Communications of the ACM
Battery and Memory Device in One
In a resistive storage (ReRAM) cell, an electric voltage is built up between the two electrodes so the storage cells can be regarded as tiny batteries.
Credit: Julich Aachen Research Alliance
Resistive memory cells (ReRAM) will dramatically reduce the energy consumption of modern information technology systems while significantly increasing their performance. These novel memory cells are not purely passive components, like the building blocks of conventional hard disk drives and memories, but rather they should be regarded as tiny batteries, according to Julich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) researchers.
The researchers have been able to determine the battery voltage of typical representatives of ReRAM cells and compared them with theoretical values, revealing other properties that were previously unknown or inaccessible. "During the nine-month review process of the paper now published we had to do a lot of persuading, since the battery voltage in ReRAM cells can have three different basic causes, and the assignment of the correct cause is anything but trivial," says JARA researcher Ilia Valov.
The new finding is important for the theoretical description of the memory components. "In the light of this new knowledge, it is possible to specifically optimize the design of the ReRAM cells, and it may be possible to discover new ways of exploiting the cells’ battery voltage for completely new applications, which were previously beyond the reach of technical possibilities," says JARA professor Rainer Waser.
From Julich Research Center
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Abstracts Copyright © 2013 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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