Understanding the switching mechanism of interfacial phase change memory

Okabe, Kye L.; Sood, Aditya; Yalon, Eilam; Neumann, Christopher M.; Asheghi, Mehdi; Pop, Eric; Goodson, Kenneth E.; Wong, H. -S.  Philip

doi:10.1063/1.5093907

Understanding the switching mechanism of interfacial phase change memory

Journal Article · Mon May 13 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5093907· OSTI ID:1532494

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[1]; ^[1]; Asheghi, Mehdi ^[3]; ^[4]; Goodson, Kenneth E. ^[5]; ^[1]

Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering; Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering; Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering

Phase Change Memory (PCM) is a top candidate for next generation data storage, but it typically suffers from high switching (RESET) current density (20–30 MA/cm²). Interfacial Phase Change Memory (IPCM) is a type of PCM using multilayers of Sb₂Te₃/GeTe, with up to 100× lower reported RESET current compared to the standard Ge₂Sb₂Te₅-based PCM. Several hypotheses involving fundamentally new switching mechanisms have been proposed to explain the low switching current densities, but consensus is lacking. Here, we investigate IPCM switching by analyzing its thermal, electrical, and fabrication dependencies. First, we measure the effective thermal conductivity (~0.4 W m^-1 K^-1) and thermal boundary resistance (~3.4 m² K GW^-1) of Sb₂Te₃/GeTe multilayers. Simulations show that IPCM thermal properties account only for an ~13% reduction of current vs standard PCM and cannot explain previously reported results. Interestingly, electrical measurements reveal that our IPCM RESET indeed occurs by a melt-quench process, similar to PCM. Finally, we find that high deposition temperature causes defects including surface roughness and voids within the multilayer films. Thus, the substantial RESET current reduction of IPCM appears to be caused by voids within the multilayers, which migrate to the bottom electrode interface by thermophoresis, reducing the effective contact area. These results shed light on the IPCM switching mechanism, indicating that an improved control of layer deposition is necessary to obtain reliable switching.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-76SF00515

OSTI ID:: 1532494

Journal Information:: Journal of Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics Journal Issue: 18 Vol. 125; ISSN 0021-8979

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (40)

