Variability of resistive switching memories and its impact on crossbar array performance

Metal oxide based resistive switching memories (also known as RRAM for Resistive Random Access Memory) often show large variability, due to the stochastic nature of the switching process. This paper discusses the variability of key RRAM parameters with the focus on the resistance variation. The dependence of resistance variation on operation conditions is analyzed, using Cu₂O-based RRAM as an example. The impact of device variability on the sensing margin of crossbar RRAM arrays is studied by statistical modeling. The variability of the selected device contributes more to the signal degradation in crossbar arrays than the variability of unselected devices.