Understanding Phase-Change Memory Alloys from a Chemical Perspective

Scientific Reports
A V KolobovJ Tominaga

Abstract

Phase-change memories (PCM) are associated with reversible ultra-fast low-energy crystal-to-amorphous switching in GeTe-based alloys co-existing with the high stability of the two phases at ambient temperature, a unique property that has been recently explained by the high fragility of the glass-forming liquid phase, where the activation barrier for crystallisation drastically increases as the temperature decreases from the glass-transition to room temperature. At the same time the atomistic dynamics of the phase-change process and the associated changes in the nature of bonding have remained unknown. In this work we demonstrate that key to this behavior is the formation of transient three-center bonds in the excited state that is enabled due to the presence of lone-pair electrons. Our findings additionally reveal previously ignored fundamental similarities between the mechanisms of reversible photoinduced structural changes in chalcogenide glasses and phase-change alloys and offer new insights into the development of efficient PCM materials.

References

Dec 1, 1988·Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter·J HautalaP C Taylor
Oct 15, 1992·Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter·K ShimakawaS R Elliott
Sep 11, 2004·Nature Materials·Alexander V KolobovTomoya Uruga
Jul 5, 2011·Nature Nanotechnology·R E SimpsonJ Tominaga
Jul 30, 2011·Physical Review Letters·Xian-Bin LiS B Zhang
Jul 9, 2014·Nature Communications·Min ZhuShengbai Zhang
Jul 22, 2014·Angewandte Chemie·Volker L DeringerRichard Dronskowski

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Citations

Aug 17, 2016·Scientific Reports·Matthias Kaes, Martin Salinga
Apr 19, 2017·Advanced Materials·Tae Hoon Lee, Stephen R Elliott
May 28, 2020·Advanced Materials·Tae Hoon Lee, Stephen R Elliott
Aug 16, 2017·Scientific Reports·A VeleaB Govoreanu
Sep 17, 2020·Nature Communications·Shujing JiaMing Liu
May 26, 2018·Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP·Xinran CaoJianlu Wang
Nov 20, 2018·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·Guoxiang WangYegang Lu

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
electron spin resonance
ESR
differential scanning calorimetry

Software Mentioned

CASTEP
iPCM

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