Effect of scaling on thermal properties and switching operation of phase change memory devices

Phase change memory (PCM) is one of the most promising emerging non-volatile memory technologies. This paper simulates phase change memory devices (PCMDs) with careful attention to the scaling and its resulting impact on programming current during the switching operation, while Thomson heating withi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:MATEC Web of Conferences 2018-01, Vol.201, p.6002
Main Authors: Zhu, Jie, Ma, Changcheng, He, Jing, Lu, Jingjing, Hu, Zuoqi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Diffusion
Heating
Isotropic material
Memory devices
Phase change materials
Programming
Scaling
Simulation
Switching
Temperature distribution
Thermal energy
Thermodynamic properties
Thermoelectricity
Thickness
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Phase change memory (PCM) is one of the most promising emerging non-volatile memory technologies. This paper simulates phase change memory devices (PCMDs) with careful attention to the scaling and its resulting impact on programming current during the switching operation, while Thomson heating within the phase change material and Peltier heating at the electrode interface are considered. The simulation results show that the device scaling has an influence on temperature distribution, volume of the molten region, heat diffusion and switching operation of PCMDs. The programming current decreases with smaller electrode size, greater thickness of phase change material and deeper isotropic scaling. The heat diffusion becomes more serious when the thickness of phase change materials decreases and the size of PCMD is isotropically scaled down. The scaling arguments also indicate that the impact of thermoelectric phenomena weakens with smaller dimensions due to the influence of programming current, heat diffusion and action area. This simulation provides useful insights to understand the switching operation of the PCMDs under the impact of thermoelectric effects. The process is instrumental for a complete understanding of device operation and hence provides valuable feedback for fine-tuning the device design so as to enhance its efficiency.
ISSN:2261-236X
2274-7214
2261-236X
DOI:10.1051/matecconf/201820106002