Universal memory based on phase-change materials: From phase-change random access memory to optoelectronic hybrid storage

The era of information explosion is coming and information need to be continuously stored and randomly accessed over long-term periods, which constitute an insurmountable challenge for existing data centers. At present, computing devices use the von Neumann architecture with separate computing and memory units, which exposes the shortcomings of “memory bottleneck”. Nonvolatile memristor can realize data storage and in-memory computing at the same time and promises to overcome this bottleneck. Phase-change random access memory (PCRAM) is called one of the best solutions for next generation non-volatile memory. Due to its high speed, good data retention, high density, low power consumption, PCRAM has the broad commercial prospects in the in-memory computing application. In this review, the research progress of phase-change materials and device structures for PCRAM, as well as the most critical performances for a universal memory, such as speed, capacity, and power consumption, are reviewed. By comparing the advantages and disadvantages of phase-change optical disk and PCRAM, a new concept of optoelectronic hybrid storage based on phase-change material is proposed. Furthermore, its feasibility to replace existing memory technologies as a universal memory is also discussed as well.     

Unconventional phase transition of phase-change-memory materials for optical data storage

Recent years, optically controlled phase-change memory draws intensive attention owing to some advanced applications including integrated all-optical nonvolatile memory, in-memory computing, and neuromorphic computing. The light-induced phase transition is the key for this technology. Traditional understanding on the role of light is the heating effect. Generally, the RESET operation of phase-change memory is believed to be a melt-quenching-amorphization process. However, some recent experimental and theoretical investigations have revealed that ultrafast laser can manipulate the structures of phase-change materials by non-thermal effects and induces unconventional phase transitions including solid-to-solid amorphization and order-to-order phase transitions. Compared with the conventional thermal amorphization,these transitions have potential superiors such as faster speed, better endurance, and low power consumption. This article summarizes some recent progress of experimental observations and theoretical analyses on these unconventional phase transitions. The discussions mainly focus on the physical mechanism at atomic scale to provide guidance to control the phase transitions for optical storage. Outlook on some possible applications of the non-thermal phase transition is also presented to develop new types of devices.     

Three-Dimensional Simulations of RESET Operation in Phase-Change Random Access Memory with Blade-Type Like Phase Change Layer by Finite Element Modeling

An optimized device structure for reducing the RESET current of phase-change random access memory(PCRAM)with blade-type like(BTL) phase change layer is proposed.The electrical thermal analysis of the BTL cell and the blade heater contactor structure by three-dimensional finite element modeling are compared with each other during RESET operation.The simulation results show that the programming region of the phase change layer in the BTL cell is much smaller,and thermal electrical distributions of the BTL cell are more concentrated on the TiN/GST interface.The results indicate that the BTL cell has the superiorities of increasing the heating efficiency,decreasing the power consumption and reducing the RESET current from 0.67 mA to 0.32 mA.Therefore,the BTL cell will be appropriate for high performance PCRAM device with lower power consumption and lower RESET current.     

Sub-micro watt resistive memories using nano-crystallized aluminum oxynitride dielectric

Using nano-crystallized aluminum oxynitride (nc-AlO_xN_y) dielectric, the Al/nc-AlO_xN_y/AlN/n⁺-Si resistive random access memory (RRAM) with ultralow sub-micro watt power is reported in this study. The RRAM devices exhibit excellent memory characteristics, including reproducible bipolar resistive switching under >100 times memory window, very low set and reset current of ~10 nA, high voltage distributions and good data retention. It is demonstrated that the reset current decreases as the compliance current decreases, which provides an approach to lower the power consumption. The conduction mechanisms for high- and low-resistance states are dominated by Frenkel–Poole conduction and space-charge-limited current, respectively. These good memory characteristics in this RRAM show great potential in future high-performance memory applications.     

