Origin of resistivity contrast in interfacial phase-change memory: The crucial role of Ge/Sb intermixing

被引：39

作者：

Saito, Yuta ^{[1
,2
]}

Kolobov, Alexander V. ^{[1
,3
]}

Fons, Paul ^{[1
]}

Mitrofanov, Kirill V. ^{[1
]}

Makino, Kotaro ^{[1
]}

Tominaga, Junji ^{[1
]}

Robertson, John ^{[2
]}

机构：

[1] Natl Inst Adv Ind Sci & Technol, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 3058565, Japan

[2] Univ Cambridge, Dept Engn, Cambridge CB3 0FA, England

[3] Herzen State Pedag Univ, Fac Phys, St Petersburg 191186, Russia

来源：

APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS | 2019年 / 114卷 / 13期

关键词：

DYNAMIC RECONFIGURATION; THIN-FILMS; TRANSITIONS; MECHANISM; GROWTH;

D O I：

10.1063/1.5088068

中图分类号：

O59 [应用物理学];

学科分类号：

摘要：

Phase-change memories based on reversible amorphous-crystal transformations in pseudobinary GeTe-Sb2Te3 alloys are one of the most promising nonvolatile memory technologies. The recently proposed superlattice-based memory, or interfacial phase-change memory (iPCM), is characterized by significantly faster switching, lower energy consumption, and better endurance. The switching mechanism in iPCM, where both the SET and RESET states are crystalline, is still contentious. Here, using the ab initio density functional theory simulations, a conceptually new switching mechanism for iPCM is derived, which is based on the change in the potential landscape of the bandgap, associated with local deviations from the pseudobinary stoichiometry across the van der Waals gaps and the associated shift of the Fermi level. The crucial role in this process belongs to Ge/Sb intermixing on the cation planes of iPCM. These findings offer a comprehensive understanding of the switching mechanisms in iPCM and are an essential step forward to the insightful development of phase-change memory technology. Published under license by AIP Publishing.

引用

页数：5

共 54 条

[21] Dynamic reconfiguration of van der Waals gaps within GeTe-Sb2Te3 based superlattices [J].