Emerging memories

In phase-change memory (PCM), how is a cell put into the high-resistance amorphous state (reset)?

  1. ABy applying a magnetic field to reverse the magnetization
  2. BBy heating it above the melting point with a large current pulse and then quenching it
  3. CBy holding it near the crystallization temperature for a long time
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Answer: B. By heating it above the melting point with a large current pulse and then quenching it

Reset melts the material by heating it above the melting point with a large current pulse and cools it immediately, leaving it in the amorphous state without crystallizing. Set (lowering the resistance), by contrast, heats it above the crystallization temperature but below the melting point for a certain time to crystallize it.

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  1. What is the main application expected for in-memory computing using resistive memories and similar devices?
  2. Which correctly describes reading in capacitor-type FeRAM?
  3. Which material is widely used as the tunnel barrier in MRAM magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) and gives a large tunnel magnetoresistance ratio?
  4. In ReRAM, what is the initialization step called in which a relatively high voltage is first applied to form a conductive filament?
  5. Which is a characteristic of SOT-MRAM?