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Description
There is an ever growing need for larger memories which are reliable and fast. New technologies to implement non-volatile memories which are large, fast, compact and cost-efficient are being studied extensively. One of the most promising technologies being developed is the resistive RAM (ReRAM). In ReRAM the resistance of the

There is an ever growing need for larger memories which are reliable and fast. New technologies to implement non-volatile memories which are large, fast, compact and cost-efficient are being studied extensively. One of the most promising technologies being developed is the resistive RAM (ReRAM). In ReRAM the resistance of the device varies with the voltage applied across it. Programmable metallization cells (PMC) is one of the devices belonging to this category of non-volatile memories.

In order to advance the development of these devices, there is a need to develop simulation models which replicate the behavior of these devices in circuits. In this thesis, a verilogA model for the PMC has been developed. The behavior of the model has been tested using DC and transient simulations. Experimental data obtained from testing PMC devices fabricated at Arizona State University have been compared to results obtained from simulation.

A basic memory cell known as the 1T 1R cell built using the PMC has also been simulated and verified. These memory cells have the potential to be building blocks of large scale memories. I believe that the verilogA model developed in this thesis will prove to be a powerful tool for researchers and circuit developers looking to develop non-volatile memories using alternative technologies.
ContributorsBharadwaj, Vineeth (Author) / Barnaby, Hugh (Thesis advisor) / Kozicki, Michael (Committee member) / Mikkola, Esko (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
Nonvolatile memory (NVM) technologies have been an integral part of electronic systems for the past 30 years. The ideal non-volatile memory have minimal physical size, energy usage, and cost while having maximal speed, capacity, retention time, and radiation hardness. A promising candidate for next-generation memory is ion-conducting bridging RAM which

Nonvolatile memory (NVM) technologies have been an integral part of electronic systems for the past 30 years. The ideal non-volatile memory have minimal physical size, energy usage, and cost while having maximal speed, capacity, retention time, and radiation hardness. A promising candidate for next-generation memory is ion-conducting bridging RAM which is referred to as programmable metallization cell (PMC), conductive bridge RAM (CBRAM), or electrochemical metallization memory (ECM), which is likely to surpass flash memory in all the ideal memory characteristics. A comprehensive physics-based model is needed to completely understand PMC operation and assist in design optimization.

To advance the PMC modeling effort, this thesis presents a precise physical model parameterizing materials associated with both ion-rich and ion-poor layers of the PMC's solid electrolyte, so that captures the static electrical behavior of the PMC in both its low-resistance on-state (LRS) and high resistance off-state (HRS). The experimental data is measured from a chalcogenide glass PMC designed and manufactured at ASU. The static on- and off-state resistance of a PMC device composed of a layered (Ag-rich/Ag-poor) Ge30Se70 ChG film is characterized and modeled using three dimensional simulation code written in Silvaco Atlas finite element analysis software. Calibrating the model to experimental data enables the extraction of device parameters such as material bandgaps, workfunctions, density of states, carrier mobilities, dielectric constants, and affinities.

The sensitivity of our modeled PMC to the variation of its prominent achieved material parameters is examined on the HRS and LRS impedance behavior.

The obtained accurate set of material parameters for both Ag-rich and Ag-poor ChG systems and process variation verification on electrical characteristics enables greater fidelity in PMC device simulation, which significantly enhances our ability to understand the underlying physics of ChG-based resistive switching memory.
ContributorsRajabi, Saba (Author) / Barnaby, Hugh (Thesis advisor) / Kozicki, Michael (Committee member) / Vasileska, Dragica (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
Non-volatile memory (NVM) has become a staple in the everyday life of consumers. NVM manifests inside cell phones, laptops, and most recently, wearable tech such as smart watches. NAND Flash has been an excellent solution to conditions requiring fast, compact NVM. Current technology nodes are nearing the physical limits of

Non-volatile memory (NVM) has become a staple in the everyday life of consumers. NVM manifests inside cell phones, laptops, and most recently, wearable tech such as smart watches. NAND Flash has been an excellent solution to conditions requiring fast, compact NVM. Current technology nodes are nearing the physical limits of scaling, preventing flash from improving. To combat the limitations of flash and to appease consumer demand for progressively faster and denser NVM, new technologies are needed. One possible candidate for the replacement of NAND Flash is programmable metallization cells (PMC). PMC are a type of resistive memory, meaning that they do not rely on charge storage to maintain a logic state. Depending on their application, it is possible that devices containing NVM will be exposed to harsh radiation environments. As part of the process for developing a novel memory technology, it is important to characterize the effects irradiation has on the functionality of the devices.

This thesis characterizes the effects that ionizing γ-ray irradiation has on the retention of the programmed resistive state of a PMC. The PMC devices tested used Ge30Se70 doped with Ag as the solid electrolyte layer and were fabricated by the thesis author in a Class 100 clean room. Individual device tiles were wire bonded into ceramic packages and tested in a biased and floating contact scenario.

