In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy Observation of Nanostructural Changes in Phase-Change Memory
Type
ArticleKAUST Grant Number
KUS-I1-001-12Date
2011-03-28Online Publication Date
2011-03-28Print Publication Date
2011-04-26Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/598598
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Phase-change memory (PCM) has been researched extensively as a promising alternative to flash memory. Important studies have focused on its scalability, switching speed, endurance, and new materials. Still, reliability issues and inconsistent switching in PCM devices motivate the need to further study its fundamental properties. However, many investigations treat PCM cells as black boxes; nanostructural changes inside the devices remain hidden. Here, using in situ transmission electron microscopy, we observe real-time nanostructural changes in lateral Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) PCM bridges during switching. We find that PCM devices with similar resistances can exhibit distinct threshold switching behaviors due to the different initial distribution of nanocrystalline and amorphous domains, explaining variability of switching behaviors of PCM cells in the literature. Our findings show a direct correlation between nanostructure and switching behavior, providing important guidelines in the design and operation of future PCM devices with improved endurance and lower variability. © 2011 American Chemical Society.Citation
Meister S, Kim S, Cha JJ, Wong H-SP, Cui Y (2011) In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy Observation of Nanostructural Changes in Phase-Change Memory . ACS Nano 5: 2742–2748. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nn1031356.Sponsors
Y.C. acknowledges the support from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Investigator Award (No. KUS-I1-001-12) and from the Stanford Nonvolatile Memory Technology Research Initiative.Publisher
American Chemical Society (ACS)Journal
ACS NanoPubMed ID
21425849ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1021/nn1031356
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