Understanding the Physical Mechanism of RowPress at the Device-Level in Sub-20 nm DRAM.

In this work, we investigated the RowPress (RP) effect at the device-level for sub-20 nm DRAM. Utilizing 3D TCAD simulations, single-and double-sided RP are studied and compared with row hammer (RH) results. The distinct leakage mechanisms of RP are identified, illuminating its different cell vulnerability in contrast to RH. AWL-induced RP results in “0” failure, whereas PWL-induced RP leads to “1” failure, demonstrating different bit-flip directionality from RH. Furthermore, differences in the dependences on temperature and access pattern between RH and RP are highlighted, and the underlying mechanisms are analyzed.