Hardware emulation of phase change memory

Abstract

Phase-change memory technology is emerging as a two-folded concept, as a universal non-volatile memory and in non-von Neumann computing systems. A major challenge concerning this technology is the reliable retrieval of the stored information, since noise and time-dependent resistance drift affect the initially stored value. Designing and experimenting with PCM technology at a large scale requires the development of a fast and accurate emulator that can be used in high performance computing systems for fast prototyping of new computing concepts. In this work, we present the basic unit of such a hardware emulator and the architecture of a tool that can be used to accurately emulate the memory characteristics.