On the Effect of Cell Geometry on the Amorphization Process in Phase-Change Memories

Author

Braga, Stefania ; Cabrini, Alessandro ; Torelli, Guido

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electron., Univ. of Pavia, Pavia

fYear

2008

fDate

22-24 Oct. 2008

Firstpage

32

Lastpage

35

Abstract

In phase change memories, the crystalline to amorphous phase transition is strongly affected by the cell geometry. In this paper, we study the amorphization process by analyzing the effects of amorphizing (RESET) pulses on the phase distribution inside the active chalcogenide portion of the memory cell. The purpose is to investigate how the shape and the volume of the amorphous cap are affected by the cell structure. In particular, the analysis is carried out considering two of the most popular cell architectures, namely, the Lance and the Pillar structures.

Keywords

amorphisation; amorphous semiconductors; antimony compounds; germanium compounds; phase change memories; semiconductor thin films; Ge₂Sb₂Te₅; Lance cell architectures; Pillar cell architectures; RESET pulses; amorphization process; cell geometry; chalcogenide materials; chalcogenide portion; crystalline-amorphous phase transition; phase-change memories; thin GST film; Amorphous materials; Contacts; Crystalline materials; Crystallization; Electric resistance; Electrodes; Geometry; Phase change materials; Phase change memory; Tellurium; Lance cell; Pillar cell; amorphization model; phase-change memory;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Microsystems, Packaging, Assembly & Circuits Technology Conference, 2008. IMPACT 2008. 3rd International

Conference_Location

Taipei

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-3623-1

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4244-3624-8

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IMPACT.2008.4783801

Filename

4783801