Phase-change properties related to anharmonicity of local structure

Ge-Sb-Te pseudo-binary compounds are known to be phase-change materials (PCM). Most of these chalcogenide compounds are candidate for future phase-change random access memory (PCRAM) applications since they show abrupt change on crystalline-amorphous phase-change process. For the use in next-generation applications, increase of retention properties and decrease of power needed for phase-change process are required. These phase-change properties depend on various material characteristics, and thermal conductivity is one of them. In this study, to introduce an easier method for evaluating the local structural anharmonicity of phase-change materials, optical pump terahertz (THz) probe experiments were performed. By investigating the phonon behaviours in PCM by this method and comparing them with local structural information extracted from extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) on Ge₁Sb₂Te₄ and Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ films, the effects of resonant bonding on lattice anharmonicity and thermal conductivity were determined. As resonant bonding in the local structure get enhanced, local distortion of the system decrease which cause the decrease in anharmonicity. The quantitatively-measured anharmonicity obtained from the optical pump THz probe experiments can be closely related to the structural and electrical properties, thus reflecting well the difference of phase-change properties between Ge₁Sb₂Te₄ and Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ films.     

相变型半导体存储器研究进展

文章系统地介绍了相变型半导体存储器的原理、相变材料、特点、器件结构设计、研究现状及面临的几个关键器件工艺问题．C—RAM由于具有非易失性、循环寿命长、元件尺寸小、功耗低、可多级存储、高速读取、抗辐照、耐高低温、抗振动、抗电子干扰和制造工艺简单等优点，被认为最有可能取代目前的FLASH、DRAM和SRAM而成为未来半导体存储器主流产品．     

Analysis of the applicability of Ni,Cu, Au,Pt, and Pd nanoclusters for data recording

The applicability of individual Ni, Cu, Au, Pt, and Pd nanoclusters as data bits in next generation memory devices constructed on the phase-change carrier principle is studied. To this end, based on the modified tight-binding potential (TB-SMA), structure formation from the melt of nanoparticles of these metals to 10 nm in diameter was simulated by the molecular dynamics method. The effect of various crystallization conditions on the formation of the internal structures of Ni, Cu, Au, Pt, and Pd nanoclusters is studied. The stability boundaries of various crystalline isomers are analyzed. The obtained systematic features are compared for nanoparticles of copper, nickel, gold, platinum, and palladium of identical sizes. It is concluded that platinum nanoclusters of diameter D > 8 nm are the best materials among studied metals for producing memory elements based on phase transitions.

     

Fabrication and electrical characterization of a MOS memory device containing self-assembled metallic nanoparticles

Floating gate devices with nanoparticles embedded in dielectrics have recently attracted much attention due to the fact that these devices operate as non-volatile memories with high speed, high density and low power consumption. In this paper, memory devices containing gold (Au) nanoparticles have been fabricated using e-gun evaporation. The Au nanoparticles are deposited on a very thin SiO₂ layer and are then fully covered by a HfO₂ layer. The HfO₂ is a high-k dielectric and gives good scalability to the fabricated devices. We studied the effect of the deposition parameters to the size and the shape of the Au nanoparticles using capacitance–voltage and conductance–voltage measurements, we demonstrated that the fabricated device can indeed operate as a low-voltage memory device.     

Phase-selective fluorescence of doped Ge_2Sb_2Te_5 phase-change memory thin films

In this Letter, new concepts of fluorescence phase-change materials and fluorescence phase-change multilevel recording are proposed. High-contrast fluorescence between the amorphous and crystalline states is achieved in nickel- or bismuth-doped Ge_2Sb_2Te_5 phase-change memory thin films. Opposite phase-selective fluorescence effects are observed when different doping ions are used. The fluorescence intensity is sensitive to the crystallization degree of the films. This characteristic can be applied in reconfigurable multi-state memory and other logic devices. It also has likely applications in display and data visualization.     

Nanoscale observations of the operational failure for phase-change-type nonvolatile memory devices using Ge2Sb2Te5 chalcogenide thin films

In this study, a phase-change memory device was fabricated and the origin of device failure mode was examined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ (GST) was used as the active phase-change material in the memory device and the active pore size was designed to be 0.5 m. After the programming signals of more than 2×10⁶ cycles were repeatedly applied to the device, the high-resistance memory state (reset) could not be rewritten and the cell resistance was fixed at the low-resistance state (set). Based on TEM and EDS studies, Sb excess and Ge deficiency in the device operating region had a strong effect on device reliability, especially under endurance-demanding conditions. An abnormal segregation and oxidation of Ge also was observed in the region between the device operating and inactive peripheral regions. To guarantee an data endurability of more than 1×10¹⁰ cycles of PRAM, it is very important to develop phase-change materials with more stable compositions and to reduce the current required for programming.     

