Measurement method for transient programming current of 1T1R phase-change memory

This paper presents a measurement method for 1 transistor-1 resistance (1T1R), phase-change memory (PCM) devices. We fabricated a novel PCM test structure with an internal voltage measurement point, and we monitored the voltage drop between 1T and 1R. The voltage drop was accurately converted to the PCM programming current. This test structure enabled us to measure programming current of less than 100/spl mu/A with a width of 100ns. This method is essential for measuring the low-power operation of PCMs and other nonvolatile memories.