1T2R: A Novel Memory Cell Design to Resolve Single-Event Upset in RRAM Arrays

RRAM-based memories provide non-volatile and scalable data storage in advanced technologies. RRAM device, as a non-charge-based device, is intrinsically immune to radiation effects which promotes its usage in applications subject to high radiations such as space, aircraft, and medical devices. Yet, the half-select cells in the 1T1R array suffer from multiple- and single-events upset resulting from the collection of charged heavy ions on the junction of the MOS access device of the memory cell. In this paper, we propose a novel methodology for detecting and correcting single-event upset in 1T1R RRAM memory array by adding an extra biased RRAM device. Our simulation results on 8Gb HfOx RRAM arrays demonstrate that the proposed technique can detect and fix the soft errors induced by the heavy ion strikes with a minor increase in the energy consumption of the read and write operations of 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.