Field of Invention
The disclosure relates to memory architecture, particularly to non-volatile memory architecture and a related circuit thereof.
Description of Related Art
The memory is an important constitute component of the electronic computer, and with the varying of application situations, various different memory architectures have been developed. The memory architecture is for example a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a static random-access memory (SRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory and the like.
The ROM and the flash memory pertain to the non-volatile memory which can record the data stored therein after a device is powered down. Generally, the aforementioned two non-volatile memories are relatively stable and power-saving for data storage, but cannot be overwritten easily and have relatively slow writing and reading speeds.
The volatile memory, such as the DRAM and the SRAM, is usually used as a main memory used together with a processor due to its relatively fast reading and writing speed. The DRAM has advantages of simple structure (only requiring a transistor and a capacitor), high storage density and low cost per cell capacity. In practice, the capacitance of the DRAM is often charged periodically, which results in a disadvantage of large power consumption.
Compared to DRAM, the data stored in SRAM can be remained constantly as long as the SRAM is powered on, without requiring a periodic charging of the capacitor. Furthermore, the SRAM generally has relatively faster reading and writing speeds (faster than the DRAM). However, in general, the architecture of SRAM generally needs six (or more) transistors to store one byte data, which requires higher manufacturing cost and occupies relatively large circuit space. Furthermore, when the power supply is cut off, the data stored in a conventional SRAM will still disappear.
As mobile devices getting thinning and lightening, the space on an electronic device is extremely limited, and the power consumption problem of the elements gains more attention. Therefore, there is a need of an appropriate memory capable of providing higher data stability, lower power consumption, a simple structure, and faster reading and writing speed.