Ferroelectric Order Control of the Dirac-Semimetal Phase in GeTe-Sb ₂ Te ₃ Superlattices Tominaga, J.; Kolobov, A. V.; Fons, P. Advanced Materials Interfaces, Vol. 1, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.201300027	journal	December 2013
The Design and Application on Interfacial Phase‐Change Memory Tominaga, Junji physica status solidi (RRL) – Rapid Research Letters, Vol. 13, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1002/pssr.201800539	journal	December 2018
Energy-Efficient Phase-Change Memory with Graphene as a Thermal Barrier Ahn, Chiyui; Fong, Scott W.; Kim, Yongsung Nano Letters, Vol. 15, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b02661	journal	September 2015
The Soret Effect Chipman, John Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 48, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1021/ja01421a012	journal	October 1926
Self-Aligned Nanotube–Nanowire Phase Change Memory Xiong, Feng; Bae, Myung-Ho; Dai, Yuan Nano Letters, Vol. 13, Issue 2, p. 464-469 https://doi.org/10.1021/nl3038097	journal	January 2013
Ultrafast Characterization of Phase-Change Material Crystallization Properties in the Melt-Quenched Amorphous Phase Jeyasingh, Rakesh; Fong, Scott W.; Lee, Jaeho Nano Letters, Vol. 14, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1021/nl500940z	journal	May 2014
The Soret Effect Tanner, C. C. Nature, Vol. 170, Issue 4314 https://doi.org/10.1038/170034a0	journal	July 1952
Interfacial phase-change memory Simpson, R. E.; Fons, P.; Kolobov, A. V. Nature Nanotechnology, Vol. 6, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2011.96	journal	July 2011
Equivalent-accuracy accelerated neural-network training using analogue memory Ambrogio, Stefano; Narayanan, Pritish; Tsai, Hsinyu Nature, Vol. 558, Issue 7708 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0180-5	journal	June 2018
Spatially Resolved Thermometry of Resistive Memory Devices Yalon, Eilam; Deshmukh, Sanchit; Muñoz Rojo, Miguel Scientific Reports, Vol. 7, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-14498-3	journal	November 2017
Electrical and optical properties of epitaxial binary and ternary GeTe-Sb2Te3 alloys Boschker, Jos E.; Lü, Xiang; Bragaglia, Valeria Scientific Reports, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-23221-9	journal	April 2018
Mirror-symmetric Magneto-optical Kerr Rotation using Visible Light in [(GeTe)2(Sb2Te3)1]n Topological Superlattices Bang, Do; Awano, Hiroyuki; Tominaga, Junji Scientific Reports, Vol. 4, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep05727	journal	July 2014
Interface formation of two- and three-dimensionally bonded materials in the case of GeTe–Sb ₂ Te ₃ superlattices Momand, Jamo; Wang, Ruining; Boschker, Jos E. Nanoscale, Vol. 7, Issue 45 https://doi.org/10.1039/C5NR04530D	journal	January 2015
Phase change random access memory cell with superlattice-like structure Chong, T. C.; Shi, L. P.; Zhao, R. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 88, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2181191	journal	March 2006
Thermal conductivity of phase-change material Ge2Sb2Te5 Lyeo, Ho-Ki; Cahill, David G.; Lee, Bong-Sub Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 89, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2359354	journal	October 2006
Nanosecond switching in GeTe phase change memory cells Bruns, G.; Merkelbach, P.; Schlockermann, C. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 95, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3191670	journal	July 2009
Electrical-field induced giant magnetoresistivity in (non-magnetic) phase change films Tominaga, Junji; Simpson, Robert E.; Fons, Paul Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 99, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3651275	journal	October 2011
GeTe sequences in superlattice phase change memories and their electrical characteristics Ohyanagi, T.; Kitamura, M.; Araidai, M. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 104, Issue 25 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4886119	journal	June 2014
Thermal conduction in lattice–matched superlattices of InGaAs/InAlAs Sood, Aditya; Rowlette, Jeremy A.; Caneau, Catherine G. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4892575	journal	August 2014
Coherent phonon study of (GeTe) _l (Sb ₂ Te ₃ ) _m interfacial phase change memory materials Makino, Kotaro; Saito, Yuta; Fons, Paul Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4897997	journal	October 2014
Ultra-low switching energy and scaling in electric-field-controlled nanoscale magnetic tunnel junctions with high resistance-area product Grezes, C.; Ebrahimi, F.; Alzate, J. G. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 108, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4939446	journal	January 2016
Anisotropic and inhomogeneous thermal conduction in suspended thin-film polycrystalline diamond Sood, Aditya; Cho, Jungwan; Hobart, Karl D. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 119, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4948335	journal	May 2016
Investigation of switching region in superlattice phase change memories Ohyanagi, T.; Takaura, N. AIP Advances, Vol. 6, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4964729	journal	October 2016
