Bit error rate engineering for spin-transfer-torque MRAM

Probabilistic nature of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) poses a new type reliability challenges for spin-transfer-torque MRAM (STT-MRAM). Switching current and thermal barrier need to be co-optimized to control bit error rate margins of STT-MRAM. This requires deeper understanding about thermal disturbance and soft write errors of MTJ devices. In this tutorial, we review basic mechanisms that govern the bit error rates of STT-MRAM and discuss the effect of the probabilistic nature of MTJ devices on STT-MRAM reliability engineering.