The first scenario presented shows that PMC devices are capable of retaining their programmed state up to the maximum exposed total ionizing dose (TID) of 3.1 Mrad(Si). In this first scenario, the contacts of the PMC devices were left floating during exposure. The second scenario tested shows that the PMC devices are capable of retaining their state until the maximum TID of 10.1 Mrad(Si) was reached. The contacts in the second scenario were biased, with a 50 mV read voltage applied to the anode contact. Analysis of the results show that Ge30Se70 PMC are ionizing radiation tolerant and can retain a programmed state to a higher TID than NAND Flash memory.
ContributorsTaggart, Jennifer Lynn (Author) / Barnaby, Hugh (Thesis advisor) / Kozicki, Michael (Committee member) / Holbert, Keith E. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
The Built-In Self-Test for Simultaneous Transmit and Receive (BIST for STAR) will be able to solve the challenges of transmitting and receiving at the same time at the same frequency. One of the major components is the STAR antenna which transmits and receives along the same pathway. The main problem

The Built-In Self-Test for Simultaneous Transmit and Receive (BIST for STAR) will be able to solve the challenges of transmitting and receiving at the same time at the same frequency. One of the major components is the STAR antenna which transmits and receives along the same pathway. The main problem with doing both on the same path is that the transmit signal is usually much stronger in power compared to the received signal. The transmit signal has echoes and leakages that cause self-interference, preventing the received signal from being properly obtained. The solution developed in this project is the BIST component, which will help calculate the functional gain and phase offset of the interference signal and subtract it from the pathway so that the received signal remains. The functions of the proposed circuit board can be modeled in Matlab, where an emulation code generates a random, realistic functional gain and delay for the interference. From the generated values, the BIST for STAR was simulated to output what the measurements would be given the strength of the input signal and a controlled delay. The original Matlab code models an ideal environment directly recalculating the functional gain and phase from the given measurements in a second Matlab script. The actual product will not be ideal; a possible source of error to be considered is the effect of thermal noise. To observe the effect of noise on the BIST for STAR's performance, the Matlab code was expanded upon to include a component for thermal noise, and a method of analyzing the results of the board.
ContributorsLiu, Jennifer Yuan (Author) / Ozev, Sule (Thesis director) / Kozicki, Michael (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Description
The capstone portion of this project was to use the established STaR antennas and add a Built in Self-Test system to ensure the quality of the signals being received. This part of the project required a MatLab simulation to be built, a layout created, and a PCB designed for fabrication.

The capstone portion of this project was to use the established STaR antennas and add a Built in Self-Test system to ensure the quality of the signals being received. This part of the project required a MatLab simulation to be built, a layout created, and a PCB designed for fabrication. In theory, the test BiST unit will allow the gain and delay of the transmitted signal and then cancel out unneeded interference for the received signal. However, this design required multiple paths to maintain the same lengths to keep the signals in phase for comparison. The purpose of this thesis is to show the potential drop-offs of the quality of the signals from being out of phase due to the wires that should be similar, being off by a certain percentage. This project will calculate the theoretical delay of all wires being out of sync and then add this delay to the established MatLab simulation. This report will show the relationship between the error of the received variables and what the actual generated values. And, the last part of the document will demonstrate the simulation by creating a signal and comparing it to its received counterpart. The end result of the study showed that the percent error between what is seen and what is expected is near insignificant and, hence, not an issue with regards to the quality of the project.
ContributorsSomers, Tyler Scott (Author) / Ozev, Sule (Thesis director) / Kozicki, Michael (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Description
The purpose of the Simultaneous Transmit and Receive Antenna project is to design a test circuit that will allow us to use an antenna to both send out and receive a signal at the same time on the same frequency. The test circuit will generate DC voltage levels that we

The purpose of the Simultaneous Transmit and Receive Antenna project is to design a test circuit that will allow us to use an antenna to both send out and receive a signal at the same time on the same frequency. The test circuit will generate DC voltage levels that we can use to solve for the gain and delay of the transmit interference, so we will then be able to cancel out the unwanted signal from the received signal. With a theoretically perfect setup, the transmitted signal will be able to be completely isolated from the received signal, leaving us with only what we want at the output. In practice, however, this is not the case. There are many variables that will affect the integrity of the DC output of the test signal. As the output voltage level deviates from its theoretical perfect measurement, the precision to which we are able to solve for the gain and delay values decreases. The focus of this study is to estimate the effect of using a digital measurement tool to measure the output of the test circuit. Assuming a voltmeter with 1 volt full range, simulations were run using measurements stored at different bit resolutions, from 8-bit storage up to 16-bit storage. Since the physical hardware for the Simultaneous Transmit and Receive test circuit is not currently available, these tests were performed with an edited version of the Matlab simulation created for the Senior Design project. The simulation was run 2000 times over each bit resolution to get a wide range of generated values, then the error from each run was analyzed to come to a conclusion on the effect of the digital measurement on the design. The results of these simulations as well as further details of the project and testing are described inside this document.
ContributorsKral, Brandon Michael (Author) / Ozev, Sule (Thesis director) / Kozicki, Michael (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Description

This is a test plan document for Team Aegis' capstone project that has the goal of mitigating single event upsets in NAND flash memory caused by space radiation.

ContributorsForman, Oliver Ethan (Co-author) / Smith, Aiden (Co-author) / Salls, Demetra (Co-author) / Kozicki, Michael (Thesis director) / Hodge, Chris (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05