Phase-change materials are some of the most promising materials for data-storage applications. They are already used in rewriteable optical data storage and offer great potential as an emerging non-volatile electronic memory. This review looks at the unique property combination that characterizes phase-change materials. The crystalline state often shows an octahedral-like atomic arrangement, frequently accompanied by pronounced lattice distortions and huge vacancy concentrations. This can be attributed to the chemical bonding in phase-change alloys, which is promoted by p-orbitals. From this insight, phase-change alloys with desired properties can be designed. This is demonstrated for the optical properties of phase-change alloys, in particular the contrast between the amorphous and crystalline states. The origin of the fast crystallization kinetics is also discussed.

Phase-change materials for rewriteable data storage

In this paper, recent progress of phase change memory (PCM) is reviewed. The electrical and thermal properties of phase change materials are surveyed with a focus on the scalability of the materials and their impact on device design. Innovations in the device structure, memory cell selector, and strategies for achieving multibit operation and 3-D, multilayer high-density memory arrays are described. The scaling properties of PCM are illustrated with recent experimental results using special device test structures and novel material synthesis. Factors affecting the reliability of PCM are discussed.

Phase Change Memory

Nonvolatile RAM using resistance contrast in phase-change materials [or phase-change RAM (PCRAM)] is a promising technology for future storage-class memory. However, such a technology can succeed only if it can scale smaller in size, given the increasingly tiny memory cells that are projected for future technology nodes (i.e., generations). We first discuss the critical aspects that may affect the scaling of PCRAM, including materials properties, power consumption during programming and read operations, thermal cross-talk between memory cells, and failure mechanisms. We then discuss experiments that directly address the scaling properties of the phase-change materials themselves, including studies of phase transitions in both nanoparticles and ultrathin films as a function of particle size and film thickness. This work in materials directly motivated the successful creation of a series of prototype PCRAM devices, which have been fabricated and tested at phase-change material cross-sections with extremely small dimensions as low as 3 nm × 20 nm. These device measurements provide a clear demonstration of the excellent scaling potential offered by this technology, and they are also consistent with the scaling behavior predicted by extensive device simulations. Finally, we discuss issues of device integration and cell design, manufacturability, and reliability.

Phase-change random access memory: a scalable technology

The authors survey the current state of phase change memory (PCM), a nonvolatile solid-state memory technology built around the large electrical contrast between the highly resistive amorphous and highly conductive crystalline states in so-called phase change materials. PCM technology has made rapid progress in a short time, having passed older technologies in terms of both sophisticated demonstrations of scaling to small device dimensions, as well as integrated large-array demonstrators with impressive retention, endurance, performance, and yield characteristics. They introduce the physics behind PCM technology, assess how its characteristics match up with various potential applications across the memory-storage hierarchy, and discuss its strengths including scalability and rapid switching speed. Challenges for the technology are addressed, including the design of PCM cells for low reset current, the need to control device-to-device variability, and undesirable changes in the phase change material that c...

Phase change memory technology

High power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HPPMS) is an emerging technology that has gained substantial interest among academics and industrials alike. HPPMS, also known as HIPIMS (high power impulse ...

High power pulsed magnetron sputtering: A review on scientific and engineering state of the art

Temperature dependent measurements of the electrical resistance have been employed to study structural changes in sputtered Ge2Sb2Te5 films. The pronounced changes of film resistance due to structural changes enable a precise determination of transition temperatures and activation energies. Furthermore the technique is sensitive enough to measure the influence of ultrathin capping layers on the transformation kinetics. With increasing temperature the Ge2Sb2Te5 films undergo a structural change from an amorphous to rock salt structure (Fm3m) around 140 °C and finally a hexagonal structure (p3m) around 310 °C. Both structural changes are accompanied by a major drop of resistance. Applying the Kissinger method [Anal. Chem. 29, 1702 (1957)] the activation energy for crystallization to the rock salt structure is determined to be 2.24±0.11 eV, and for the phase transformation to the hexagonal phase to be 3.64±0.19 eV, respectively. A thin capping layer of ZnS–SiO2 leads to an increase of the first transition temperature as well as of the corresponding activation energy (2.7±0.2 eV).

