Regensburg 2010 – scientific programme
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HL: Fachverband Halbleiterphysik
HL 35: New Materials: Optoelectronic and Photovoltaic Applications
HL 35.4: Talk
Wednesday, March 24, 2010, 10:15–10:30, H13
Nanosecond switching in GeTe phase change memory cells — •Gunnar Bruns1, Philipp Merkelbach1, Carl Schlockermann1, Martin Salinga1, Matthias Wuttig1, Thomas Happ2, Jan Boris Philipp3, and Michael Kund3 — 1I. Physikalisches Institut (IA), RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany — 2Qimonda Dresden GmbH & Co. OHG, Königsbrücker Strasse 180, 01099 Dresden, Germany — 3Qimonda AG, Bibergerstr. 93, 82008 Unterhaching, Germany
While phase change materials have already successfully been applied in rewriteable optical data storage, they are also promising to form the basis for novel non-volatile electronic data storage devices. To understand the underlying mechanism of these so-called Phase Change Memories (PCM) it is mandatory to gain a deeper insight into the switching process between the high resistive amorphous (RESET state) and the low resistive crystalline phase (SET state).
The electrical switching behavior of GeTe-based phase change memory devices is characterized by time resolved experiments. SET pulses with a duration of less than 16 ns are shown to crystallize the material. Depending on the resistance of the RESET state, the minimum SET pulse duration can even be reduced down to 1 ns [1]. This finding is attributed to the increasing impact of crystal growth upon decreasing switchable volume. Using GeTe or materials with similar crystal growth velocities, hence promises nonvolatile phase change memories with DRAM(dynamic random access memory)-like switching speeds.
[1] G. Bruns et. al., App. Phys. Lett. 95, 043108 (2009).