Nano-scale gap filling and mechanism of deposit-etch-deposit process for phase-change material

Ge2Sb2Te5 gap filling is one of the key processes for phase-change random access memory manufacture.Physical vapor deposition is the mainstream method of Ge2Sb2Te5 film deposition due to its advantages of film quality,purity,and accurate composition control.However,the conventional physical vapor deposition process cannot meet the gapfilling requirement with the critical device dimension scaling down to 90 nm or below.In this study,we find that the deposit-etch-deposit process shows better gap-filling capability and scalability than the single-step deposition process,especially at the nano-scale critical dimension.The gap-filling mechanism of the deposit-etch-deposit process was briefly discussed.We also find that re-deposition of phase-change material from via the sidewall to via the bottom by argon ion bombardment during the etch step was a key ingredient for the final good gap filling.We achieve void-free gap filling of phase-change material on the 45-nm via the two-cycle deposit-etch-deposit process.We gain a rather comprehensive insight into the mechanism of deposit-etch-deposit process and propose a potential gap-filling solution for over 45-nm technology nodes for phase-change random access memory.     

Femtosecond phase spectroscopy of multi-level systems: Phthalocyanines

A femtosecond frequency-domain interferometer is applied to metal-free and vanadyl phthalocyanine (H₂Pc and VOPc) thin films to measure time-resolved difference phase and transmission spectra simultaneously. For both samples, the phase-change dynamics is different from the transmission-change dynamics at 620 nm, reflecting that the phthalocyanines (Pc) cannot be modeled with a two-level system but by a multi-level or inhomogeneously broadened system, in which each level pair exhibits different relaxation dynamics. Because of this dynamical difference, a phase-change measurement is required to correct distortion of the transient spectra due to induced phase modulation of probe pulses. Near zero time delay, the phase and transmission changes show different growth behavior. This behavior is explained by antisymmetric amplitude and phase gratings which are produced by coherent coupling between frequency-chirped pump and probe pulses. Formerly V. S. Williams     

Performance improvement of phase-change memory cell with Ge2Sb2Te5-HfO2 composite films

The phase-change characteristics of Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ (GST) films for phase-change random access memory (PCM) devices were improved by incorporating HfO₂ into GST film using cosputtering at room temperature. Phase separation (GST-rich nanocrystals were surrounded by HfO₂-rich amorphous phase) has been observed in annealed GST-HfO₂ composite films and the segregated domains exhibited a relatively uniform size. The reduced reset voltage of GST-HfO₂ based cell was due to the reduced programming volume by incorporating HfO₂ into GST. This work clearly reveals the highly promising potential of GST-HfO₂ composite films for application in PCM.     

Selective wet etching of Ge<Subscript>2</Subscript>Sb<Subscript>2</Subscript>Te<Subscript>5</Subscript> phase-change thin films in thermal lithography with tetramethylammonium

In this paper, we study Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ phase-change film as a promising inorganic photoresist using organic alkaline: tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) solution, instead of inorganic alkali or acid as etchant. The basic etching properties are investigated by prior and posterior annealing Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ films. Selectivity is found to be dependent on concentration of TMAH. There is a good selectivity in the 25% TMAH solution, in which the amorphous state is etched away, whereas the crystalline state remains. The etching rate decreases when the concentration of TMAH is diluted; and an opposite selectivity, compared with 25% TMAH solution, is observed in the 0.125% TMAH solution. Selective etching with laser crystallization in different power levels is also studied, and an excellent wet selectivity in the 25% TMAH solution is obtained. The remaining crystalline lines are observed by atomic force microscopy. The surface roughness after etching is at a good level. The selective wet-etching mechanism is also discussed.     