Structural transformations of Ge2Sb2Te5 films studied by electrical resistance measurements

The crystallization behavior of Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films has been analyzed by atomic force microscopy and optical reflection measurements on various time scales in order to determine the crystallization kinetics including the crystallization mechanism, the corresponding activation barrier, and the Avrami coefficient. On the minute time scale, thin amorphous films were isothermally crystallized in a furnace under a protective Ar atmosphere. From these measurements the activation energy for crystallization was determined to be (2.0±0.2) eV, in close agreement with previous studies using different techniques. The isothermal measurements also revealed a temperature dependent incubation time for the formation of critical nuclei, which is compared with recent theories. On the nanosecond time scale, Ge2Sb2Te5 was locally crystallized with a focused laser. Either crystalline spots of submicron size were generated in an as deposited amorphous film or amorphous bits in an otherwise crystalline film were recrystallized. For the formation of crystalline spots in an as deposited amorphous film a minimum time of (100±10) ns was found, which is identified as the minimum incubation time for the formation of critical nuclei. In contrast, the complete crystallization of melt-quenched amorphous bits in a crystalline matrix was possible in 10 ns. This is attributed to the presence of quenched-in nuclei inside the amorphous bits. The combination of optical measurements with atomic force microscopy reveals the formation and growth of crystalline bits and shows that the crystal growth in vertical direction strongly affects the reflectivity changes.

Laser induced crystallization of amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 films

Micron- and submicron-size changes induced by local laser heating in thin films of Ge2Sb2Te5 are studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). This material is presently used for rewritable data storage that employs phase change recording. Reversible switching between the amorphous and crystalline states, which is accompanied by a considerable change in optical properties and film density, is exploited to store bits of information. The density change can be detected by AFM, which we use here to study the amorphization (writing) and recrystallization (erasure) of single bits. Both processes have been measured as a function of modification pulse power and duration. Morphology changes can be detected even if the phase change film is covered by a thin protective layer. AFM allows a precise determination of the bit size and bit depth, which characterizes the progress of the phase change in the direction of the surface normal. The present setup allows the correlation of the change in optical reflectance ΔR caused b...

/pdf/atomic-force-microscopy-study-of-laser-induced-phase-59penae1ow.pdf

Atomic force microscopy study of laser induced phase transitions in Ge2Sb2Te5

We report the formation of large, branched silver aggregates after deposition of Ag on silicone oil surfaces. The origin of these ramified aggregates is traced to a two stage process, the first of which involves nucleation and growth of disk-shaped Ag clusters during deposition. In the subsequent stage after deposition, the clusters continue to diffuse on the liquid surface by Brownian motion and finally aggregate.

http://physics.zju.edu.cn/pw/ymdm/file/pdf/Nucleation%20Growth%20and%20Aggregation%20of%20Ag%20Clusters%20on%20Liquid%20Surfaces.pdf

Nucleation, Growth, and Aggregation of Ag Clusters on Liquid Surfaces

The minimum time t required to form an amorphous spot in a crystalline film of Ge2Sb2Te5 with NaCl structure was investigated for various applied laser powers P. An elementary power law of the form P∝t−0.5 is observed for pulse lengths larger than 10 ns which shows that amorphization occurs as soon as the melting temperature is reached. This implies that kinetic superheating does not occur on this time scale. The growth velocity of amorphous marks was inferred from atomic force microscopy (AFM) both parallel and perpendicular to the film plane. The growth in the vertical direction is shown to dominate the change in reflectivity and thus the size of the readout signal of data storage devices. The experimental data are compared with numerical calculation of the temperature field using finite element analysis. These calculations determine the position of the melt temperature isotherm and reproduce the depth and the area of the amorphous regions as inferred from AFM data.

I. Friedrich

Papers

Structural transformations of Ge2Sb2Te5 films studied by electrical resistance measurements

Laser induced crystallization of amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 films

Atomic force microscopy study of laser induced phase transitions in Ge2Sb2Te5

Nucleation, Growth, and Aggregation of Ag Clusters on Liquid Surfaces

Minimum time for laser induced amorphization of Ge2Sb2Te5 films