Engineering thermal and electrical interface properties of phase change memory with monolayer MoS ₂ Neumann, Christopher M.; Okabe, Kye L.; Yalon, Eilam Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 114, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5080959	journal	February 2019
Viscosity and Thermal Conductivity of Dry Air in the Gaseous Phase Kadoya, K.; Matsunaga, N.; Nagashima, A. Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data, Vol. 14, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.555744	journal	October 1985
Giant multiferroic effects in topological GeTe-Sb ₂ Te ₃ superlattices Tominaga, Junji; Kolobov, Alexander V.; Fons, Paul J. Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, Vol. 16, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/1468-6996/16/1/014402	journal	February 2015
Thermal Boundary Resistance Measurements for Phase-Change Memory Devices Reifenberg, J. P.; Panzer, M. A. IEEE Electron Device Letters, Vol. 31, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1109/LED.2009.2035139	journal	January 2010
An Ultra-Low Reset Current Cross-Point Phase Change Memory With Carbon Nanotube Electrodes Liang, Jiale; Jeyasingh, Rakesh Gnana David; Chen, Hong-Yu IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 59, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2012.2184542	journal	April 2012
Low-Energy Robust Neuromorphic Computation Using Synaptic Devices Kuzum, Duygu; Jeyasingh, Rakesh Gnana David; Yu, Shimeng IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 59, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2012.2217146	journal	December 2012
Electrical Resistivity of Liquid $\hbox{Ge}_{2} \hbox{Sb}_{2}\hbox{Te}_{5}$ Based on Thin-Film and Nanoscale Device Measurements Cil, Kadir; Dirisaglik, Faruk; Adnane, Lhacene IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 60, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2012.2228273	journal	January 2013
Crossbar RRAM Arrays: Selector Device Requirements During Write Operation No authors listed IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 61, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2014.2327514	journal	August 2014
Training a Probabilistic Graphical Model With Resistive Switching Electronic Synapses Eryilmaz, Sukru Burc; Neftci, Emre; Joshi, Siddharth IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 63, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2016.2616483	journal	December 2016
Phase-Change Memory—Towards a Storage-Class Memory Fong, Scott W.; Neumann, Christopher M.; Wong, H. -S. Philip IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 64, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2017.2746342	journal	November 2017
Dual-Layer Dielectric Stack for Thermally Isolated Low-Energy Phase-Change Memory Fong, Scott W.; Neumann, Christopher M.; Yalon, Eilam IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 64, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2017.2756071	journal	November 2017
Low-Power Switching of Phase-Change Materials with Carbon Nanotube Electrodes Xiong, F.; Liao, A. D.; Estrada, D. Science, Vol. 332, Issue 6029, p. 568-570 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1201938	journal	March 2011
Mirror-symmetric Magneto-optical Kerr Rotation using Visible Light in [(GeTe)2(Sb2Te3)1]n Topological Superlattices Bang, Do; Awano, Hiroyuki; Tominaga, Junji London : Nature Publishing https://doi.org/10.34657/96	null	January 2014
Electrical and optical properties of epitaxial binary and ternary GeTe-Sb2Te3 alloys Boschker, Jos E.; Lü, Xiang; Bragaglia, Valeria London : Nature Publishing https://doi.org/10.34657/99	other	January 2018
Spatially Resolved Thermometry of Resistive Memory Devices Yalon, Eilam; Deshmukh, Sanchit; Rojo, Miguel Muñoz arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1706.02318	preprint	January 2017
Engineering Thermal and Electrical Interface Properties of Phase Change Memory with Monolayer MoS2 Neumann, Christopher M.; Okabe, Kye L.; Yalon, Eilam arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1903.00602	text	January 2019
Investigation of multi-level-cell and SET operations on super-lattice phase change memories Egami, Toru; Johguchi, Koh; Yamazaki, Senju Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 53, Issue 4S https://doi.org/10.7567/jjap.53.04ED02	journal	January 2014

Cited By (1)

Disordering process of GeSb ₂ Te ₄ induced by ion irradiation Mio, A. M.; Privitera, S. M. S.; Zimbone, M. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 53, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ab642d	journal	January 2020

Similar Records

Coherent phonon study of (GeTe){sub l}(Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3}){sub m} interfacial phase change memory materials

Journal Article · Mon Oct 13 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Applied Physics Letters · OSTI ID:22350889

GeTe sequences in superlattice phase change memories and their electrical characteristics

Journal Article · Mon Jun 23 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Applied Physics Letters · OSTI ID:22303855

Hierarchically Self-Assembled Block Copolymer Blends for Templating Hollow Phase-Change Nanostructures with an Extremely Low Switching Current

Journal Article · Mon Mar 16 20:00:00 EDT 2015 · Chemistry of Materials · OSTI ID:1357004

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS

Understanding the switching mechanism of interfacial phase change memory

Citation Formats

References (40)

Cited By (1)

Similar Records

Related Subjects