Berlin 2008 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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MM: Fachverband Metall- und Materialphysik

MM 23: Poster session

MM 23.48: Poster

Dienstag, 26. Februar 2008, 14:45–18:00, Poster B

Crystallization kinetics of phase change materials — •Andreas Kaldenbach, Martin Salinga, Ursula Nellen, Carl Schlockermann, and Jennifer Luckas — I. Institute of Physics (IA), RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany

Phase Change RAM is one of the most promising technologies for future memory applications outperforming alternatives mainly by its extreme scalability besides its non-volatility. It is based on a so-called phase change material switching between its highly resistive amorphous and lowly resistive crystalline state. While phase change materials are already utilized in applications, their remarkable physical properties are not yet understood in all detail. Ironically its most characteristic property, the crystallization kinetics, still has not been determined experimentally beyond a quite limited temperature range around the glass transition temperature and slightly below the melting temperature respectively. The uncertainty about the crystallization behavior in the intermediate temperature regime has so far been coped with by applying existing theoretical equations for a continuous description of nucleation and growth. However, until now these theories have not yet been validated by experimental evidence for the mentioned class of materials. The lack of experimental data is mainly caused by the high crystallization speed of phase change materials being truly demanding in respect to both the heating rates and the detecting system of an experiment. Thus an optical setup is assembled to conduct measurements of the phase change utilizing a pulsed laser. Experimental results are compared with existing theories on crystallization.