HSPICE macromodel of a Programmable Metallization Cell (PMC) and its application to memory design

This paper presents a new HSPICE macromodel of a Programmable Metallization Cell (PMC). The electrical characteristics of a PMC are simulated by using a geometric model that considers the vertical and lateral growth/dissolution of the metallic filament. The selection of the parameters is based on operational features, so the electrical characterization of the PMC is simple, easy to simulate and intuitive. The I-V and R-V plots of a PMC are generated at a very small error compared with experimental data; the proposed model also shows a small error for the relationship between the switching time and the pulse amplitude. The use of a PMC as resistive element in a crossbar memory is also presented; it is shown that a PMC-based crossbar offers substantial improvements over other resistive technologies.