Disclosed herein is a spin-orbit torque device including a lower ferromagnetic layer, a non-magnetic layer bonded to the lower ferromagnetic layer, and an upper ferromagnetic layer bonded to the non-magnetic layer, wherein a magnetization orientation of the lower ferromagnetic layer is randomly distributed. According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a magnetic memory device which cannot be physically duplicated and has reconfigurability using a spin-orbit torque.

A magnetic shielding structure for protecting an MRAM array from adverse switching effects due to external magnetic fields of neighboring devices is provided. The magnetic shielding structure includes a bottom magnetic shield material-containing layer and a top magnetic shield material-containing layer within the MRAM array. The bottom and top magnetic shield material-containing layers can be connected by a vertical magnetic shield containing-material layer that is located near each end of the bottom and top magnetic shield material-containing layers. The bottom magnetic shield material-containing layer is located beneath a MTJ pillar of each MRAM device, but above, bottom electrically conductive structures that are in electrical contact with the MRAM devices. The top magnetic shield material-containing layer is located above the MRAM devices, and is located laterally adjacent to, but not above or below, top electrically conductive structures that are also in electrical contact with the MRAM devices.

Memory devices, systems including memory devices, and methods of operating memory devices and systems are provided, in which at least a subset of a non-volatile memory array is configured to behave as a volatile memory by erasing or degrading data in the event of a changed power condition such as a power-loss event, a power-off event, or a power-on event. In one embodiment of the present technology, a memory device is provided, comprising a non-volatile memory array, and circuitry configured to store one or more addresses of the non-volatile memory array, to detect a changed power condition of the memory device, and to erase or degrade data at the one or more addresses in response to detecting the changed power condition.

A package structure includes an integrated circuit package and a magnetic shielding structure. The integrated circuit package includes a semiconductor chip. The magnetic shielding structure surrounds the integrated circuit package, in which the magnetic shielding structure including a top plate and a bottom plate disposed on two opposite sides of the integrated circuit package.

According to one embodiment, a magnetic storage device includes a nonvolatile magnetic memory including a magnetoresistance effect element capable of storing data. A magnetic sensor is configured to measure the magnitude of an external magnetic field. A controller is configured to detect errors in the data at first time intervals when the measured magnitude of the external magnetic field is less than a threshold value and to detect errors in the data at second time intervals shorter than the first time interval when the measured magnitude of the external magnetic field is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

A reconfigurable PUF device based on fully electric field-controlled domain wall motion includes a voltage control layer, upper electrodes, a lower electrode, antiferromagnetic pinning layers, and a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ). The MTJ includes, from bottom to top, a ferromagnetic reference layer, a potential barrier tunneling layer and a ferromagnetic free layer. In the device, an energy potential well is formed in a middle portion of the ferromagnetic free layer by applying a voltage to the voltage control layer to control magnetic anisotropy, and a current is fed into either of the upper electrodes to drive generation of the magnetic domain walls and pin the magnetic domain walls to the potential well. After the voltage is removed, the potential well is lowered so that the magnetic domain walls are in a metastable state, thereby either a high resistance state or a low resistance state is randomly obtained.

A method for compensating for external magnetic fields in memory devices that includes positioning at least one external magnetic field sensing element adjacent to at least one array of memory cells, wherein a write driver is in electrical communication with at least one external magnetic field sensing element and at least one array of memory cells. The at least one external magnetic field sensing element is monitored for signals indicative of the present of an external magnetic field. The write current to the at least one array of memory cells can be adjusted by trimming the write driver to operate the memory device while compensating for the external magnetic field.

A magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) device is provided. The MRAM device includes a main magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) array comprising a plurality of memory cells configured to store memory data and a reference MTJ array comprising a plurality of reference cells having MTJ structures. The MRAM device further includes a controller operatively associated with the main MTJ array and the reference MTJ array. The controller is configured to receive a gross resistance of the reference MTJ array being related to a strength of an external magnetic field, determine whether the external magnetic field is fatal based on the received gross resistance of the reference MTJ array and a pre-determined threshold, and provide notification indicating that the memory data stored in the main MTJ array is untrustworthy if it is determined that the external magnetic field around the MRAM device is fatal.

In a particular aspect, an apparatus includes a magnetic random access memory (MRAM) cell including a pair of cross coupled inverters including a first inverter and a second inverter. The first inverter includes a first transistor coupled to a first node and a second transistor coupled to the first node. The second inverter includes a third transistor coupled to a second node and a fourth transistor coupled to the second node. The MRAM cell includes a first magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) element coupled to the second transistor and a second MTJ element coupled to the fourth transistor. The apparatus further includes a voltage initialization circuit coupled to the MRAM cell. The voltage initialization circuit is configured to substantially equalize voltages of the first node and the second node in response to an initialization signal.

According to one embodiment, a magnetic storage device includes a nonvolatile magnetic memory including a magnetoresistance effect element capable of storing data. A magnetic sensor is configured to measure the magnitude of an external magnetic field. A controller is configured to detect errors in the data at first time intervals when the measured magnitude of the external magnetic field is less than a threshold value and to detect errors in the data at second time intervals shorter than the first time interval when the measured magnitude of the external magnetic field is equal to or greater than the threshold value.