Phase-change-memory-based storage elements for configurable logic

Back-end-of-line non-volatile resistive memories like Phase Change Memories (PCMs) are promising to solve memory issues in different architectures. In this paper, we investigate the usage of PCM to build an elementary configuration memory node for reconfigurable logic, such as Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). We propose an elementary circuit realized by 2 resistive memories and 1 programming transistor able to store a configuration voltage. We investigate the proposed node in terms of area and write time and we assess its impact on complex circuits. We show that the elementary memory node yields an improvement in area and write time of 1.5x and 16x respectively vs. a regular Flash implementation. Implemented in FPGAs, the memory node yields a delay reduction up to 51%, thanks to the reduction of dimensions and low on-resistance of PCMs.