Selective etching characteristics of the AgInSbTe phase-change film in laser thermal lithography

In the current work, the etching selectivity of the AgInSbTe phase-change film in laser thermal lithography is reported for the first time. Film phase change induced by laser irradiation and etching selectivity to crystalline and amorphous states in different etchants, including hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, nitric acid, sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfide, ammonium sulfide and ammonium hydroxide, are investigated. The results indicated that ammonium sulfide solvent (2.5 mol/L) had excellent etching selectivity to crystalline and amorphous states of the AgInSbTe film, and the etching characteristics were strongly influenced by the laser power density and laser irradiation time. The etching rate of the crystalline state of the AgInSbTe film was 40.4 nm/min, 20 times higher than that of the amorphous state under optimized irradiation conditions (power density: 6.63 mW/μm² and irradiation time: 330 ns), with ammonium sulfide solvent (2.5 mol/L) as etchant. The step profile produced in the selective etching was clear, and smooth surfaces remained both on the step-up and step-down with a roughness of less than 4 nm (10×10 μm). The excellent performance of the AgInSbTe phase-change film in selective etching is significant for fabrication of nanostructures with super-resolution in laser thermal lithography.     

众核处理架构在水下航行器相位编码脉冲回波检测中的应用

针对宽带编码脉冲、多输入多输出等新型目标探测体制发展带来的运算量和数据存储需求剧增的问题,根据水下航行器相位编码脉冲回波检测算法的数据级并行特点,提出应用图形处理器(Graphics Processing Unit,GPU)众核处理架构,并从任务分配策略、数据处理流程、GPU硬件资源利用率和存储器访问等角度考虑,设计了算法在GPU上的并行实现框架。利用湖试数据测试了桌面级GPU平台、嵌入式GPU平台与基于多核数字信号处理器(Digital Signal Processor,DSP)的传统航行器信号处理平台的性能,与多核DSP平台相比,嵌入式GPU平台在功耗、运算性能等方面更有优势。研究结果表明采用嵌入式GPU平台可大幅提升每瓦特性能指标并简化系统设计,能满足新型航行器探测系统大数据量、低功耗和实时性的应用需求。      

单岛单电子晶体管的电导分析

基于单电子经典理论,本文通过分析得出了单岛单电子晶体管的源漏电导模型,并对其进行了详细的分析讨论.单岛单电子晶体管的源漏电导随着源漏电压的变化发生周期性的振荡衰减,并随着源漏电压的增大逐渐收敛于本征电导值.源漏电导的这种特性受温度、结电阻、结电容等参数的影响.分析结果表明,源漏电导分析模型对单电子晶体管的大规模应用具有非常重要的意义. 关键词： 单电子晶体管 电导 库仑振荡 库仑阻塞     

Characterization of the properties for phase-change material GeSb

Te-free environmentally friendly GeSb phase-change material has been investigated. Eutectic Ge₁₅Sb₈₅ composition, which has a proper high crystallization temperature of 230°C, is a good candidate for the application of phase-change memory. The special eutectic GeSb compositions come with the structure of distorted tetragonal NaCl-B1 type, which is quite different from others. The chemical state of Ge₁₅Sb₈₅ fore-and-aft crystallization has been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The crystallization process of Ge₁₅Sb₈₅ is accompanied by the increase of Sb in high binding energy and the decrease of Sb in low binding energy.     

Reflection properties of meteor trails in a forward-scatter radar experiment

Summary The distribution of the energy reflected by a meteor trail is strongly connected to the ionization density distribution across and along a meteor trail. Recent forward-scatter observations over the Bologna-Lecce baseline in Italy carried out in 1991–92, show that the number of underdense meteor trails (with electron line densityq≤2.10¹⁴ electrons/mvs. peak signal amplitudes decreases more rapidly with the increasing signal level than what predicted. An exponential (simple and/or log-normal) model is proposed, by taking into account different signal-to-noise ratio thresholds and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) procedure is used to test the overall goodness of fit between the set of observations and specified theoretical distributions. It is shown that this model provides a better fit to data mainly for middle-high levels of received power and for values ofq≥10¹³ electrons/m.     

事件驱动的无线传感器网络嵌入式操作系统研究

针对无线传感器网络节点能量敏感和多任务的特点,提出了基于事件驱动的嵌入式实时操作系统;采用分层结构的设计思想,构建模块化的系统组件,利用内存控制块链表,实现简易高效的内存管理;基于事件驱动和任务优先级,实现系统低功耗和抢占式的任务调度;实验结果表明,系统功耗低,实时性好。