A resistive memory includes a semiconductor substrate, a dielectric layer, an insulating layer and a metal electrode layer. The semiconductor substrate has a top surface and a recess extending downwards into the semiconductor substrate from the top surface. The dielectric layer is disposed on the semiconductor substrate and has a first through-hole aligning the recess. The insulating layer is disposed in the first through-hole and the recess. The metal electrode layer is disposed on the insulating layer by which the metal electrode layer is isolated from the semiconductor substrate.

Various architectures and layouts for an array of resistive random access memory (RRAM) cells are disclosed. The RRAM cells are organized into rows and columns, with each cell comprising a top electrode, a bottom electrode, and a switching layer. Circuitry is included for improving the reading and writing of the array, including the addition of a plurality of columns of dummy RRAM cells in the array used as a ground source, connecting source lines to multiple pairs of rows of RRAM cells, and the addition of rows of isolation transistors.

The present invention relates to a resistance change memory, that is, a resistive memory device. By forming a bottom electrode from a doped semiconductor different material from a conventional one, it is possible to fabricate the memory device simultaneously with peripheral circuit elements. By having one or more electric field concentration regions in the bottom electrode, it is possible to reduce the power consumption reducing the voltage. The present invention can be also stacked vertically in any small and apply to the synaptic device array recently attracting the great interest as the next generation computing technology for realizing the neural imitation system.

A device including a reduced top RRAM electrode structure, and method of production thereof. Embodiments include a bottom resistive random-access memory (RRAM) electrode structure over a plurality of lower metal level contacts formed laterally separated in a substrate; a resistive switching structure over the bottom RRAM electrode structure; a top RRAM electrode structure over the resistive switching structure; a protective structure over the top RRAM electrode structure; an encapsulation structure over the bottom RRAM electrode structure and on sidewalls of the resistive switching structure, the top RRAM electrode structure and the protective structure; and an Nblock layer over the substrate.

Variable resistance memory devices and methods of forming the same are provided. The variable resistance memory devices may include a substrate including a cell region and a peripheral region, first conductive lines on the substrate, second conductive lines traversing the first conductive lines, variable resistance structures at intersecting points of the first conductive lines and the second conductive lines, and bottom electrodes between the first conductive lines and the variable resistance structures. The cell region may include a boundary region contacting the peripheral region, and one of the first conductive lines is electrically insulated from one of the variable resistance structures that is on the boundary region and overlaps the one of the first conductive lines.

A chalcogenide-based programmable conductor memory device and method of forming the device, wherein a nanoparticle is provided between an electrode and a chalcogenide glass region. The method of forming the nanoparticle utilizes a template over the electrode or random deposition of the nanoparticle.

Electrical contacts may be formed by forming dielectric liners along sidewalls of a dielectric structure, forming sacrificial liners over and transverse to the dielectric liners along sidewalls of a sacrificial structure, selectively removing portions of the dielectric liners at intersections of the dielectric liners and sacrificial liners to form pores, and at least partially filling the pores with a conductive material. Nano-scale pores may be formed by similar methods. Bottom electrodes may be formed and electrical contacts may be structurally and electrically coupled to the bottom electrodes to form memory devices. Nano-scale electrical contacts may have a rectangular cross-section of a first width and a second width, each width less than about 20 nm. Memory devices may include bottom electrodes, electrical contacts having a cross-sectional area less than about 150 nm.sup.2 over and electrically coupled to the bottom electrodes, and a cell material over the electrical contacts.

The present disclosure, in some embodiments, relates to a memory device. The memory device includes a bottom electrode via and a bottom electrode over a top of the bottom electrode via. A data storage layer is over the bottom electrode and a top electrode is over the data storage layer. A top electrode via is on an upper surface of the top electrode and is centered along a first line that is laterally offset from a second line centered upon a bottommost surface of the bottom electrode via. The first line is perpendicular to the upper surface of the top electrode and parallel to the second line.

The present invention discloses a preparation method of a Cu-based resistive random access memory, and a memory. The preparation method includes: performing composition and a chemical combination treatment on a lower copper electrode (10) to generate a compound buffer layer (40), wherein the compound buffer layer (40) is capable of preventing the oxidation of the lower copper electrode (10); depositing a solid electrolyte material (50) on the compound buffer layer (40); and depositing an upper electrode (60) on the solid electrolyte material (50) to form the memory. In the above technical solution, the compound buffer layer (40) capable of preventing the oxidation of the lower copper electrode (10) is inserted between the lower copper electrode (10) and the solid electrolyte material (50) to efficiently prevent the oxidation of the lower copper electrode (10) in a growth process of the solid electrolyte material (50), such that an electrode interface does not become rough due to the oxidation, thereby solving the technical problem of relatively low reliability and yield of the device resulting from the rough electrode interface of the Cu-based resistive random access memory in the prior art, and thus the reliability and the yield of the device are improved.

A memory device may include a bottom electrode, first and second switching elements over the bottom electrode, and first and second top electrodes over the first and second switching elements respectively. The first and second top electrodes may include first and second contact surfaces in contact with the first and second switching elements respectively. The first and second switching elements may each have a resistance configured to switch between resistance values in response to changes in voltages applied between the top electrodes and the bottom electrode. The bottom electrode may include at least one conductive layer having third and fourth contact surfaces in contact with the first and second switching elements respectively. An area of the first contact surface may be greater than an area of the third contact surface, and an area of the second contact surface may be greater than an area of the fourth contact surface.