AVS 52nd International Symposium
    Manufacturing Science and Technology Tuesday Sessions
       Session MS-TuA

Invited Paper MS-TuA1
Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory - Manufacturing Challenges

Tuesday, November 1, 2005, 2:00 pm, Room 207

Session: Advanced Manufacturing Processes for Silicon Devices
Presenter: G.W. Grynkewich, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
Authors: G.W. Grynkewich, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
B. Butcher, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
J. Chan, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
W. Feil, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
G. Kerszykowski, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
K. Kyler, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
J. Martin, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
J. Molla, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
K. Nagel, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
J. Ren, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
K. Smith, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
J.-J. Sun, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
R. Williams, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
Correspondent: Click to Email
Magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) combines a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) with standard silicon-based CMOS to provide a unique combination of high speed read and write, non-volatility, and unlimited read and write endurance.  We have produced the world’s first commercially viable MRAM circuits.  After a brief description of the fundamentals of an MTJ-based MRAM, we will describe the manufacturing challenges associated with the volume production of high performance MRAM parts.  These include:  contamination control, bit patterning, achieving and maintaining uniformity of both very thin magnetic films and the tunnel barrier, formation of cladded programming lines, and processing very thin interlayer dielectrics.