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edfas.org ELECTRONIC DEVICE FAILURE ANALYSIS | VOLUME 23 NO. 1 44 Contact Information AVS 530.896.0477 events@avs.org avs.org McCrone Associates Inc. 630.887.7100 www.mccrone.com MRS 724.779.3003 mrs.org SEMI CHINA 86.21.6027.8500 semichina@semi.org semiconchina.org/en/54 SEMI EUROPE 49.30.3030.8077 semieurope@semi.org semi.org/eu/technology-week-webinar-series SEMI USA semihq@semi.org semi.org Semicon Korea 82.2.531.7800 semiconkorea@semi.org semiconkorea.org/en Semitracks Inc. 505.858.0454 info@semitracks.com semitracks.com SMTA 952.920.7682 smta@smta.org smta.org EVENT DATE LOCATION Women in Semiconductors 5/3 Virtual Event Contact: SEMI USA May 2021 Check organizers' websites below for the most up-to-date information, in light of COVID-19. EVENT DATE LOCATION Polarized Light Microscopy 5/10-14 Westmont, IL Contact: McCrone Associates May 2021 (cont'd) GUEST EDITORIAL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 volume, not only area or thickness. Functionality is affected by crystal domains in the materials, similar to poly or Cu metal, except domains are more critical to functionality in MRAM. • New materials: The number of layers, thicknesses, and composition of MRAM stacks are closely guarded IP, but it is clear that new materials are needed in MRAM, including manganese, tellurium, rubidium, among others. The mixing and lattice matching between layers will need to be resolved, as will be the percentage of volume of layers that have received damage that affects their efficiency – from the stack etch, for example. • New techniques: There are many different param- eters required to characterize fails in an MRAM, many of them of a magnetic, rather than more normal electrostatic, nature. The energy barrier (Eb) – also known as delta – between polarizations; tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR); the memory window; satu- ration magnetization (M s ); critical switching current (I c0 ); and the resistance in the parallel state (R min or R p ), among others. And there are unique parasitic effects to characterize, such as voltage controlled magnetic anisotropy (V CMA ). • New equipment: Already seen in wafer electrical and functional tests, one must incorporate magnetic sources, with a magnet that can deliver on the order of 5,000 Oe in their characterization tools. In addi- tion, there are tools specially designed to measure particular parameters, for example Kerr field, as well as more common parameters. The potential of MRAM in eNVMs is great. It allows a shrink path for products that require non volatility beyond the 28 nm node. It provides the option of a specialized memory at a fraction of the area of traditional working memory like static memory (SRAM), especially if speeds can be improved to the >100 MHz clock, densities can be pushed to >20 Mb/mm 2 , and endurance improved. To support such an expansion of MRAM’s capabilities will require new techniques in both characterization and failure analysis beyond what exists today.