with the conventional CSA. Also, the sensing speed is improved by 2.3x, 2.1x, and 1.9x compared to other current sensing schemes.