On the write energy of non-volatile resistive crossbar arrays with selectors

Abstract

Crossbar arrays based on non-volatile resistive devices such as resistive RAM and phase change memory have become an important technology due to the applications to memory systems. The energy consumption of integrated circuits has become a primary issue due to thermal constraints in high performance systems and limited battery time in mobile and IoT applications. In this paper, the energy efficiency of a crossbar array of a one-selector-one-resistor (1S1R) configuration during a write operation is explored for the V/2 and V/3 bias schemes. The characteristics that affect the most energy efficient bias scheme are demystified. The write energy of a crossbar array is modeled in terms of the array size, number of selected cells, and the nonlinearity factor. For a specific array size and selector technology, the number of selected cells during a write operation can affect the choice of bias scheme. Moreover, the effect of leakage current due to partially biased unselected cells is explored.