Thermally assisted MRAM

Magnetic random access memories ( MRAMs) are a new non-volatile memory technology trying establish itself as a mainstream technology. MRAM cell operation using a thermally assisted writing scheme ( TA-MRAM) is described in this review as well as its main design challenges. This approach is compared to conventional MRAM, highlighting the improvements in write selectivity, power consumption and thermal stability. The TA-MRAM writing was tested and validated in the dynamic regime down to 500 ps write pulses. The heating process was investigated for the influence of the voltage pulse width, junction area and lead volume looking at the required write power density. The possibilities to control and reduce the write power density are described. The most promising solution to optimize the heating process and reduce the power consumption is to insert two thermal barrier layers at both ends of the MTJ layer stack, between the junction and the electrical leads, using low thermal conductivity materials. This minimizes the heating losses and improves the heating efficiency.