NONVOLATILE REWRITEABLE MEMORY CELL COMPRISING A RESISTIVITY- SWITCHING OXIDE OR NITRIDE AND AN ANTIFUSE

摘要

A memory cell is described, the memory cell comprising a dielectric rupture antifuse and a layer of a resistivity-switching material arranged electrically in series, wherein the resistivity-switching material is a metal oxide or nitride compound, the compound including exactly one metal. The dielectric rupture antifuse is ruptured in a preconditioning step, forming a rupture region through the antifuse. The rupture region provides a narrow conductive path, serving to limit current to the resistivity-switching material, and improving control when the resistivity-switching layer is switched between higher- and lower-resistivity states.